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Have Muslims Learned from Their History?

This article aims to shed light on the negative outcomes resulting from the adoption and implementation of the Islamic approach. Here, I will impartially discuss how Islamic teachings have not provided a practical approach to unifying Muslims, nor have they provided clear mechanisms for establishing laws and guidelines to ensure peaceful coexistence between Muslims and other nations or ideologies that differ from the Islamic system.

Instability and Chaos in the Islamic World During the 20th and 21st Centuries

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the failure of King Faisal I to become the leader of the Islamic world in 1916, Muslims were unable to establish a central leadership that would guide their path toward achieving the greater Islamic goals. Muslim leaders, most of whom were Arabs, found themselves in a state of severe turmoil following internal divisions and long-term exploitation across generations, which deepened sectarian and tribal conflicts.

These leaders often lacked political and leadership experience, and their authority was characterized by adherence to specific religious directives or external agendas. Their primary goal was to maintain power by any means necessary, using a method inherited through history that could be described as the "guide to staying in power." This approach focused on how to enforce control and subdue the people through effective means to ensure the continuity of rule.

The Historical Legacy of Power in the Islamic World

This "guide" contained a summary of 1400 years of experiences shaped by rulers, starting from the caliphs, kings, and princes to military leaders and religious figures. These experiences were based on diverse methods, ranging from severe repression, deliberate ignorance, institutional corruption, and extreme selfishness that drained resources and weakened the people.

The Contemporary Reality of Governance in the Islamic World

Today, we find many leaders in the Islamic world, especially in Arab countries, competing to implement these inherited strategies. This competition is manifested in rising levels of authoritarianism and corruption, institutionalizing inequality, and widespread human rights violations. These practices have led to shocking levels of social, economic, and cultural degradation in Islamic countries, of which there are 57 nations with a Muslim majority or sympathetic to the Islamic approach.

Negative Impacts in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Over the 20th and 21st centuries, the catastrophic outcomes of these systems became evident through a comprehensive decline in all areas. To fully capture the division, weakness, and moral and social crises within the Islamic world, a separate book would be necessary. However, I will attempt to provide an overview of some of the disastrous consequences we have witnessed in the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st:

Fragmentation of the Islamic World into Fifty-Seven Countries: Most of these countries have a history of human rights violations and a lack of commitment to ethical principles.
Underdevelopment of Most Islamic Countries: With few exceptions, most Islamic nations live in a state of economic and social backwardness.
Failure of Unity Among Islamic States: Despite the Quran's command to "hold fast to the rope of Allah all together and do not divide," Muslims have failed to form a true union, as not even two of these 57 countries managed to unite.
High Illiteracy Rates: It is estimated that around 40% of Muslims suffer from illiteracy.
Education and Health in Pakistan: In Pakistan, around seven million children do not attend school. The United Nations estimates that there are about 6.7 million drug addicts, with 4 million of them struggling with addiction.
Social and Health Problems: Issues such as murder, rape, and mental health problems are more prevalent in many Islamic countries.
Number of Nobel Prize Winners: Only 12 Muslims have won the Nobel Prize out of 900 laureates between 1901 and 2015.
Human Rights Violations: Many Islamic countries have committed unprecedented human rights violations, as evidenced by reports from Human Rights Watch, which highlight shocking numbers of people kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, or killed between 2014 and 2017.
Reluctance to Help Syrian Refugees: Leadership in Islamic countries, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, has shown a notable degree of indifference and selfishness toward helping Syrian refugees. According to a 2014 Amnesty International report titled "Left Out in the Cold," none of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE—officially accepted any Syrian refugees. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were forced to flee from the devastation and death in search of a safe haven. This decision by the wealthiest six Arab Muslim nations was considered one of the harshest and most despicable, especially at a time when Syrian refugees were in dire need of support and assistance.

These countries, whose leaders claim to adhere to the teachings of Islam, have ignored or explicitly rejected what the Prophet Muhammad instructed regarding the necessity of helping Muslims in need, as stated in these authentic hadiths, which emphasize solidarity and mutual support among Muslims:

First Hadith: "Whoever alleviates the distress of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve him of a distress on the Day of Judgment. Whoever covers the faults of a Muslim, Allah will cover his faults in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah is in the aid of His servant as long as the servant is in the aid of his brother."

Second Hadith: "You will see the believers in their mercy, love, and compassion towards each other, resembling one body. If any part of the body complains, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever."

Third Hadith: "Any person who deserts a Muslim in a situation where his honour is violated and his dignity is attacked, Allah will desert him in a place where he seeks help. And any person who supports a Muslim in a situation where his honour is violated and his dignity is attacked, Allah will support him in a place where he seeks support."

The Yemeni Civil War, which lasted from 1963 to 1970 and resulted in thousands of deaths, is an example of religious disputes that led to large-scale battles.

The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), in which Iraq attacked Iran to stop Tehran’s support for the Shiite majority in Iraq who were protesting against the Ba'athist regime, killed hundreds of thousands.

From 1991 to 2002, Algeria was engulfed in a civil war. A violent conflict emerged between the Algerian government and several Islamic militant groups following a coup that stopped the Islamists' victory in the elections. Another religiously driven conflict that resulted in the death of 100,000 people.

Darfur War, or the ethnic cleansing of non-Arabs in Darfur, which began in 2003. The conflict between rebel factions and the Sudanese government led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

The Iraqi Civil War began in 2007, after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country. The conflict between Sunni and Shia Islamic factions led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

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Since 2010 to the present, the Arab Spring, or the Arab Revolutions, have erupted in six Islamic countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria). Muslims were rising up against oppressive rulers who were harsh, corrupt, and repressive. The peaceful protests in Libya, Yemen, and Syria turned into armed clashes, leading to tragic civil wars.

The Syrian Civil War, which began in March 2011 and is expected to last for many more years, has resulted in the displacement of more than five million people, the displacement of over six million people within Syria, and the deaths of more than 900,000 people, most of them civilians. This war is considered a horrific example of the catastrophic consequences that can arise from sectarianism and religious motivations. The Syrians initially rose up with demands to end the oppression and tyranny they faced. However, this movement, which was seen as a revolution against corruption and exploitation, was hijacked by more than fifteen different Islamic factions and sects. The primary concern of all these factions was to revive Islam and implement Sharia law. While all these factions were ready to overthrow the ruling regime in Syria, the conflict instead led to clashes among them, resulting in exclusion and killings within the factions themselves.

After the Yemeni Uprising in 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of nine Islamic countries in launching a military operation against the Houthi Shiite militia, which was fighting for full control of Yemen (2011-2012). The Saudis claimed their intervention was to restore political stability in Yemen, which shares a long border with them, but the Saudi monarch was also concerned about the military support the Houthis received from Iran, a regional Shiite power with a long history of conflict with Sunni Muslims, especially the Saudis. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed due to the Saudi-led coalition's bombing, in alliance with the UAE's air force and army.

The Battle of Mosul (2016-2017) was a large-scale military operation launched by the Iraqi government forces and militias to reclaim Mosul from ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria). In early 2014, ISIS seized Mosul and laid the foundation to re-establish the caliphate with the aim of conquering the entire world and implementing Islamic Sharia law. In this conflict, Sunni and Shiite Islamic factions clashed. With 50,000 civilians and soldiers from both sides killed, ISIS was eventually defeated, which was considered one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the Middle East.

In the search for another savior for the Arabs and Muslims, the Arab League was established, followed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and finally a radical move to establish the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, ultimately leading to the continuation of dictatorial and totalitarian regimes.

ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria): The group that believes the only path to the prosperity and victory of the Islamic nation is the literal implementation of the teachings of the Qur'an and the Prophet.

This extremist Muslim group claimed to be the true followers of Prophet Muhammad, striving to apply the teachings of Islamic Sharia exactly as stated in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. ISIS made significant progress in its efforts to restore the Islamic Caliphate, beginning in 1988. ISIS is considered a branch of Al-Qaeda, which established its main base in Afghanistan. Countries like Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Algeria, and Egypt were among those where ISIS expanded. ISIS's focus on fighting the enemies of Islam, from foreign invaders on Islamic land, and restoring true Islam has earned them substantial support from Arabs and most Muslims, particularly those classified as Salafi.

By 2014, ISIS controlled large areas in northern Syria (such as Raqqa Governorate) and northern Iraq (such as Nineveh Governorate), where they declared their Islamic State. However, ISIS's expansion was halted, and their armed forces were forced to withdraw from Iraq and Syria by early 2018, thanks to Iraqi and Syrian militias, backed by the U.S. and Western allies. The Iraqi and Syrian people suffered tremendous damage since ISIS occupied Raqqa and Mosul, with hundreds of thousands killed, mostly innocent civilians, and millions displaced from their homes.

The Sunni-Shia Conflict – The Longest Unprecedented Sectarian Struggle: The sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Islamic world is considered one of the longest-standing sectarian conflicts in history, fueled by regional interventions and the political and religious goals of certain Islamic countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. This conflict began nearly 1,320 years ago and continues today!

The origins of this dispute go back to the events of the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. During this incident, Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed by orders of Yazid, the Umayyad Caliph. This event marked a violent clash between the followers of Imam Hussein and the Umayyad Sunni authorities, which became a significant turning point in escalating sectarian divisions between Shia Muslims (followers of Imam Hussein and the Prophet's family) and Sunni Muslims, who believe that the laws of Islam and its rulings come directly from the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad.

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Have Muslims Learned from Their History?

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