In the Name of Allah (God), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
(a selected article from Alianza Islámica™ Magazine)
Islam: The Religion of the Future
an EDITORIAL (from our premiere issue) by Umar Abdur-Rahim Ocasio
In a dizzying world of supercomputers, "Stars Wars" (outer space) defense systems and laser light communication, it may seem odd to some to reach into the past for an answer to the problems of today and tomorrow. We are bombarded daily with an avalanche of new information and new ideas forcing revisions of tightly-held as well as newly-formed positions. To many the very idea of antiquity is synonymous with uselessness and obsolescence.
In this vein, to suggest that a religion and a way of life based on a scripture 1,400 years old can provide us with Space Age solutions to perplexing contemporary problems may bring a chuckle or two. But no system of life now or ever is better suited to the task.
Now that the dust has settled on our inaugural issue, we will, with the help of Allah, set ourselves earnestly to the task of showcasing the brilliance of the Islamic way of life: its beliefs, its morals and its unique view of social, political and economic life. Islam was once synonymous with the very pinnacle of civilization. However, in recent centuries it has been linked more often to decline, ignorance, parochialism, and destructive fanaticism. Beneath these purulent clouds, which are alien to Islam, there glows the sparkling jewel which illuminated humanity through the centuries and is responsible in no small measure for Europe's renaissance and much of what is positive in modern life.
Islam's most enduring feature is its dynamism, its ability to transcend the limitations of time and circumstance to respond to the problems of any epoch with freshness and creativity. In a society beset by drugs, the fear of venereal disease, the disintegration of the family, and a decline in real wealth, a fresh, creative approach based on sound principles and a solid moral foundation seems to be the only alternative with a chance.
But these truths are only effective when brought to light. So in this and subsequent issues an attempt will be made, by Allah's will, to display Islam in all its resplendence as a reflection of Divine brilliance and as the only viable alternative for a struggling humanity.
And to remove a chuckle or two from the lips of a few skeptics who find it difficult to imagine a future of starships and minarets. Islam is indeed the religion of that future.