interaction would also be set right and, in the Hereafter, they
would be held deserving of God’s blessings.
The Power of Ideology
In 1917 a socialist revolution was brought about in Russia. Prior
to this, Russia had been ruled by monarchs called Czars. The
communist party at that time waged an ideological war against
the ruling Czar, which spread rapidly all over the country. Britain
regarded this as a dangerous trend. Therefore, a British delegation,
headed by colonel FM Bailey, was sent to Russia. This delegation, in
the guise of a group of merchants, reviewed the situation in Russia,
and on its return presented a report to the British government, one
of the sentences of which was as follows:
“Communist ideas are far more dangerous than the entire army
of the Czar.”
There are a number of events of this kind in history which show
that the power of ideology is far greater than military power. The
history of Islam is a clear example of this reality. In ancient history
the success of Islam has always been attributable to its ideology
rather than to the sword or military power.
For instance, in the thirteenth century, the onslaught by the
Tartars vanquished theAbbasid empire.This onslaught was so severe
that the military power of the Muslims proved totally ineffective
against it. From that moment onwards the ideological power of
Islam grew in strength, and within half a century the majority of
the Tartars had accepted Islam; the erstwhile enemies of Islam then
became the friends of Islam.
This ideological power of Islam has been described thus by an
orientalist: “The religion of the Muslims has conquered where their
arms had failed.”
52
The Dawn Over Kashmir
