Time for ordinary Muslims to stand up: While religious leaders avoided talking about worldly issues and muslibs (liberal Muslims) shied away from talking about religion; extremists moved into the vacuum that existed at the intersection of modern technology and religious identity.
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net,
“They are not Muslims,” was how many reacted as heart wrenching photos and videos started coming in last month from Peshawar where terrorists had attacked a school and killed over 130 children. I identify with the helplessness and anger that forces some of us to say such words. This is a way for normal, ordinary Muslims to distance themselves and their religion from terrorists capable of committing such a heinous crime. But this posturing offers no long-term solution to the problem of extremisms.
First week of 2015 starts with yet another terror attack. The identity of attackers on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo at Paris is yet to be officially confirmed, but everyone is quick to assume that they have to be Muslims. They may not be wrong in their assumption. However much we deny it, the fact remains in many cases of violence, perpetrators are Muslims. We have to first acknowledge it, only then can we work towards finding a solution or devising ways to stop this menace.
An injured person is evacuated outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo’s office, in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. (Courtesy: http://mashable.com/)
Yes, members of organizations such as Al Qaida, ISIS and Taliban are Muslims. Yes, their acts are barbaric that mostly kill innocent people. Yes, their acts are not sanctioned by Islam. But by labeling them as non-Muslims, we Muslims are running away from our responsibility. We are clearly abdicating our duty in taking action that can prevent the dastardly acts by those who seek refuge under different Islamic labels.
Don’t get me wrong! I am not saying that something is wrong with Islam, which is supposed to have given rise to such organizations. These extremist organizations are rather products of social, economic and geo-political forces operating in these lands, be it Afghanistan, Syria or Pakistan. Two generations ago, these same forces produced left-leaning violent organizations, e.g. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) (notice the word ‘liberation’ in both names). The world is a different place now. The narrative of ‘liberation’ is no more sold. Instead, it is easier to recruit and convince someone to kill or die in the name of religion than convince him or her to sacrifice everything for revolution.
The agenda of these extremist organizations has always remained political, or, as in case of ISIS, to actually acquire political power. For Muslim terrorists, Islam is a tactic – a means towards an end – which is political in nature. They use religious terminology to legitimize their violence.
A great disservice is done when these organizations are termed as ‘jihadi’ in popular parlance, especially by government agencies across the world and the media. Calling terrorism ‘jihad’ is wrong for two reasons – first, it gives them a religious legitimacy that they are doing something sanctioned by Islam; second, it gives the impression that terrorism is part of Islam and all Muslims are not only capable of it but may even be required by their religion to do it. This makes every Muslim a suspect at best and a ticking time-bomb at worst.
Muslims themselves are the worst sufferers of terrorism perpetrated by Muslims. The Peshawar attack was a testimony to the fact that most of the victims of terror organizations such as Taliban, ISIS and Al Qaida have been Muslims. Still they somehow are able to survive even after killing so many Muslims. This drives home an important point. Even though their method is violent and the end goal is political, the religious cover gives them a perception of religious legitimacy, this need to be challenged.
It is in our interest – here and now – to challenge these violent forces in intellectual, political, and religious spheres by employing all possible means to evolve a better understanding of Islam. Why not have honest and open discussions about what Caliphate is and do we still need it in modern times? Why not talk about Shariah and whether these are divine or human interpretation of the divine rules? Why not open up Islamic public spaces for women as well? Why not debate and acknowledge different interpretations and practices of Islam? Why not debate and agree on the fundamentals and emphasis on spirituals rather than unnecessarily focus on differences in ritual practices? What should be the role of Islam in the modern world? How should Muslims act whether they are in majority or in a minority?
While doing so, we have to look at how Islam and Islamic history is taught or understood at our homes, schools, and mosques. Historians love battles and wars and Islamic history is full of them. So it is obvious that we focus on the battles fought by the Prophet while reading his biography and not on his work as peace maker and an able administrator. Why don’t we focus on how he was as a husband and as a father? Why do we forget to find out how he treated women around him?
A part of the blame lies also with our religious leadership, most of whom have been busy indulging in sectarian differences. As a result, they failed miserably to respond to the rapidly changing post-colonial post-cold war world. While religious leaders avoided talking about worldly issues and muslibs (liberal Muslims) shied away from talking about religion, extremists moved into the vacuum that existed at the intersection of modern technology and religious identity.
These extremists discarded centuries of scholarship in an attempt to go back to the “sources.” As a result, religious leaders and sects lost hold over a growing group of educated Muslims. But a bigger casualty was the locale-flavored practice of Islam that had organically developed in different parts of the world.
The return-to-sources movement attempts to produce a simple yet puritanical Islam which puts its practice at odds with the larger Muslim community. This accentuation leads to extreme practices on part of the faithful. Exactly these are the loud-mouth extremists that have hijacked our religious public spaces and discourse.
It is high time we Muslims acknowledged the growing presence of these extremist tendencies amongst us. Muslims need to have open discussions in mosques, schools, and homes too, about extremism and extremist interpretations of Islam.
We need to engage our youngsters who may be affected by a dangerous & violent rhetoric masquerading as religious ideology. We have to stand above petty sectarianism and offer a vision of Islam that offers solutions to the world’s problems. We have to capture the imagination of our young ones and encourage them to work towards making a just and peaceful world without extremism and violence.