Islamic State Barbarism Ignites Long-Absent Muslim Soul-Searching (Die Zeit, Germany)
"The
triumphant march of the 'Islamic State [IS]' has shocked the Orient. Barbarians
rage in the heart of the Fertile Crescent. Here the alphabet was
invented, here the first poems were written, and here lie the oldest cultural
and political roots of humanity. … This archaic barbarism, which could
irreparably destroy the centuries-old polyglot texture of the Near and Middle East, has sparked a broad and self-critical
debate among commentators, scholars, politicians, and ordinary citizens in the
region."
The advance of IS militants
has sparked a broad debate over the causes of terrorism in the Middle East: It
is high time to ask what went wrong.
Cairo: The
triumphant march of the "Islamic State [IS]" has shocked the Orient. Barbarians
rage in the heart of the Fertile Crescent. Here the alphabet was
invented, here the first poems were written, and here lie the oldest cultural
and political roots of humanity. In this, the cradle of civilization,
bloodthirsty warriors are terrorizing Muslims, Christians, and Yezidis. They are crucifying and beheading in the name of
Islam, expelling minorities from their ancestral homelands, destroying Muslim
shrines, setting churches and libraries alight, and openly threatening the
destruction of all Shiites.
This archaic barbarism, which could irreparably destroy the
centuries-old polyglot texture of the Near and Middle
East, has sparked a broad and self-critical debate among commentators, scholars,
politicians, and ordinary citizens in the region.
"ISIL is but an epitome of
what we've studied in our school curriculum," Saudi intellectual Ibrahim
Al-Shaalan Tweeted ironically. "If the
curriculum is sound, then ISIL is right, and if it is
wrong, then who bears responsibility?"
It is high time for us to ask "what went wrong,"
says prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose voice is influential across the
entire Gulf region. According to Khashoggi, the
invaders are "angry youths with a skewed mentality and understanding of
life." They trample on the inheritance of centuries and the achievements of
modernity alike. All their beliefs on politics, life, society, and the economy,
could fit on two or three A4 sized pages of paper.
Tyranny is mistaken
for stability
Khashoggi goes on, "Those
looking for a foreign conspiracy are evading the truth and failing to see our
own mistakes. You have mistaken tyranny for stability, you have ignored the social
deprivation of the people, your religious life is passive and inactive, and
religion serves primarily to legitimize power." And so, says Khashoggi, "the only thing moving dynamically forward
is the flood of extremism."
Another perspective guides Mohammed Habash,
Syrian Islamic scholar and former member of parliament
in Damascus. Habash argues that extremism arose out
of a volatile mixture, on one hand from "systematic oppression by
totalitarian regimes" and on the other, a "retrograde religious discourse."
Many imams, as he himself has done, have repeatedly promised
their congregations a just world in the form of an "Islamic Caliphate."It
is not defined as a flawed political system, but as a sacrosanct symbol of
unity to which everything else must be subordinated. "Talk of the
Caliphate was always an excuse to justify our failures, and defeats, and our incapacity
to keep up with the rest of the world."
Lebanese publicist Rami G. Khouri makes a
similar argument. He is without doubt that central cause for the birth and
growth of the Islamic State's conception of the world is "the curse of
modern Arab security states which since the 1970s have treated their citizens
like children or sheep that need to be taught obedience and passivity above all
else." For Khouri, the actual modern tragedy is "corrupt
and amateurish states" across the Arab world.
In social media, on the other hand, criticism centers
primarily on the defensive reactions of the established Islamic world. The
Muslim Brotherhood of Syria merely called the claim of the self-appointed
Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Baghadi "invalid."The spiritual mentor of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Qatar, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, declared the "Islamic Caliphate" to
be incompatible with Sharia, without offering a
detailed explanation of what he meant by that. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, accused the
radicals of violating all the principles and rules of Islam.
Moderate Muslims around the world must do much more, urges
Pakistani journalist and blogger AsifZaidi. "The silence or acquiescence of the so-called
moderates reinforces the impression that Muslims are a group that has neither
the desire nor the ability to control extremists on the margins."
Everywhere sympathy
for the IS
Well-known Shiite journalist and long-time mayor of Qatif in Saudi Arabia, JafarAlshayeb, goes even further: he confirms that sympathy for
the IS exists on virtually every level of his society - a finding that has apparently
alarmed the Saudi leadership.
"I am amazed at the level of consent that ISIL enjoys in local circles, especially among young
people, and partly also among intellectuals and scholars," he writes in
his editorial for the newspaper Al-Sharq, titled ISIS Among Us. In
Saudi Arabia there are "many citizens who have the same orientation and
the same ideas as these people, and who condone terrorist acts against
political regimes and social groups."
Posted By Worldmeets.US
An initial poll of social media, not representative of
course, revealed that a significant number of citizens are of the opinion that
the views of ISIL are consistent with the values of
Islam and Sharia. Alarmed by this climate of opinion,
the Saudi leadership will soon launch an investigation into precisely the
attitude of its subjects on the "Islamic Caliphate." The last survey
of this kind was carried out in 2009, when 20 percent of Saudis said they
considered al-Qaeda to be "somewhat positive" or "clearly
positive."
In view of this situation, Kuwaiti columnist Ahmad al-Sarraf sees no alternative but to escape into bitter
sarcasm: Writing for the newspaper Al-Qabas, he urged Christians to leave the region
immediately so Muslims could finally slaughter one another. "Piss off, we
hate you, we no longer want you with us. We are sick of it all - progress,
civilization, openness, tolerance, love, brotherliness, peaceful coexistence,
and forbearance. Piss off already."
