This talk on the “Road to Medina” integrates a large number of ideas that I have

developed over the past decade. The talk in Urdu, English, and Urdu (detailed) is
available from the shortlink: bit.do/azrtm
The central idea is the our Western education creates in our minds a worldview –
ideas about history, knowledge, science, development, wealth, and some others –
which make it impossible for us to understand and benefit from the guidance of the
Quran. To combat this problem, we need to develop an “Islamic WorldView”
(shortlink: bit.do/iwcie)
Original Slides for talk downloadable from: Riyasat-e-Madina
These slides contain LINKS to related materials on every other slide
Operationalizing
Riyasat-e-Madina
IBA Iqra Society – Annual Islamic Conference
10:20-11:15am - Sunday 28th Apr. 2019
Dr. Asad Zaman
Ex-Vice Chancellor PIDE
 Central Puzzle:
Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadvi: Insani Dunya Per
Musalmanon Kay Urooj -o- Zawaal Ka Asar -
Islam came to a world enveloped in darkness, on the verge
of self-destruction. It lifted ignorant and backwards Arabs to
world leadership, and launched a civilization that
enlightened the world for a thousand years. It gave arts,
literature, philosophy, sciences, spirituality and enriched all
dimensions of human life.
 Syed Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi: What the World Lost due to
the Decline of the Islamic Civilization
This book, translated into 18 languages, is a must-read.
Link below provides access to a brief English summary, as well as a brief
Urdu summary. Also the full text of the book in English, Urdu, and Arabic,
can be obtained by following the links in the post below:
What the World Lost Due to the Decline of the Islamic Civilization?
Shortlink to above post: bit.do/azrdm
 Does Islam have the same power today?
• Once again the world is enveloped in darkness.
• Might is right. Good is bad. All values have been turned
upside down.
• Modern secular civilization based on rejection of
Christianity. Replacing religion by REASON.
• Disastrous results. Environmental collapse. Millions killed
in wars for power &profit. Extremes of poverty, inequality.
• All the practices of Jahilliya exist today!
For more on why Islamic teachings are still
revolutionary, after 1450 years, see:
Islamic Knowledge: Still Revolutionary after 1400 years
The post explains the revolutionary potential of Islamic Knowledge, links
to some other articles on “Knowledge” as understood by Islam, and how
this is different from Western conceptions of knowledge. It also contains
my forward to Imam Nawawi’s book on the Etiquette for the Students
and the Teachers on seeking of knowledge.
Shortlink for the post: bit.do/aznww
 Does Islam have SAME power today?
As Muslims, we must say yes.
• But all our actions and thoughts say NO!
• Today, we must learn European Knowledge, developed
over the past three centuries, to progress.
• The project of “Islamization of Knowledge”
• Development of Islamic Economics, and Islamic Banking
and Finance – all attempts to bring the benefits of
Western advances within the Islamic fold.
Is the Quran perfect and complete, sufficient for us today?
 The Quran: Complete and Perfect Guidance
POST by above title explains: Why are Muslims not looking to the Quran
for guidance today, when Quran is complete and perfect? This is
because a Western education teaches us the wrong definition of
“KNOWLEDGE”, according to which Quran is NOT knowledge, and only
Western discoveries over the past three centuries qualify as knowledge.
Shortlink: bit.do/azqcp
 What is the path to development?
Near-Consensus of Ummah: We are far behind the West
Islam teaches us to seek knowledge from cradle to grave
Message starts with “IQRA” but Ummah is illiterate
PATH to development lies in acquisition of Western
knowledge of the past three centuries. NOT our heritage -
Our collective efforts, institutions, budgets, discourse,
training of youth all testify to this consensus
Quran is not complete & sufficient – must be supplemented!
 Key Problem: Colonizers definition of
“development”: Robbing Wealth of others
Because we have been studying history from the Eurocentric point of
view – we have learned to glorify their conquests and accept anything
and everything as GOOD if it leads to an increase in wealth. Justifying
the brutal and savage European conquest of the globe requires more
than a DOZEN myths. These myths are summarized in:
Development: Myths and Truths
Shortlink: bit.do/azdmt
We cannot get to Madina via Washington Consensus

