Hizmet Approach To Counter-Extremism And De-Radicalisation Does Contribute To Producing Solutions To This Growing Problem
By Ghulam Rasool
Dehlvi, New Age Islam
24 February
2016
A Hizmet Approach to Rooting out Violent
Extremism
Authors: Ozcan Keles and Ismail Mesut Sezgin,
Publisher: Centre for Hizmet Studies, London
Year: 2015
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The violent
extremist ideology cannot be rooted out until an effective, coherent,
comprehensive and well-reasoned counter-narrative is evolved. For that, all the
theological, religious, political, historical, instrumental and
socio-psychological underpinnings of the global jihadism have to be
counter-argued and dismantled. “A Hizmet Approach to Rooting out Violent
Extremism” by Ozcan Keles and Ismail Mesut Sezgin produces a case study in this
context. It provides a critical and detailed analysis of the Hizmet’s
refutations of the ideological, theological and text-based rhetoric of the
violent extremism, which could be aptly termed ‘radical jihadism’.
Based on a
case study of the Hizmet’s approach to countering, rebutting and dismantling
the extremists’ core underpinnings, the theoretical focus of the book is to
argue and buttress the central point that the writings and teachings of the
moderate Islamic scholar and Hizmet’s founder-ideologue, Mr. Fethullah Gulen
have greatly inspired the movement’s multi-faceted anti-extremism initiatives.
The Hizmet’s Ideological Underpinnings against
the Violent Extremism
The authors
assert that the Hizmet’s arguments against the Violent Extremism mainly rely on
a “robust” understanding of the spirit and teachings of Islam’s primary
sources, the Qur’an and Sunna. The founder-ideologue of the Hizmet and a
progressive Islamic scholar, Mr. Fathullah Gülen propounds: “A true Muslim
cannot be a terrorist and a terrorist cannot be a true Muslim because they are
so fundamentally and diametrically opposed to each other, not just according to
the ‘letter of Islam’ but also according to the ‘heart, soul and spirit of
Islam’ (Ozcan Keles and Ismail Mesut Sezgin, 2015).
Going by
the detailed analysis of this book, the Hizmet’s ideological underpinnings
against violent extremism can be summed up in the fowling five points, as put
forward by Mr. Fathullah Gülen:
“Muslims
must confront the totalitarian ideology because every terrorist act in the name
of Islam profoundly affects all Muslims, alienating them from fellow citizens
and deepening the misperceptions about their faith’s ethos”.
“When
terrorists claim the Muslim mantle, then they bear this identity, if only
nominally and members of the faith must do whatever possible to prevent this
cancer from metastasizing in our communities”.
“Muslims
must denounce violence and not fall prey to victimhood”.
“Having
suffered oppression is no excuse for causing it or for failing to condemn
terrorism.”
“That the
terrorists are committing grave sins in the name of Islam is not merely an
individual opinion; it is the inevitable conclusion of an honest reading of
primary sources: the Quran and the accounts of the life of Prophet Muhammad.”
Hizmet’s Refutation of the Jihadist Theological
Misinterpretations
The
Hizmet’s theological refutation of violent extremist narratives has been worked
out in a consistent, coherent and effective way. The first part of the book is
titled: “Hizmet’s theological refutation”. According to the authors, Ozcan
Keles and Ismail Mesut Sezgin, the Hizmet’s counter-extremism narrative or
rhetoric is primarily based on a deep understanding of the foundational Islamic
scriptures, the Qur’an and Sunnah. They state: “Hizmet’s position on violent
extremism is based on a comprehensive, thorough and robust understanding and
reading of the spirit and teachings of Islam’s primary sources, the Qur’an and
Sunna – the same foundations on which its core teachings are based”.
The authors
tell us that in order to promulgate his narrative of peace and
counter-extremism, Gülen sought help from the popular interpretations of Badiuz
Zaman Sayeed Nursi (1877–1960), an influential moderate Turkish Islamic scholar
of 20th century. For instance, in his interpretation of the famous Qur’anic
verse that forbids unjust killing equating it with ‘the killing of all
humankind’ (Al-Ma’idah 5:32), Nursi is reported to have said:
“Every form
of life manifests a unique combination of God’s names and attributes which we
as humans were created to see and reflect upon in our spiritual journey of
‘travelling’ from the created to the Creator and arriving at a higher form of
understanding and awareness of ourselves and God – that is the purpose of
creation. Therefore, in addition to its inherent value, every form of life, be
it human or not, is a unique species in and of itself”.
Based on
this understanding of the Quran, Fathullah Gulen infers, as the book points
out, that “people have a positive responsibility to appreciate one another and
ensure the continuation of life. And, since, according to Saeed Nursi, humans
are key to the purpose of creation; unjust killing is a grave injustice not
just against the person killed and their loved ones, but also against the
entire universe to which their existence gives meaning”.
Therefore,
the book states, Gülen sees no difference between suicide bombs in London, Tel
Aviv or Istanbul. Since the unjust killing of one person is a grave sin, it
cannot be employed for any so-called Islamic objective. Here, the book also has
quoted Mr. Fathullah Gülen as having said: “A true Muslim cannot be a terrorist
and a terrorist cannot be a true Muslim because they are so fundamentally and
diametrically opposed to each other, not just according to the ‘letter of
Islam’ but also according to the ‘heart, soul and spirit of Islam”.
