Jihadist terrorists practice barbarism under the banner of Islam, making them the most potent enemy of Islam since its inception. If not combated forcefully by Moslems themselves, the destructive impact of Jihadist terrorism to Islam will result in further denigration of this faith.
Moslem leaders often opine that Islam is a peaceful faith and Jihadist terrorists are usurping the banner of Islam to achieve their violent and political agendas. Hence, they believe that Jihadist terrorism is unrelated to Islam and there is no affirmative duty of peaceful Moslems to prove these obvious points. While I agree with their underlying premises, I disagree with their conclusion. Silence and inaction are ineffective tools to combat the enemies of Islam and the civilized world.
{mosads}While it is true that criminal acts of Jihadist terrorists are not caused by Islam, that reality does not absolve the affirmative duty of Moslem nations to forcefully combat terrorism and for Islamic leaders to strongly distinguish the teachings of Islam from the extremism and barbaric agendas of groups such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Boko Haram. The root causes of terrorism may relate to supporting tribal and barbaric cultures of Saudi Arabia having extreme gender and income inequality; exploitation of petroleum and interference with internal governments; Israel-Palestine conflict; Iraq war; among others. While it may be too difficult if not impossible to cure the root causes of the disease of terrorism, we should at least try to ameliorate the severity of its symptoms – Islamic extremism.
Throughout history religion has been used as a means to gain or manipulate power. A strategy often used to achieve this objective is finding common interests among the members of a selected group and then emphasizing and exaggerating the differences between the group and the outsiders. The “us vs. them” approach. Religion has often seen this common interest. The exaggeration of distinctions between Sunni and Shia or between Moslems and non-Moslems is an example of such an approach, the folly of which we are witnessing in the Mideast today. In following certain political agendas, Sunnis (Hamas) and Shias (Hezbollah) fight side by side as Moslem brothers in Lebanon and Palestine, yet in Iraq, Shias and Sunnis fight against each other.
Let us not be fooled by this strategy. Religion in and of itself does not promote violence.
It would be all too easy to point a finger at Christianity for its perpetration of violence against humanity over the centuries and conclude that Christianity preaches violence. This would be
quite erroneous. Innocent people have been killed under the banner of Christianity all through history (e.g., Crusaders, Inquisition; Witch-hunt; and Protestants/Catholics wars, among others).
The followers of Islam were no different. There have been many bloody wars during Islam’s 1400-year history and specifically those during the first 200 years following its inception. To
label Mid-East conflicts and Jihadist terrorism as a war between Islam and the world or merely a Sunni-Shia conflict, without understanding and addressing the underlying root causes of such conflicts, is not only naïve but extremely dangerous for the region as whole.
Islam does not allow or condone the killing of innocent people. About a quarter of the world population are Moslems. A super majority of Moslems do not have a specific type of clothing, nor do they have a cover for their hair or face or have an extremist or fanatic view of the world. There are about 50 Moslem majority countries in the world, the supermajority of which have never been ruled by Islamic or Sharia Law. These facts are not known by most people because moderate Moslems have been silent for far too long. It is a moral/social duty (ifnot a religious duty) for Moslem nations and leaders to explicitly denounce Jihadist terrorism and Wahhabi’s extremism of Saudi Arabia and others, to make it loud and clear that such terrorism and extremism are incompatible with the teachings of Islam. This is vital not only for world security, but also for defending the honor and dignity of all moderate Moslems and their faith.
Indeed, perpetuating the continued silence may be regarded as an affirmation not rejection of such beliefs. Albert Einstein said, “If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”
Khalilian is co-founder of the Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA).