The discussion of Islam could not have been more controversial at any time in history than the way it stands today. At the time Islam is being sought for a genuine advice on the financial predicaments of the world, it is also pursued as a suspect when terrorism strikes. The debate on how much Islam is responsible for the acts of terrorism in the world today continues to make headlines of major media platforms. In the meantime, the debate on how much Islam can contribute to the construction of a more sound financial system is growing day after day. Yet the prospects of Islam as a system and a way of life are not less dramatic. Scores of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, academics, and thinkers continue to contemplate on the rise of Islam to the ruling reign of nations and the potential outcome and consequences of such sovereignty.

The rise of Islam, as presented in this book, does not only refer to the rise of the Islamic state of khilafah or to a mechanical implementation of the Islamic code, otherwise referred to as Shari’ah. Neither is it the resumption of holy wars, otherwise called jihad. Nor is it the transfer of the court and judicial system to Islamic courthouses. Although in the fullest extent, Shari’ah, jihad, and the courthouses are integral part of Islam. The rise of Islam in the context of this book refers to the resumption of an Islamic way of life in which materialism falls to the backseat while piety moves to the driver seat. It is a life in which matter becomes the tool for satisfying the objectives of the human life, rather than it being the objective which drives the human momentum It is a well-known fact that for thirteen years of Prophet Mohammad’s twenty-three years as a messenger, the code of Shari’ah, the jihad, and the courthouses were not a dominant part of the culture of Islam. Although a large portion of the Quran was revealed during these thirteen years. The main focus during this period was the intellectual foundation of the religion and ideology as well as the nonviolent ideological and political struggle led by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and his companions.

The remaining ten years of his life as a messenger, Prophet Mohammad constructed a state and built a society. The Islamic code of Shari’ah was gradually introduced into the society until it was completed before Mohammad (PBUH) departed this life for his final destiny. It can be argued that the first thirteen years of his life, Prophet Mohammad, supported by revelation of the Quran from the Almighty God, established a foundation upon which the state and society was implemented. Without this foundation, the code could not have produced the envisioned systems of political, economic, and social life. Without this foundation, the systems could only have survived while the Prophet was alive only to disappear after his death. The truth of the matter is that the systems of Islam lived for 1,300 years and won the praise of the followers, the friends and the foes alike. Bernard Shaw, Irish writer and Nobel Prize winner in 1925, made the following comments on Mohammad and his leadership: “I believe that if a man like Mohammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.”1

When we talk about the rise of Islam, we have to address both the foundation and the structure of Islam. This is what gives Islam its ideological framework. And this is exactly what makes Islam relevant when we discuss the ideologies of capitalism or socialism, especially when these ideologies face a serious challenge.

When the world order experiences a crisis stemming from the ideology which dominates its economic and financial system, the image of an alternative ideology rises and tackles the very minds of the people. When socialism began to fail in the old Soviet Union, the local public in the Soviet Union and the global public in the world began to search for an alternative ideology. Capitalism was ready to engage the minds of the ideology seekers and to fill the vacuum created by the collapse of socialism. That was a natural process.

Today, capitalism as an ideology is experiencing a crisis which threatens a collapse of the ideological framework in the world at large. It is only natural for people to search and investigate alternative ideologies. The dilemma that faces the world is that the other two potential ideologies are not immediately available to replace the current one. Socialism has collapsed more than twenty years ago, and there is no serious attempt to revive it. Islam has fallen as an ideology more than eighty years ago, although there are serious and vigorous attempts to resume its full implementation. Had the ideology of Islam been practiced and implemented in some country in the world, then it would have been natural for Islam to fill the vacuum which could result after the collapse of capitalism. More so, Islam would have competed with capitalism to fill the vacuum after the collapse of Soviet socialism at the end of the twentieth century.

The irony is that the ideological framework of Islam (the foundation plus the structure) was practically removed from the world at the start of the twentieth century. Hence, for Islam to be applicable as a viable alternative to current ideologies, it must rise again in its capacity as an ideology. The process of rising has indeed started, and it will not be too long before the world begins to experience the ideology of Islam in practice. Patrick Buchanan described this process as an idea whose time has come, and that no army in the world could stop this rise. This process will be further analyzed and discussed in the subsequent sections.

Hence, the term rise of Islam in this book refers to the rise of the ideology of Islam. This should relax the concern that some may have regarding the fact that Islam as a religion has never fallen and continues to be an ever-growing religion in terms of the number of followers. It should also remove the confusion stemming from the fact that the sources of Islam, in particular the Quran and the statements of Prophet Mohammad, have been preserved and documented with utmost accuracy; so the term fall and rise of Islam does not apply to this part of Islam either. In effect, the term rise of Islam refers specifically to the revival of the ideology of Islam in its capacity as an intellectual foundation, a structure built upon that foundation, and a methodology for implementing the ideology.

The next section will explore the details of Islam as an ideology; this should clarify exactly what we mean by the ideological framework of Islam and what are the major components of this ideology.