The Fourth Wall
The establishment of this English-language supplement is by no means a matter of intellectual luxury; rather, it is a responsibility imposed by reality and by the guiding vision of Al-Raqeem Scientific Club, whose foundational mission has been to carry forward the legacy of the two eminent scholars, Sheikh Abdelhamid Ben Badis and Sheikh Mohamed El Bachir El Ibrahimi.
We first launched a specialized intellectual journal intended to serve as a beacon for sound thought and as a defense against imported and corrosive ideologies that threaten the sanctities of the Ummah. This was Al-Rabiaa’ah, an intellectual review.
We then came to realize that the family itself had become a primary target—an arena through which efforts are made to fragment the nation and sever its internal bonds. Consequently, safeguarding the family became an imperative, giving rise to Asirah (The Bond).
We further recognized that wealth constitutes the lifeblood of the community, and that persistent efforts are made to corrupt financial life through prohibited transactions while restricting lawful means of livelihood. Since the preservation of wealth is among the higher objectives (maqasid) of Islam, reality compelled us to establish Our Islamic Economy, a journal dedicated to collecting and studying matters related to this field.
These three pillars thus form the foundations we have laid, in the hope of elevating them as a protective structure for the Ummah.
Yet one pillar remained: the necessity of conveying our ideas beyond our immediate context and communicating the values we uphold to the wider world. It is my conviction that had Sheikh Ben Badis and Sheikh El Ibrahimi been granted a longer life, they would themselves have pursued this path and initiated such a supplement in the English language.