The world we live in has changed tremendously since the close of 20th century. The Soviet empire crumbled, taking down with it the communist ideology. The US has abandoned its role as universal master when it declared to demilitarize many warzones around the world. The Berlin wall has been demolished by the very people who built it. The Cold War has come to an end. The superpowers have put their guns down, admitting that warfare is no solution to human problems.

Thinkers have coined a new term ‘endism’, which means that all ‘isms’, all ideologies, all systems, have exhausted their credibility as modern man’s ideal. Endism is the belief that something of significant scope and duration is coming to an end.

Muslims generally see these changes as a tide that is going against them, as a danger, in fact, to Islam. This kind of thinking is quite wrong and is no doubt against the teachings of Islam. The Quran says: “Surely with every hardship there is ease.” (94:6) It means hardships and ease inevitably coexist. They have been ordained inseparable.

Modern changes have brought problems in their wake for Muslims, but these changes have also created new opportunities. Fortunately the opportunities far exceed the problem.

Modern changes have brought problems in their wake for Muslims, but these changes have also created new opportunities. Fortunately the opportunities far exceed the problem.

When we look at that matter from this angle we find many positive and hopeful aspects in the situation. For although the modern world is witnessing great changes, these changes are going mostly in favour of Islam. This is the most important aspect of the new world.

There are many examples which clearly indicate that the present changes greatly favour Islam. Two examples are cited here to bring the point home. The one is theoretical, and the other is practical elucidation.

Stephen Hawking starts his most popular book A Brief History of Time with the following amusing anecdote:

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on.” “You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles all the way down!”

Mr. Hawking comments that this picture of our world as an infinite tower of tortoises would appear ridiculous to most people, but the alternative view presented by science is also subject to doubt. Modern science has replaced the tower of infinite tortoises with a tower of infinite causes. It was necessarily assumed that there was always a cause behind every event. Thus the chain of causes is infinite in length.

The scientific study of the universe has strengthened religious belief rather than weaken it. Scientific discoveries have opened up opportunities for performing Islamic dawah with far greater effectiveness.

Then arrived the theory of Big Bang. With this, the theory of a “tower of infinite causes” lost its validity, as this theory suggested that a sudden explosion had marked the beginning of the universe rather than an infinitely continuing process of causes and effects.

Mr. Hawking calculated the rate of the expansion of the universe after the Big Bang. Providing details of this calculation, he writes:

“The initial rate of expansion would have had to be chosen very precisely for the rate of expansion still to be so close to the critical rate needed to avoid recollapse. This means the initial state of the universe must have been very carefully chosen indeed if the hot big bang model was correct right back to the beginning of time. It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.” (ibid)

This means the scientific study of the universe has strengthened religious belief rather than weaken it. Such discoveries have opened up opportunities for performing the task of conveying the message of Islam to people with far greater effectiveness.

Take the practical aspect of the changed circumstances today. Here also we find clear indications that the present changes are only paving the way for presenting Islam the religion of nature on an unprecedented scale.

Let us see for instance, what happened in the socialist world. In one of his writings, Karl Marx had said that religion was the opium of the masses. But today, the socialist Russians are themselves saying that Marxism itself was the worst kind of opium of the mind. Just a few years ago, it was well-nigh unthinkable to carry a copy of the Quran inside the Soviet Union. Then, Aeroflot (Russian Airlines) was engaged to airlift one million copies of the Quran from Jeddah to Moscow.

In its March 12, 1990 issue, Time magazine gave detailed report on the religious position in the Soviet Union. It said: “Some 55 million Soviet Muslims enjoy the fruits of new religious tolerance.” The strange but meaningful title of this report was “Karl Marx makes room for Muhammad.”

History awaits the advance of certain dedicated individuals towards this goal so that it can give them resounding credit for having shared the message of Islam to humanity in this modern age.

These changes taking place in the world today have opened up great new scope for introducing Islam a religion of nature. Muslims must remain very alert in order not to miss these opportunities.

The foregoing arguments suffice to show that the changes taking place in the present world have opened up new vistas for conveying the message of God to people. These changes have made it possible for Islam to be presented to the modern man in the modern jargon. The most important task ahead is to have a thorough understanding of these changes and then to avail of them in an organized and disciplined way.

This is undoubtedly a historic task. History awaits the advance of certain dedicated individuals towards this goal so that it can give them resounding credit for having shared the message of Islam to humanity in this modern age. Those who can prove themselves worthy of such historic credit will be the most fortunate of men.