Understanding the sociology of religious terrorism

Ahmad Najib Burhani, Jakarta

A number of religious leaders in Indonesia, such as those in the National Movement against Terrorism (GNAT), have claimed that the Bali bomb blasts and religion are two totally separate issues.

Many Muslim leaders insist that jihadism, terrorism, and martyrdom have nothing to do with Islam. This, however, is a highly debatable topic and should be looked at seriously.

Religions, like people, often appear as opposite characters; good and bad; peaceful and smiling or warlike and angry. In the hands of the late Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid certain verses of the Koran could be interpreted in a peaceful way, while in the hands of Osama bin Laden, the same verses could be translated into acts of terror.

It should be remembered, however, that this ability to interpret is not exclusive to Islam.

Terrorism can emerge from the heart of any religion. Therefore, it is wasting one's time being concerned about whether terrorist acts are "Islamic" or "un-Islamic". The terrorists base their ideology on the Koran, the main and the most authoritative source of Islam and also the source of the politicization of Islamic teachings. No doubt when doing what they did, they thought they were acting as true believers.

The story of Alija Izetbegovic, a former president of Bosnia- Harzegovina is interesting. He explained his experiences reading the Koran as Bosnia was torn apart by religious conflict.

"I always stopped reciting when I found verses telling stories about fighting, jihad, and justice. Verses that obligate and force us to fight and revenge hostile and tyrannic actions became embedded in my mind. For instance, 'And those who, when an oppressive wrong is inflicted on them, (are not cowed but) help and defend themselves.'" (QS Ash-Shura 39).

This kind of thinking is no doubt similar to the thinking of Imam Samudra, Amrozi or Osama bin Laden. A feeling of being under threat and oppressed, alienated and attacked.

In these kind of situations, many people are ready to choose the hard and harsh verses of the Koran and use them as the engines and justifications of their actions.

How to combat the theology of terror? The Islamic Liberal Network (JIL) and the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) are two organizations that diligently promote, disseminate and campaign for a tolerant and peaceful Islam.

However, instead of weakening and minimizing the existence of the theology of terror, JIL and ICIP's activities often polarise issues, ensuring the growth of Islamic hard-liners and stimulating more radical action. Hard-liners believe that ICIP and JIL activists are hypocrites who work for foreign interests -- the enemy within who should be fought first before the conflict with the real enemies, the infidels, begins.

In their minds, the ideas promoted by JIL are the ideas of Islam's foes disseminated into Islamic communities through Muslims. For Islam, in their view, these ideas are like poison or opium -- killing or anesthetizing those of the proper faith.

In view of this, should we still disseminate liberal theology to combat radical ideas? Do we still need to promote moderate or tolerant theology to oppose religious terrorism? The answer to both questions is "yes". However, we should not focus our attention on reforming the radicals.

Liberal theology is only effective for those who are not yet "addicted" to radicalism. It is only useful to undermine the spread of radical theology to the moderates, society's larger middle-ground.

It is extremely hard to find a person who has "converted" from radical to liberal theology. Most proponents of liberal theology are people with backgrounds as secular Muslims.

Like fiqh (Islamic law) all theologies are a combination of the holy text, the context of the age and the personal ideas of the theologian. Christian liberation theology, for instance, emerged among impoverished people mainly in Latin America. It tried to liberate and release people from the hegemonies caused by capitalism.

Liberation theology contrasts with fundamentalist Western movements that have tried to combat atheism and secularism.

The one thing that unites radical, terrorist, liberal and liberation theologies is that they are all works of ijtihad; theologians interpreting religious texts in response to context.

But compare the backgrounds of the people from JIL with those in the radical Islamist groups. It is clear they often come from starkly different social, political and economic environments. As they say, "never the twain shall meet".

By understanding the sociology of theology, it becomes clearer how difficult it is to combat a theology of terror with a counter creed.

The writer works at the Research Center for Society and Culture in the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, is a lecturer at Bina Nusantara University and a member of Muhammadiyah. He can be reached at najib27@yahoo.com.