How to curb this rising  fear of Islamic takeover
 

 

   Two consistent themes in much of the contemporary analysis of world affairs have been the impending clash of civilizations and How should we respond to it. In this Clash, we have Muslim tribal barbarians on one side while Europe, USA, India and Israel seem to be on the other. Countries of African and South American continents are unable to make up their minds or we can say, no one is asking them. In America especially, even a year after 9/11, people barely understand what is happening in the Muslim world -that enormous, complex and conflict-ridden swath of geography stretching from Mali to Mindanao. The 9/11 attacks and the war against terrorism have spawned a mindset that challenges 20th century concepts of enemies and the nature of wars. Many Americans are seeking an "enemy" who can be defeated militarily.

A comprehensive vision

And yet, that enemy is ill-defined. For some, it seems, the adversary is Muslims generally. Public attention is centered on U.S. military action directed to regime change in Iraq, but with little apparent concern about the aftermath.

As a government, the United States is only beginning to grapple with the challenge of dealing with the problems arising in the Muslim world. These are problems that will undoubtedly dominate America's foreign policy agenda for a generation.

If we are to prevail in this 21st century struggle, World will need anew mindset and a comprehensive vision for engaging the Muslim world -not as an "enemy ," but as an important area where we have substantial interests.

Securing the global environment

As unlikely as it may seem right now, the Muslim world can -and has to -become a significant element in achieving a stable and secure global environment.

To achieve this, the United States must have a multi-faceted strategy for engagement, winning hearts and minds -and supporting those who share our aspirations for a peaceful world. Such a strategy must address the following key dimensions:

Religion

Is Islam the cause of terrorism, an instrument manipulated by political extremists -or a force leading to a clash of civilizations? We all have homework to do to better understand Islam as a historical and contemporary force. How does religion -as opposed to lack of economic, educational and political opportunities -influence instability in Muslim countries?

Governance and institution building

For decades, the United States has led in pressing for expanded democracy, human rights and the rule of law internationally. But in the fight against terror, many accuse the country of abandoning its democratic principles, because stability in Muslim countries is critical to achieving its objectives.

An individual leader or regime, however, does not guarantee stability. Greater democracy does. So does dealing with terrorism, human rights abuses, corruption and criminality. This requires independent, efficient and unbiased legal systems to ensure societies based on the rule of law.

To talk about religion is in En vogue like never before. Secularism seeks to make the temporal rather than spiritual, the basis for all laws. It arose in response to a uniquely European Christian problem - the excesses of the church, the antagonism between the church and science, and the intra-Christian wars being fought at the time. The separation of church and state was a logical solution. In contrast, the periods of Muslim caliphate, particularly between 622 and 1492, were marked as periods of growth, intellectual advancement and social justice. The rights of minorities were protected, human rights were enshrined not just in law but in scripture, and a knowledge-centered society was fostered that was the intellectual well from which all of Europe came to drink. Contrary to popular opinion, Islam, in its political manifestation, is democratic - if democracy means that people choose their own leaders and laws are passed through discussion and deliberation. The Prophet Mohammed himself refrained from appointing a successor, instead allowing people to choose the next ruler of the fledgling Islamic state. Umar, the second Caliph (ruler), said that the ruler can be chosen only through the consultative approval of the people. However, Islamic democracy differs from secular democracy in that the right of the people to legislate is limited by what they believe to be a higher law, to which human law is subordinate. There is no axiom that states that a democracy must be secular, in the same way that there is no axiom that states that a secular system is intrinsically democratic.

The subordination of law-making to the Koran and Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet Mohammed) made Muslim society immune to absolute tyranny and dictatorship. Such emphasis also prevented absolute tyranny by giving Islamic scholars more legislative power than the ruler. It was their word that was final on many matters. If the ruler made a decision that was contrary to that of the ulema (people of knowledge), his decision was to be rejected.

There is a stark contrast between past glories and current reality.

Whereas once the Muslim world was ruled by a single caliphate, its post-colonial manifestation is a collection of weak, mostly secular, nation-states. Termed "bunker regimes" by Samuel Huntington, their guns face their own people, ruthlessly repressing dissent and committing some of the worst violations of human rights. It is a sad irony that in many cases, Muslims have more freedom to practice their religion in the secular democracies of the West than in the secular dictatorships of the Middle East. In Islam, there is no conflict between theology and science, between the demands of the spiritual and the temporal. However, one can draw parallels between Christian Europe before Enlightenment, and the intellectual stagnation, reactionary impulses and conflict that characterizes the Muslim world today. Yet, what is required is not a wholesale adoption of secular democracy, but a uniquely Islamic reformation.

