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musa pembo
United Kingdom
154 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Sep 2008 : 02:15:43
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Who speaks for Islam: Part I
By John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed
Published: September 05, 2008, 00:20
In this five-part series, carried every Friday during Ramadan, Gulf News publishes excerpts from the fascinating conclusions of the largest ever opinion survey of the world's Muslims, carried out by Gallup. Who speaks for Islam by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed was published by Gallup Press.
What do the world's one billion Muslims really think? What does the silent majority of Muslims want for their lives, and in their politics? Why are the aspirations of the vast majority of Muslims in direct contrast to most of the world's impressions of Muslims?
Islam's silenced majority
New book makes a case for democratising the debate about 9/11 and its after-effects.
What many saw as an ongoing conflict between the United States and parts of the Muslim world intensified dramatically after the horrific events of 9/11. Violence has grown exponentially as Muslims and non-Muslims alike continue to be victims of global terrorism. Terrorist attacks have occurred from Morocco to Indonesia and from Madrid to London, and wars in Afghanis-tan and Iraq rage on. War and terrorism have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since 9/11, the vast majority of victims being civilians.
As we cope with savage actions in a world that seems ever more dangerous and out of control, we are inundated with analysis from terrorism experts and pundits who blame the religion of Islam for global terrorism. At the same time, terrorist groups such as Al Qaida beam messages throughout the world that demonise the West as the enemy of Islam and hold it responsible for all the ills of the Muslim world.
Amid the rhetoric of hate and growing violence, manifest in both anti-Americanism in the Muslim world and in Islamophobia in the West, discrimination against, or hostility toward, Islam or Muslims has massively increased. In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush emphasised that America was waging a war against terrorism, not against Islam. However, the continued acts of a terrorist minority, statements by preachers of hate (Muslim and Christian alike), anti-Muslim and anti-West talk show hosts, and political commentators have inflamed emotions and distorted views.
Negative perceptions
The religion of Islam and the mainstream Muslim majority have been conflated with the beliefs and actions of an extremist minority. For example, a 2006 USA Today/Gallup poll found that substantial minorities of Americans admit to harbouring at least some prejudice against Muslims and favouring heightened security measures for Muslims as a way to help prevent terrorism. The same poll found 44 per cent of Americans saying that Muslims are too extreme in their religious beliefs.
Nearly one-quarter of Americans, 22 per cent, say they would not want a Muslim as a neighbour; less than half believe US Muslims are loyal to the United States.
Are the negative perceptions and growing violence on all sides only a prelude to an inevitable all-out war between the West and 1.3 billion Muslims? The vital missing piece among the many voices weighing in on this question is the actual views of everyday Muslims. With all that is at stake for the West and Muslim societies - indeed for the world's future - it is time to democratise the debate.
Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think is about this silenced majority. This book is the product of a mammoth, multi-year Gallup research study. Between 2001 and 2007, Gallup conducted tens of thousands of face-to-face interviews with residents of more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have substantial Muslim populations. The sample represents residents young and old, educated and illiterate, female and male, and from urban and rural settings. With the random sampling method that Gallup used, results are statistically valid within a plus or minus 3-point margin of error. In totality, a sample representing more than 90 per cent of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims was surveyed, making this the most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever done.
Surprising conclusions
The study revealed far more than what could possibly be covered in one book. The most significant, and at times, surprising conclusions have been listed below.
Here are just some of those counter-intuitive discoveries:
- Who speaks for the West?: Muslims around the world do not see the West as monolithic. They criticise or celebrate countries based on their politics, not based on their culture or religion.
- Dream jobs: When asked to describe their dreams for the future, Muslims don't mention fighting in a jihad, but rather getting a better job.
- Radical rejection: Muslims and Americans are equally likely to reject attacks on civilians as morally unjustified.
- Religious moderates: Those who condone acts of terrorism are a minority and are no more likely to be religious than the rest of the population.
- Admiration of the West: What Muslims around the world say they most admire about the West is its technology and its democracy — the same two top responses given by Americans when asked the same question.
- Critique of the West: What Muslims around the world say they least admire about the West is its perceived moral decay and breakdown of traditional values — the same responses given by Americans when posed the same question.
- Gender justice: Muslim women want equal rights and religion in their societies.
- R.E.S.P.E.C.T.: Muslims around the world say that the one thing the West can do to improve relations with their societies is to moderate their views toward Muslims and respect Islam.
- Clerics and constitutions: The majority of those surveyed want religious leaders to have no direct role in crafting a constitution, yet favour religious law as a source of legislation.
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Global view: Does one size fit all?
