Author: Abdurrahman Wahid
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: December 30, 2005
URL: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007743
Muslims and non-Muslims must unite to defeat
the Wahhabi ideology.
News organizations report that Osama bin Laden
has obtained a religious edict from a misguided Saudi cleric, justifying the
use of nuclear weapons against America and the infliction of mass casualties.
It requires great emotional strength to confront the potential ramifications
of this fact. Yet can anyone doubt that those who joyfully incinerate the
occupants of office buildings, commuter trains, hotels and nightclubs would
leap at the chance to magnify their damage a thousandfold?
Imagine the impact of a single nuclear bomb
detonated in New York, London, Paris, Sydney or L.A.! What about two or three?
The entire edifice of modern civilization is built on economic and technological
foundations that terrorists hope to collapse with nuclear attacks like so
many fishing huts in the wake of a tsunami.
Just two small, well-placed bombs devastated
Bali's tourist economy in 2002 and sent much of its population back to the
rice fields and out to sea, to fill their empty bellies. What would be the
effect of a global economic crisis in the wake of attacks far more devastating
than those of Bali or 9/11?
It is time for people of good will from every
faith and nation to recognize that a terrible danger threatens humanity. We
cannot afford to continue "business as usual" in the face of this
existential threat. Rather, we must set aside our international and partisan
bickering, and join to confront the danger that lies before us.
An extreme and perverse ideology in the minds of fanatics is what directly
threatens us (specifically, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology--a minority fundamentalist
religious cult fueled by petrodollars). Yet underlying, enabling and exacerbating
this threat of religious extremism is a global crisis of misunderstanding.
All too many Muslims fail to grasp Islam,
which teaches one to be lenient towards others and to understand their value
systems, knowing that these are tolerated by Islam as a religion. The essence
of Islam is encapsulated in the words of the Quran, "For you, your religion;
for me, my religion." That is the essence of tolerance. Religious fanatics--either
purposely or out of ignorance--pervert Islam into a dogma of intolerance,
hatred and bloodshed. They justify their brutality with slogans such as "Islam
is above everything else." They seek to intimidate and subdue anyone
who does not share their extremist views, regardless of nationality or religion.
While a few are quick to shed blood themselves, countless millions of others
sympathize with their violent actions, or join in the complicity of silence.
This crisis of misunderstanding--of Islam
by Muslims themselves--is compounded by the failure of governments, people
of other faiths, and the majority of well-intentioned Muslims to resist, isolate
and discredit this dangerous ideology. The crisis thus afflicts Muslims and
non-Muslims alike, with tragic consequences. Failure to understand the true
nature of Islam permits the continued radicalization of Muslims world-wide,
while blinding the rest of humanity to a solution which hides in plain sight.
The most effective way to overcome Islamist
extremism is to explain what Islam truly is to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Without that explanation, people will tend to accept the unrefuted extremist
view--further radicalizing Muslims, and turning the rest of the world against
Islam itself.
Accomplishing this task will be neither quick
nor easy. In recent decades, Wahhabi/Salafi ideology has made substantial
inroads throughout the Muslim world. Islamic fundamentalism has become a well-financed,
multifaceted global movement that operates like a juggernaut in much of the
developing world, and even among immigrant Muslim communities in the West.
To neutralize the virulent ideology that underlies fundamentalist terrorism
and threatens the very foundations of modern civilization, we must identify
its advocates, understand their goals and strategies, evaluate their strengths
and weaknesses, and effectively counter their every move. What we are talking
about is nothing less than a global struggle for the soul of Islam.
The Sunni (as opposed to Shiite) fundamentalists' goals generally include:
claiming to restore the perfection of the early Islam practiced by Muhammad
and his companions, who are known in Arabic as al-Salaf al-Salih, "the
Righteous Ancestors"; establishing a utopian society based on these Salafi
principles, by imposing their interpretation of Islamic law on all members
of society; annihilating local variants of Islam in the name of authenticity
and purity; transforming Islam from a personal faith into an authoritarian
political system; establishing a pan-Islamic caliphate governed according
to the strict tenets of Salafi Islam, and often conceived as stretching from
Morocco to Indonesia and the Philippines; and, ultimately, bringing the entire
world under the sway of their extremist ideology.
Fundamentalist strategy is often simple as
well as brilliant. Extremists are quick to drape themselves in the mantle
of Islam and declare their opponents kafir, or infidels, and thus smooth the
way for slaughtering nonfundamentalist Muslims. Their theology rests upon
a simplistic, literal and highly selective reading of the Quran and Sunnah
(prophetic traditions), through which they seek to entrap the world-wide Muslim
community in the confines of their narrow ideological grasp. Expansionist
by nature, most fundamentalist groups constantly probe for weakness and an
opportunity to strike, at any time or place, to further their authoritarian
goals.
