The Islamic Heritage University of Southern California, Los Angeles, April 1, 1948

The Islamic heritage: How am I to unfold this opulent heritage of ours; where can I begin? Where should I find the common meeting ground, the point of assimilation of our civilization with yours? Some say it lies in the conflict of the Crusades, others say it is to be found in the bloody conquest of Constantinople, yet others hold it to be the Moorish occupation of Spain, and still others maintain that the true blending of the West and the Islamic East came when Sir Thomas Roe set foot on Emperor Jehangir’s Hindustan. To lift the curtain from any point would entail the omission of some handsome part of the Islamic civilization. It would mean the omission of the immortal Omar, the dauntless Khalid, the wise Akbar, the brave Tariq and a host of other outstanding celebrities, including Ali, Abu Bakr and Amar. How can I dare to call this talk “The Islamic Heritage” if such names are omitted? How can I have the effrontery to start from as late as the Crusades merely because the Western role in our lives is arbitrarily said to have started from that period? At the same time, it may seem out of place to reveal those aspects of Islamic history with which you do not share a common denominator. Nevertheless, I shall try to integrate all the important events and contributions of Islam in a manner that will interest you.

Throughout this talk, I shall refer to the accomplishments of Islam as my own accomplishments, for I genuinely consider any accomplishment of the Islamic people as a personal feat, just as I consider any failure of the Muslim world as a personal failure. There is something binding about the Muslim world in spite of the fact that it is torn by dissension. This may seem strange to you, but it is true. This unique attachment is partly because of a common religion which from the outset emphasized the strong ties of one Muslim to another as an essential part of the religion. This thought is cherished by the common association of the Muslim people in a geographical link that stretches from Europe to about the farthest corner of Asia.

I am not here to preach Islam to you or to threaten you with its dormant powers: I only want to tell you of the Islam that was a burning light of yesterday, the ember that it is today, and the celestial flame of tomorrow, for that is how I envisage the future of Islam. I must also tell you that religiously speaking, I am not a devout Muslim. I do not say my prayers regularly; I do not keep all the fasts. I have not yet been on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Therefore, religiously speaking, I am a poor Muslim. However, my interest is soaked in the political, economic and cultural heritage of Islam. I will not discuss the religious implications of the faith, but its political and cultural developments. Before plunging into this task, I feel it essential to briefly give you a background of the essentials of Islam the birth of the religion.

Arabia of the 6th century was surrounded by countries that had adorned world civilization. On the one hand was Alexandria in Egypt, Damascus in Syria, Antioch in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, ancient Babylon, Baghdad in Iraq, the pageantry of India, and still farther East, the splendid civilization of China. On the other side of Arabia was the grandeur of Greece and the splendor of Rome and the majesty of the Byzantine Empire. Arabia was a little known and undisturbed expanse of sand in this array of jewels encircling it; even the reflections of these civilizations gave no light to the barbaric nomads of the desert. Not only was the country barren, but also the minds of its people. They were a people diseased with degrading moral codes. These people buried their daughters alive, considering the birth of one a disgrace; and a man among them could have a woman by merely throwing his cloak over her. Mecca was their centre of worship, with three hundred and fifty idols as their holy shrines.

But soon, these lizard-eating and moribund people of the desert were to be aroused by a vigorous force, a venerable and potent force that was to transform their lives. The founder of this dynamic force, whose religion was to embrace all the three known continents with lightning speed, was Mohammad; his religion was Islam, which means submission to God. His fundamental tenets were:

(a) The indivisibility of God.
(b) The simplicity of belief.
(c) The brotherhood of man.

He did not claim supernatural power or relationship with any deity, but said he was a humble messenger of the one and only Creator of the World. He was a rebel and a destroyer of all that was evil and decadent. Mohammad was at times forced to use the sword, not to defend himself, but to protect the infant religion of Islam. If the Arabs of his day had planned only to kill him, he would have given his life without hesitation, but the blood-thirsty, lawless nomads of the desert sought to destroy Islam and not Mohammad. These Arabs were brutal and fierce but it was Mohammad who cultivated these people and stimulated them with moral and intellectual curiosity, refined their laws, prohibited gambling and drinking, gave protection to women, raised them from the lowest human conditions to the most distinguished place in civilization. He inculcated in them a spirit of brotherhood and loyalty, fed them with virtuous ideals, and established for them a meaningful code of existence. Without any nebulous symbolism, without any ostentatious exploitation of altars, Mohammad enshrined an immortal message in the hearts of not only his Arabs, but of the entire mankind.

