Islam is in dire need for deeply rooted metamorphosis to adapt to a world far different from the one we remain adherent to in the 7th Century. I hold hope in the fact that many Muslims and organizations in different parts of the world are working tirelessly to live either the Islam they hoped would become or adapting to a new interpretive nature. What if Jews numbered 1.5 billion and Muslims 15 millions?
Many believe though that Islam has been sealed under lock and key and that any hope for change are simpleton ideas by good-natured and well-intentioned Muslims.
Who will be right or who will be wrong opens the doors to many “what if” questions Muslims should consider often.
One of those questions we should ponder is what if the Jews numbered 1.5 billion around the world as opposed to only 15 million Muslims.
Just imagine the possibilities and the different world we would be living in today. It is a complicated question that many may see differently, but this is what I see.
For a starter, Hitler would never have made it past the Jungsturm and Jugendbund (Hitler Youth) formation stage. The population-at-large in Germany would have curtailed his rise.
Israel borders would begin at the Atlantic Ocean in Morocco and end in South East Asia.
The world would roughly witness about 150 more Einsteins, which means we would be building our first space observatory and colony on Mars today.
Jews would really be in control of the media, Hollywood, banking, and all conspiracies, not just being accused of it.
Theodor Herzl would be just another Jew and Obama would be the seventh black President of the United States of America.
Women citizens would have had their full rights emancipated roughly about the same time our Prophet Mohammad was born, which would have meant Alexander Hamilton and James Madison could have been Alexandra Hamilton and Jane Madison.
Muslims would all be living around Makah and Medina but without the need to defend their borders from the Jews, or worrying the Jews would want to occupy Makah and throw them to the Sahara.
Muslims would gain immensely more knowledge and even some of their scientists would be on Mars working side-by-side with the Jewish scientists.
To survive, Muslims would need not to always be on the defensive because the Jews would have protected them from any harm.
Islam would be a different religion based totally on the Jewish faith instead of partially developed to hate the Jewish faith for not converting to Islam.
The al-Aqsa Mosque would have been built side-by-side with the Solomon Temple, not on top of it.
We would know who wrote a Thousand and One Nights.
Sulman Rushdie would have been honored in Makah instead of hiding in Europe.
Al-Qaeda would be a girl’s scout movement distributing Baklava to Muslim homeless.
Hezbollah would be a company selling Turbans and the largest franchise owner of barbershops specializing in shaving beards.
Hamas would own the largest grocery stores in the biggest country in the world Israel.
Could Muslims turn matters around?
Sure, but we must start with the basics by implementing some of the matters the Jews would have if they numbered 1.5 billion people.
For those offended by my post, please know that political correctness is a dangerous concept I don’t subject my pen to.
And as I enjoy my freedom of expression, so should you too.
COMMENTS
@ Farid. great article but I kind of like being part of 15 million, perhaps in your what if’s it would be great if religions or peoples didn’t grow beyond that!
Inshallah!!
@ David. There exists a distinct tendency towards illiberalism in much of secular culture. An absence of religion is NO garuantee against dogmatic totalitarian society, witness, Hitler, Stalin in the 20th C and Political Correctness going berserk on both the Left and Right as Western Society yet again faces economic crises in the 21st C.
Great article!
Tks
Farid
Some of what you identify would perhaps happen. But don’t forget, there are also anti-intellectual, dogmatic and repressive tendencies within parts of Judaism and Jewish culture as well.
The problem we face is not unique to one religion or culture. Rather, it is that any attempts to “perfect” the world, no matter the cost, will inevitably emiserate the lives of anybody deemed to be standing in the way of the creation of that perfect world. That’s the nature of totalitarian, rather than liberal and secular political cultures.
These tendencies are not far different from a Muslim like myself questioning why Muslims find themselves scrapping the bottom of the barrel today when in early Islam some of the brightest sciences, literature, arts and ideas emanated from Muslims.
Even in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, or Indonesia, Muslims “manage” life side by side with both a Western and an new rising Eastern civilization. It’s not about secularism I think, it’s about how, throughout history, Islam has slipped in its interpretive nature to controlling our lives like no other religion or political systems combined have ever done. We are prisoners of our own making and only shaking the tree may awaken us to release ourselves from the slavery of few ignorant men who died long ago and buried the key with them.