Terrorism is a general issue, not just about Islam<\/p>\n
Khaled Abou El Fadl of the University of California in Los
\nAngeles (UCLA), who is known as a strong critic of puritan
\nWahhabi Islam, visited Yogyakarta earlier this week to deliver a
\nkeynote speech during the four-day International Conference on
\nIslam, Women and New World Order. The Jakarta Post's Sri Wahyuni
\ntalked to him about Islam-related issues. The following are
\nexcerpts from the interview.<\/p>\n
Question: What do you have to say about the issue of terrorism
\nin the world and the fact that it is often related to Islam?<\/p>\n
Answer: It is important to remember that much of it does not
\nget very much publicity compared to when it is committed by
\nMuslims. Terrorism by Muslims gets particular publicity because,
\namong others, causes high casualties. The targets that Muslim
\nterrorists choose, too, are usually from countries like the U.S.
\nthat, of course, draw much attention. We do not hear much about
\nterrorist attacks in Columbia, Peru or Mongolia because not much
\nattention is paid to these countries. So, it's more a general
\nissue. It's not an Islamic phenomena.<\/p>\n
What do you think about the recent bombings, such as in Egypt?<\/p>\n
They may be incited by the (U.S.) invasion of Iraq but we have
\nto remember that this type of terrorism is really a modernistic
\nphenomena. These particular groups of terrorists are very much
\ninfluenced by a very puritanical interpretation of Islam.
\nIronically, they are also influenced by Western thinkers like
\nSamuel Huntington, who talk about a fundamental clash between
\nWestern and Muslim civilization that has been going on for
\ncenturies.<\/p>\n
Historically, this thesis is very doubtful and contains a lot
\nof holes. It fits in with the puritanical view of the world that
\nit can be divided into black and white, that Muslim countries
\nwill destabilize the Western economic and liberal system. It's
\nchildish to imagine that two or three strikes like the Sept. 11
\nbombings can destroy a country like the U.S.<\/p>\n
They, American and British politicians, are actually feeding
\ntheir egos. The reality is that the terrorist attackers are
\ncriminals. They shed a lot of blood needlessly. It's a criminal
\nact both under international law and Islamic law.<\/p>\n
How does Islam see terrorism?<\/p>\n
In Islamic law there is what is called hiraba, a crime when
\nindividuals, whether they have a cause or not, attack others
\nwithout notice and in a situation where others are not in a
\nposition to defend themselves. In Islamic law, this is considered
\na very serious crime and the punishment for this is execution or
\nsome sort of exile -- permanent exile.<\/p>\n
The logic they rely on is sleazy words like, \"This is
\ndifferent because we don't have the means to fight the West, so
\nthis is a darurah (emergency). If we had an army, then we could
\nfight the West with that army. But, we don't so we fight this
\nway.\"<\/p>\n
It's just like they used to magically say during the first and
\nsecond crusades that, \"Yes, Jesus loves peace but before we can
\nhave peace we first have to rid the Muslims of their evil. We
\nhave to liberate them and cleanse them of their evil by killing
\nthem.\" Using this logic, the first and second crusades led to the
\nkilling of hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians.<\/p>\n
Any religion can be twisted to achieve something. And it's not
\njust religion. Any ideology can be twisted to achieve the same
\nthing. So, there is twisted communism, Hitler's twisted
\nCatholicism, twisted socialism and nationalism. There is no end
\nto what human beings can invent to commit evil.<\/p>\n
Do you mean that claiming that terrorist acts are a form of
\nholy war is also a form of twisting Islamic teachings?<\/p>\n
There is no idea of holy war in Islam. War is never holy. War
\nis a necessary evil. The idea of holy war comes from Christianity
\nand not from Islam. But, can we say this as jihad? The logic here
\nis a very suspicious as jihad entails that not only do we have to
\nhave a cause, but it also has to be based on certain laws.<\/p>\n
The laws that the Prophet taught are that you may not cause
\nunnecessary destruction. You may not kill anyone needlessly. You
\nmay not kill a non-combatant. You may not kill a child or an
\nelderly person. These rules are very well known. And, on top of
\nthat, it cannot be committed through treachery. I cannot trick
\nyou. It must be declared that I am at war against you and that
\nyou have an opportunity to defend yourself.<\/p>\n
What concept of jihad should be fostered?<\/p>\n
Part of it is that we have to educate Muslims on the teachings
\nof Prophet Muhammad about jihad and its notion of very high
\nethical tolerance. The problem is, particularly starting in the
\n70s, a very puritanical version of Islam that is fundamentally
\ndegrading and does not respect others as human beings has been
\npromoted. The glorification of death comes again from certain
\ntheological beliefs that are right now being spearheaded by
\nWahabi Islam.<\/p>\n
That is the heart of the problem because it takes a certain
\nsocial situation to produce a terrorist. Terrorists are not just
\nborn overnight. There are social circumstances that make these
\npeople take the easy way out. Instead of living for Islam, they
\nwant to die for Islam. The teachings of Mohammad bin Abdul Wahab,
\ntherefore, have to be confronted as a serious problem. Otherwise,
\nthey problem of Muslims acting in an inhuman way will continue.<\/p>",
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