“Ye people! Hearken to my speech and comprehend the same. Know that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim. All of you are of the same equality”, said he to his people again and again until the believing Negro became the equal of the Khalifa of Islam. Europeans, conscious of the racial complexion of civilization, may know that from the first day racial differences were stamped out in Islam. Through a free intermingling of Muslims, the dominance of one particular race over another was abolished. It may be worthwhile to substantiate these remarks by pointing out that when the Aryans invaded India centuries ago, they immediately segregated the people of the country, drawing up the obnoxious caste system, but when the Mughals entered India, they allowed marriages with the Hindus, and associated them in running the state. Freed slaves even became sultans.

Now I shall deal briefly with the rapid spread of Islam. In a hundred and fifty years the march of Islam covered vast areas. On the west, the nineteen-year old Tariq shattered the bulwarks of Spain, and with it, captured the strategic rock which is , named after him, Jabal-ul-Tariq—the rock of Tariq, or, as we now call it, Gibraltar. In the Eastern theatre, the followers of Mohammad the Prophet reached the banks of the Indus and the Ganges. From the palaces of Vienna and France on the one side to the Great Wall of China; from the steppes of Russia and the fortresses of Venice to the plains of Iran and the jungles of Indonesia and Malaya; from the romantic Danube to the ever-winding Yangtze—vast territories came under the influence and control of a people who were derelict until the Prophet of Islam created in his followers the spirit to spread a doctrine of equality to the world. Many westerners believe that Islam was a danger to Christianity, but this notion is unfounded. At the peak of Islam’s strength, the Christians were treated kindly everywhere and given full liberty to worship according to their ways. The Prophet had frequently stated that the lives, properties and laws of the Christians and the Jews were under the protection of God, and he said, “If any one infringes their rights, I myself will be his enemy and, in the presence of God, I will bring a charge against him.”

There have been numerous Muslims who have strayed from the Islamic path, but that has been in spite of the law and not because of it. By token, there have been many Christians who have been most unchristian in their dealings. Christian priests, bishops and popes have repeatedly sworn to exterminate the infidels, and as late as the time of Gladstone, Turkey was in danger of being exterminated solely because she was a Muslim country. Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain did a much better job of wiping out the Muslims of Spain than any “infidel” had done with the Christians in any Muslim empire. Tolerance is not the monopoly of any one religion. All prophets and reformers have preached the love of humanity, and the followers of all the religions have in some way violated the teachings of their founders.

Most of the literature I have read in this country on Islam has tried to show the intolerance of the Muslim people and the militant character of their religion. There is a reason for this propaganda and it does not lie in a true reading of history. It is based on prejudice arising out of rivalry

During the Dark Ages, at the time when the kings and popes of Europe were exterminating “unbelievers”, the Muslims were harboring non-Muslims in our lands. At the time when bigotry and hate drove out the non-Christians from Europe in the name of heresy and inquisition, the Islamic world opened its gates to them and gave them protection of their religious and social rights.

Pandit Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, says, “The Christianity that was practised there at the time was narrow and intolerant, and the contrast between this and the general toleration of the Muslim Arabs, with their message of human brotherhood, was marked. It was this that brought whole peoples, weary of Christian strife, to their side.”

So supreme was the Muslim thrust in the West that the popes were occupied in organizing the Christian world to exterminate the infidels in the name of God. Eight crusades were mustered against Islam; on eight occasions the armies of Europe set out to defeat the Muslims in their own land. The first crusade, as you know, proved disastrous for the Muslims. The, Christian armies, pent up with zeal and determination to crush the infidels, did a savage job of liquidating as many Muslims as came their way. The barbarism of the first crusaders has badly scarred the face of the human race. It may have been a glorious victory of the Christian God, but it was a gruesome act of man against man in the name of God.

After the first crusade, from the Christian point of view, all the other crusades were failures. When the intrepid Ghazi Salahuddin recaptured Jerusalem, he was magnanimous to the defeated Christians, allowing all of them to leave the Holy City after paying a ransom, and those who could not afford a ransom, were permitted to leave through the beggars’ gate; while those who wished to stay on, were allowed to do so in spite of the fact that they had formed a dangerous fifth column on previous occasions. During that time, Muslims were not only engaged in repulsing the crusaders, but also the ferocious Mongols who repeatedly attacked Muslims from the East.

