Informing Islamic Civil Society: The
Roots of Moderation in the Muslim World
Islam is moderate religion, extremists
such as wahabis oppose Islam
How do we build alliances with Islamic
societies to cultivate the establishment of political systems that respect, protect
and fulfill human rights? How do we recognize moderate Islam, what are its
traditions, and what are its chances for the future? Can a tradition of
moderate Islam be relied upon to carry forward the agenda of human rights?
Many political and social dilemmas (too
many of them inherited from generations of misguided convictions and behavior) bedevil
relations between the Muslim and Western worlds today. In the midst of
inescapable feelings of blurriness, confusion, skepticism, insecurity and
worries about what the future might bring, people of integrity and intellect tend
to search diligently for breakthroughs and solutions. One way is to look back
and identify what was done wrong, correct it, find solutions to the consequent
problems and implement them. In this process, Islam, I argue, is not the
problem; it is part of the solution.
Muslims believe that Islam began with
Adam, the first Prophet and Messenger of God, and that it delivered the purest
form of knowledge and civil society. The people were taught the various
languages, cultivation, minting currency, construction, the institution of
marriage, and preservation of life, lineage, mind, money and family, alongside
other aspects of their livelihood.
Islam recognizes the rights of God upon
His creation as well as the human rights, such as the rights of the spouse, parents,
neighbors, animals, nature, general public, human life, the enemy, the ruler, the
subjects, the plaintiff and the defendant (including due process of the law). Islam
also instills good manners for socializing, traveling, eating and drinking, buying
and selling, celebrating an event or mourning loss of life. Islamic history is
loaded with civil rights cases, the study of which can only crystallize and
enhance the concept of the universality of human rights and its applications. Thus,
Muslims are motivated and enabled to exercise their codes of human rights as
part and parcel of having the correct creed and belief about God.
Our religion teaches us that throughout
history, when Muslims were at a pinnacle of prosperity, human excellence and
the golden eras were in every instance attributed to the prevalence of the
correct knowledge of the religion and the proper implementation of its laws. On
the other hand, downfalls, tribulations and sedition have always been a
consequence of attrition in knowledge of the religion and negligence in
applying its laws. We believe that when Cain chose to deviate from the law, he
ended up killing Abel, thereby committing the first breach ever of this type of
human rights code. Likewise throughout history, many people have chosen to
deviate from the Laws of Islam in various degrees, thereby disrupting the civil
course of human life.
Today’s world is very complex indeed, and
I ask your forgiveness if what I say next appears to over-simplify the rich
texture of the entire population of those who identify themselves as Muslims. However,
for the sake of discussion, let us broadly classify this population into
moderates and extremists.
The moderate Muslims, despite existing
differences in the schools of Islamic thought, will work with you, coexist with
you and participate with you in upholding human values, moral systems and human
rights. The moderates, who constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion
Muslims living today and mostly are Ash^ariyys or Maturidihhs, are themselves of two categories: first, those
who possess a good knowledge of the religion, adhere to the basic creed and
implement the laws of jurisprudence; and secondly, those who adhere to the
correct creed, but whose religiosity is weak, in that they commit sins, whether
minor or enormous. Such people require constant attention by the more
knowledgeable people to teach them the tenets of the religion, to help them to
excel and to protect their creed from deviation.
Extremist groups draw for their growth
from the pool of the moderate Muslims whose level of knowledge and religiosity
is weak, by masquerading as defenders of issues of strategic importance and
concern to all Muslims. Hence, some people among the moderates, without being
cognizant of the ill dogma of extremists, appear to be following them because
of the issues they pretend to defend. Such issues include protecting the
religion from perversion, addressing the Palestinian cause, liberating
The extremists, who constitute a
minority that does not exceed 2-3 million people, are of three categories. Almost
all of them revoke the basic creed of Islam.
The first category consists of those who
exceed the proper bounds of the religion through incorrect implementation of
its laws, mainly characterized by unfounded strictness. Do not think that such
radicals emerged solely because of abuses of political authority and economic
resources in societies where average citizens increasingly feel alienated and
powerless. Rather it is their dogma, based on an ill belief system, which makes
them endeavor to dictate their hegemony, whether over affluent societies or
impoverished and abused ones. They indiscriminately practice takfir; that is, they deem all as blasphemers but
themselves. This dogma of extremism goes back to the Kharijites
more than 1400 years ago and to Ibn Taymiyyah more than 700 years ago. History testifies that
the many debates and forums that the scholars of the moderate Muslims held
against them over the centuries, although these saved many people and protected
others against the extremist menace, were not enough to eliminate the corrupt
dogma from the hearts of those few who are true hardliners. These few are the
ones who slay people and destroy their properties, be their victims Muslim
Heads of State, Muslim or non-Muslim subjects of that state, children, elderly
persons, males or females. Many groups that one hears of today are founded upon
teachings that belong to this category, even though not all such groups are peopled
solely by extremists, as I mentioned above when I described religiously
vulnerable individuals who are recruited by radicals. Examples of this most
dangerous category of extremism include the Wahhabi
movement, the followers of Sayyid Qutb
known as the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and many other splinter factions, such
as al-Jama^ah al-Islamiyyah,
^Usbat al-Ansar, al-Qa^idah and several others. Dealing with these groups by
submitting to them will eventually destroy the Muslims and non-Muslims alike, spread
menace and mischief in society, and disrupt the rights of humanity. These
movements must be stopped with force if necessary; some (like the Muslim
Brotherhood after the assassination of
The second category of extremists
consists of those who thrive on their own ignorance of the religion and tend to
be on the other end of the spectrum of religious practice, which one might
label as laxity. Some of them falsify the creed and the laws of the religion in
whatever way they deem necessary to please the listener and attract supporters
to their school. Factions that fall under this category include Sufi-claimers, the
factions of incarnation and others. Also included here are many orators of
sedition such as ^Amr Khalid and Khalid al-Jundi, among others. In this category as well are those who
are victimized by their own ignorance of the religion and the misguided
practice of it by others. These tend to turn completely away and outlaw Islam, labeling
it as a religion of mischief. Others tend to pervert the parts of the law with
which they cannot come to grips. Many personalities who might be very
successful in their own fields of training fall under this segment of extremism,
but their weak or nonexistent command of Islamic teachings should be exposed
through debate with knowledgeable moderates.
The third category of extremists
consists of those who sway between laxity and exceeding the proper bounds of
the religion. They include al-Qaradawi and several
organizations in the
Defeating and eliminating the dogma of
extremism that leads to heinous crimes and terror or to quieter forms of
misguidance is a must. Inevitably history teaches us that military action is
necessary in some cases; however, other equally important integrals must also
be employed. Ms Condoleezza Rice acknowledges the necessity of defeating the
enemy politically to have an enduring and lasting victory. This entails
unmasking them on religious grounds, a natural role of the moderate
knowledgeable Muslims, which they have been performing throughout history. The
authenticity of the Knowledge in Islam is protected and preserved by the
methods of transmission and chains of narrators since the time of Prophet
Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi
wa sallam.
The reputation and biographies of the narrators are chronicled by many
historians and verified through many scholars of jurisprudence and Hadith. The moderate Muslims can refute and discredit the dogma
of the extremist factions through authentically presenting the irrefutable
religious proofs.
Sadly, however, the impact of the
unmasking of extremism has been largely unfelt in the past 200 years, due
mostly to lack of support by post-colonial leaders of emerging autocracies in
the Muslim world, limited resources, and an eroding level of Islamic knowledge
as a result of poorly informed foreign influence, among other reasons. Although
little noticed, the collective effort of moderate Muslims in instilling the
sound concepts of Islam has been a bulwark of
Spreading the correct knowledge of Islam
among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, besides establishing human excellence, helps
in two integral ways. First, it shields
the weaker moderates from falling prey to extremist groups. Senator George
Voinovich of
Second, spreading the knowledge will
equip our non-Muslim partners with enough clarity about Islam to enable them to
effectively engage the moderate Muslims in constructive and meaningful dialogue.
This means dialogue that can bring about the basis and vehicles of a fair and
just coexistence. Bringing about these desired results, which capitalize on the
great accomplishments of science, technology and religion toward building sound
societies, necessarily entails working with the moderate Muslims. Especially
needed are those among them who possess religious knowledge and piety, and
preferably those among them who are not restrained by the governments under
which they work.
