Nationalism in its modern form is a product of colonialism.  It had, however, its origin in the self-defence mechanism built up in Europe, Particularly in western Europe, to defend itself against the overbearing authority of the Roman Catholic Church, and the struggle was initially carried out by Protestant elements within the Christian community.  It drew its strength from the emotional reaction which is always at work 'in situations of external and alien pressures upon local residents.  The ‘outside' enemy could always galvanize the masses into resistance and eventually into liberation movements.  The concept of nationalism was, therefore, at its inception, a development in the drive of people to free themselves from alien domination and foreign exploitation.

Nationalism was, in the course of time destined to outgrow its role as a unifying element in the struggle against foreign powers.  In the era of colonialization, which gained additional momentum from the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, nationalism was used as an instrument of deliberate policy for subjugating peoples in different parts of the world.  Whatever the reasons might have been for appropriating peoples' lands (economic, military, political or for settlement purposes), the colonialization process always resulted in the division of the world into masters on the one hand and slaves on the other.  The masters, who shared among themselves different portions of the divided world, were at the centre and the slaves at the periphery.  The latter's role was essentially one of ‘doing what the masters bid'.  They could do little else, since they were cowed down by the masters' might which, perforce, had to be right.

The colonization process was able to make much headway because, apart from the unprecedented scientific and industrial progress, which had been taking place in Europe, military supremacy, which hitherto, had been in Muslim hands, had suffered a serious blow at the hands of Europe.  In 1774, the Ottoman Empire was defeated by Russia. Thus setting the stage for further conquests in terms of political, economic and cultural penetration.  Soon, wide tracts of Muslim lands came under foreign domination.  Among these were Morocco, Algiers, Egypt and Turkestan.

Military defeat was, nonetheless, only one aspect of the general overthrow of Muslims.  The main factor contributing to their downfall was their progressive relaxation and gradual abandonment of the teachings of the Qur'an, which had historically been the mainstay of Islamic civilization and had led Muslims to world leadership.  However, moral laxity, the temptations of ease and luxury, internal strife and dissentions, hairsplitting arguments among the ulama, all soon worked their way into the social fabric if Islam and wrought untold havoc among Muslims, resulting in their decline.

The first signs of the eventual collapse of the Muslim Ummah can be traced back to the period immediately following the reign of the four Rightly-guided Caliphs, when there began to be a cleavage between the political and religious in the religio-political order of Islam.  Prior to this period, there had not been undue attention paid to worldly considerations.  These were, in decisive moments, altogether discarded in favour of Allah's will, even at the cost of one's life.  Such unwavering determination and unswerving allegiance to the cause of Allah had been the rock on which the ships of worldly temptation had foundered.  But afterwards the situation underwent considerable changes at the hands of those who relegated salvation to a secondary position, being preoccupied all the time with the temporal exercise of authority and power.  Even domes of the ulama of the time were ready to pander to the whims and caprices of these leaders, seeking their favours.  Gradually, the hold of religion weakened, the Muslim community lay exposed to foreign penetration and un-Islamic tendencies worked their way into the mainstream of Muslim life, with all the attendant evil consequences.  Western Europe was mainly instrumental in bringing about the plight in which Muslims find themselves to this day.

Europe had at the time embarked upon a crass materialist policy, following its own struggle with the Church and the latter's defeat because of its hostility to the forces of reason and science.  The Church had all along adhered to untenable dogma and the clergy had become intellectually bankrupt.  Moreover, the phase of the inquisition had alienated enlightened sections of the people who had begun to frown upon the Church's role as the fountainhead of morality, truth and knowledge.1   However, the period which followed the expulsion of the Church from the arena of public life saw the gradual descent of Europe into the pit of materialism.  Having broken loose from the authority of the Church, the next and logical step was to outlaw the Supreme Being from having any say in human affairs, in the name of science and the scientific spirit.2  This materialistic temperament was not given its fullest expression until all links with the Church had been severed.3

Once such a policy was agreed, there was nothing to prevent Europe going on a rampage to serve its own interests.  The weaknesses of the Muslims only made the Europeans' task much easier, since there was no effective resistance.  The Muslims were in large part, thus, responsible for their own downfall.