While many people commonly speak of Islam and Muslims in broad, all-encompassing terms, there are many interpretations of Islam and many different Muslims.
Muslims come from diverse nationalities, ethnic and tribal groups, and cultures; speak many languages; and practice distinct customs. The majority of the world's Muslims live in Asia and Africa, not the Arab world. Only about one in five of the world's Muslims are Arabs.
The largest Muslim communities are in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Nigeria rather than Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or Iran. And millions of Muslims live in Europe, the United States, and Canada, where they represent the second and third largest religion (second largest in Europe and Canada and third largest in the United States).
Because of globalisation and emigration, today the major cities where Muslims live are not only exotic-sounding places such as Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad, Makkah, Islamabad, and Kuala Lumpur, but also London, Paris, Marseilles, Brussels, New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles.
Religiously, culturally, economically, and politically, there are multiple images and realities of Islam and of Muslims.
Religiously, Muslims are Sunni (85%), who are the majority in most Muslim countries, or Shia (15%) who are a majority in Iran.
Further adding to the diversity, Shia Islam later split into three main divisions: the Zaydis, the Ismailis, whose leader today is the Harvard-educated Aga Khan; and the Ithna Ashari, who are majorities in Iran and Iraq.
Different theologies
Like other religions, Islam also has different, and sometimes contending, theologies, law schools, and Sufi (mystic) orders. Finally, Muslims, whether Sunni or Shia, can be observant or non-observant, conservative, fundamentalist, reformist, secular, mainstream, or religious extremist.
The world's 1.3 billion Muslims livMuslims live in some 57 countries with substantial or majority Muslim populations in Europe, North America, and across the world.
Major Muslim communities today are not only in Dakar, Khartoum, Cairo, Damascus, Riyadh, Tehran, Islamabad, and Kuala Lumpur, but also in London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, New York, and Washington, D.C. Muslims speak not only Arabic, but also Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Swahili, Bahasa Indonesia, and Chinese, as well as English, French, German, Danish and Spanish.
Muslim women's dress, educational and professional opportunities, and participation in society vary significantly too.
Women in some Muslim societies cannot drive cars and are sexually segregated, but women in many other parts of the Muslim world drive cars, ride motorcycles, and even fly planes.
Some Muslim women are required by law to fully cover themselves in public, while others are prohibited from displaying the Muslim headscarf.
A growing number of Muslim women are choosing to cover their heads, while others do not.
Women majority
In the United Arab Emirates and Iran, women make up the majority of university students.
In other parts of the world, women lag behind men in even basic literacy.
Women serve in government in parliaments and cabinets and have headed governments in Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, while in other Muslim countries, women are struggling for the right to vote and run for office.
Muslim women may wear a sari, pantsuit, blue jeans, dress, or skirt, just as Muslim men may wear long flowing robes, blue jeans, pullover sweaters, or three-piece business suits and may be bearded or clean-shaven.
Perhaps the most striking examples of diversity in the Muslim world are in economic and political development.
Economically, the oil-rich and rapidly developing Gulf states such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are worlds apart from poor, struggling, underdeveloped countries such as Mali and Yemen.
And politically, Islamic governments in Iran, Sudan and the Taliban's Afghanistan stand in sharp contrast with the more secular-oriented governments of Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Indonesia.
In Turkey, Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, and Malaysia, Islamic activists have emerged as an "alternative elite" in mainstream society. Members or former members of Islamic organisations have been elected to parliaments and served in cabinets and as prime ministers and presidents of countries such as Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Islamic associations
Islamic associations provide social services and inexpensive and efficient educational, legal, and medical services in the slums and many lower middle-class neighbourhoods of Cairo, Algiers, Beirut, Mindanao, the West Bank, and Gaza.
All the while, and in stark contrast, some militant groups have terrorised Muslim societies in the name of Islam; attacked New York's World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. in the US and set off bombs in Madrid, Spain and London in the UK.
They reflect a radicalism that threatens the Muslim and Western worlds.
The vast diversity of Islam and of mainstream moderate Muslims has been overshadowed and obscured by a deadly minority of political (or ideological) extremists.
In a monolithic "us" and "them" world, Islam - not just Muslims who are radical - is seen as a threat, and those who believe in an impending clash of civilisations are not only the Bin Ladens of the world, but also many of us.
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One God and many prophets: Basic beliefs
Islam means "a strong commitment to God" and shares the same Arabic root as the word for peace, or salaam. Jesus' mother, Mary, is mentioned by name more times in the Quran than in the New Testament.
