Supreme Leaader’s Representative:

Islamic Awakening Will Not Retreat

Navideshahed: The Public Relations Office of the Supreme Leader’s Representative Foundation in Fars Province further quoted Ayatollah Assadollah Imani as saying at a gathering of Fars province religious scholars here Wednesday evening, “The enemy might create obstacles in the way of this holy movement, and blocking the path of its blossoming and growth for a while, but eventually this awakening would leave its effect on new regional and world orders.”?

News ID: ۳۶۳۲۷۲

شنبه - ۲۵ آبان ۲۰۱۲ / 2012 25 August

“The problems that the enemy has created for us thus far resemble the obstacles it had created in the path of our progress 33 years ago, and by grace of God we left all of them behind successfully one after the other, so be quite sure that these new problems, too, would be left behind one after the other,”? he added.

The representative of the Supreme Leader in Fars province said elsewhere in his remarks, “The clergies have a certain orientation due to their divine teachings based on the Holy Book, whose main bases are imamate and vicegerency, and today the clear manifestation of vicegerency is seen in the face of the Supreme Leader of the revolution.”?

Ayatollah Imani added, “By grace of Almighty Allah our connection with the imamate is made possible today through the vicegerency of the leader and it would continue to be so, and therefore feel sure that thanks to this solidarity in the religious apparatus of the system the propagation work of the clergies would leave its constructive effect and both we and our children would have a very bright future.”?

Islamic Awakening refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, speech and media, and values by Muslims. One striking example of it is the increase in attendance at the Hajj pilgrimage, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which grew from 90,000 in 1926 to 2 million in 1979.

One of the most important events that inspired the resurgence was the 1979 Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic Republic in Iran under the wise leadership of Ayatollah the late Imam Khomeini (P), which undermined the assumption that westernization strengthened Muslim countries and was the irreversible trend of the future.

The revival is a reversal of the westernization approach common in many Arab and Asian governments earlier in the 20th century. It is often associated with the political Islamic movement, Islamism, and other forms of re-Islamization. While the revival has also been accompanied by some religious extremism and attacks on civilians and military targets by the extremists, this represents only a small part of the revival.

Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize a global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics - in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities.

The man cited as the forerunner of re-Islamization was Jamal-al-Din Asadabadi, 'one of the most influential Muslim reformers of the nineteenth century' who traveled the Muslim world. His sometime acolyte Muhammad Abduh has been called 'the most influential figure' of the early Salafi movement. In 1928 Hassan al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood, the first mass Islamist organization and still considered the world's largest, most influential Islamic group. Other influential revival activists and thinkers include Rashid Rida and Ali Abdel Raziq.

In South Asia Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and other Muslim leaders established the Muslim League which led to the establishment of the first Islamic republic in Pakistan. Abul Ala Maududi was the later leader of this movement who established Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia. Today it is one of the largest Islamic parties in the Indian sub-continent spanning four countries Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, although the different national parties have no organizational link between them.

Two events were particularly important for the current revival:

The energy crisis of the 1970s, which led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); many Muslims believe as Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal did that the hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth obtained from the Persian Gulf's huge oil deposits were nothing less than a gift from God to the Islamic faithful, and the return of the late Khomeini (P) to Iran in 1979 and his establishment of an Islamic republic state.

Shi’a Re-Islamization began among Shi’a later but many think it has been even more successful. In Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led a revolution based on his interpretation of Velayat-e faqih that called for rule by the leading Islamic jurisprudence. In a more spiritual realm, Muhammad Hossein Tabataba’ie as a theologian revived Kalam, Islamic philosophy and Tafsir. Grand Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Allameh Tabataba’ie taught many students who have achieved high positions in the Qom Seminary. Also some of their students like Morteza Motahhari and Mohammad Beheshti became ideologues of the Islamic Revolution. Furthermore some activists especially Dr. Ali Shari’ati politicized religion and make an ideology to revolt.

In Iraq, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr criticized Marxism and presented early ideas of an Islamic alternative to socialism and capitalism. Perhaps his most important work was Iqtisaduna (Our Economics), considered an important work of Islamic economics. This work was a critique of both socialism and capitalism. He also worked with Seyyed Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim in forming an Islamist movement in Iraq which resulted in establishment of the Islamic Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. One of the founders of modern Islamist thought, he is credited with first developing the notion, later put in operation in Iran, of having western style democratic elections, but with a body of Muslim scholars to ensure all laws corresponded with Islamic teachings.

He was a close ally and supporter of the late Ayatollah Khomeini (P).

In Lebanon Imam Moussa Sadr established the Supreme Islamic Shi'a Council and the Amal Movement.

Later, former members of Amal and some other parties joined each other and established the Islamist militia, party and social service agency Hezbollah, which is thought to be the largest and most influential party among Shi’a Muslims of Lebanon.

The End
Source: Ahlul Beyt News Agency

“The problems that the enemy has created for us thus far resemble the obstacles it had created in the path of our progress 33 years ago, and by grace of God we left all of them behind successfully one after the other, so be quite sure that these new problems, too, would be left behind one after the other,”? he added. The representative of the Supreme Leader in Fars province said elsewhere in his remarks, “The clergies have a certain orientation due to their divine teachings based on the Holy Book, whose main bases are imamate and vicegerency, and today the clear manifestation of vicegerency is seen in the face of the Supreme Leader of the revolution.”? Ayatollah Imani added, “By grace of Almighty Allah our connection with the imamate is made possible today through the vicegerency of the leader and it would continue to be so, and therefore feel sure that thanks to this solidarity in the religious apparatus of the system the propagation work of the clergies would leave its constructive effect and both we and our children would have a very bright future.”? Islamic Awakening refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, speech and media, and values by Muslims. One striking example of it is the increase in attendance at the Hajj pilgrimage, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which grew from 90,000 in 1926 to 2 million in 1979. One of the most important events that inspired the resurgence was the 1979 Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic Republic in Iran under the wise leadership of Ayatollah the late Imam Khomeini (P), which undermined the assumption that westernization strengthened Muslim countries and was the irreversible trend of the future. The revival is a reversal of the westernization approach common in many Arab and Asian governments earlier in the 20th century. It is often associated with the political Islamic movement, Islamism, and other forms of re-Islamization. While the revival has also been accompanied by some religious extremism and attacks on civilians and military targets by the extremists, this represents only a small part of the revival. Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize a global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics - in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities. The man cited as the forerunner of re-Islamization was Jamal-al-Din Asadabadi, 'one of the most influential Muslim reformers of the nineteenth century' who traveled the Muslim world. His sometime acolyte Muhammad Abduh has been called 'the most influential figure' of the early Salafi movement. In 1928 Hassan al-Banna established the Muslim Brotherhood, the first mass Islamist organization and still considered the world's largest, most influential Islamic group. Other influential revival activists and thinkers include Rashid Rida and Ali Abdel Raziq. In South Asia Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and other Muslim leaders established the Muslim League which led to the establishment of the first Islamic republic in Pakistan. Abul Ala Maududi was the later leader of this movement who established Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia. Today it is one of the largest Islamic parties in the Indian sub-continent spanning four countries Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, although the different national parties have no organizational link between them. Two events were particularly important for the current revival: The energy crisis of the 1970s, which led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); many Muslims believe as Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal did that the hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth obtained from the Persian Gulf's huge oil deposits were nothing less than a gift from God to the Islamic faithful, and the return of the late Khomeini (P) to Iran in 1979 and his establishment of an Islamic republic state. Shi’a Re-Islamization began among Shi’a later but many think it has been even more successful. In Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led a revolution based on his interpretation of Velayat-e faqih that called for rule by the leading Islamic jurisprudence. In a more spiritual realm, Muhammad Hossein Tabataba’ie as a theologian revived Kalam, Islamic philosophy and Tafsir. Grand Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Allameh Tabataba’ie taught many students who have achieved high positions in the Qom Seminary. Also some of their students like Morteza Motahhari and Mohammad Beheshti became ideologues of the Islamic Revolution. Furthermore some activists especially Dr. Ali Shari’ati politicized religion and make an ideology to revolt. In Iraq, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr criticized Marxism and presented early ideas of an Islamic alternative to socialism and capitalism. Perhaps his most important work was Iqtisaduna (Our Economics), considered an important work of Islamic economics. This work was a critique of both socialism and capitalism. He also worked with Seyyed Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim in forming an Islamist movement in Iraq which resulted in establishment of the Islamic Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. One of the founders of modern Islamist thought, he is credited with first developing the notion, later put in operation in Iran, of having western style democratic elections, but with a body of Muslim scholars to ensure all laws corresponded with Islamic teachings. He was a close ally and supporter of the late Ayatollah Khomeini (P). In Lebanon Imam Moussa Sadr established the Supreme Islamic Shi'a Council and the Amal Movement. Later, former members of Amal and some other parties joined each other and established the Islamist militia, party and social service agency Hezbollah, which is thought to be the largest and most influential party among Shi’a Muslims of Lebanon. The End Source: Ahlul Beyt News Agency