About 1228, Frederick II, grandson of Barbarossa, after being excommunicated by Pope Gregory, went to Palestine to negotiate with the Muslims. He was received honourably and was successful in inducing the Muslim rulers to restore Jerusalem to him in the name of the Christian nations. This was the most magnanimous gesture ever made, but it did not satisfy the Pope; on the contrary, it made him still more furious because he declared in anger that one should fight the infidel and not befriend him.

By citing these examples, I am not trying to state that only we are capable of tolerance, but that we also have an impressive record of virtue and moral goodness; that we are different from what the West thinks of us in the East. We are not barbarians. Instead, we opened the doors of civilization and culture.

The spread of Islam upset the status quo in Europe and Asia to such an extent that in the eighth century Pepin the Short, the son of Charles Martel, obtained the sanction of the Pope to declare himself the ruler of the Frankish nation merely because his father had defeated the Saracens in the Battle of Tours in 732. This Muslim defeat in a single battle ended the Merovingian Dynasty and established the Carolingian line of kings, a dynasty which has been the pride of the Christian world because it gave birth to Charlemagne.

It would suffice to say, without going into further detail, that before the advent of the industrial revolution it was Islam that challenged the combined powers of the West and the East.

Toynbee says, “Centuries before communism was heard of, our ancestors found their bugbear in Islam. As late as the 16th century, Islam inspired the same hysteria in the western hearts as communism in the 20th century. Like communism, it wielded a sword of the spirit, against which there was no defence in material armaments.”

It is difficult to describe the yearnings of man to build for permanence. To probe into the depths of a civilization is a time-consuming task. To delineate the achievements of art and literature, and of science and philosophy, of any people is a strenuous undertaking. How am I to explain the contributions of a Hafiz or an Iqbal in this brief period? Where can I ask you to tarry for a moment and admire the fine works of art? Shall it be Omar’s Mosque in Jerusalem or the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore or the Juma Masjid in Delhi or the city of Fatehpur Sikri? The followers of the Prophet have built for permanence wherever they have exerted their influence, at Granada, at Cairo, at Jerusalem, at Baghdad and at Delhi. The splendid Mosque of Omar, the gigantic Mosque of Hussain and the tall, dignified Qutb Minar depict in a most striking manner the Muslim talent for creative art.

In the lofty and masculine fort at Delhi, the silver and gold ceilings, the black marble floors, the magnificence of the Peacock Throne and splendour of the jewelled halls, well befit the Persian inscription written in the rhythmic sweep of the Arabian script, which still survives, “If anywhere on earth there is paradise, it is here, it is here.” The forts of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri are today in defeated ruins, destroyed not by age but by rapine and plunder. Their debris is a constant reminder of our defeat, a living symbol of our disintegration. The conquerors of India must have been blind in their aesthetic senses, for they uprooted all the delicate beauty of our forts and mosques, our palaces and our monuments. Lord William Bentinck once even thought of selling the Taj Mahal to a Hindu contractor who believed that better use could be made of the material.

The living pride of our architecture is the Taj Mahal, which we in our romantic feelings call “Love in Marble.” It is the epitome of perfection, the most profound and concise symbol of love, the most lasting appreciation of man’s affection, the most serene exhibition of his purity. On its main entrance is a quotation from the Quran which invites “the pure in heart” to enter “the gardens of paradise,” There is nothing foreign about the Taj; it is the product of Muslim thinking and Muslim taste. Will Durant, the American historian, says, it is “completely Mohamedan, even the skilled artisans were, in part, brought in from Baghdad, Constantinople and other centers of the Muslim faith.”

The gardens of Shalimar in Lahore and Nishat in Kashmir, with their beautiful symmetry of the lawns and the cool surroundings chosen with immaculate care, the careful plantations of alluring flowers and the systematic structure of sparkling fountains, are a living wonder of man’s efforts to strive for the highest form of beauty. H. G. Wells says, “The artistic and architectural remains of Moguls are still very abundant. When people speak of Indian art without any qualification, it is usually this great period that they have in mind.” At this stage, it will be interesting to note that before the Mongols were converted to Islam, they were ruthless and uncivilized, but after the mass voluntary conversion of the descendants of the warlike Chengez Khan, they developed refined and cultivated values.

Now, I would like to mention some of the Muslim contributions in the fields of literature and science, starting with some of the universities of today and going back to the past contributions.