• We have shown him the two highways (of good & evil)
• There is for man only that which he strives for
• Whoever wishes to, let him find a pathway to his Lord.
• This day I have perfected for you your religion and
completed My favor upon you and have approved for you
Islam as religion.
 The Quran: Complete & Perfect Guidance
Shortlink: bit.do/azqcp
Today, Muslims no longer believe that the Quran provides complete and
perfect guidance. They believe that our development today depends on
supplementing the Quran by acquiring the knowledge and skills
developed by the West over the past three centuries. This MISTAKE
involves misunderstanding the meaning of GUIDANCE, KNOWLEDGE,
DEVELOPMENT, and PURPOSE of LIFE.
 Why Has Islam Become A Stranger?

Why are Muslims looking to Foreign Experts, when they

have complete and perfect guidance?
 The Modern Mu’tazila
• The Ancient Mu’tazila were impressed with Greek
philosophy – Al-Ghazali wrote: Tahafatul Falasafa
• Today Muslims are equally impressed with Western
knowledge. In case of conflict, they chose West over
Quran.
• Look to guidance from Western experts.
• Today, we have chosen the wrong highway!
• The Biggest Obstacle: Worship of Western Knowledge
 The Modern Mu’tazila
Shortlink: bit.do/aztmm
Centuries ago, over-awed and deeply impressed by the sophistication
and complexity of Greek philosophy, the Mu’tazila argued the “reason”
(meaning Greek Philosophy) was on par with “Wahy” (or the Quran).
Today, modern Muslims are equally in awe of Western knowledge, and
consider it to be on par with the Quran. This is a great mistake.
 Colonization is a Conquest of Minds
Karl Marx: Capitalism works by willing consent of laborers
Colonization works by willing consent of colonized
The poorest countries in the world pay billions of tribute to
the richest countries, by assenting to the system.
Assent is created by wrong theories of development.
HADEETH: Our Disease is WAHN –
Love of Dunya and Fear of Death.
 Colonization: Conquest of Minds
Shortlink: bit.do/azcoq
Edward Said’s book “Orientalism” explains how the conquest of the
globe by the West created pride and a superiority complex which is
reflected in all Western literature and theorizing about the East, and in
particular about Islam. Among Muslims, colonization created an
inferiority complex which causes us to accept everything coming from
the West, without critical evaluation.
 Central Problem of Ummah:
Deep Seated Inferiority Complex

Hassan Nisar picks extreme examples to create a bad

image. Our society is superior in many dimensions. What he
believes about the West is completely false. Lies,
profiteering, bad drugs sold for profits, wars killing millions
based on lies for corporate profits, is extremely common in
the West.

WHY DO WE HAVE SUCH A STRONG INFERIORITY COMPLEX?

