| War on Terror | |
| 09 Apr 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
Terrorism: A Wave of Introspection Sweeping the Muslim World?
The scholars of today seem to have realised, though belatedly, that Ibn Taimiya’s fatwa had been a source of inspiration for the extremist, radical and sectarian schools of thought in the Muslim world and had given birth to Al Qaeda,Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al Shahab and other terrorist organisations all over the world causing death, destruction and slaughter of innocent people in the name of Jihad. The acts of violence have not only killed non-combatants among the Muslims and non-Muslims but have also damaged the image of Islam as a religion of peace because even during a war, Islam is against assaulting or harming non-combatants, women, children, the elderly and unarmed persons. The so-called jihad had its political consequences as well. It did the Islamic world more harm than good. -- Sohail Arshad
Photo: Islamic scholar Habib Ali of Egypt
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| Terrorism: A Wave of Introspection Sweeping the Muslim World? | |
By Sohail Arshad
The horrifying magnitude of the terrorism and violence unleashed by the extremist school of thought professed by the medieval religious thinker and scholar Ibn Taimiyya has stirred contemporary Islamic scholars into introspection. As a result the world has been witnessing a rare phenomenon of individual and collective acts of introspection among the Islamic scholars and religious leaders to find out what ails the Muslim society today and what are the reasons driving Muslim youth towards violence in the name of so-called Jihad.
Muslim scholars are seeking to go to the root of the philosophy inspiring the professors of radicalism and more specially terrorism in the name of Jihad against the Darul Harb, a term used for the anti-Muslim or non-Muslim world coined by the 14th century Islamic scholar and thinker, Ibn Taimiyya, the spiritual mentor of Mohammad bin Abdul Wahhab. Ibn Taimiya had divided the world into two parts -- Darul Islam and Darul Harb and had advocated religious war or jihad against non-Muslims. Not only that, according to him even the Muslims who would be considered kafirs (deviants, heretics or non-believers) by his definition of Islam deserved to be killed.
The scholars of today seem to have realised, though belatedly, that Ibn Taimiya’s fatwa had been a source of inspiration for the extremist, radical and sectarian schools of thought in the Muslim world and had given birth to Al Qaeda,Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al Shahab and other terrorist organisations all over the world causing death, destruction and slaughter of innocent people in the name of Jihad. The acts of violence have not only killed non-combatants among the Muslims and non-Muslims but have also damaged the image of Islam as a religion of peace because even during a war, Islam is against assaulting or harming non-combatants, women, children, the elderly and unarmed persons. The so-called jihad had its political consequences as well. It did the Islamic world more harm than good.
A feeling has been growing among some ulema across the world against what has been termed as terrorism. Local religious bodies and individuals have started to come out into the open criticising the jihadists and pronouncing fatwas against them. In 2009, Darul Uloom Deoband, the largest seminary in India was probably the first to declare the violence unleashed by the jihadi forces like Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and others as un-Islamic and condemned it in the strongest terms. The ulema of India unanimously called India Darul Aman where there was no clash of civilisations.
Last month a prominent mufti of Pakistan, Maulana Tahir ul Qadri came out with his 600 page fatwa against terrorism and militancy which was hailed by all across the globe.
Then there are scholars like Habib Ali of Egypt who is a proponent of the moderate path and has been vocal against the doctrine of mindless violence in Islam. In an interview given to Yemen Times recently he says, "It is the Custom of Allah that extremes do not continue for long, because extremism by its very nature does not contain the qualities that insure permanence and continuity."
Habib Ali feels that the cultured elite has to ensure that the moderate position is prominent in the public domain, instead of just sufficing themselves with polemics against those holding extreme views."Apart from these individuals and religious organisations, other Islamic leaders have also raised their voices against these terrorist forces from time to time.
The most important development towards the war against terrorism was the recent holding of two conferences of Islamic scholars-- one in Medina and the other in Mardin in Turkey. These are expected to have a far reaching bearing on the general Muslim psyche in the time to come.
According to reports a four day conference of the Islamic scholars of Islam was held in the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia ending on 31st March, 2010 to denounce acts of terrorism. The conference was attended by some 500 scholars of Islam from all over the world who unanimously asked the extremists to "return to their senses and follow the path of groups that have announced repentance and rejected acts of terrorism." Importantly and rather ironically, this anti-terrorism conference was sponsored by the government of Saudi Arabia which has been itself pumping massive amounts petrodollars into Muslim majority countries to promote extremism in the name of Wahhabism.
Another conference in the string of events of introspection was held in Turkey in which prominent Islamic scholars from as many as 15 Muslim countries participated. In the conference the scholars jointly declared that the fatwa issued by the 14th century Islamic scholar Ibn Taimiyya did no longer apply and that Taymiyya’s edict should be viewed in its historic context of medieval Mongol raids on Muslim lands. The statement issued in the conference said: "Anyone who seeks support from this fatwa for killing Muslims or non-Muslims has erred in his interpretation... It is not for a Muslim individual or group to declare war or engage in combative jihad... on their own." It can be recalled that Osama bin Laden used to quote Ibn Taimiyya to justify his war against non-Muslim nations.
Last month an anti-terrorism declaration was issued for Somalia by leading global Islamic Scholars in a conference organised by the Global Centre of Renewal and Guidance (GCRG) which was attended by renowned Muslim scholars from Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Yemen, Libya and UAE. The declaration though issued with special reference to Somalia is a groundbreaking move towards fighting terrorism. It condemns religious justifications of violence by Islamist extremists to commit acts of terror not only in Somalia but across the world.
Clearly a trend is emerging in the Muslim world. Muslim scholars are beginning to realise that they have no option but to openly oppose the growing menace of terrorism and the seemingly religious grounds on which it is justified by the Jihadists.
Copyright: NewAgeIslam.com
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9:35 PM
Sultan Shahin
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