With its military superiority, Europe could go further with its plan of conquest, subjugation and exploitation of foreign peoples.  Europe was, however, wise enough to realize that it would not be able to hold on for long on the basis of military supremacy alone.  Knowing from bitter experience that a resurgent Islam could still sound the death-knell of its dominance, it began a de-Islamization process, in the Islamic world, through the separation of religion from the State.  In this endeavor, it was joined by other powers with the same intention, that is, Islam was the common enemy and it had to be made impotent.

In order to achieve their design more efficiently, they enlisted the support of the elites of the local Muslims and used them as their clients.  While paying lip service to Islam, these local elites are today ruling Islamic countries but the truth is that they are still in the grip of their masters.  Otherwise, how can we explain the complete disarray in the present Muslim world; with one Muslim cutting the throat of another.  With famine threatening the lives of millions Muslims throughout the world. Illiteracy was stunting the growth of Muslim countries. Muslims in a state of dependence on others for their needs and aspirations in virtually all walks of life; in brief with the Muslim Ummah at the lowest rung of the ladder of nations with the other nations looking down upon it with contempt?

Though foreign domination has taken many guises in its historical development, from military superiority to technological supremacy, going through political, economic, social and educational phases, the underlying idea that has always been at work is the ‘divide and rule' principle.  This principle is nowhere more evident that in the Islamic world.  The principle found expression in many ways, but we shall deal with just one manifestation - nationalism - which has been a source of untold misery to the Muslim world and which, in its modern meaning, has no grounding at all in Islam, indeed id totally alien to its teachings.

This first form of human association has historically been the family, with blood relations and heredity as its foundation.  These biological characteristics provided the primary basis for love, co-operation, mutual support and protection against outside threats, when necessary.  Relationships fostered by these characteristics are not only natural but find favour with Allah, who says in the Qur'an:

'And among His signs is this, the He Created for you mates from among yourselves, the ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts); verily in that are signs for those who reflect' (30:21).4

These biological characteristics cannot be altered, though members of the family may live far away from each other and may not nowadays exhibit the degree of homogeneity normally expected for a traditional family.

At the second level of social organization, there is the tribe, which has in the course of time been extended to mean the nation, with biology, geography and politics as its anchors.  The biological base relates to physical characteristics, for example, the colour of the skin, shape of the eyes nose and mouth etc. which are inseparable from the individual.  These too, are, however, Divinely ordained and are not subject to the individual's choice.  Besides, these do not invariably extend to all members of the tribe or nation, though they are frequently true of the family.  Therefore, it is a false claim to define nationalism to terms of biological factors.

With regard to the geographical base, natural boundaries such as rivers and mountains have determined the territorial limits of nations.  This too is a false claim, as being born in a particular place constitutes no basis for defining a person, let alone of evaluating him.  Moreover, with increasing possibilities for movement from one place to another. (There have been massive migrations throughout history.) Living in a particular territory doe not provide a sound basis for defining a nation, let alone using such a basis for the practice of a policy of ethnocentrism, a value which is accorded the highest priority under nationalism.