 A Deep Seated Inferiority Complex
Shortlink: bit.do/azic
Illustrates, by an extreme example, how we think that we are the worst
people on the planet, while the Whites are superior to angels. Yes, they
ARE richer than us, but as human beings, we are brothers and sisters –
there are extremely good and extremely bad people in the East and in
the West. It is not as some people think that all Whites are good and all
others are inferior.
 To understand ourselves & West,
we have to look at historical context
• We are prisoners of our background perspectives.
• The powerful are small in number, and power is always
created by persuading the weak to accept their rule.
• “Archaeology of Knowledge” opens windows, where there
were walls.
• Look at the origins of ideas, and how they are shaped by
power struggles.
 History: Conquest Song of Victors
Shortlink: bit.do/azhcsv
The story told from the Victor’s point of view looks extremely different
from the SAME story told from the point of view of the losers. To learn
the roots of our own inferiority complex, we need to unlearn the
Eurocentric story which glorifies the savage and barbaric wars of
conquest for looting the wealth of others. We need to learn the other
point of view, known as “Subaltern” studies.
 The imperatives of Colonization
What it really was: An attempt to find markets for surplus
created by industrial revolution, created by enslavement.
Self-sufficiency was the goal of global economies. No one
wanted English goods.
It was necessary to destroy local economies to create
demand. But it was also necessary to find moral justification
White Man’s Burden, The Civilizing Mission, Savage,
Ignoratic, Despotic Dictators, many myths invented for this
 Myth of White Man’s Burden
Shortlink: bit.do/azwmb
The truth about the barbaric and savage European conquest of the globe
which involved ruthless massacres and pitiless extermination of helpless
natives is now slowly coming out.
Like the cover story used for the Iraq invasion – supposedly to free the
citizens from an evil dictator, and bring the benefits of democracy – the
story of the “civilizing mission” gave an honorable face to a truly
horrendous project of looting the whole world using superior power.
 Examples of Iraq, Libya, Islamic Terrorism
• The powerful dominate the media.
• Recently, a number of world elections have been swung
by LIES propagated by social media. Brexit, Brazil, Trump
• Deliberate efforts to break our will psychologically
• Tipu Sultan, Denigrating Ulema, Destroying Waqf,
• Macaulay’s education continues today – coopting the
bureaucracy to exploit their own by changing mindsets.
 Powerful Propaganda Machines
Disinformation: Manufacturing Monsters – shortlink: bit.do/iwvdmm
The colonizers own the global media, the universities, and control all
sources of information. This makes it possible for them to create
outrageous lies, and have these lies be widely accepted. For example
“Islamic Terrorism” is a tiny percentage of all terrorist incidents across
the globe, but is widely believed to be the most serious problem today.
On the other hand, powerful countries like USA can bomb and destroy
entire countries, killing millions of innocent civilians, with impunity.
 Freeing our Minds from Colonization
• Eurocentric History
• The Purpose of Life, and the Creation Story
• The concept of SECULAR Knowledge
• The Meaning of Development
• Human beings without hearts and souls.
 “Is Science Western in Origin?”
Shortlink: bit.do/azswo
Freeing our minds from the effects of colonization requires hard work on
several fronts. One of the major myths of Eurocentric history is that
“Science” is the highest form of knowledge, and that this is purely a
European invention. Eminent historian Max Weber repeats a common
and widespread misconception that “science” is founded on “rationality”
and both are products of Western Civilization. The book by C.K. Raju
linked above exposes the fallacy of this myth.
 Eurocentric History
• World was in darkness until European enlightenment.
REALITY: Ma Za Khasr Al ‘Alam b inhitatil Islam –
The light of Quran enlightened the world.
Europe learned from the libraries of AL-Andalus
The Enlightenment Quran.
Jefferson’s Quran.
The Theft of History – Jack Goody
 Debunking Eurocentric History
Eurocentric history is not one myth, but a complete worldview, which is
woven together from a huge collection of myths. The only way to
effectively oppose it is to create an alternative – An Islamic WorldView –
which urgently needed. For a post which debunks three of these myths,
see:
Central Myths of Eurocentric History – shortlink: bit.do/azmeh
 Purpose of Life; Creation Story
• Rejection of Christian Faith
• Creation requires explanation.