Because faith is central to the lives of so many Muslims around the world, a basic understanding of Islam is necessary to fully grasp much of what is to follow. This section, which discusses the basic tenets of Islam, will be particularly useful to readers who are less familiar, or not familiar at all, with Islam.
Islam means "a strong commitment to God" and shares the same Arabic root as the word for peace, or salaam.
Some Muslim theologians define Islam as attaining peace through commitment to God's will.
Definition
This general definition is significant because Muslims regard anyone who meets these criteria at any time in history to have been a "Muslim". And therefore, the first Muslim was not the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), but Adam, the first man and prophet of God. Islam asserts that all nations were sent prophets and apostles (Quran 35:24) who all taught the same basic message of belief in one unique God, and in this regard, all the prophets are believed to have been "Muslims."
"We believe in God and what has been revealed to us; in what was revealed to Abraham and Esmail, to Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We do not make a distinction between any of them [the prophets]. For we submit to God." (Quran 3:84).
Like Jesus and Moses, the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) (AD570-632) was born and taught his message in the Middle East, where Islam quickly spread.
Muslims worship the God of Abraham as do Christians and Jews.
Rather than a new religion, Muslims believe Islam is a continuation of the Abrahamic tradition. Thus, just as it is widely acknowledged that the current meaning of Judeo-Christian tradition was forged during World War II, today there is growing recognition of the existence of a Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, embracing all the children of Abraham.
Muslims recognise the biblical prophets and God's revelation to Moses (Torah) and Jesus (Gospels).
Indeed, Mousa (Moses), Eisa (Jesus), and Maryam (Mary) are common Muslim names.
Jews, Christians and Muslims trace their biblical lineage to Abraham. Muslims learn many of the same Old and New Testament stories and figures that Jews and Christians study (Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, the Ten Commandments, David and Solomon, Mary and Jesus), sometimes with differing interpretations.
For example, in the Quran, Adam and Eve disobey God and eat the apple together, and this disobedience does not impose "original sin" on future generations.
Also, Jesus' mother, Mary, is mentioned by name more times in the Quran than in the New Testament. The Quran describes Mary's virgin birth of Jesus, who is venerated as one of the great prophets in Islam but not considered divine. According to the Quran, diversity in belief, cultures, and traditions is part of God's intended creation and a sign of his wisdom:
"If God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: but [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has given you. Race one another then in doing good works!" (Quran 5:48).
"Among His signs is the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and the diversity of your languages and colours. Surely there are signs for those who reflect." (Quran 30:22).
Egalitarian ideals
"O humankind, We have created you male and female, and made you nations and tribes for you to get to know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware." (Quran 49:13).
Though no society is free from racial prejudice, Muslims take great pride in what they regard as Islam's egalitarian ideals.
For example, a Moroccan World Poll respondent says what he admires most about the Muslim world is Islam's message of racial equality. "I have a high regard for Islam's values and teachings and the non-racial attitudes of Muslim people." The Quran emphasises the unity of believers around a shared faith, regardless of ethnicity or tribe.
What are the core Muslim beliefs that unite this diverse, worldwide population? As Christians look to Jesus and the New Testament and Jews to Moses and the Torah, Muslims regard the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the Quran, God's messenger and message, as the final, perfect, and complete revelation.
And, because of the remarkable success of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the early Muslim community in spreading Islam and its rule, Sunni Muslims look to an ideal portrait of "the first generation" of Muslims (called the companions of the Prophet) as their model - a common reference point by which to measure, judge, and reform society.
Key Points
- The many languages, customs, and ethnicities of the Muslim world illustrate its vast diversity. There are 57 countries around the world that are majority Muslim or have significant Muslim minorities — Arabs make up only roughly 20% of the global Muslim population.
- Faith and family are core values in Muslims' lives, and Muslims regard them as their societies' greatest assets.
- Muslims, like Christians and Jews, believe in the God of Ebrahim and recognise biblical prophets such as Ebrahim, Moses, and Jesus.
- Jihad has many meanings. It is a "struggle for God", which includes a struggle of the soul as well as the sword. The Islamic war ethic prohibits attacking civilians.
Who speaks for Islam: Part II
09/19/2008 06:10 PM | By John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed
Western confusion over Sharia
The majority of Muslims believe women should have the right to vote and hold jobs and leadership positions.
Sharia has been equated with stoning of adulterers, chopping off limbs for theft, imprisonment or death in blasphemy and apostasy cases, and limits on the rights of women and minorities. The range of differing perceptions about Sharia surfaced in Iraq when Shia leaders, such as Iraq's senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, called for an Islamic democracy, including Sharia as a basis of law in Iraq's new constitution. An Iraqi Christian member of the Iraqi constitution's drafting committee, Yonadam Kanna, said in summer 2005 that the consequences of making Sharia one of the main sources of law would be dire. "For women it would be a disaster." Nevertheless, more than 1,000 Iraqi women rallied in support of Sharia in the southern city of Basra in August 2005 in response to another rally opposing Sharia in Baghdad a week earlier.
