Articles

[Paper presented at a seminar of the same name organized by the Muslim Institute in London on March 1, 1980, to mark the first anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Two other papers were also presented at this seminar, by Dr Ali Afrouz and Dr Abdur Rahim Ali. Dr Siddiqui refers to these presentations in this paper. The papers presented at this seminar, and one by Iqbal Asaria presented at an internal seminar of the Muslim Institute, were later published as Kalim Siddiqui et al, The Islamic Revolution: Achievements, Obstacles and Goals, London: The Open Press, 1980. This paper was reprinted in Zafar Bangash (ed), In Pursuit of the Power of Islam: Major Writings of Kalim Siddiqui (London and Toronto: The Open Press, 1996). This version is based on the 1996 printing.]

The paper was written for, and presented at, the meeting of the General Assembly of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) in Riyadh in October 1976. It has been reprinted numerous times in different countries. In 1980, following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Dr Siddiqui added the preface and one footnote. This is clearly marked. The main text remains as originally written.

[Kalim Siddiqui, The state of the Muslim world today, London: The Open Press, 1980. This is the text of a lecture given at the University of Manchester Islamic Society on December 8, 1979. It was reprinted in Zafar Bangash (ed), In Pursuit of the Power of Islam: Major Writings of Kalim Siddiqui (London and Toronto: The Open Press, 1996). This edition is based on the 1996 printing.]

(A translation of Islam va Islam a lecture given at the Petroleum College of Abadan. The introductory Paragraph has been omitted). THE QUESTION OF MAN is the most important of all ques­tions. The civilization of today is based upon humanism, the nobility of man and the worship of man. It is believed that the religions of the past crushed the personality of man and compelled him to sacrifice himself to the gods. They forced him to regard his own will as totally powerless when confronted by the will of God.

Everyone acquainted with Dr. Shari'ati knows well that not only is the study and reading of his works and thoughts instruc­tive and rewarding, but also his way and method of life were the reflection of a correct and profound vision of the world, a ray emitted by his faith. Here, we will set forth only an outline, a sketch, of a life that consisted entirely of work, activity, faith, love and responsibility‑the life of a conscious and dedicated man.

A complete translation of Ravish‑i Shinakht‑i Islam, comprising two lectures given at Husayniya‑yi Irshad in Aban 134710ctober 1968.

(Translated from Islamshinasi, Vol. pp.46 56.) MY WORLD‑VIEW CONSISTS OF tauhid. Tauhid in the sense of oneness of God is of course accepted by all monotheists. But tauhid as a world‑view in the sense I intend in my theory means regarding the whole universe as a unity, instead of dividing it into this world and the hereafter, the natural and the supernatural, substance and meaning, spirit and body. It means regarding the whole of existence as a single form, a single living and conscious organism, possessing will, intelligence, feeling and purpose.

(Transtaled from Islamshinsi, Vol. 1, pp. 56 68.) THE STORY OF ADAM and his creation in the Qur'an is the most profound and advanced expression of humanism that exists. In this story, Adam represents the whole human species, the essence of the human race, man in his philosophical sense, not in the biological sense. When the Qur'an speaks of man in the biological sense, it uses the language of the natural sciences, mentioning sperm, drops of clotted blood, fetus, etc.

(Translated from Islamshinasi, Vol. I, pp. 68 85.) ACCORDING TO THE ISLAMIC school of thought, the philoso­phy of history is based on a certain kind of historical determinism. History represents an unbroken flow of events that, like man himself, is dominated by a dialectical contradic­tion, a constant warfare between two hostile and contradictory elements that began with the creation of humanity and has been waged at all places and at all times, and the sum total of which constitutes history.

(Translated from Islamshinasi, Vol. I, pp. 85 94.) SOCIOLOGY IS ALSO FOUNDED on a dialectic. Society, like history, is composed of two classes‑the class of Abel and the class of Cain‑for history is simply the movement of society along the line traced out by time. Society represents, therefore, a fragment corresponding to a certain time‑sector in history. If we remove the concept of time from the history of a people, we will be left with the society of that people.