Date : Fri, 25 Jan 2002 20:29:58 +0100
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YellowTimes.ORG News Update
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''A leap of faith - Muslims must have courage to modernize Islam''
Posted on Wednesday, January 23 @ 15:41:46 EST
By Chiedozie Chigbo
YellowTimes.ORG Columnist (United Kingdom)
(YellowTimes.ORG) - At no time in the 1400-year history of Islam has jihad
or fatwa been more urgent for Muslims since the terror attacks on New York
and Washington last September. Jihad and fatwa are words many in the West
have now become familiar with - words that sometimes conjure frightening
images of frenzied mobs and fanatical mullahs. Images that have fueled an
undercurrent of fear and suspicion of Islam, and since September 11, erupted
in open hostility towards Islam.
In spite of some Western leaders trying very hard to dissociate Islam from
the atrocities, the fallout from the September 11 attacks has re-ignited
historical differences between the Islamic East and Christian West. People
now talk about a dangerous religious conflict, unconventional and without
borders; a conflict with the potential for even greater carnage than seen in
previous religious conflicts.
The perpetrators of the terror attacks have succeeded in destroying any
pretension of trust between Islam and the West. The crisis could be a
defining moment not just in the relationship between the West and Islam, but
as to the direction in which Islam will be taken in the twenty-first century
- either progressive or retrogressive. The time has come for progressives
within Islam to seize the initiative. The time is now for a new kind of war
within Islam - a jihad led by liberal and secular Muslims for hearts and
minds of Muslims around the world.
Making Islam more tolerant and truly peaceful is a Herculean task.
Criticizing Islam has become one of the last great taboos because of
threats, intimidation and undue pressure.
The reaction of Muslims to Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses is an unsavory
reminder to secularists and liberals who wish to see Islam modernized.
However, things have changed since September 11 and modernizers now have the
raison d'être and momentum to start the change process. But in order to move
on, culpability for the attacks on New York and Washington, and the role
Islam played in them, first have to be acknowledged by Muslims. This could
be tricky because some Muslims still question why the Western media label
the terror attacks as Islamic terrorism just because the hijackers were
Muslim. They argue that Islam is being unfairly associated with terrorism.
Others have argued that such generalizations have not been made about
individuals and groups from Christian backgrounds such as Timothy McVeigh
the Oklahoma bomber, or the IRA in Northern Ireland. They point to what they
see as double standards by the media for not referring to such individuals
or groups as Christian terrorists, or referring to acts of Christian
terrorism. Although this appears logical, the facts are not that simplistic
or straightforward.
With Timothy McVeigh we had an individual who had lost sight with reality -
denizen of a fringe world of conspiracy theorists with warped perceptions of
America's federal government. Any connection religion may have had with
Timothy McVeigh was tenuous, and it appeared to have played no part in his
decision to bomb the federal building.
The Provisional IRA created its identity from a mix of
nationalism-republicanism and socialist and egalitarian ideas. The
Provisionals were keen not to be seen as an organization motivated by
religious differences or one that simply targeted non-Catholics. The IRA's
objectives had more to do with political, social and economic considerations
than with religious fundamentalism. Other Christian fundamentalists such as
David Koresh and his Branch Davidians were dangerous, but were not known to
have declared war on non-Christians. Not so with the September 11 hijackers.
Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network, widely acknowledged as the
perpetrators of the September 11 attacks, never made secret their desire to
destroy the infidel West - its peoples, institutions and civilization. He
and members of his group frequently called on Muslims worldwide to rise in
jihad against Westerners; something he felt was a religious duty for all
Muslims. Such pronouncements had wide support among Muslims around the
world.
These facts ring hollow with Muslims, especially at a time when many feel
their religion is under siege and that they are being persecuted. This is
the challenge for Muslim liberals and secularists - to inform and educate
other Muslims about the facts. They must challenge the widely held
perception among Muslims that the attacks on September 11 were not done in
the name of Islam. Muslims must come to terms with this, no matter how
difficult to swallow.
Muslims must acknowledge that the terror attacks contradicted all civilized
principles, and they should stop trying to rationalize the actions of the
perpetrators. Muslims must be encouraged to reject violence as a means of
expressing disagreement or anger, no matter how just the cause may be.
American foreign policy and intervention in Vietnam and several Latin
American states during the Cold War were devastating to those countries.
They all have very good reason to be angry with America, however none of
these countries have used terror attacks to demonstrate their disapproval of
America's actions.
Regularly, we see on the news disturbing stories about murderous attacks in
the Middle East carried out in the name of Islam or by Islamic
organizations. And it is understandable why the Arab-Israeli conflict has
the capacity to generate so much rage and frustration in Arab and Muslim
countries. But what kind of rage would make young men turn themselves into
human bombs with such devastating effect? How could such violent suicidal
acts be glorified as martyrdom and heroic?