Taking a stance on the debate regarding the role of Sharia in Iraq's new constitution, then-administrator L. Paul Bremer in 2004 said of the interim constitution, "Our position is clear. It can't be law until I sign it." Donald Rumsfeld, then-Secretary of Defence, warned in 2003 that the United States would not allow Iraq to become a theocracy like Iran, confusing the idea of including Sharia in Iraq's new constitution with creating a theocracy, or clerical rule.
Although in many quarters, Sharia has become the buzz-word for religious rule, responses to the Gallup Poll indicate that wanting Sharia does not automatically translate into wanting theocracy. Significant majorities in many countries say religious leaders should play no direct role in drafting a country's constitution, writing national legislation, drafting new laws, determining foreign policy and international relations, or deciding how women dress in public or what is televised or published in newspapers. Others who opt for a direct role tend to stipulate that religious leaders should only serve in an advisory capacity to government officials.
In the West, Sharia often evokes an image of a restrictive society where women are oppressed and denied basic human rights. Indeed, women have suffered under government-imposed Sharia regulations in Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Sudan, the Taliban's Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. However, those who want Sharia often charge that these regulations are un-Islamic interpretations.
Gallup Poll data show us that most respondents want women to have autonomy and equal rights. Majorities of respondents in most countries surveyed believe that women should have:
- the same legal rights as men (85 per cent in Iran; 90 per cent range in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Lebanon; 77 per cent in Pakistan; and 61 per cent in Saudi Arabia). Surprisingly, Egypt (57 per cent) and Jordan (57 per cent), which are generally seen as more liberal, lag behind Iran, Indonesia, and other countries.
- rights to vote: 80 per cent in Indonesia, 89 per cent in Iran, 67 per cent in Pakistan, 90 per cent in Bangladesh, 93 per cent in Turkey, 56 percent in Saudi Arabia, and 76 per cent in Jordan say women should be able to vote without any influence or interference from family members.
- the right to hold any job for which they are qualified outside the home. Malaysia, Mauritania, and Lebanon have the highest percentage (90 per cent); Egypt (85 per cent), Turkey (86 per cent), and Morocco (82 per cent) score in the 80 per cent range, followed by Iran (79 per cent), Bangladesh (75 per cent), Saudi Arabia (69 cent), Pakistan (62 per cent), and Jordan (61 per cent).
- the right to hold leadership positions at cabinet and national council levels. While majorities among those surveyed support this statement, those in Saudi Arabia (40 per cent) and Egypt (50 per cent) are exceptions.
While Sharia is widely depicted as a rigid and oppressive legal system, Muslim women tend to have a more nuanced view of Sharia, viewing it as compatible with their aspirations for empowerment. For example, Jenan Al Ubaedy, one of 90 women who sat on Iraq's National Assembly in early 2005, told the Christian Science Monitor that she supported the implementation of Sharia. However, she said that as an assembly member, she would fight for women's right for equal pay, paid maternity leave, and reduced hours for pregnant women. She said she would also encourage women to wear hijab and focus on strengthening their families. To Ubaedy, female empowerment is consistent with Islamic values.
Most Muslims want a legal mixture
Both sexes alike across the Muslim world support some Sharia input.
Cutting across diverse Muslim countries, social classes, and gender differences, answers to our questions reveal a complex and surprising reality. Large majorities in nearly all nations surveyed (95 per cent in Burkina Faso, 94 per cent in Egypt, 93 per cent in Iran, and 9o per cent in Indonesia) say that if drafting a constitution for a new country, they would guarantee freedom of speech, defined as "allowing all citizens to express their opinion on the political, social, and economic issues of the day."
However, while acknowledging and admiring many aspects of Western democracy, those surveyed do not favour wholesale adoption of Western models. Many appear to want their own democratic model that incorporates Sharia — and not one that is simply dependent on Western values. Actually, few respondents associate "adopting Western values" with Muslim political and economic progress. Abuses in the name of Sharia have not led to wholesale rejection of it.
In our data, the emphasis that those in substantially Muslim countries give to a new model of government — one that is democratic yet embraces religious values — helps to explain why majorities in most countries, with the exception of a handful of nations, want Sharia as at least "a" source of legislation.
In only a few countries did a majority say that Sharia should have no role in society; yet in most countries, only a minority want Sharia as "the only source" of law. In Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangla-desh, majorities want Sharia as the "only source" of legislation.