Building bridges of mutual trust and
healthy intentions with Muslims is an important element in bringing minds
together. Ambassador Andrew Young, about 2 years ago, addressed an inter-cultural
convention of which I was part. He stipulated that a key element of success is
to implement the highest levels of diplomacy in bringing the cultures together
by taking proper note of the differences and highlighting the common values and
goals we share. The present
Addressing the issues at stake will
establish two realities. First, it will reveal the existence of a vast common
platform upon which we all can stand to build sound societies. Second, it will
identify a set of differences that need to be governed, regulated and filed
intelligently to ensure fair and just coexistence.
I argue, although controversial to some
in the human rights community, that the Nigerian cases of Amina
Lawal and Safiyyah Huseini, who were both tried and ultimately acquitted of
adultery, can provide an example of how the meeting of the minds can resolve
bottlenecks. The joined effort of the minds of the people concerned led to
acquitting these women on the basis of
What is crucially, critically and
urgently needed today is the meeting of the minds of the moderate Muslim
scholars of every field and the genuine scholars of the West and the world at
large to initiate a dialogue of the civilizations. This entails introducing the
proper forums and vehicles that involve pertinent circles of knowledge in
various capacities, starting workshops to identify and categorize the issues, establishing
a platform upon which to stand, establishing agreements and regulations that
deal with the bottlenecks, employing the
organizational and professional skills that are abundant among scholars of both
the East and the West, lobbying for governmental endorsement and support, and
securing sponsorship and financing through the United Nations or other
international or private sector institutions. Ultimately, together we must reap
the fruit of establishing and implementing the premises of fair and just
coexistence.
Sadly, an impediment to this effort is
the dilemma of the War on Terror that we all face today and its speculative
outcome. Many grave miscalculations in various capacities have occurred. One of
the more important ones is not employing the moderate Muslim scholars in
launching a timely, effective, organized and structured campaign of unmasking
the extremists and their dogma long enough before launching military action. Such
miscalculations have led directly to (and I quote Brzezinski): "a failing
performance in the quagmire of
There is building today in certain
Let me suggest a few examples of this
trend.
As tempting as it is to believe that
democratic processes inevitably produce justice, and that “the enemy of my
enemy is my friend,” alliances with groups whose core vision is extremist will
repeat the same mistakes as in the aftermath of the victory over Russia in
Afghanistan, which brought about the Taliban era and subsequently the menace of
al-Qa^idah and Az-Zarqawi
in Iraq and around the world. This will eventually lead to many unfavorable
realities some of which are:
a) Another claimed victory for the extremists,
allowing them to take the lead, masquerading as peacemakers and defenders of
issues of strategic importance and concern to all Muslims.
b) Allowing the extremists to partially
fulfill one of their goals, by helping them
participate in governments under the auspices of democracy. This will result in
further strengthening the networks of extremism, which is likely to lead to
further acts of violence around the world, as we have seen lately in
c) In the event that more heinous crimes
are committed in the USA and elsewhere in the Western world, I do not rule out
the possibility of reactionary responses, such as rounding up Muslims, hate
crimes and the dire consequences that follow, a nightmare that will abort the
chances of the meeting of the minds to deliver crystal visions clear from any
obscurities.
A fervent urgency awaits the birth of
the dialogue of civilizations to bridge the gaps and set a healthy course and
forestall eruption of a volcano of civil war in
Where are the moderate Muslim scholars
with whom to engage? They are in every country, and each have tens of thousands
of followers. Some are efficiently organized as associations such as AICP; others
operate as individuals teaching through networks or circles of knowledge, such
as Al-Ghumari of
Our work in North America since the
early eighties has been to instill the correct knowledge of the religion and
the manners that the Prophet taught through circles of knowledge, establishing
full-time elementary and secondary schools, refuting and unmasking the dogma of
extremism in every possible forum, by establishing the religious case against
their perversions and ignorance, an effort that I found great support for in
Canada. Last year I participated in inaugurating the Academe Culturelle de Laval, one of our schools in
We have managed to equip our children
with enough religious knowledge to be shielded against extremist claims, and we
have provided sound academic training for them to excel, to compete in the
world of careers and to contribute to the sound construction of society, all
while maintaining their Islamic identity.
Indeed Islam is part to the solution and
not the problem. May God endow His blessings on all of us and equip us with the
necessary vision, pure intentions, stark wisdom and ability to better serve humanity.
All of the above could be said by
someone attempting to find solutions.
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