There remains the political base.  This finds concrete expression in the determination of a people to be a nation, with full autonomy of will and action, apart from all others.  In this case, the pursuit of the nation's goals and objectives constitutes the supreme good even if in the process it becomes necessary to suppress the legitimate rights of others to be a nation as well.  In this way, the most oppressive injustices have been perpetrated against other peoples and the foulest means have been used to further the nation's aspirations, irrespective of the costs involved in terms of human lives and values.  Today the world is groaning under the weight of nationalism, which has been presented to the ruling classes of different nations beautifully gift-wrapped.  Little do these ruling classes realize or, if they do they do not care that, in accepting this gift, they are only playing into the hands of the enemy, becoming mere pawns through which their lands and people are exploited for there enemy's benefit and prosperity.  On the other hand, the enemy has taken good care to perpetuate this hold by amply providing for the ruling local elites and by coming to their rescue at decisive moments.  History abounds with such examples of external interference when the situation at the local level threatens the interests of the foreign powers.  The local elites, it must be remembered, have had their training and education in countries which have taken good care that they return home as ‘authentic' nationalists to operate by proxy for their masters.  This long distance operation is especially tragic foe Muslim countries, among which artificial barriers have been erected to prevent them from fusing into one single Islamic Ummah, as their religion commands them.5

Nationalism as a political weapon has, therefore, been used to make people self-centered and thus better able to continue the exploitation and pillage of the world's resources for the welfare of the few to the detriment of the many.  The feelings engendered by nationalism and patriotism take root so deeply in the minds of people that they are ready to lay down their lives in defence of it.  If only the people would look behind the curtain of lift the veil, nationalism would stand unmasked in its true hideous colours.  For, the national interests which these elites claim to serve is in fact their own group interest.

The Islamic concept of State differs fundamentally from the secular one in that while the latter perceives itself as a centre to which the rest of the world is only a means for its own progress and welfare. The former is an administrative unit for the efficient translation of the Divine will into practice.  While the nation-State is the be-all and end-all of social action and has no higher values and motives that its own desired and impulses. The Islamic State has a mission to fulfill: to carry the Divine message to the four corners of the world, in ever-widening concentric circles, so as to make the Law of the Creator reign supreme over other systems of Statecraft.

Islam neither denies the existence of nations nor is it inimical to the practice of nationhood as a basis for social identification and differentiation, for this is Allah's pattern of creation; but it does deny the nation's ultimacy in the determination and conduct of affairs.  The Qur'an says:

'O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other.  Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you' (49:13).

It is, therefore, clear that nationalism cuts at the very roots of humanity and ascribes partiality to Allah in His dealing with His creatures.  It is also evident that the underlying ideas behind classifying humankind into tribes and nations are complimentarity and co-operation, and that these do not provide yardsticks for establishing one's worth, for honor in the sight of Allah transcends membership of a particular tribe or nation, being based on righteousness (taqwa).

Nationalism, thus, violates the very essence of Qur'anic teaching, which goes against ethnocentricity, promotes universalism embraces all aspects of life, advocates a free society and inculcates a brotherly spirit among members of the Islamic faith.

Islam regards all mankinds as one nation.  The Qur'an says:

'Mankind was one single nation, and God sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the book with truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed; but the People of the Book, after the clear signs came to them, did not differ among themselves except through selfish contumacy' (2:213).

This unity of mankind is only natural in that all men, stand in equal relationship with Allah and His creatures and it would be invidious of Allah to discriminate among His creatures on the basis of criteria other than His own,  which relate to universal values rather that to considerations of race, language, territory and the like.  Otherwise, His justice and transcendence would be in serious jeopardy.  Partiality and favouritism are human traits and cannot be ascribes to the ultimate source of being.6

The God of Islam is not a spent god who has outlived his usefulness and has now left the immediate and ultimate in life in the hands of the living.  But is Ever-living and watching man in his discharge of the Divine trust placed upon him with a view to actualizing the Divine will on earth in default of which man will eventually have to render his account.

The Islamic State cannot become a vehicle of sin because, there will always be, in the Muslim's consciousness, the idea of personal responsibility and final answerability for his actions.  This is not to say that people will not commit sin.  It is simply stating that sin will not permeate through the entire fabric of social life. Because the Divine commandment to Muslims to ‘enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong' and the Muslims' care to remain within the limits of Halal and haram, if only at the individual level.  This is moreover, not a theoretical vindication of the virtues of Islam but is empirically verifiable by comparative studies on the impact of different religions on the lives of their adherents.