The University of Al-Azhar in Cairo has the largest student body in the world, and it is the cultural seat of the Muslim world. Then there is the University of Istanbul, an excellent centre of learning with all the modern facilities for educational research. Another outstanding venue of Islamic learning is the University of Aligarh, the educational capital of the Muslims of the subcontinent. Yet another university of fame is the Osmania University in Hyderabad. Deccan; its fine campus, splendid buildings and an outstanding faculty have made it a headquarter of learning.

The influences of Muslim knowledge have been tremendous. Arabic words such as zero, cipher, traffic, admiral, magazine, alcohol, caravan, cheque, and tariff have become international words. The Moors of Spain have a distinguished history. Their hard work added much to Islam’s wealth. Agriculture reached progressive stages under the Moors in Spain. They practiced farming in a scientific manner, fertilizers were utilized by them, and they were the first to adapt crops to the quality of the soil. The Moors excelled in horticulture; they produced new varieties of fruits and flowers, and introduced to the West many trees and plants from the East and wrote treatises on farming. Their skilful use of irrigation is still utilized in Spain. They introduced the plantation of sugar, rice and cotton, and also perfumes, syrups, and a variety of wines. The Moors pioneered and perfected the carpet; silk, silver and gold embroidery; and leather manufactures.

Says Henrietta Wagner, “We are indebted to the Saracens of Spain for the elements of many of the useful sciences, especially chemistry. They introduced the simple Arabic figures which we use in arithmetic. They taught mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and medicine, and were so superior in knowledge to the Christian nations of Europe that many Christians of all nations went to be educated in the Arabian schools of Cordova.”

Up to the fifteenth century the earth was considered as the centre of the universe, with the sun moving around it. However, as early as the seventh century, the Quran in its 36th Sura said, “The sun moves in a fixed place and each star moves in its own heaven,” This explains the movement of the sun around an axis and the movement of the moon, the earth, and other bodies. When the western scientists read this explanation in the 36th Sura of the Quran, they ridiculed it. Nine hundred years later the world of science discarded the Ptolemaic conception, and Western astronomy adopted a line parallel with that of the Quran.

The zero was unknown until Mahmed Ibn-Musa invented it in the ninth century. He was also the first person to utilize the decimal notation and give the digits the value of position. However, many Indians claim that the zero is an Indian invention. Nevertheless, it would be safe to say that algebra particularly is a creation of the Muslims. Al Khwarizmi, besides writing treatises on astronomy and arithmetic, made great contributions in algebra, dealing mainly with quadratics. Omar Khayyam, who reformed the calendar in 1079, went even further with his contributions by using cubic equations. Spherical trigonometry is another Muslim achievement inventing sine, tangent, and cotangent. In physics, the pendulum is an invention of the Arabs. Al-Hazen developed optics and challenged the view of Ptolemy and Euclid that the eye sends out visual rays to its object. The Arabs built several observatories and astronomical instruments which are still used. The calculated the angle of the ecliptic and the precession of the equinoxes. Our universities also concentrated strongly on metaphysics, zoology and medicine.

In chemistry, the Muslims were the first to discover and use nitrate of silver, and nitric and sulphuric acids. Physiology and hygiene were developed by Muslims and the materia medica used by our forefathers was practically the same as today’s. Muslim surgeons understood the use of anesthetics centuries ago and performed some of the most difficult operations known. At AI the time when in Europe the practice of medicine was forbidden by the Church, the Muslims had a well-advanced science of medicine. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) known as “the Prince of Physicians”, taught medicine and philosophy in Isphahan, and from the 12th to the 17th centuries he was used in Europe as a guide to medicine. Al-Razi, who wrote more than 200 treatises on medicine, is famous for his theses on the causes, development and remedies of smallpox and measles.

In manufactures the Muslims surpassed the world in beauty of design and accuracy of workmanship. Their contribution to the development of textiles is well-known. Muslims made glass and pottery of the finest quality developed all the intricate secrets of dyeing yarns and invented processes of dressing leather. The manufacture of paper, which the Muslims learned from the Chinese by way of Central Asia, was brought to Europe by the Arabs. Before that, Europeans wrote on parchments.

Commerce was greatly developed by Muslim traders. This gave an impetus to worldwide contacts and spread Arabic as a world language.

