396 • 19 THE REASSERTION OF ISLAMIC POWERThe Islamic revolution in the Middle East, as inspired by the Ayatollah
Khomeini, ended with his death in June 1989. Indeed, it had been declining
for several years, as Iran's revolutionary zeal waned and Iraq regained the
lands that it had earlier lost. Islam is a religion and a way of life; it is not a
political ideology. Before 1979 Westerners underestimated Islam's power
over the hearts and minds of Muslims; during the 1980s we overestimated
it. For most of the history that you have studied in this book, Islamic beliefs
and institutions strongly influenced the people of the Middle East, but no
leader, not even Muhammad, could make Islam the sole determinant of
what Muslims thought and did. The Shari'a always coexisted with other le¬
gal systems, including the edicts of kings and governors. The imperial tra¬
dition of Achaemenid Iran coexisted through the ages with the Islamic
vision of Muhammad. Civil officiais and military officers wielded power in
an ongoing symbiosis (or rivalry) with caliphs and ulama.
The Islamic revolution enabled the mostazafan to find their voice and to
vent their anger on rulers and foreign advisers who exalted material wealth
and power in the name of "modernization." Anger is a powerful tool for
hopeful politicians everywhere, but it does not make policy, feed the hun¬
gry, shelter the homeless, win the war, or keep the peace. Islam gives mean¬
ing to the lives of individuals and groups; it teaches principles that make
people more ethical and humane. But today's world is far more complex
than the one in which the Shari'a took form, and many skills are needed to
meet its challenges, whether within the lands of Islam or between Muslims
and non-Muslims. All countries touched by the "fundamentalist" revival
must harness the wisdom of religion to solve economic and social prob¬
lems, resolve conflicts, and create peace. It is time for Muslims and other
peoples, including Americans, to work together on a basis of mutual un¬
derstanding and respect.