The concept of blind nationalism (giving your loyalty and undying love to your country) is actually an intellectually shallow idea. The country is in fact an imaginary entity that changes from time to time. It is non-living, non-sentient, and non-bestowing. It is the collective figment of imagination of the the people who wish to believe in it. Rather, loyalty to country is a mantra that is typically used by governments to justify blind allegiance to their laws and rules; when one opposes a cabal of corrupt leaders, he is accused of being disloyal to the country. As such, Muslims should rise above petty issues of nationalism ever being a disuniting factor for members of the Ummah. Its fine to understand country as a manifestation of a particular culture, clothes, and cuisine, and take a generic pride in the heritage Allah has given him. But be careful of going to extremes in this regard. There is no loyalty over and above loyalty to ones Creator and Sustainer; and then loyalty to the Prophet (SAW) who taught us about that Creator, and then loyalty to people who believe and worship that Creator. See this amazing video and then ask yourself if it makes sense to claim an unreserved love for any country. https://youtube/watch?v=WFYKrNptzXw
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:10:58 +0000