in Afghani (1839-97). It was an Islamic revival movement that sought to reawaken the Muslims’ consciousness of how they had once been mighty, but now are weak. This recalling of erstwhile Muslim grandeur incited the Muslims to discard resignation in favour of plunging into the task of creating the kind of Islamic world that ought to be. The Qur’an verse: “Verily, God does not change the condition of people until they change their own condition” (13:11 ) had become the inspiration for the Muslim resolve to take into their own hands the refurbishing of the Muslim world and its earthly history. Indeed this call to action was the transition from a nonresponsible quietude to a self-directing determination. The Pan Islamic Movement believed that Islamic history shall once again march forward in full truth and full splendour. The bitterness of the Muslim disillusionment in the West has gone very, very deep. The West is perceived as working against them. It is accused of engaging on a deliberate vast enterprise to disrupt Islam. Apart even from military and political domination, Western power has other manners of imposing its weight. The most pervasive is economics. The Muslims perceive that the West has been bearing down upon the Muslim World with what appears to be saying in effect: “give up those antiquated ways, those superstitions, those inhibitions; be modern with us, be prosperous, and be sophisticated. Emancipate your women, your societies and yourselves!” Many Muslims do succumb or see their children succumb. The West continues to seduce them from their traditional loyalties. The reaction to this perceived western attack is very visible, in the activist movements, chiefly the Ikhwan al Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood). This activism represents in contemporary times the new determination to sweep aside the degeneration and stagnancy in the Muslim world. It aspires to get back to a basis for Muslim so...
