New Islamic Civilization from the Viewpoint of the Two Imams

of the Islamic Revolution of Iran

 

By: Mohsen Pak-Aein, the Former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Zambia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, and the Republic of Azerbaijan

The advent of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula brought about many social, cultural, political, and economic changes, and this religion of Islam was able to establish a great global civilization in a short span of time. This new religion then posed a serious challenge to the ancient and powerful civilizations of Persia and Rome.

In defining civilization, Ibn Khaldun considers it to be the outcome of man’s socialization in the form of cities vis-à-vis the primitive and nomadic way of living. He rightly believed that Islam is a universal religion and that the mission of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) was not for one particular nation and rather it has been sent to guide the human society as a whole and that is the universal objective that the Islamic civilization pursues. This is in spite of the fact that due to the attacks on Islamic territories by the Crusaders and the Mongols and the fall of Andalusia as well as certain internal problems the Islamic civilization stagnated for some time and lost many of its glorious effects.

Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (RA), the issue of New Islamic Civilization and its main features came to be a subject matter of serious discussion. The Islamic Revolution of Iran, the approach of the founder of which was based on the sacred teachings of the religion of Islam, sought to create a New Islamic Civilization that could be of divine guidance to human society.

Imam Khomeini considered the New Islamic Civilization as a set of common customs and traditions among Muslim nations, the manifestations of which are all derived from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah, and at the same time pays sufficient attention to modern sciences.

In the age of satellites and the Internet, Islamic civilization must also use these tools to achieve its goals and, contrary to the closed way of thinking that exists among the takfiri groups today, Islamic civilization must benefit from the gifts of modern knowledge. In Imam Khomeini’s view, the foundations of the New Islamic Civilization are the Holy Qur’an and the tradition of the Noble Prophet of Islam (pbuh), but sufficient attention must also be paid to the knowledge of the time and use to its benefit.

The most important objective of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in issuing the statement on the Second Phase of the Revolution is to inspire the great nation of Iran to move toward the creation of a New Islamic Civilization.

From the viewpoint of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, “the great jihad (sacrifice) for building an Islamic Iran” will eventually lead to the creation of a New Islamic Civilization, which will pave the path for the reappearance of the “Imam of the Time” (AS). In paragraph 8 of the statement on the Second Phase of the Revolution, he calls on the Iranian people in these words:

“Bring the Revolution as close as possible to its great ideal, which is the creation of a New Islamic Civilization and the preparation for the rise of the sun of great velayat (Imam Mhadi) (may our souls be sacrificed for him).”

As may be noticed, paragraph 8 of the statement points to two important issues in the field of international relations and foreign policy, i.e., the creation of a New Islamic Civilization and preparedness for the reappearance of the “Imam of the Time” (AS) and the Global Mahdavi Rule of Justice. From the Supreme Leader’s point of view, since the Revolution of the Iranian nation has entered its second phase, it has to learn from the past experiences in the course of its path toward a New Islamic Civilization. In the words of the Supreme Leader: “In order to take steady steps in the future, it is important to understand the past well and learn from the past experiences. If this strategy is, however, neglected, lies will replace the truth and the future will be threatened by unknown threats.”

The experiences of the Islamic Revolution over the past four decades, especially in the field of foreign policy, have taught Iranians to protect their independence and national sovereignty in international relations, not trust the enemy, not to succumb to arrogance and arrogant powers, to protect and guard the influence of the system in the region, to follow the diplomacy of Islamic unity, to support the oppressed people of the world including the Palestinian people, and to reinforce the economy by relying on internal potentials and establishing friendly relations with other the countries of the world - except a few countries - based on mutual respect.

One of the requirements of the New Islamic Civilization is the existence of maximum understanding among Muslims. The activation of diplomacy of Islamic unity must be defined within the framework of public diplomacy. And it was in this respect that in the letter of appointment to Ayatollah Araki - the former Secretary-General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought - the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasized the need for the implementation of “Diplomacy of Islamic Unity”.

Diplomacy is the art of resolving disputes by establishing a relationship between governments and nations and its importance is increasing day by day in preventing wars. The main task of diplomacy is to emphasize the commonalities, and the diplomacy of Islamic unity must be at the service of the unity of Muslims. In the early days of Islam, the Prophet (pbuh) sent his representatives and some letters to the other parties with the aim of preventing wars and reducing disputes. The Prophet (pbuh) sent more than 100 letters to different countries and tribes and tried to reduce the disputes by establishing some kind of communication and to prevent war as a peace-loving personality.

Today, the issue of Palestine is the main pivot of unity among Muslims and the most important concern of the Islamic world, and it was with this belief that one of the slogans the people of Iran at the time of the victory of the Islamic Revolution was “Today Iran tomorrow Palestine”; which meant that in the absence of the freedom of Palestine and the Quds the Islamic Revolution of Iran would not be complete. Freedom of Palestinians is also one of the requirements of the creation of a New Islamic Civilization and the solution provided by Iran for establishing just peace in Palestine was holding a referendum and determining the future governing system of this land by referring to public votes.

The Supreme Leader of the Revolution also referred to the Hajj Pilgrimage as one of the manifestations of Islamic civilization and during his meeting with Hajj officials (3/7/2019) stated:

“In the New Islamic Civilization, spirituality is side by side materiality, moral and spiritual ascension and humility are side by side the progress in material life and Hajj is the manifestation of such a civilization.”

Another sign of the emergence of the New Islamic Civilization is the decline of the rival civilization, i.e., liberal democracy, the main manifestation of which is that the United States is on the path of decline. The existing turmoil in the US in the last few years is a development that began after the murder of George Floyd and escalated during the election times and has now reached its peak. These protests are not of a kind that is only addressed to officials or a particular political party in the US. Rather, these protests are to the political structure of the United States and the liberal democracy-based civilization and will continue.

Finally, it is to be noted that presenting the positive dimensions of Islam and Iran, introducing the theoretical foundations of Islam to the people of the world, creating understanding and convergence among Muslims, revealing the tricks aimed at spearing Islamophobia are some of the means that can result in a better understanding of the concept of New Islamic Civilization.

Imam Khomeini considered the New Islamic Civilization as a set of common customs and traditions among Muslim nations, the manifestations of which are all derived from the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah, and at the same time pays sufficient attention to modern sciences.

No. 278 | jun 2022

Diplomacy is the art of resolving disputes by establishing a relationship between governments and nations and its importance is increasing day by day in preventing wars.