Most surprising is the absence of systemic differences in many countries between males and females in their support for Sharia as the only source of legislation.
For example, in Jordan, 54 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women want Sharia as the sole source of legislation. In Egypt, the percentages are 70 percent of men and 62 per cent of women; in Iran, 12 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women; and in Indonesia, 14 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women.
Ironically, we don't have to look far from home to find a significant number of people who want religion as a source of law. In the United States, a 2006 Gallup Poll indicates that a majority of Americans want the Bible as a source of legislation.
Forty-six per cent of Americans say the Bible should be "a" source, and 9 per cent believe it should be the "only" source of legislation.
Perhaps even more surprising, 42 per cent of Americans want religious leaders to have a direct role in writing a constitution, while 55 per cent want them to play no role at all. These numbers are almost identical to those in Iran.
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The misconception of a religion
September 11 attacks have doubled fear of the faith in the US.
The failures of governments, the hijacking of Islam by rulers and by terrorists, as well as assassinations, suicide attacks and abuse of women and minorities have taken their toll on Muslim societies and on the image of Islam in the West.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll in 2006 found that nearly half of Americans — 46 per cent — have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than observed a few months after September 11, 2001. According to the poll, the proportion of Americans who believe that Islam helps stoke violence against non-Muslims has more than doubled since the 9/11 attacks, from 14 per cent in January 2002 to 33 per cent. Similarly, a Pew Research Centre survey found that about a third of Americans (36 per cent) say Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its followers.
In contrast, the majority in the Muslim world see Islam through different eyes — as a moderate, peaceful religion that is central to their self-understanding and their success. As we saw in the last chapter, overwhelming numbers of Muslims continue to identify religion as a primary marker of their identity, a source of guidance and strength, and crucial to their progress.
With the exception of Kazakhstan, majorities of those surveyed in Gallup Polls of countries with substantial Muslim populations (as high as 98 per cent in Egypt, 96 per cent in Indonesia, and 86 per cent in Turkey) say that religion is an important part of their daily lives.
This compares with 68 per cent of respondents in the US and 28 per cent of respondents in the UK for whom religion is an important part of their daily lives. Yet democracy is among the most frequent responses given as a key to a more just society and to progress. When asked to describe aspects of life that are important to them, significant numbers cite having an enriched religious and spiritual life and a democratically elected government as at least very important.
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Who's democracy is it anyway?
Many Muslims feel sceptical of America's intentions in encouraging such political systems across the globe.
If democracy is a desired goal for many Muslims and for US foreign policy, do Muslims believe the West has any role to play? To answer this question, we need to look at some sobering realities. There are a number of challenges in the plan to win the minds and hearts of Muslims; feedback to multiple questions in the Gallup Poll reflects criticisms and scepticism about US foreign policies and actions. Although there was widespread desire for democracy, which many Muslims view as necessary for their progress, with the exception of 10 countries surveyed, majorities disagree with the statement that "the US is serious about encouraging the establishment of democratic systems of government in this region."
Muslim attitudes toward the United States have been affected by what is perceived as America's — and to a great extent Europe's — "double standard" in promoting democracy: its long track record of supporting authoritarian regimes and failure to promote democracy in the Muslim world as it did in other areas and countries after the fall of the Soviet Union.
In a major policy address in 2002, Ambassador Richard Haass, a former senior State Department official in the George W. Bush administration, remarked that before the invasion of Iraq, both Democratic and Republican administrations practised "democratic exceptionalism" in the Muslim world, subordinating democracy to other national interests such as accessing oil, containing the Soviet Union, and grappling with the Arab-Israeli conflict.
More recently, Muslim cynicism about the United States promoting democracy has grown for a number of reasons: the use of "creating democracy" as a retroactive rationale for invading Iraq only after weapons of mass destruction in that country didn't materialise; the impression that the United States was orchestrating an "acceptable" American version of democracy in Iraq with its own hand-picked "George Washington," Ahmad Chalabi; and the trail of human rights abuses from Guantanamo to Abu Ghraib. US and European refusal to recognise the democratically elected Hamas government in Palestine further reinforces such impressions.
"They (US officials) are all for democracy as long as they like the results," Kenneth Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, told The Financial Times. Roth believes that America's mission to promote democracy has become equated with "regime change" and has lost credibility in the Muslim world. "Its push for democracy is over now," he said.
