UNITING IN IDEOLOGICAL DEBATE
UNITING IN IDEOLOGICAL DEBATE
When humanity's present living conditions are scrutinized, the need for alliance among the believers, become apparent. Social ills, among them conflicts, wars, genocide, poverty, famine, social injustice, and moral degeneration, pose a serious threat to many countries. Moreover, a great number of innocent people suffering under those conditions are desperately waiting for a helping hand to be extended. Conscientious people around the world are trying to help them. Aid packages are dispatched to areas affected by famine, peace envoys are trying to protect people in war zones, and efforts are being made to curb crime and decadence. But these efforts are regional and limited to finding solutions to the most pressing issues. In fact, it is actually possible to eradicate all kinds of human suffering and to bring happiness, security, and prosperity to the world.
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However, achieving this goal depends on identifying the true
causes of such ills – the decline of religious morality – and
eradicating their ideological basis. The fact that the law of the
strong prevails throughout the world is partly responsible for this
situation, for this attitude engenders a social model based upon
self-interest. Even more seriously, it has replaced affection, love,
sympathy, compassion, and cooperation with conflict, greed, and dispute.
In short, it disregards humanity's obligation to serve Allah, view
this life as a realm of testing designed to win His good pleasure, and
strive for the Hereafter.
The ideological changes that took place in the nineteenth century laid
the foundations for the spiritual collapse in the next century. Whereas
the majority of people believed in Allah's existence until that time,
these changes enabled atheism to become a major influence. In the
eighteenth century, such materialists as Denis Diderot (d. 1784) and
Baron D'Holbach (d. 1789) asserted that the universe had existed
forever and that only matter existed, and this view found an
ever-increasing following in Europe. In the nineteenth century, atheism
expanded further with the influence of such thinkers as Ludwig
Feuerbach (d. 1872), Karl Marx (d. 1883), Friedrich Engels (d. 1894),
Friedrich Nietzsche (d. 1900), Emile Durkheim (d. 1917), and Sigmund
Freud (d. 1939).
Charles Darwin (d. 1882) did the greatest service to atheism by
devising his theory of evolution, which was designed to oppose
creation. Darwinism provided a scientific answer to the question of
how humanity and other life forms emerged – a question that atheists
had never managed to answer until that time. He proposed that nature
had a mechanism that could enliven dead matter and give rise to
millions of species. Many people, unfortunately, believed this
erroneous idea.
At the end of the nineteenth century, atheists had formulated a
worldview that, they claimed, explained everything. They postulated
that the universe was not created, but had existed since eternity and
thus had no beginning. They assumed that its clear order and
equilibrium was coincidental and devoid of purpose. Darwinism claimed
to answer the question of how humanity and all other beings were
created. Marx and Durkheim provided atheistic answers to history and
sociology, and Freud did the same for psychology. These theories,
however, were shown to be baseless and without merit by the scientific,
political, and social developments of the twentieth century. And,
moreover, discoveries in astronomy, biology, psychology, and social
behavior completely destroyed atheisms' propositions.
During this period, however, movements based on Darwinism and
materialism devastated humanity. Such ideologies as communism, fascism,
racism, nihilism, and existentialism caused people great sorrow and
engendered countless conflicts, wars, and calamities. Their
aftereffects continue to be felt today, albeit with a lesser impact,
and certain circles persist in defending Darwinism as a scientific
fact. We will briefly scrutinize how Darwinism is being imposed on
nations and what the consequences are. But first, we want to point out
an important fact.
At present, the burden of responsibility rests upon the shoulders of
all conscientious believers to do something about the global situation
created by all ideologies opposed to religious morality. All
Christians, Jews, and Muslims should join in this effort, for they are
the target of these atheistic ideologies. Therefore, the sincere People
of the Book and sincere Muslims must cooperate, join forces, and tell
the world of Darwinism's false worldview, which is based on
materialism, not science. All of the other anti-religious ideologies
(e.g., communism, fascism, racism) as well as decadence must be fought
together on an ideological level so that the world can enjoy peace,
tranquility, and justice in the near future. When this great task has
been completed, suffering, hardship, killing, calamity, injustice, and
destitution will make way for enlightenment, calmness, prosperity,
wealth, health, and good fortune.
Darwinism: The Source of Corrupted Values
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The theory of evolution proposes that life emerged
coincidentally and then developed and evolved as a consequence of the
struggle for survival. Consequently, Darwinism's underlying message is
that you are not answerable to anyone; that you owe your life to
coincidence; and that you must fight and, if necessary, oppress others
in order to survive, as you are living in a world of self-interest and
conflict. These are the moral implications of such Darwinist slogans as
natural selection, struggle for survival, and survival of the
fittest. Obviously, this worldview is the exact opposite of the
worldview based on religious morality. Moreover, if forms the basis of
the anti-religion front.
Studying society's values is enough to expose Darwinism's
destructive nature. When we look at present-day societies, we see that
most people live for self-preservation, a good job, material wealth,
more money, entertainment – in other words, for success in the struggle
for survival. Such people naturally seek a good and happy life.
However, religious morality also requires people to take care of the
needy, cooperate with each other, and avoid selfishness. Darwinism does
not concern itself with other people; in fact, it teaches its
adherents that if any benefit can be had from the hardship of others, so
be it.
