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When Nationalism Overrides Morality and Islam
As a Bangladeshi citizen, I spent a large part of my life holding on to many deeply rooted misconceptions, ideas that I am only now beginning to recognize as I learn to understand the modern world through a lens of awareness. Among these misunderstandings, one of the strongest beliefs I carried was that my primary identity must be Bengali, even before being a Muslim. From childhood, the training we received in school and textbooks was essentially an effort to tie nationalism completely to our sense of self‑worth, identity, and purpose in life.
Although I grew up in a Muslim family and was familiar with the basic teachings of Islam, I never imagined Islam as the central purpose of my life, nor did I ever consider it as the foundation of our national laws. This was because I treated the Constitution of Bangladesh as my “Deen” ( lawProhibition) without realizing how limited my understanding truly was.
The journey from darkness to light begins slowly, but now I can at least recognize that unless we whether Bengali, Pakistani, or Indian Muslims, accept and establish Islam as our law of life and as a complete lifestyle, we will remain trapped inside a fragile bubble. We will never reach the level of faith, character, and unity that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), his companions, and the early generations of Muslims embodied and established.
To reach that goal, we must understand why nationalism reduces us to such a small and divided state. To truly grasp these issues, we must learn about the Islamic political system, study the Seerah deeply, and understand the lives, thoughts, and perspectives of the Sahabah.
From the Seerah we learn that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) considered tribalism and group‑based loyalty to be among the major sins. For example, ‘asabiyyah refers to the force that binds people together based on shared culture, language, or customs—whether at the level of family, tribe, kingdom, or nation and The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:
لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ دَعَا إِلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ، وَلَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ قَاتَلَ عَلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ، وَلَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ
“He is not one of us who calls to ‘asabiyyah, who fights for ‘asabiyyah, or who dies upon ‘asabiyyah.” — Sunan Abu Dawud 121
And in another narration, the Prophet (SAW) said this when some companions used tribal slogans (“O Muhajirun!” “O Ansar!”). He immediately condemned it as Jahiliyyah (pre‑Islamic ignorance).
We can relate it when most Muslim leaders remain silent about our Palestinian brothers, sisters, and innocent children simply because they belong to a different nationality and even consider their silence to be justified—then the true meaning of this hadith becomes very clear.” This is why it is crucial right now to guide ourselves and the next generation toward correct knowledge, so that we can make the right decisions at the right time, decisions that will benefit us in the Hereafter. There is no other path forward.