At the time of Khalifa Al-Mansur’s rule in the middle of the eight century, a research and translation bureau of Greek, Syriac, Zend, Latin and Sanskrit was established in Baghdad. Old monasteries in Syria were explored for valuable manuscripts. Greek philosophy, mainly that of Plato and Aristotle, was brought to the Muslim world by scholars driven out from old Alexandrian schools. Ptolemy and Euclid were studied extensively in universities at Baghdad and Cordova. When the works of Aristotle were banned in European universities, Muslim scholars encouraged their study in these centers of learning. Bertrand Russell says that Aristotle’s reputation is mainly due to them: in antiquity he was seldom mentioned, and was not regarded as on the same level as Plato. The philosophical works of Plato and especially of Aristotle, have had such a great influence on the Muslim mind that ever since the eighth century they have become standard subjects for study in Islamic schools. The materialist school of Greek philosophy led to the rise of rationalism and materialism in the Muslim world. The intellectual clashes of the two schools of thought spread from Baghdad over all the Muslim countries, and finally reached Spain. In an age of religious fanaticism, the nature of God was discussed most freely in the various schools of Muslim metropolises. Ibn-e-Rushd. (Averroes) the illustrious philosopher discussed with full freedom the nature of God in a spirit of free inquiry. Despite the rigid religious fanaticism of the ruling dynasty his views were heard and tolerated.

Muslim literature has been prolific both in poetry and in prose; Omar Khyyam as a poet pales into insignificance when compared with poets of the calibre of Sadi or Hafiz or Nizami. The dazzling tales of Arabian Nights are only a fraction of our literature. However, our literature is little known to the West, perhaps because it is difficult to translate and perhaps because of the traditional difference in the matters of style and subject matter.

The flowering of Muslim culture has derived its inspiration from many sources; the Arabs have given it sensitivity and simplicity; the Turks, a spirit of vigour; the Indians, a rare subtlety; and the Iranians, the grace and delicacy of their creative talents.

We are living in a world torn by dissension, a world in which international relations are dominated by two factors—collective security and the balance of power, and according to the influence of our chaotic times we are forced to align ourselves in blocs. In one breath, the leaders of the world preach peace and, in the next, threaten to obliterate civilization with atom bombs. Our position is pathetically unstable. Imperialism has sapped our vitality and drained our blood in every part of the globe. This is the time when the young generation’ of Muslims, who will be the leaders of a new force, of an order based on justice, wants the end of exploitation. We still retain a host of homogeneous affinities and with the unity of our culture we can unite again politically. In an Islamic confederation lies the future security of the disciples of Mohammad. In order to achieve this goal, we will have to tussle with destiny. To civilization we have given the essence of growth, and in return we have become a plaything of foreign powers. In Indonesia we are being butchered because we demand freedom from foreign oppression, and we have enemies from Morocco to Java. I do not ask for unity in order to seek revenge, but in order to safeguard those rights which still remain in our possession. In order to be safe and secure, we have to be powerful and that we can only do through unity. Force, unfortunately, has to be met by force. In our hands lie the future of our people and the responsibility of protecting their liberty. We will give to the world a blueprint of a brotherhood of mankind just as our founder gave the formula of human cooperation to the world thirteen hundred years ago.

During the First World War, the Indian Muslims refused to fight against the Muslims of Turkey. When Turkey was attacked in 1911, the Muslims of India felt a spontaneous wave of personal sympathy for them. The Muslim leader, Mohammad Ali and his brother were imprisoned by the British for their pro-Turkish feelings. The Khilafat Movement epitomized the fraternity of a Muslim people for their fellow Islamic nation. Mohammad Iqbal, the poet of Pakistan, has been immortalized for expressing Muslim sentiment on the fate of Turkey. When Kamal Pasha died, a gloom blanketed Muslim India.

I was very young then, but I still remember my servant telling me with tears in his eyes that he would rather have heard of the death of his only son than to be told of the death of Mustafa Kamal. I must point out the deep feeling of brotherhood among the Islamic people for Indonesia and the Arab nations. After World War II, we in our country took a great deal of interest in the crisis of Iran and were jubilant when the tension subsided. When Pakistan came into being we received Muslim delegations from all over the world, and were touched by the affection shown by the Muslims of the world for our new State. Very recently in an article, “Labours of the North-West”, in the London Economist, tributes were paid to the sense of Islamic brotherhood developing between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Making a comparison between the British and Pakistan administrations in the tribal areas the article says, “The Pakistan government has had the advantage of being able to appeal to Islamic sentiments, and it has, consequently, been able to show decisiveness which seemed lacking in the previous administration.”