The universal character of Islam is evident from the very first verse of the Qur'an, which proclaims Allah as Lord of the worlds (1:2).  The Deity of Islam is not for the Muslim alone, nor is He limited in space and time.  Nor does anybody, in relation to Him, have to shoulder more or less responsibility than others in carrying out His will.  All are equal before Him in their creatureliness.  All have equal claim on His love and mercy.  All are subject to His laws of reward and punishment.

It has been said earlier that honor in the sight of Allah is based on righteousness.  The Qur'an says about righteousness:

'It is not righteousness that ye turn you faces towards east or west; but it is righteousness - to believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of Love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic.  Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing' (2:177).

This verse is at the same time a unique declaration of universal human duties, virtues, faith and practice and a negation of formalism, or externalities, in the determination of a person's worth.

Nor does Islam's universalism envisage an exclusively Muslim world community, or aim to bring the whole world under its sway by force; for it is proclaimed unequivocally:  ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion: truth stands out clear from error' (2:256).

While exhorting its adherents to exert themselves for the establishment of the Divine order on earth, it makes it possible for such an order to be achieved through different channels and provides specific injunctions concerning the dealings of Muslims with other communities.  These should be conducted on the basis of justice and lave.  The Qur'an says:

'O ye who believe!  Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even against yourselves, to your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both.  Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that ye do' (4:135).

Lest feelings of hate lead Muslims to commit excesses, the Qur'an commands:

'O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.  Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God' (5:9).

While Judaism considers Christianity as an extension of itself. And Christianity considers Islam an a non-religion, religion having been concluded with the coming of Jesus on earth and his redemption of humanity through his atonement for our sins, Islam regard both Judaism and Christianity as it regards itself, i.e. as divinely revealed.  It is an article of Islamic faith to believe in the revealed books and prophets.  The Qur'an says:

'The Apostle believeth in what hath been revealed to him form his Lord, as do the men of faith.  Each one (of them) believeth in God, His angels, His books, and His Apostles. ‘We make no distinction (they say) between one and the other of His apostles!'  And they say ‘We hear and we obey: (we seek) Thy forgiveness, Our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys.' (2:285).

The revealed book of Islam, the Qur'an, is not a book for Muslims alone but is a reminder to all men that Allah's message to humanity has been the same throughout the ages.  Speaking to the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, about religion, the Qur'an says:

'The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah -that which We have sent by inspiration to thee- and that which we enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that ye should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein' (42:13);

Again,

'Nothing is said to thee that was not said to the apostles before thee' (41:43);

And yet again,

'Verily this is no less than a message to (all) the worlds (with profit) to whosoever among you wills to go straight' (81: 27-28).

Islam is, thus, against nationalism and particularlism.  It calls upon its followers to aspire to a world community under its banner, not on the basis of violence and compulsion but through free acceptance.  The Muslim is entitled only to the freedom to call and convince others of the truth.7

When Muslims were leaders of the world, adherents of other religions prospered side by side as separate ummahs, bringing about the kingdom of God on earth, on the basis of common moral principles.  The ideal of world community found its greatest affirmation in Islam, and it greatest embodiment in the Islamic State.8   Such a State guarantees the freedom to differ not only to the different ummahs under its umbrella as collectives but also to the individual members of each ummah as well, since the Qur'an also addresses men in general.

The last sermon of the Prophet of Islam, upon whom be peace, gave the final blow to all discriminations based on ethnic, racial and geographical considerations when he admonished his audience in the following terms:

'Listen to me well, O people; God created you all descendants of Adam, and Adam He created of earth. No Arab has a priority over a non-Arab, no white over a black and no non-Arab over an Arab, or a black over a white, except in righteousness'.

This complete leveling of human beings does not preclude differentiation on the basis of knowledge, faith and righteousness and so forth.  All of these, however, relate to achievement, either individual or collective, and have nothing to do with ascriptive norms and values.