The armed ghazis (Islamic warriors) raiding
from New York to Jakarta, Istanbul, Baghdad, London and Madrid are only the
tip of the iceberg, forerunners of a vast and growing population that shares
their radical views and ultimate objectives. The formidable strengths of this
worldwide fundamentalist movement include:
1) An aggressive program with clear ideological
and political goals; 2) immense funding from oil-rich Wahhabi sponsors; 3)
the ability to distribute funds in impoverished areas to buy loyalty and power;
4) a claim to and aura of religious authenticity and Arab prestige; 5) an
appeal to Islamic identity, pride and history; 6) an ability to blend into
the much larger traditionalist masses and blur the distinction between moderate
Islam and their brand of religious extremism; 7) full-time commitment by its
agents/leadership; 8) networks of Islamic schools that propagate extremism;
9) the absence of organized opposition in the Islamic world; 10) a global
network of fundamentalist imams who guide their flocks to extremism; 11) a
well-oiled "machine" established to translate, publish and distribute
Wahhabi/Salafi propaganda and disseminate its ideology throughout the world;
12) scholarships for locals to study in Saudi Arabia and return with degrees
and indoctrination, to serve as future leaders; 13) the ability to cross national
and cultural borders in the name of religion; 14) Internet communication;
and 15) the reluctance of many national governments to supervise or control
this entire process.
We must employ effective strategies to counter
each of these fundamentalist strengths. This can be accomplished only by bringing
the combined weight of the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims, and the
non-Muslim world, to bear in a coordinated global campaign whose goal is to
resolve the crisis of misunderstanding that threatens to engulf our entire
world.
An effective counterstrategy must be based upon a realistic assessment of
our own strengths and weaknesses in the face of religious extremism and terror.
Disunity, of course, has proved fatal to countless human societies faced with
a similar existential threat. A lack of seriousness in confronting the imminent
danger is likewise often fatal. Those who seek to promote a peaceful and tolerant
understanding of Islam must overcome the paralyzing effects of inertia, and
harness a number of actual or potential strengths, which can play a key role
in neutralizing fundamentalist ideology. These strengths not only are assets
in the struggle with religious extremism, but in their mirror form they point
to the weakness at the heart of fundamentalist ideology. They are:
1) Human dignity, which demands freedom of
conscience and rejects the forced imposition of religious views; 2) the ability
to mobilize immense resources to bring to bear on this problem, once it is
identified and a global commitment is made to solve it; 3) the ability to
leverage resources by supporting individuals and organizations that truly
embrace a peaceful and tolerant Islam; 4) nearly 1,400 years of Islamic traditions
and spirituality, which are inimical to fundamentalist ideology; 5) appeals
to local and national--as well as Islamic--culture/traditions/pride; 6) the
power of the feminine spirit, and the fact that half of humanity consists
of women, who have an inherent stake in the outcome of this struggle; 7) traditional
and Sufi leadership and masses, who are not yet radicalized (strong numeric
advantage: 85% to 90% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims); 8) the ability
to harness networks of Islamic schools to propagate a peaceful and tolerant
Islam; 9) the natural tendency of like-minded people to work together when
alerted to a common danger; 10) the ability to form a global network of like-minded
individuals, organizations and opinion leaders to promote moderate and progressive
ideas throughout the Muslim world; 11) the existence of a counterideology,
in the form of traditional, Sufi and modern Islamic teachings, and the ability
to translate such works into key languages; 12) the benefits of modernity,
for all its flaws, and the widespread appeal of popular culture; 13) the ability
to cross national and cultural borders in the name of religion; 14) Internet
communications, to disseminate progressive views--linking and inspiring like-minded
individuals and organizations throughout the world; 15) the nation-state;
and 16) the universal human desire for freedom, justice and a better life
for oneself and loved ones.
Though potentially decisive, most of these
advantages remain latent or diffuse, and require mobilization to be effective
in confronting fundamentalist ideology. In addition, no effort to defeat religious
extremism can succeed without ultimately cutting off the flow of petrodollars
used to finance that extremism, from Leeds to Jakarta.
Only by recognizing the problem, putting an end to the bickering within and
between nation-states, and adopting a coherent long-term plan (executed with
international leadership and commitment) can we begin to apply the brakes
to the rampant spread of extremist ideas and hope to resolve the world's crisis
of misunderstanding before the global economy and modern civilization itself
begin to crumble in the face of truly devastating attacks.
Muslims themselves can and must propagate
an understanding of the "right" Islam, and thereby discredit extremist
ideology. Yet to accomplish this task requires the understanding and support
of like-minded individuals, organizations and governments throughout the world.
Our goal must be to illuminate the hearts and minds of humanity, and offer
a compelling alternate vision of Islam, one that banishes the fanatical ideology
of hatred to the darkness from which it emerged.
Mr. Wahid, former president of Indonesia,
is patron and senior advisor to the LibForAll Foundation (www.libforall.org),
an Indonesian and U.S.-based nonprofit that works to reduce religious extremism
and discredit the use of terrorism.