I could go on indefinitely into the evidence of harmony that exists among the Islamic peoples. However, there is no guarantee that this feeling will last forever: as a matter of fact, there are signs of new tensions. It is my firm belief that these bonds will have to he consciously strengthened before the Muslim nations begin to industrialize on a larger scale. With rapid technological advances, and the values going into it, traits of the past might come under new strains. It is incumbent upon us to consolidate our advantageous position at this stage and build a base for a new order bound by ancient ties. Another factor that will promote this unity is the sense of grief and grievance felt by all Islamic nations against the calculated injustice done to them, the common oppression experienced by all of them without exception.

Some people object to an Islamic confederation on the grounds that there will not be any economic gains from such an association. The cooperation of nations is an advancement. It has political and economic benefits but even if the benefits are not colossal, even if certain Muslim countries have to make sacrifices economically for a few years, such a union should take place for one blood, one culture, and one heritage subjected to ruthless exploitation for over a century demand this association. This is the century in which underdeveloped countries are being developed. Our potential economic resources are abundant, as is amply indicated by the Western interests in our theatre of the world.

Unfortunately, because of our feebleness, our economic resources are being most unscrupulously exploited by outsiders. The exploiters are shamefully busy filling the coffers of the money-mad and cut-throat business interests of the West. An Islamic confederation even at its weakest will take charge of the wealth of its people and place it in the hands of its own people.

Now I would like to present a skeleton of this plan. According to the law of evolution, this association will develop in stages; first will come a harmonizing of our own people by massive contacts, by a large-scale exchange of students, professors, artists, and all other intellectuals who influence the minds of men. Those intellectuals, through conventions and conferences will discuss vital common problems. In due course permanent information and cultural centers and public relations bureaus will be established in our large cities. Our people will be encouraged to travel in our countries on concessional rates. Passport restrictions will be lifted, and communications developed. These efforts will be followed by economic cooperation climaxing in a loose political alliance, from one continent to the other.

If we work conscientiously in this direction, I think that within the space of the next twenty years, this movement will take a definite shape. I must make it clear that it will not be based on a theocratic principle. There are some non-Muslim countries in the Middle East which are today members of Muslim Arab Leagues and which will willingly enter this union because of mutual interests. We will have to look mainly in the direction of Pakistan for this divine inspiration. From Turkey we will have to take the means of attaining methods of modernity without losing the Islamic identity, and from Iran the spirit of accommodation. The Arabs and the Africans, the Indians and the Indonesians will each render a profound contribution. The new concepts will have to be mingled with the spiritual values, the maxims of democracy with those of socialism. We will have to raise from our soil an Ataturk or a Jinnah who will mobilize our people, rekindle our spirits, reconcile our traditions and customs with technological developments, and establish an impregnable bulwark.

There are some people who say that Turkey will shy away from such a union. There is no truth in such a belief. Turkey was forced to retreat from the Muslim orbit because the weaknesses of the Muslim nations were heavily sapping her vitality. Thus, because of the derelict position of the Muslim world and the delicate position of Turkey in European affairs, Turkey for her own security had no alternative but to concentrate fully towards the developments in the West. Because of her unique position and strategic location, Turkey has been forced to sign agreements with countries that have always sought to destroy her. She has been forced to bow her head to a country thousands of miles away from her only because she cannot turn today in another direction. Turkey has no desire to lose her Islamic character, and with the organization of a potent unification of the Muslim world, dictating its own terms, Turkey will align herself with her own people. With her own people awakening, Turkey will one day gladly untie the chains of the West and amalgamate with those who are of her own kind.

Today, I am as hopeful of an Islamic confederation as I was of the creation of Pakistan before the division of India. Pakistan has taken its rightful place in the family of nations; tomorrow a confederation of the Islamic nations will be a reality. Those who mocked the foundation of the largest Muslim nation are now retreating from their previous stands. It is inevitable that the small pebbles that are endeavoring to obstruct the flow of events will be washed aside. We shall toil ceaselessly for the rejuvenation and renaissance of our people.

Toynbee says, “Pan-Islamism is dormant—yet we have to reckon with the possibility that the sleeper may awake, if ever the cosmopolitan proletariat of a ‘westernized’ world revolts against western domination and cries out for anti-western leadership. That call might have incalculable psychological effects in evoking the militant spirit of Islam–even if it has slumbered as long as the Seven Sleepers—because it might awaken echoes of a heroic age. On two historic occasions in the past, Islam has been the sign in which an oriental society has risen up victoriously against an occidental intruder. If the present situation of mankind were to precipitate a ‘race war’, Islam might be moved to play her historic role once again.”

Destiny demands an Islamic association, political reality justifies it, posterity awaits it, and by God we will have it. Courage is in our blood; we are the children of a rich heritage. We shall succeed.