The Qur'an does not admit any dichotomy between politics and religion, faith and reason, spiritual and material, theory and practice, and so on.  Further, it does not regard any area of human activity as falling outside its purview, whether it be economic, social, political, cultural or whatever.  It regulated all aspects of life and prescribes a complete code for living, which does not need to borrow from outside of itself for its continued existence and progress.  The purpose of man's creation is accordingly the execution of the Divine will.  The State as a political institution is, thus, the ‘executive' agency for the achievement of Allah's design in accordance with His laws and the State may not operate independently of such laws.  Since the ultimate legislator is Allah, it follows that all men do, as His vice-regents, has to accord with and be subject to His laws.

The spiritual and material are not separate in Islam but are given their due importance in the Qur'an, which says:

'But seek, with the wealth which God has bestowed on thee, the home of the hereafter, not forget thy portion in this world: but do thou good as God has been good to thee' (28:77).

The material goods at the command of men are means whereby men may attain felicity; they are neither to be deprecated nor disdained.  The spiritual may not be pursued at the expense of the material or the material at the expense of the spiritual.

The aim of Islam, it will be seen, is to invest the individual with an integrated and well-balanced personality, imbued with high moral principles and caring for the well being of everyone around him while at the same time tending towards self-fulfillment.  This is quite the opposite of the objective of nationalism which turns people into egocentric, ethnocentric self-seekers who will not be held back in the pursuit of their own interests, whatever the cost to others.

Islam's view of life as a whole finds expression in its teachings, which cover all aspects of life, both at the individual level and at the collective level.  Its coverage extends to all areas of human activity be it economic, social, political, educational etc.; All undertakings are to and in accordance with the Divine pattern.  In everything that one does there is to be service to Allah on the one hand and to the love of humanity on the other; this love is also to be extended to other creatures of Allah.  There should be no despoliation of nature but on the contrary, judicious use of its bounties.  All human interventions in space and time must have for their objective the realization of the Divine Will.

Islam accordingly sets out broad principles, which should govern the life of man on earth.  However, since this life is preparatory to a life in the Hereafter, the Qur'an teaches that man, in his various dealings in the world, should always bear in mind their ultimate implications.

It has been shown that nationalism violates Qur'anic teachings and, therefore, has no place in Islam.  The practice of nationalism, however, has also proved to be a failure both on the domestic level of nation-States and at the international level.  On the domestic front, nationalism conceals glaring contradictions within in the nation-Sates themselves because the nation is everywhere a conglomeration of diverse groups striving for diverse ends, often conflicting with each other.  Common race, language, territory have not prevented these various groups from fighting, and killing, each other.  The ‘interiorizatiion' and ‘internalization' of parochial values have moved progressively from the national to the regional and thence to the local and family levels.  All these groups try to safeguard their own selfish interests.

At the international level, thee feelings of nationalism have always been impervious to nay attempt at universalism: witness the debates at the United Nations meetings where all issues of universal import are finally narrowed down to serving vested interests.  Further, in all international agencies, the same concern prevails and any openness shown to others is inspired and motivated by egoistic considerations.  There is not a single forum that is not used as lever for the furtherance of one's own cause, in utter disregard of others' rights.

The main reasons for the continued practice of nationalism among Muslim States seems to stem from a crisis of identity and a lock of effective leadership among the Ummah generally, and among the ruling elites in particular.  The latter have become too impregnated with western values that it has become practically impossible for them to visualize the broader perspective of Islam.  They suffer for all the stresses and strains of a split personality, with the result that their view about Islam is defective.  Many genuinely believe that western and Islamic values may be reconciled. They are thus unable to provide the type of leadership, which is necessary of the Ummah to reclaim its lost identity and function as an organic whole. Their judgement has become blurred.9

The love of God, above all other precepts, is the supra-national value, which must be inculcated again in the minds of Muslims in order to achieve ‘ummatic' dimension.  The Qur'an says:

'Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood and I am your Lord: therefore serve Me (and no other)' (21:92).