In The Washington Post, Salameh Nematt, a Jordanian analyst and former Washington bureau chief for the Arabic-language newspaper Al Hayat, echoed Roth's pessimism: It's a success story for Al Qaida, a success story for autocratic Arab regimes that made democracy look ugly in their people's eyes. They can say to their people: "Look at the democracy that the Americans want to bring to you. Democracy is trouble. You may as well forget about what the Americans promise you. They promise you death."
Worldwide Muslim opinions have been influenced by the explosion in mass communications that has swept across much of the Muslim world and outstripped the control of governments.
Who speaks for Islam: Part III
09/19/2008 06:10 PM | By John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed
Middle class and well-educated
For decades, scholars and pundits have been debating about how terrorists and extremists are created. The causes of terrorism are said to be psychological (terrorists are abnormal, deranged, irrational), sociological (they lack education, are alienated social misfits), economic (they're poor, unemployed, hopeless), political (they reject democracy, freedom, human rights), and religious (they're fanatics, zealots, believers in a violent religion that rejects modernisation and technology).
The conventional wisdom, based on old and deeply held stereotypes and presuppositions about extremists, has often fallen back on an intuitive sense that a combination of religious fanaticism, poverty, and unemployment drive extremism and terrorism. Reluctance to see extremists as otherwise intelligent, rational people responding to perceived grievances was apparent within weeks after 9/11. Media reported the "stunning discovery" that many of the attackers were not from the poor, downtrodden, under-educated and alienated sectors of society, but that they, like their Al Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri, were well-educated, middle to upper class, and from stable family backgrounds. This profile raises important questions about why people from seemingly normal backgrounds become terrorists.
But, should the profiles of the 9/11 attackers, as well as Al Qaida and other terrorist group leaders, have surprised us so much? Not if we had remembered recent history. Muslim extremism is not a new phenomenon.
Extremist groups from Egypt and Algeria to Lebanon, Pakistan, Indonesia and the southern Philippines have existed for decades. Early studies by the Egyptian sociologist Sa'ad Eddin Ebrahim and others of the assassins of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat in 1981 concluded:
The typical social profile of members of militant Islamic groups could be summarised as being young (early twenties), of rural or small-town backgrounds, from middle and lower middle class, with high achievement motivation, upwardly mobile, with science or engineering education, and from a normally cohesive family . . . Most of those we investigated would be considered model young Egyptians.
Similarly, with some exceptions, today's breed of militants and terrorists - from the 9/11 attackers to the London bombers of 7/7 - have been educated individuals from middle-class and working-class backgrounds. Some were devout; others were not. For example, according to media reports, many of the 9/11 hijackers themselves exhibited behaviours hardly practised by a religious Muslim. A number of them drank heavily and frequented strip clubs and porn shops. Most were not graduates of madrassas or seminaries, but of private or public schools and universities. Bin Laden was trained in management, economics and engineering. Al Zawa-hiri, a surgeon, and other Al Qaida leaders, as well as those responsible for the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks, like Mohammad Atta, were well-educated, middle-class professionals.
British-born Omar Shaikh, convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was educated at elite private schools including the London School of Economics.
What do Muslims polled across the world have to say? How many Muslims hold extremist views? What are their hopes and fears? What are their priorities? What do they admire, and what do they resent? According to the Gallup Poll, 7 per cent of respondents think that the 9/11 attacks were "completely" justified and view the United States unfavourably. Among those who believe that the 9/11 attacks were not justified, whom we'll call "moderates," 40 per cent are pro-US, but 60 per cent view the US unfavourably.
Analysing and comparing the answers of the 7 per cent with the moderate majority produced some surprising results. By focusing on the 7 per cent, whom we'll call "the politically radicalised" because of their radical political orientation, we are not saying that all in this group commit acts of violence. However, those with extremist views are a potential source for recruitment or support for terrorist groups. This group is also so committed to changing political conditions that they are more likely to view other civilian attacks as justifiable: 13 per cent of the politically radicalised versus 1 per cent of moderates say that attacks on civilians are "completely justified."
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Fear of domination drives Muslims to become radical
A primary catalyst or driver of radicalism, often seen as inseparable from the threat to Muslim religious and cultural identity, is the threat of political domination and occupation. The interplay of the political and religious is strongly reflected in responses to open-ended questions such as: "What can the West do to improve relations with the Muslim world?" and "What is the most important thing the United States could do to improve the quality of life of people like you in this country?"
Given what the politically radicalised and moderates admire about themselves and resent about the West, answers to these questions paint a consistent picture.
- Reflecting the importance of Islam, the most frequent response given by both groups to the question about what the West can do to improve relations is: more respect, consideration and understanding of Islam as a religion; not underestimating the status of Arab/Muslim countries; being fair and less prejudiced.
