There are two kinds of social movements — the positive and the
negative. A positive movement is one which is based on duty. Such a
movement has definite virtues. Anegative movement is based on the
demand for rights and the voicing of protests. Such a movement has
no virtue whatsoever.
The former is invariably positive in outcome, while the latter
can end only in calamity.
The Starting Point of ReformativeAction
When political decline set in in ancient times, the Jews conceived
of the idea that they should revive their political power in Palestine
by force. At that time, according to the biblical record, the Jewish
Prophet Jeremiah said to them: “Say to the king and to the queen
mother, ‘Humble yourselves; sit down, for your rule shall collapse,
the crown of your glory.’” (Jeremiah, 13:18)
This example of the Jews shows that nations rise and then fall,
suffering from decline. After political dominance, they undergo
political subjugation. This is the law of nature. At such times, the
people ought to accept this change in their circumstances. For
failure to accept it amounts to leading the community further down
the path of destruction.
The truth is that political power is not the monopoly of any
nation or community. The acquisition of political power depends
upon the capability of any given group to wield that power. Where
a community has this capability, it may be granted the blessing of
political power. Once a community loses this capability, its political
power is taken away from it. In such a case, the group concerned
should concentrate on developing the necessary capability rather
than on waging a futile war against opponents.
The Quran tells us that any change in the community is the
result of a change in the individual. (13:11) Therefore, whenever
any community suffers from decline at the social level, it should
search for its cause at the individual level. For a community’s social
condition can change only when change takes place at the individual
level. Thus the starting point of an action is at the individual level
and not at the congregational level. To start an action by addressing
the crowd can only bring cheap popularity and nothing else.
24
The Dawn Over Kashmir