• Universe created by accident, Humans by evolution
• Life is meaningless.
• Tragedy of Loss of Faith – Nearly all major 19 th Century
Social thinkers in West had nervous breakdowns.
• “There is only one really serious philosophical
problem,” Albert Camus says, “and that is suicide
 Central Deception: Life is Meaningless
The central myth implanted in our minds by a Western education is the
idea the Life is meaningless. This is done by never discussing the
purpose of life, while giving great importance to comparatively trivial
issues like trigonometry. Since how we live our lives depends on our
purpose, this must be an essential part of our education – instead, a
Western education indirectly implants wrong ideas about this in our
minds. For more discussion, see:
The Purpose of Life – shortlink: bit.do/azpol
Useful Versus Useless Knowledge: bit.do/azuvuk & bit.do/uvukaz
 Secular Knowledge – Meaningless Education
• Erasing of distinction between useful and useless
knowledge
• Carving out a sphere of knowledge which is independent
from religion
• Separating theory from practice
• Creating an ILLUSION of objectivity. DENIGRATING
subjectivity.
 The Second Poison: Secular Knowledge
Shortlink: bit.do/azspsk
The idea that there are domains of knowledge which have no connection
to Islam is firmly created by a Western education, since religion is never
mentioned in their teachings. This is how we can learn to build bombs
without ever discussion the ethics of killing innocent civilians. It is an
invalid separation of theory with practice which creates the concept of
“secular” knowledge. As soon as we want to apply knowledge to
practical problems of life, ethical and normative issues immediately
arise, where Islam provides valuable guidance.
Meaning of Development: Colonizers’ View
• The Wealth of Nations
• Creation of Heavens on earth
• Utility Maximization – Turning Nafs into God.
• Homo Economicus: Rational Robots.
• Effects of Trauma of Loss of Faith – denial of heart & soul
• Meaningless Education – turning human beings into
human resources & killing machines
 What is Development?
This is a question of central importance. Since the West looted the world
to acquire wealth, it defines development as the acquisition of wealth
and power by any means possible. Islam considers the purpose of life to
be the development of the tremendous potential for excellence within
each human being, and acquisition of wealth as un-important. For posts
and video lectures, see:
The Third Poison: The Meaning of Development – bit.do/az3p
Re-Defining Development -
Julie Reuben: Making of the Modern University-Intellectual
Transformation and the Marginalization of Morality
Early 20th Century: Colleges aim at building character.
Post WW2 – No mention of this in catalogs.
Graduates of finest universities designed ovens to burn
innocents, bombs to kill millions, created terminating seeds
to profit from poverty.
Modern Western Education is designed to create
standardized units which fit into capitalism machine.
 The Marginalization of Morality
Today, Western education is purely technical – it teaches us about the
external world, but NOTHING about the most fundamental question we
all face: “how we should live our unique and precious lives?”. Julie
Reuben has explained how College education used to have the central
goal of building character in the early 20th Century, and how and why this
was abandoned, and the ill-effects this has had:
The Higher Goals of Education: bit.do/azhge
 Antidote: Islam
Islamic teachings have the SAME POWER today, to launch a revolution, and
change the direction of human striving, as they did 1450 years ago.
Ham to Mael be Karam hain koi sael hi naheen
 Islamic Teachings: Still Revolutionary After 14 Centuries
Shortlink: bit.do/aznww
The knowledge given to ignorant and backwards Arabs via Islam 1450
years ago transformed them into world leaders, and launched a
civilization that enlightened the world for a thousand years. Do these
teaching have the same power today? Learning the answer to this
question is of vital importance to us today!
 Islamic Education: How to live our lives!
Turkish Madrassah Inscription: Here we don’t teach fish to
fly, and we don’t teach birds to swim.
Man is the best of the creation, with infinite potential. Each
live is worth the entire planet. How can this be?
Each man is like a mine. How can we develop his/her
potential. This requires personalized attention and training.
This is the KEY to an Islamic Revolution, and the Riyasate
Madina. Creating Human Beings instead of Resources.
 Radical Differences Between East & West
Teaching Fish to Fly: bit.do/aztftf – This post explains that Islamic
education seeks to develop each individuals unique potentials and
