Book Review 

Chasing A Mirage – The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State. 

Author: Tarek Fatah

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Canada

Reviewed By: Javed I. Chaudry

This is in response to post #4 from Mr. Zaidi: 

My criticism is strictly based on the substance presented in the book. Since I do not know the author personally, the question of a vendetta therefore, does not even arise. 

My objections to the book are not limited to what I have already presented in my review; in fact, I cannot write them all short of writing another book of the same length. I would like to take the opportunity to expand on the very line that Mr. Zaidi has quoted from the book (Ref. post #4), which is: 

“Muslims buried the Prophet, they also buried with him many of the universal values of Islam…….” 

The administrative and political quandary that followed immediately after the death of the Prophet has a great philosophical significance that the author has failed to recognize. The companions of the Prophet did not bury the ‘universal values’, the universal values are preserved for ever in the Quran; they merely exhibited their old tribalism and demonstrated the lack of political pragmatism. Sadly, a few assumed (erroneously) that the young Muslim community was Mohammed’s personal dynasty, hence his cousin, Ali, was thought to be the rightful incumbent for the leadership position. An obvious error of judgment, that would become the foundation for another sect and a permanent division among Muslims.   

It is well known that the Prophet did not leave specific instructions for succession. Had there been a need to turn the community into a dynasty, the Prophet could have instructed in favor of Ali, but he did not.  

Furthermore, we learn from the Quran that it is a book of basic guidance similar to the Bill of Rights and Freedoms of a country that entails equality, justice and fairness for all on equitable basis.  

The Prophet was a Servant of God and delivered only what he was instructed through Quranic verses revealed to him. Obviously, God did not want to place any limitations or restrictions on how the governing body should be chosen and how the overall business of running the community be conducted as long as the operating rules are equitable for all. The details were left for the imagination of the people who survived the prophet.  

In the light of the Quranic teachings, the useful principles that we derive from this experience are as follows: 

i)                   A Muslim community or country is not a political dynasty belonging to a particular individual or a family.

ii)                 The Quran is a basic guidance, not a handbook of micro-management.

iii)               The Muslims are free to govern their communities and countries according to the constraints and needs of the time in the light and the spirit of the Quranic teachings. 

In fact the author has included similar statements on page 251, in the Sharia chapter. What could have been expressed in a few pages, the author has expanded to 25 pages with lots of irrelevant information which appears to be a recurring feature throughout the book.  

Let us look at the given statement again: 

“Muslims buried the Prophet, they also buried with him many of the universal values of Islam…….” 

Mr. Fatah’s expression is nothing but an unruly dramatization that leads to misinterpretations and distortion of facts. Sadly the book is full of such examples. A serious philosophical work does not employ cheap slogans and derogatory terminology.  

Mr. Zaidi has indicated his approval for ‘Manufacturer’s Warranty’ page at the end of the book. While I do possess a sense of humor, but I am afraid, I beg to differ on the value of such expressions in a serious literary work. Perhaps this book was not meant to be a serious work on the subject, hence my obvious disappointment. In view of this, I am compelled to lump this book in the same category where I place Irshad Manji’s ‘Trouble with Islam’. These books are more of a self serving tools to appease the Neocons and Zionists rather than thought provoking philosophical works on religious or political subjects. Sadly, this book offers little to serve Islam and the Muslims. 

The foundational and conceptual error that Mr. Fatah has made right from the outset is that he has mistakenly assumed that an Islamic state can only be set up by incorporating Sharia. Furthermore, he is also assuming that an Islamic state cannot be a secular states or a secular state cannot be an Islamic state.  

It would be instructional to bear in mind that it is not essential to have the word, ‘Islamic’ inserted in the official name of a state and yet it may have all the attributes of a state that Quranic guidelines require to be met.  

The Sharia has its own predicament as Mr. Fatah has indicated in his book and I concur with him. The Jurisprudence or constitution constructed on this foundation would only be as stable as the foundation, the Shria itself. The real challenge therefore, is to redefine and reform the (man made) Shria before building a state on top of it.  

The countries such as Canada, USA, Britain, France etc., are all examples of secular states, but obviously not without very many strands of Christian characteristics and social historical norms specific to the Western European traditions. The official holidays for Christmas and Good Friday are the Christian traditions while the first day of January as the New Year day and many other holidays during the year follow the social and historical norms of European social traditions. The English Monarch is still the Head of the Church of England. These are but a few examples of the most advanced societies of the present times where secular claims still exist with traditional social, cultural or religious values.  

Javed I. Chaudry

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