- Reflecting the priority they give to democracy, the politically radicalised give equal importance to the need for political independence. Their responses include: stop interfering, meddling in our internal affairs, colonising, and controlling natural resources.
The primacy of political grievances (Western domination and intervention) and the extent to which politics and religion have become intertwined are evident in many struggles.
The Gulf War of 1990-91 precipitated Osama bin Laden's transformation of Al Qaida from a support group in the Afghan-Soviet war into a global militant network. While bin Laden denounced the presence of non-Muslim armies in the homeland of Islam, Saudi Arabia, as sacrilege, he regarded the Western, especially US, military presence in Saudi Arabia as an "occupation" that would lead to increased dependency of Gulf states.
More than a decade later, the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq and Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon were exploited by terrorists to recruit "freedom fighters" to resist the West and protect Muslims.
The heightened sense of the West's threat to political freedom and to Islamic identity has likely reinforced the desire for Sharia. Recourse to Sharia, the blueprint for an Islamic society, provides a centuries-old paradigm. Thus, however different and diverse Muslim populations may be, for many, Sharia is central to faith and identity. While moderates (83 per cent) and political radicals (91 per cent) alike want Sharia as a source of law, a significantly higher percentage of the politically radicalised (59 vs 32 per cent of moderates) want to see Sharia as the only source of law.
This desire for Sharia is reminiscent of the reasons behind the early development of Islamic law, to create a rule of law as a shield against the power of the caliph or sultan. As Richard Bulliet notes in The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilisation:
"All that restrained rulers from acting as tyrants was Islamic law, Sharia. Since the law was based on divine rather than human principles, no ruler could change it to serve his own interests."
Today, greater interest by the politically radicalised in the implementation of Islamic law reflects their desire to limit the power of rulers and regimes that they regard as authoritarian, "un-Islamic," and corrupt. However, this is not a call for theocracy. When asked to what extent they want religious leaders involved in public life (secular family law, curricula in schools, drafting new laws or a constitution, deciding who may run for office or how women may dress in public, or determining their country's foreign policy), majorities of the politically radicalised and moderates say they do not want religious leaders to be directly in charge. Nevertheless, radicals are more likely to want religious leaders to play an "advisory" role, consistent with the traditional role of ulama as "advisers" to rulers.
Same concerns
One of the most important insights from Gallup's data is that the issues that drive radicals are also issues for moderates. The critical difference between these two is one of prioritisation, intensity of feeling, degree of politicisation, and alienation. This accounts for key differences in the hopes of each group.
- When asked about their dreams for the future of their country, majorities of moderates and the politically radicalised cite improved economic conditions. Greater security and an end to civil tensions are the next most frequently mentioned responses, with about one in five of the politically radicalised and moderates mentioning these.
- While moderates then focus on improvements in educational systems, the politically radicalised give higher priority to promoting democratic ideals and freedom of speech, enhancing their country's international status, earning more respect, and playing more important regional and international roles.
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America is not trusted
In an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune, Carnegie scholar Fawas Gerges recounted an interview he had with a human rights advocate, Egyptian Hazeem Salem, in Cairo.
The activist, who is in his twenties, told Gerges: "Look at what America is doing in Iraq. America is using democracy as a mask to colonise Muslim lands and to steal our oil.'' When Gerges reminded him that President George W. Bush advocates promoting democracy in the Arab world, Salem retorted, "No, he is promoting chaos and civil war.''
While the spread of democracy has been the stated goal of the United States, with few exceptions, majorities in virtually every nation with majority or sizable Muslim populations disagree that the United States is serious about the establishment of democratic systems in the region:
- Only 24 per cent in Egypt and Jordan and 16 per cent in Turkey agree that the US is serious about establishing democratic systems.
- The largest groups in agreement are in Lebanon (54 per cent), Sierra Leone (68 per cent), and Afghanistan (53 per cent). The politically radicalised are sceptical and pessimistic about world affairs. The scepticism among Muslims in general regarding the United States and its promotion of democracy is intensified among the politically radicalised: While about half (52 per cent) of moderates say they disagree that the United States is serious about supporting democracy in the region, almost three-fourths (72 per cent) of the politically radicalised disagree.
As mentioned earlier in the discussion about democratic exceptionalism, many Muslims charge that the US and the West in general have a double standard when it comes to promoting democracy and human rights in the Arab/Muslim world. "Whenever the Israelis strike the Pal-estinians, the international community and the UN turn a blind eye or keep quiet," says Saleh Bayeri, a politician and Muslim community leader in Jos, Nigeria. "But when the Palestinians launch a counterattack, it is condemned by America, the UK and other friends of Israel as a terror attack. That is the problem. It shows that the West is biased in dealing with Muslims."
