Islamic world must prioritise quality

It is no longer a secret that the secret powers of the West have been intricately linked to the developments in the Middle East over the course of the past century. The shockingly bloody scenes we are witnessing today have undoubtedly risen as a part of these carefully devised plans.

However, it hardly seems right that some Muslim communities try to put the entire blame on the West, making threats against that so-called ‘enemy’, and yet not taking any lessons from the pains. It is crucial that the Islamic world acknowledges their part in what happened. No one can deny that certain societies have given in to radicalism, albeit unknowingly and unwittingly and set the stage for the secret plots concocted for the Middle East. The deep powers of the Western world have always considered Middle Eastern societies as ‘easy prey for exploitation’, largely due to immense mistakes made by those societies, which gave the Western world the justification it was seeking for its actions. Lack of democracy, a general lack of freedom and rampant misogyny are some of those grave mistakes. In this piece, we are mostly going to focus on the quality issue that certain groups try to present as a lifestyle, and sometimes as a part of their religious obligations.

In the world of the fanatics, religion should be associated with misery. As a result, some groups represent Islam in a grossly mistaken way. This image causes outrage in Western societies and has contributed to the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia. It also played into the hands of the West who had its own agenda and this has served to facilitate interference by them. One of the biggest mistakes made in the Middle East is that this miserable Muslim image somehow manages to be in the forefront with the most radical voices heard the loudest.

The truth is the Middle East is the place where quality and civilization have to excel, more than anywhere else in the world. Because, this is the Islamic world. Islam offered humanity and unprecedented view of quality through the Qur'an. According to the Qur'an, Muslims should be the epitome of compassion, love, kindness, generosity, cleanliness, grooming, manners and attitude. Muslims are supposed to be the most well-groomed, cleanest, most high-quality people who are known for their just, generous and fair characters. The Qur'an offers important descriptions to this end. This is why the Prophet Mohammed (saas) was the most refined, most sophisticated, kindest, nicest, most well-groomed person of his time.

It is abundantly clear that those that take Islam as a religion of misery are unaware of the Qur'an and that they don't know God thoroughly. God is beautiful and loves beauty; that’s why butterflies, birds and trees are created so beautiful. Quality means beauty and it is a requirement to spread the beauty. A high-quality person will be mature, reasonable, sensible, and would unfailingly seek to protect peace, and human values. They are the people who keep friendship, love and understanding alive. That’s why real Muslims are people of ‘peace’ no matter what the conditions are.

Quality doesn't require vast sums of money but it does require taste, art and a desire - and need - for beauty and aesthetics. One can be a very intelligent, a classy, elegant person without spending too much money; on the other hand, one can be entirely tactless despite spending huge sums of money: Being wealthy is never a condition for a person or a country to achieve quality.

Some radicals in Islamic world, including Turkey, prevent their societies from building ties with the Western world with their highly conflicted behavior, where they promote backwardness and crudity, while at the same time secretly adoring the quality of Europe. These insecure people consider both themselves and their people worthless and unimportant and promote that image (the valuable Islamic world is beyond such impressions). This distorted image has heavily influenced perceptions of the Middle East by certain Western societies. As a result, these societies develop a tendency to see the people of the Middle East as unimportant and worthless, which has fueled a – broadly speaking - racist outlook. There is no doubt that it is both dangerous and wrong on the part of the Western world, but it also underpins the importance of the underlying reasons that Muslims need to consider. A lack of quality eats away the societies from within; it prevents their improvement, their development and well-being, and provides a fertile ground for aggressive, unhappy, loveless generations. A lack of quality is not being able to understand the spirit and heart of Islam. Therefore, instead of getting angry with those reacting to this lack of quality, we should take urgent precautions to prevent it.

It is of paramount importance that quality be made a state policy in Islamic communities. In this way, Islamic communities can better counter the dangerous outlook of radicals. Ministries of Quality should be set up across the Islamic world; people should have means to access and contribute to the arts and sciences and quality should be fostered and encouraged in every possible way. It should be explained by quoting the Qur'an that quality is an important characteristic of Muslims and, in point of fact, a requirement of Qur'anic moral values. Europe is of course not perfect, but their art and quality perception is most commendable. Therefore it should be kept in mind that quality is one of the greatest requirements of civilization and example of Europe should be taken as a model for progress in the area.

It is important to keep in mind that lack of quality prevents healthy thinking; it narrows horizons, inhibits freethinking and gives rise to hostility and aggression. These qualities do not suit to Muslim communities. It is our responsibility to show the quality presented by Islam to the whole world, and to be the epitome of quality ourselves. The most important step towards bringing peace to our world, afflicted as it is by hostility and wars, is embodying that spirit ourselves. This is why an understanding and appreciation of superior quality is necessary. Most importantly, it is what our Lord wants.

Adnan Oktar's piece in New Straits Times & Morocco World News & MBC Times:

http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/03/134020/islamic-world-must-prioritise-quality

http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/03/182751/islamic-world-must-prioritize-quality/

http://www.mbctimes.com/english/the-islamic-world-and-quality