Dar Al-Hizmah vs. “Dar Al-Kufr” And “Dar
Al-Islam”
The book
patently explains how Gülen offers well-considered, rethought and progressive
interpretations of the Qur’anic terminologies and references such as jihad,
Hakimiyah (God’s rule over the earth), Khilafah (Islamic caliphate) and
Istishhad (divine martyrdom) and Al-Wala wal-Bara (love for the sake of God and
hatred for Him). These are some of the Islamic doctrines that the radical
Jihadists misconstrue to justify their acts of violence and extremism. Based on
a canonical understanding of the primary Islamic scriptures and scriptural
reasoning, Gülen’s writings and oral statements have evolved a complete and
coherent literature that refutes the jihadist ideology point by point, clause
by clause.
For
instance, Gülen has redefined the medieval jurisprudential terms such as “Dar
al-Kufr (abode of disbelief) and Dar al-Islam (abode of belief)” which were
instrumentalised to present a dichotomous worldview of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. He
strongly exhort the Hizmet volunteers to replace all such exclusivist terms
with a spiritual Islamic concept “Dar al-Hizmah” (abode of service) viewing the
whole world as one family of God (Ayal al-Allah) and hence he enjoins them to
serve and help each other. In a
nutshell, Hizmet’s theological curriculum on peace and counter-extremism,
freely accessible in the online media, is entirely based on a deepened,
balanced and insightful understanding of the two foundational scriptures of
Islam—the Qur’an and Hadith.
A ‘Positivist’ Counter-Narrative against
Extremism
With regard
to the Hizmet’s Approach to rooting out violent extremism and radicalisation,
the authors are of the view that Gülen has developed a ‘positivist’
counter-narrative against extremist, xenophobic, intolerant, radical and
violent interpretations of Islam. By counter-auguring the narratives of
victimhood and conspiracy theories, Gülen has worked out a moderate narrative
of understanding Islam as a peaceful, pluralistic, progressive and
forward-looking faith. This is precisely what another author on a similar
topic, Mr. Marthe Hesselmans has better illustrated; “The Hizmet offers an
alternative take on tolerance in which a strong religious group identity is
balanced with flexibility towards people, values and customs outside one's own
boundaries” (“A Different Take on Tolerance? Gülen's Alternative to Islam
Controversies in Germany”, by Marthe Hesselmans, Journal of the Ottoman and
Turkish Studies Association, Vol. 1, (2014), pp. 149, published by: Indiana
University Press).
Some of the
most inspiring and guiding quotes of Mr. Fathullah Gulen that the book has
reproduced could be interesting to go through:
“A person
who believes in the letter and spirit of Islam is called a Mu’min (literally,
‘believer’), which stems from the Arabic roots Amn and Amanah, meaning trust,
trustworthiness, peace and security – attributes that should be upheld by a
true believer”.
“A believer
must always follow the concept of Sirat al-Mustaqeem (the middle way), avoiding
harmful extremity at every level of life including thought, feeling and even in
the practice of religion”...... A Mu’min of this type is one from whom others
are safe with respect to what he says and does.....the Prophet admonished those
who were too extreme in their fasting and praying to the point of neglecting
their homes and families”.
The book
also reproduces many of Gulen’s talks delivered on the subject of “Islam and
violent extremism”. In one of his talks, Gülenis reported to have recited a
Hadith narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas, which states that faith leaves the body of a
believer when he or she commits a grave sin. (Therefore) “since suicide bombers
die in the state of committing their murderous acts, they may die not only
while committing a great sin but also outside the fold of the religion they
claim to be serving”. “Even beyond the reprehensible violence of indiscriminate
killing, violent extremism and terrorism, Gülen offers a rethinking on the less
clear forms of state-declared war”, the authors comment.
“Hizmet’s De-radicalisation by Default Praxis”
From the
page number 17 to 27, the book has devoted a chapter to the Hizmet’s Positive
counter-Narrative and what it calls “Hizmet’s Deradicalising by Default
Praxis”. These pages conclude that the Hizmet is trying to defeat the violent
extremist narratives head-on. By the “Hizmet’s Deradicalising by Default
Praxis”, the authors meant the movement’s default approach which proactively
address some of the underlying causes as they relate to ideology, mindset and
inculcation. Thus, all the above-mentioned three parts are aimed at explaining
the distinct and myriad facets of Hizmet’s approach to counter-extremism.
Conclusion
The book
concludes that the Hizmet approach to counter-extremism and de-radicalisation
does contribute to producing solutions to this growing problem. However,
situations used in the book are hypothetical.A critical analysis of the
Hizmet’s refutations of the extremists’ theological and ideological
underpinnings clears its position that the mainstream moderate narrative of
Islam, which the movement adheres to, is completely antithetical to the
extremist Islamist doctrines. A holistic reading of the book proves that
Hizmet’s positions on the extremists’ ideological arguments starkly contradict
the mainstream spiritual narrative of Islam, which the movement claims to
follow and promulgate. The book came as a part of “Thought & Practice
Series” brought out by Centre for Hizmet Studies in 2015.
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Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, is an Alim and Fazil
(Classical Islamic Scholar), English-Arabic-Urdu Writer, Translator and
Doctoral Research Scholar, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance (JMI
University).
URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/hizmet-approach-counter-extremism-de/d/106443
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