God did not create state. Man evolved and created state in the shapes and forms suited to him according to growth of means of production and the level of organization required to manage the relationships of production and maintain equilibrium in a particular society. The state has not existed from all eternity. There have been societies, which have managed without it, which had no notion of the state or state power. At a definite stage of economic development, which necessarily involved the cleavage of society into classes, the state became a necessity because of this cleavage. Religions, whether evolved terrestrially, or descended heavenly, never evolved a political system or created a state structure though they had close cultural association, in one form or the other, with this institution of keeping balance in the society, called state. And this has been true for all religions and for all forms and shapes of states evolved so far.
History took a historical turn on 9/11/2001. A discriminatory stigma was associated with Muslims in terms of their religion and their states, as if they were the only creatures on the face of this earth that combined their faith with governmental system. Western powers and their media portrayed Muslims and their countries as source of terror. Protagonists of so-called “War on terror” created an Islamophobia by making a case against them on the grounds that:
- Muslims believe in unity of religion and state i.e. a theocratic state
- If Muslims were given a free hand, they would impose a “Taliban” like religious extremist state authority on the entire “civilized” world
Interestingly enough, during the cold-war era the same protagonists
- Patronised the ideology of unity of state & religion in Islam as bulwark for the containment of “anti-God” communism: the concept of “Islamistan” was propounded by Anglo-American Imperialism that culminated in Baghdad pact (CENTO)
- Patronised monarchs, despots & dictators who used the same ideology to consolidate their rule.
- Patronised whole host of religious extremist / terrorist organisations to promote the same ideology and crushed liberal/progressive democratic forces in the name of Islamic Revivalism
- Patronised Islamic Jihad, Pan-Islamism & Model Islamic State of their brand
At the same time, many of the innocent Muslims, especially the educated lower middle classes fell prey to these revivalists in believing that
Muslims could outgrow their problems if they could revive the following as existed in their glorious past;
- Islamic System of Government
- Islamic Unity or Pan-Islamism
- Islamic Jihad
- Islamic Character of Medieval Muslims
Let us look at the history and see if the image portrayed by the West or the urge of revivalism amongst some sections of Muslims bear historical testimony or it is just a fallacy.
Before the advent of Islam, there existed two political orders in the human societies across the entire globe.
One: the dynastic monarchy in the areas where agrarian revolution had successfully taken roots, especially in the river valleys, and advance means of production generated ample surplus wealth that needed higher order of organization of state authority.
Two: the tribal political order in the deficit areas, barren deserts or jungles with backward means of production capable of producing just enough to keep themselves and their community, and did not produce any significant surplus, so there was little room for exploitation or a royal authority or a state authority; so practically there existed no state except that they had a loose tribal confederacy.
One was advanced compared to the second in terms of level of organization, civilization and wealth. Both the systems were product of socio-economic evolution of mankind on this planet, and were never derived from any scripture or a holy book.
The societies living under the same type of socio-economic order, yet in different parts of the world, practiced and believed in different faiths. The god-kings of Nile valley, the Pharaohs; and the god-kings of Ganges valley, the Ramah and the Krishna; the god-kings of Euphrates valley, the Assyria; and the prophet-kings of biblical Palestine; all formed different sets of beliefs, yet the political order they followed was hereditary dynastic monarchy. The cults worshipped in China, South-East Asia, Iran, Assyria, Greece, and Roman Empire regions were different, but the political order practiced in these societies was again, a dynastic monarchical order. The conclusion is very simple: the believers in different religions and cults, living under similar stage of socio-economic development of agrarian based economy and trade, had employed similar tools of governance to keep a balance in that socio-economic order. It further leads us to a very important corollary that any political order or system that could be supra religion or creed or faith, would be termed as secular system. Therefore the prevalent political order of ancient and medieval era, the system of dynastic monarchy running the different kingdoms and empires, was a secular system independent of religion, creed and faith. However, the office of clergy, again irrespective of religion, was part of the administrative structure with varying degree of power, yet subservient to the king or emperor.
For the second type i.e. the tribal political order, we find that statehood was not evolved yet. There the tribe was a State, and tribal chiefs and elders would run their affairs. Inter-tribe agreements or disagreements and fights were just like what would transpire between the states. A loose tribal confederacy provided a functional arrangement between the tribes to maintain a balance in that society which was based on deficit or subsistent socio-economic order. Some of such societies were known to or surrounded by the so-called civilized world and had some kind of interaction with it. More commonly known were the Arabs, yet confined within the peninsula, North African Berbers or moors, Mongols of Gobi desert, and Tartars and Afghans of central Asia. However many of them were still not known to the civilized world i.e. those in Americas, Australia and Sub-Saharan Africa. But interestingly the political system was run by similar traditions of inter-tribal pacts, tribal assemblies (named Jirga in Afghans). The tribesmen in Americas or sub-Saharan Kalahari Desert would believe in different cults yet they shared the commonality in the manners of running their political affairs. The cults worshipped by Arabs, Mongols, Australians, Tartars and Afghans were entirely different and unknown to each other, but their political traits were quite common. We again draw the same conclusion, that the second prevailing political order of that era, the tribal order, was also independent of beliefs and faiths in cults, thus secular in nature, and rooted in the socio-economic stage of development.
In early 7th century AD, when Prophet Muhammad proclaimed his prophet-hood in Makkah, the political order in the Arabian Peninsula was predominantly of the second type i.e. the tribal order based on deficit underdeveloped economy with little agriculture due to lack of water resources and scattered population in the vast arid desert. There existed no state or states except some small ones on the periphery of peninsula mainly on its coastline. The oldest and the well known amongst them was in Yemen, owing to some agriculture and maritime trade. Some Yemeni tribes, as a result of trade between Yemen and Syria, got settled in the Northern end of peninsula bordering Iraq, and established two principalities called Heera and Ghassan. These were sort of buffer states between Byzantine and Iran. Another small principality was recently established by Kinda tribe on the Eastern coastline. The rest of the mainland Arabia was without any state authority; the cities of Makkah, Madinah (Yathrib) and Taif had no kings or rulers nor had allegiance to any neighboring empire to have their governors there.
Arab peninsula was divided into two regions, the arid area of the north and the rain-fed area of the south: north was Bedouine and South (called Yemen) was settled state under Jews, Christians and Iranians. In the 6th century, with the outbreak of international wars between Byzantine and Iran and the weakening of major powers that controlled the south, the region began to disintegrate and experienced a breakdown of its political and economic structure. At the same time, Makkah emerged as a new economic and social force in Arabia. Its geographical position on the spice route, halfway between Yathrib (Madinah) and Najran, the strongholds of Judaism and Christianity, respectively, made Makkah a caravan station and a holy city at the same time. The house constructed by Abraham and Ismail, enjoyed great following and sanctity amongst Arab tribes. The religious life was based on idolatry and polytheism; the object of worship was a trio of goddesses, al-Lat, al- Uzza, and Manat, considered to be daughters of Allah and placed around the sacred house of Allah.
(To be continued)
The writer is a co-author of fifteen books and former secretary of progressive writer’s association.