Is it then unreasonable that Muslims, who have their own culture, values and history, can be allowed to choose their own future? Those who advocate Western secularism as a universal panacea, are akin to the child with the hammer who thinks every problem is a nail.

Indeed, the call to secularize Islam as a means of averting a clash of civilizations is really the first salvo in such a clash. Huntington wrote that the problem for Islam is not the CIA nor the US Department of Defense. It is the West, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the universality of their culture, and believe that their superior, if declining, power imposes on them the obligation to extend that culture throughout the world. These are the basic ingredients that fuel conflict between Islam and the West.

Diplomacy and conflict resolution

Diplomacy must be the lead element in maintaining a dialogue with the Muslim world. It is important to make clear that there is more to U.S. engagement than military force. Since the military imbalance is so great, the diplomatic contacts become part of a serious dialogue between the United States and the Muslim world on the range of our relationships, thus providing the basis for better understanding as well as opportunities for cooperation. Progress toward peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian and Indian-Pakistani conflicts will substantially improve the overall political environment from the Middle East to South Asia. And it will defuse some of the religious animosity that has built up during the extended life of these seemingly intractable conflicts.

The other civilized concepts of Democracy and Secularism which the world is asking Muslims to adopt in their areas of governance, basically arose in the western world in response to a uniquely European Christian problem - the excesses of the church, the antagonism between the church and science, and the intra-Christian wars being fought at the time. The separation of church and state was a logical solution. In contrast, the periods of Muslim caliphate, particularly between 622 and 1492, were marked as periods of growth, intellectual advancement and social justice. The rights of minorities were protected, human rights were enshrined not just in law but in scripture, and a knowledge-centered society was fostered that was the intellectual well from which all of Europe came to drink. Contrary to popular opinion, Islam, in its political manifestation, is democratic - if democracy means that people choose their own leaders and laws are passed through discussion and deliberation. The Prophet Mohammed himself refrained from appointing a successor, instead allowing people to choose the next ruler of the fledgling Islamic state. Umar, the second Caliph (ruler), said that the ruler can be chosen only through the consultative approval of the people.

Education and media

US. support of educational development and exchanges can enhance young people's opportunities in the Muslim world. This could be supplemented through centers of excellence such as American University in Beirut and American University in Cairo. Misuse of the media and the Internet by terrorists groups has gathered support for their cause. In addition, media in the Muslim world have been the source of anti-U.S., anti-Western, anti-Semitic coverage that have had considerable influence on "the street" in Muslim countries. However, to deal with that reality requires more than just PR efforts. While those efforts offer America strategies for advancing its message -the real emphasis has to be on promoting open, independent media in the Muslim world.

Economic opportunity and assistance

Providing youth in this region with economic opportunity that offers them a stake in the globalized world economy is essential. Something as simple as providing jobs will blunt the appeal of radical political forces in -or the desire to emigrate from -the Muslim world. Success on this front will require reform of closed economies. Whether we like it or not, economic assistance will be a critical component of any strategy to deal with terrorism and address the social problems that create conditions encouraging support for terrorism .

Staggering challenges

Pulling such a strategy together will be difficult. Only by undertaking such an integrative approach, however, will we marshal our capabilities to deal with the critical challenges facing the United States in the Muslim world. And we will need allies inside and outside that world. Gaining these allies requires the United States to get its priorities and strategy in order.  That is what leadership is about. And even if the challenges are staggering, it is what we should be prepared to shoulder. After all, the current rhetoric not withstanding, tackling this multi-faceted effort -which extends way beyond the military dimension - is what it will take to win the first major conflict of the 21st century.

What is desperately needed today is a revival of the tremendous energy that propelled Muslims forward in history; the energy that comes from a clear sense of purpose and direction. Muslim society must subject itself to critical self-evaluation, recognizing the principles that made it great in the past, as well as drawing on the positive aspects of the West and other societies, adapting and improving upon them.

From this may spring a profound sense of empowerment and a realization that Muslims can make their own future. The call to modernize Islam thus becomes a call to Islamisize modernity.

Credits: Richard Kauzlarich, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Bosnia-Herzegovina and  Amir Butler, who is executive director of the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee (AMPAC). info@muslimaffairs.com.au