Especially among the young people, luxurious houses and cars,
unlimited financial means, fame, wealth, and power have become ideals.
Not wondering about the purpose of their existence and hardly ever
pondering Allah's Existence and Might, they consider themselves to be
independent beings that have no responsibilities toward our Creator.
They would rather not be reminded of death, which is a reality for all
beings, resurrection, and the Day of Judgment. But such willful
ignorance does not affect the truth. Even if they ignore such questions
until death comes for them or turn away from all reminders of truth,
they remain nothing more than created and feeble servants who will die
one day and be brought to His presence for judgment.
These people often are not even aware of Darwinism's influence
on their lives. Worse, great number of them believe that Darwinism is a
subject matter of biology and therefore none of their concern. Even if
they are not aware of the theory of evolution's influence, their
continued exposure to it deeply affects their worldview.
People who consider themselves to be highly evolved animals
reflect their corrupted worldview in their behavior and
decision-making: They are selfish, greedy, ruthless, and cruel, and
oblivious of the need to practice compassion, mercy, devotion, and
modesty. This attitude naturally gives rise to social disorder and
causes social as well as moral collapse.
Another undesirable side effect is the ensuing belief that one's
personal self-interest is the only thing that matters. Within such
societies, altruism, love, respect, and compassion have all been
forgotten. Such conditions push people into loneliness and despair. Out
of these conditions come stress, discontent, unhappiness, and worry,
all of which make many people's lives living nightmares. The resulting
spiritual void drives some people to alcohol, drugs, gambling, suicide,
or other disastrous courses.
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Decadence continues to spread rapidly in societies whose
people have abandoned spiritual values. The rising levels of
homosexuality and prostitution, sexual crimes, rape, and sexually
transmitted disease are important indicators of decadence. Prostitution
destroys families and people's self-respect. Homosexuality and other
sexual practices that all divinely revealed Books have condemned are now
considered normal in many parts of the world, and people who oppose
such immorality are accused of being out of date. It is certainly no
sign of progress that homosexuals can get married officially in some
countries, coordinate their efforts at the international level, and
display aggressive behavior against religious morality.
Decadence is also widespread in the political realm. The
twentieth century was characterized by the most horrific and
destructive wars in human history. Countless people were killed,
injured, or disabled in terrorist or anarchist attacks. Such cruelty is
perpetrated by anti-religion ideologies (e.g., communism, fascism, and
racism), all of which are offshoots of Darwinism. Regional wars,
conflicts, and bloody acts of terror continue to erupt in many parts of
the world.
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At present, vast numbers of people live in destitution and hardship. Statistics reveal that famine, destitution, and the gap in wealth distribution have reached alarming levels. These negative developments are the natural consequences of a world order based on selfishness, self-interest, and other materialistic values.
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Social degradation is also reflected in the increasing number of crimes committed. Throughout the world, illegal activities are increasing and the scope of criminal activities continues to expand. These are the natural consequences of abandoning spiritual and moral values. People far from religious morality consider all types of crimes (e.g., theft, fraud, robbery, and blackmail) to be normal and do not believe that such practices can ever be eradicated.
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This gloomy picture is the result of the increasing penetration of materialist philosophies over the past two centuries. Beginning in Europe, it has now spread around the world. This product of rejecting belief in Allah, which features such lies as you are not answerable or you are highly evolved animals that struggle for survival in the jungle, has proven to be remarkably resilient.
Two Choices
Having presented and explained the reasons for humanity's current deplorable state, we now must ask the following question: What is the best and most appropriate thing to do about the prevailing conditions?
For anyone who sees the destructiveness of immorality, injustice and degeneration, there are two options: either ignore it or mobilize to fight it. Those who choose the first option remain passive and uninterested in what is happening around them. They fool themselves by asking rhetorically: Am I going to save the world? or What could I do, anyway? In conversations, they express their sorrow over the sad state of affairs and donate some time or money to various charities, but make no effort to eradicate these evils. Such people should remember that those who remain silent in the face of suffering, hardship, and evil, or who do not do their utmost to combat them, share in the responsibility for their continued existence.
The second option, mobilizing all means in an ideological struggle to save the world from its present condition, is the one that all sincere believers choose. They never give up the struggle and continue to contribute as best they can. Sincere, reasonable, conscientious, and responsible people must choose this second option. Since the evil and immoral tyrants present a united front against religious morality, sincere People of the Book and sincere Muslims must unite against this alliance of evil, pool all of their mental and material resources, and then fight this ideological war together. All sincere Jews, Christians, and Muslims are responsible for doing their utmost in this regard. By embarking on this path, they ensure the gradual emergence of honest, respectful, loving, accepting, sensitive, and virtuous people who will live together in an environment of peace, tranquility, security, happiness, and prosperity.
In the present environment of hardship and troubles, sincere Jews, Christians, and Muslims must be even more accepting, conciliatory, complementary, and respectful of each other. They should not forget that unity, togetherness, and cooperation bring success, and that dispute, argument, and conflict bring nothing but weakness. The current situation demands the immediate formation of such an alliance. Besides the ideological debate against the enemies of religious morality, all believers must prepare for the most celebrated era in human history: the second coming of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh).
