Can Islamism Be Regarded as The Root Cause of Extremism?
By
Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef, New Age Islam
30 June 2022
The
Political Interpretation Of Islam On Which All Extremists Such As Osama Bin
Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Baghdadi, And Others Rely Is Very Aptly Criticized
And Refuted By Some Great Muslim Minds Of Modern-Day Islam. Like Abul Hasan Ali
Nadwi, Maulana Waheeduddin Khan, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Main points
1. Extremism in
Muslim societies is fed by the old Fiqhi (jurisprudential) mindset and further
augmented by political Islam.
2. To reform
the community, you need to rethink and rebuild certain Fiqhi premises by
revisiting the original sources.
3. Madrasa
system is also a source of extremism.
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The world
was dumbfounded when it witnessed the forming of ISIS, a new kind of Caliphate
established in the name of Islam some years back in the Levant. The world also
shuddered at what this so-called Caliphate did; the brutal killing of thousands
of innocents. In fact, it was a terrorizing cabal with kidnapping, beheading of
enslaved children, and Western journos in cold blood, videographing the
dreadful murder and then releasing its videos to a world audience. Not only
that, but raping captive women, forcing them to satisfy the sexual needs of the
Caliphate's young fighters and sending waves of shock with its unlimited
bloodshed.
Yes, the overwhelming majority of Muslims
worldwide were stunned and quickly shunned this ideology. Yet bewildered
Islamists around the world at this turn of events were initially in a denial
mood. Some were even snuffing Western conspiracy behind all this. Some were
warmly welcoming the move putting all the blame on big powers and thus hardly
criticizing and refuting its raison de' etre as well as its modus operandi. Yet
it is also strangely astonishing at the same time that the idea of a Caliphate
would attract so many young Muslim minds driving them out of their comfort zone
to achieve this goal from many Muslim lands, even from European countries. That
creates the question in the minds of non-Muslims what the attraction was?
Answering this question, I would say that the idea of the revival of the old
type of Caliphate was motivating them. Yet why? The question still wants an
explanation. Most Muslims generally believe that the cause of the enmity
between Jews and Muslims is the Palestinian issue. And the hatred of some
Muslims for Americans or Westerners is because of their unwavering support for
Israel, constant interference in Muslim countries, etc. But if this is the
case, what about the generous U.S. aid to Egypt, Palestine, Pakistan, and even
Afghanistan?
No, these
people sincerely believe that the times can be pushed back to centuries ago,
and the same model of the Caliphate can be brought back where Abu Bakr and
Umar(R.A.) ruled and got half of the world at the threshold of Islam.
Hizb
ut-Tahrir and other movements have repeatedly propagated that the revival of
the Khilafah will alleviate all the suffering of Muslims. Influenced by
such massive propaganda over decades, these poor people are ready to go to any
lengths to achieve this utopia.
I think the
root cause of all the extremism we see in Muslim societies today lies in our
theology which tells us that establishing a Khilafa is a must for Muslims. And
the way this is imparted to our younger generation in our madrasa and mosques
is also responsible. Political Islam is augmenting this extremism. To show how
Islamic thought became obsolete and problematic, I have to borrow the words of
reformist scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi who says:
"This
monster of extremism didn't fall directly from heaven. This evil is a
by-product of religious ideology. Taught for a long time in our madrasas and
institutions and how it is interpreted therein. Its main features are: Imposing
of Shariah, jihad, fighting, and of course eradicating of Kufr, shirk
(infidelity and association), and ending of apostasy from the surface of the
earth. Extremists - individuals and outfits - take inspiration from that
ideology, and incorporate that with some practical alterations in the blueprints
for their terror actions" (Maqamat: P;256)
Secondly,
there is a Fiqhi principle based on which Muslim jurists draw more general
injunctions pertinent to non-Muslims. That a non-Muslim individual is not an innocent and Godly
protected one. In contrast, a Muslim man or woman is innocent and respectable.
It means that non-Muslim blood can be shed without fear of Godly punishment,
though in the world, actually his killer may be punished. Moreover, some
ideologues of Islamism, like Maulana Syed Abul A'la Maududi, inferred from his
literal reading of many Holy Quran verses and the prophet's sayings that a
non-Muslim also is not entitled to rule in the world, administer the state
affairs, and be in significant leading positions. Yes, he can live in his
infidelity in this world because there is no compulsion in the matters of
religion, yet in a subjugated condition, not in power. In his view ruling the
world and, of course, managing a country is the sole privilege of pious and
righteous Muslims (مومنين صالحين) only.