capabilities, and must be tailored to each person. In contrast, Western
education seeks to turn us all into standardized parts for the production
of wealth. Therefore, it is not concerned with each person’s unique and
individual characteristics. Instead, it conveys a standardized body of
knowledge to all, who are forced to learn it, instead of assessing,
evaluation, responding, and rejecting it. It is a form of
Brainwashing versus Meta-Level Analysis, which is used in Islamic
education.
 And they feed, for the love of Allah, the
indigent, the orphan, and the captive
Secular View: Government Only Provider of Social Service
Islamic History: Community Based, Personal Driven
Very Important Inversion: Service for the love of Allah
Goal of Service: to soften and bind hearts together in love
Cannot be achieved by government, and cannot be
achieved by force, taxation.
Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He (Himself)
would have fed?
 Spiritual Aspects of Islamic Economics
Shortlink: bit.do/azsaie – Presidential address at 34 th AGM
The Western model of human behavior deliberately excludes the heart
and soul of man, and focuses only on the “head” – or rational – behavior.
This neglect substantially distorts all Western social science theories.
 Working for Riyasate Madina as means for
spiritual development
• Simultaneous engagement on internal and external front
• Multiple Battles to be fought. Each one reach one
• All dimensions of Islamic life are broken – this is why
there is so much dissent among Muslims. Different
groups prioritize different actions. But all are needed.
• Everyone should do what they can, what is in our hands.
• Bottom Up approach, It is ours to struggle, Allah will guide
 Inversion of Western Conceptions
WEST: Train and Educate humans to fit them to jobs.
ISLAM: Human beings struggle with external environment
to develop internal spiritual capacities. The goals are not to
change the external environment, but rather to struggle for
change out of the love of Allah, as a means to spiritual
progress. This has radical effects on the nature of the
struggle for change. We look for success within our hearts
and souls, rather than in the external world.
Most Fundamental: Education and Training
• Developing an Islamic WorldView: De-colonizing the mind
• Rejecting False premises of WSS, replacing by Fiqh
• Al-Ghazali: Ahya Uloom-ud-Deen
• Engaging and Defeating West on its home grounds
intellectually.
• Creating genuine Islamic institutions in all areas:
governance, markets, society, law, politics, education
• Social Responsibility
 Origins of Western Social Sciences
Shortlink: bit.do/azowss – Historical experience of continuous and
barbaric religious warfare in Europe led to the effort to replace religion by
a social science based purely on rationality. This effort has proven to be
a disastrous failure on all fronts, creating tremendous damage to human
beings, families, communities, societies, humanity, and all the creation of
God. The Islamic alternative is FIQH, which teaches us how to behave in
all dimensions of our existence. This is desperately needed today
Islam is COMPLETE & SUFFICIENT for our guidance today

Islam came as a stranger, and will become a stranger.

Today, Islamic teachings are strange and revolutionary
We must trust in Allah, and not wait for others.
The first drop of rain – We are not responsible for
outcomes, but only in participating in the struggle for
change.
Everyone has thousands of things that he/she CAN do.
Make your community a living community.
 Learning to Value Our Heritage
Shortlink: bit.do/azvoh
Even though Islam launched a magnificent revolution, today Muslims no
longer look to Islam for guidance, as a way out of our modern problems.
Instead, we are collective looking for guidance from Western experts and
Western knowledge. This is a dangerous delusion. Islam remains
complete and sufficient for our guidance today.
And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all
together and do not become divided. And
remember the favor of Allah upon you - when
you were enemies and He brought your hearts
together and you became, by His favor,
brothers.
 Unite and Prosper
Shortlink: bit.do/azuap – After the migration, the pact of brotherhood
between the Mohajereen and the Ansar created powerful bonds of love
binding together the hearts of the Muslim community. Today as well the
first step to re-creating the state of Madina is to create love in our hearts
for each others. An active effort is being made to divide us into groups
and to spread hatred, which allows others to divide and rule. Islam
teaches us effective counters, which we must learn and follow. This is
the only “Road to Madina” [bit.do/azrtm]