One female college student at the American University of Cairo, a leading institution of Western education in the region, said in an interview with Gerges: "Bush has given Israel carte blanche to attack Palestinians and Lebanese. The war on terror is an open-ended war on Muslims."
Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of the politically radicalised disagree that the US will allow people in the region to "fashion their own political future as they see fit without direct US influence," while 48 per cent of moderates express this view. For the politically radicalised, their fear of Western control and domination, as well as their lack of self-determination, reinforce their sense of powerlessness.
Thus, a belief has developed among the politically radicalised that they must dedicate themselves to changing an untenable situation.
When respondents in ten predominantly Muslim countries were asked how they view a number of nations, the attributes they most associate with the US are: ruthless (68 per cent), scientifically and technologically advanced (68 per cent), aggressive (66 per cent), conceited (65 per cent), and morally decadent (64 per cent).
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Militant Muslims have better education
The Arab Development Report of 2005 and many other studies of Muslim countries well-document the existence of significant poverty and illiteracy.
These problems are found in Palestinian refugee camps and in the slums of Algiers, Cairo, Baghdad and Jakarta as well as in many other non-Muslim developing nations.
Poverty and lack of information and skills necessary for social mobility result from deep-seated econ-omic and social problems that can generate broad-based discontent. But are lack of education and poverty key factors that distinguish those with extremist views from moderates?
The data say no. The politically radicalised, on average, are more educated than moderates: 67 per cent of the radicalised have secondary or higher educations (vs 52 per cent of moderates).
Radicals are not more economically disadvantaged: 65 per cent of the politically radicalised say they have average or above-average income versus 55% of moderates.
To be continued....
The best of salam,
Musa.
Ps:-The book is available at Amazon.com for $15.00
About the Authors
John L. Esposito, Ph.D., is a leading expert on the Muslim world. He is University Professor and a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University and the founding director of Georgetown's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is also the past president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies and a consultant to governments and multinational corporations. Esposito is editor in chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and Oxford Islamic Studies Online. His more than 35 books include What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam and Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. He currently resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Jeanette P. Esposito, Ph.D.
Dalia Mogahed is a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. She leads the analysis of Gallup's unprecedented study of more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide. Mogahed also directs the Muslim-West Facts Initiative (www.muslimwestfacts.com), through which Gallup, in collaboration with The Coexist Foundation, is disseminating the findings of the Gallup World Poll to key opinion leaders in the Muslim World and the West. She travels the globe engaging audiences on what Muslims around the world really think. Her analysis has appeared in a number of leading publications, including The Economist, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy magazine, Harvard International Review, Middle East Policy, and many other academic and popular journals. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Mohamed, and two sons, Tariq and Jibreel.
Press Release for Who Speaks for Islam?
What a Billion Muslims Really Think
Advance Praise for Who Speaks for Islam?
"As our world spirals out of control with greater violence and misunderstanding between the West and the Muslim world, Who Speaks for Islam? cuts through the conflicting rhetoric of politicians and pundits and presents the often-silenced voice of Muslims everywhere. I cannot imagine a more important or more badly needed intervention."
-- Deepak Chopra, author of Peace Is the Way
"The data presented in this book are not only arresting, but indispensable. Who Speaks for Islam? should be required reading for policy makers, journalists, broadcasters, teachers, students, and scholars."
-- Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God
"At once incisive and provocative, this book is brimming with valuable insights into what Muslims think about religion, democracy, women's rights, extremism, and Muslims' relations with the West. This is a must-read for pundits and policy makers, specialists and non-specialists, American or Muslim."
-- Vali Nasr, author of The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future
"Who Speaks for Islam? teaches us about one of the most important issues of our time. The book contains many surprises about how Westerners and Muslims view one another."
-- Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God and Academic Director of the Program on Terrorism and the Law at Harvard Law School
"This is an important book. Years after 9/11, politics and quick judgments continue to stand in the way of a clear-eyed view of the Muslim world. Not so for Esposito and Mogahed. They provide powerful evidence and compelling logic that shows Muslims around the world have many of the same hopes and dreams, and face many of the same issues and concerns, as other people do."
-- Robert Pape, author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago
"Who Speaks for Islam? could not be more timely. It provides essential insights into the thinking and attitudes of a large part of the global Muslim population on critical issues such as democracy, theocracy, extremism, jihad, women's rights, and the prospects of cooperation or conflict between the West and the Muslim world."
-- Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs; founding director, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University
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Edited by - musa pembo on 23 Sep 2008 03:01:24 |
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