In
Maududi's view, it is incumbent on a group of righteous, pious Muslims to
snatch the reins of power from the hands of Kafirs (infidels) and even from the
hands of irreligious or less religious-secular Muslims. Hence, he was hell-bent
on opposing Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his Muslim League. They were secular to the
core and non-practicing Muslims, regarded by the clergy as agents of Kufr and
Shirk and of Taghut (Satan, deity, unjust and despotic ruler).
However, many of them followed him in his two-nation theory on religious
grounds for purely practical purposes.
This means
that once the proposed state of Pakistan is established, the clergy will be
fully entitled to usurp the power from the secularists in the state.
Although there are many scholars and modernist
Muslim reformers who do not subscribe to either the old jurists'
above-mentioned theory or the Maududi's political ideas, which give impetus,
motive, and inspiration to many more zealots and stalwarts of Islamism. In
fact, in Maududi’s scheme of things, the reform process is a top-down process
like Communism, while to other Ulama and scholars, it is another way around.
The
political interpretation of Islam on which all extremists such as Osama Bin
Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Baghdadi, and others rely is very aptly criticized
and refuted by some great Muslim minds of modern-day Islam. Like Abul Hasan Ali
Nadwi, Maulana Waheeduddin Khan, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, et al. Yet, the
extremists' narration is still prevalent. The counter narrative didn't take
root and didn't find its way into young Muslim minds because instead of
reasonable free debate and discussion and scientific exchange of ideas in most
Muslim societies, there is a chaotic situation. The norm is to raise storms on
non-issues, commotion, protest, taking to the streets, arson, killing innocent
people, and lawlessness. That is why the desired change of mindset is not
coming around.
And to
grasp the actual situation around Muslim lands, you don't need to be
well-versed in rocket science to understand that our biggest problem is
religious extremism. The phenomenon has now become fatal. It started first on
the plane of thinking, perceiving things, then writing them, and now crossed to
the realms of action, resulting in brutal killings and violence. It does not
spare politics, economy, and all the social walks of life. And this monster so
far has taken thousand of innocent lives of youths, elders and of course
children.
Some words
on the Madrasa system are also due. The madrasa system is centuries old in its
running. Its curricula and methods of teaching are all outdated now. Here I
would like to elaborate my point with an example:
Without a
standard minimum curriculum of twelve years or so, no human society allows
anybody to take the initiative and admit children to any specialization, such
as engineering, medicine, or any other educational field. But in madrasa
tradition prevalent, especially in the subcontinent, there is no bar. For, all
these madrasas belonging to different sects take students, primarily because of
their poor backgrounds and weak social stratum, from the age of 4-5-6-7-10 to
12 years, without any prior standard secular education. This intake is mostly
compelled to memorize Quran, then take Maulvi, Alim, and lastly, Fazil courses.
Without any scrutiny, without knowing the children's inclinations, aptitude and
personal preferences, they are all supposed to become Hafiz of the Quran or
Alim in compulsion.
There is a
real possibility that many madrasa children could be doctors, engineers,
scientists, writers, poets, journalists, and artists, yet all the madrasas
deprive them of these opportunities altogether. This is the first. Secondly,
these madrasas compel their students and graduates to be alienated from everyday
social life. In the words of Maulana Munazir Ahsan Geelani, an educationist and
himself a graduate of Deoband. "having
lived in a cave like the legendry Cave People (اصحاب
كهف)
when they become graduate and Farigh, and come out of that cave, their
certificates and degrees have no market value." They only have in their
hands a dud check.
Masjids and
madrasas are essential formations for Muslims because the basics religious
imperatives like daily five-time prayers, funeral rituals, solemnizing marriage
ceremonies, etc., could not be done without them. But the flip side is that
both have become a handy tool in the clergy's hands. Ulama, by dint of that
tool, have quickly established their mini empires within Muslim societies,
mainly in the subcontinent. They are ruthlessly exploiting this tool to either
propagate their false and narrow viewpoints or to excommunicate their
adversaries, detractors, or critics. There should be an awareness in the
society to liberate both the institutions from their clutches. If madrasas and
mosques could retain their pristine purity and could be returned to Allah
Almighty, instead of remaining in the hands of the Ulama community, extremist
ideologies and stereotyped outlooks could be gradually eradicated from society.
-----
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Dr. Mohammad Ghitreef is a Research
Associate with the Centre for Promotion of Educational and Cultural Advancement
of Muslims of India, AMU Aligarh.
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/islamism-extremism-extremists/d/127368
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