Mosques and Islamic schools have played a significant role in feeding
impressionable and vulnerable young people a diet of hate, and a perverse
and uncompromising brand of Islam. Largely unchallenged, these views have
been allowed to permeate Muslim societies over the years. Now there is a
whole generation of young people with a jaundiced and distorted view of the
West and to a large extent the rest of the world.
The failure of regimes in Muslim countries, secular as well as theocratic,
to deliver political, economic and social cohesion has given rise to America
being viewed as the bogeyman and great Satan. This is because the success
and global influence of America and other Western countries is resented in
Muslim countries.
To many Muslims, Islam is superior to Western culture and therefore should
be the dominant influence in the world. This resentment and years of failed
leadership in Muslim countries have facilitated the rise of extremist Muslim
clerics and organizations. Many Muslims find their simple message of Islamic
pride and an exclusive global brotherhood - ummah - attractive. That message
helps to reinforce a "them" and "us" theme, laced with a militant mantra
blaming the West for all their problems.
It is true Western governments have been involved in installing some of the
corrupt and repressive regimes in Muslim countries. And Western governments
continue to support such regimes on the basis of so-called strategic
interests. But is it not hypocrisy by Muslims to complain about such
activities when Muslim states are just as guilty?
In Sudan there is a pogrom going on - the Muslim Arab government in Khartoum
is systematically eliminating the Nubian people. Saudi Arabia backs the
fundamentalist regime in Sudan and has the economic muscle and influence to
get the Sudanese government to end its atrocities which include enslaving
and forcibly converting captured Nubian people to Islam. However, Saudi
Arabia and other Islamic countries give tacit approval to what is going on
in Sudan.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are widely known to export Islamic fundamentalism to
other parts of the world from Southeast Asia to West Africa. In Nigeria
Christians are regularly attacked by violent Muslim mobs in northern
Nigeria. Nigeria is a volatile mix of different ethnic groups and religions,
with the north being predominantly Muslim and the south mainly Christian.
The religious differences have been simmering for years, but have come to a
head since the election of a Christian as president two years ago. The
Muslim north lost the political domination it wielded for over 30 years
through military coups. Under the guise of humanitarian assistance, Saudi
Arabia and Iran have exploited these differences by funding religious
schools and fundamentalist organizations. It was these groups that
championed the introduction of Sharia (strict Islamic law) to northern
Nigeria. Some reports in Nigeria even claim that some politicians in the
north receive substantial funding from Saudi Arabia.
Not too long ago the mainly Catholic people of East Timor became independent
after almost thirty years of illegal occupation by Indonesia. During the
brutal occupation, there were at least two reported massacres of East
Timorese, and widespread human rights violations by Indonesian troops trying
to clamp down on peaceful pro-independence demonstrations. There was hardly
a dissenting voice from Muslim countries during the occupation. It took the
leadership and decisiveness of Australia to implement United Nations
resolutions that for long had been ignored by Indonesia. Once again, as in
the Balkans, the West had shown some degree of willingness to take action to
end repression or ethnic cleansing around the world, regardless of religious
or cultural background of the groups involved.
The reformation or modernization of Islam has to lead to embracing humanity
as one, and not divided between believers and infidels. Muslims have to
start showing more compassion for non-Muslims, and put greater value to the
lives of other people regardless of a person's belief's or values.
Muslim secularists, liberals and intellectuals should show more courage in
encouraging such reformation and liberalization within Islam. They must call
a halt to its current journey, and challenge the religious conservatives and
reactionaries in Muslim countries who would like to turn the clock back even
further.
I believe September 11 has given liberals and secularists the momentum
because it illustrates something fundamental and unsettling about Islam. As
a religion that evolved and expanded through aggressive and violent means,
violence runs deep and is generally accepted as a means to conflict
resolution. Added to this is Islam's inability to coexist with other values,
cultures or faiths. This inability probably stifles the creativity,
technological advancement and economic prosperity that is needed in order to
address the poverty and despair in many Muslim countries.
The challenge to Islam's imperious orthodoxy and some of those myths that
have spawned suicide bombers should not just come from Muslim intellectuals
living in the West, but has to include people in Muslim and Islamic
countries. If Muslims are to be saved from self-destruction, then
secularists and liberals in Muslim countries must speak up against the
atavistic path Islam is taking. Muslim countries must encourage greater
freedom of information and expression, in order to re-connect their people
with the rest of the world.
The West and in particular America are beginning to realize that the concept
of national interest is now almost redundant, as the world becomes
increasingly interdependent. Actions taken for selfish national interests
alone are bound to create problems later on.
American support for the mujahadeen during the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan appears to have come back to haunt them. We in the West have
also learnt that isolationism and unilateralism, or economic success at the
expense of less prosperous nations has major consequences. The East and the
West must look in the mirror for critical self-appraisal.
Chiedozie Chigbo encourages your comments: cchigbo@YellowTimes.ORG
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