The Use, Misuse And Abuse Of Islam Religion By Muslim Terrorists
The case study for the group project is on the U. S response to 9/11. The short paper focuses on the role of Islam, and how Islam was used, misused and abused in the cause of violent conflicts.
Religious Movements
The religious Salafi movement used propagation method to eliminate anyone not conforming to the true ways of the prophetic practices and teachings. Salafi believed that it was the duty of the ulama (religious scholars) to advise leaders about Islamic legislation and regulations in private and also believed to speak out against un-Islamic actions, decisions and policies. Some Salafis, believed it was the Islamic duty and justified the use of violent methods to remove leaders who did not comply and enforce Islam properly. They called themselves jihadists, and Al-Qaeda is part of this group.
Justification of kills
The legitimacy of a target in the context of a war, in the Islamic text is typically determined by the capacity of that target or individual to fight against the Muslims. Leaders and military advisers are seen as potential targets. To kill the protected ones among the unbelievers is the way to breakdown and conquer the state or stronghold. Al-Qaeda saw the World Trade Centres as enemy stronghold, by linking governments and power together. The use of flying suicide bombs is seen as burning the stronghold. It was common for Muslim to connect their war victories and success as way of divine intervention and mandate.
Silverman (2002) stated the importance of discussing the similarities between just war, jihad, and shahadat (Martyrdom), and the justification of terrorism and other deviant actions that centred around the concept of recontextualizating an identity group's ideational components. However, the problem was not in the teachings of Islam, but rather in the way Islam was being expressed in Arabic. The exaggerated and sometimes extreme formulation of words in Arabic can confuse and interpret information differently.
Neumann, described three types of radicals: the defenders-those who primarily defend Muslims and are not necessarily devout but ‘extremist’ as one might call them. The seekers whose sole purpose is seeking “identity, community, power, and a feeling of masculinity and not mainly about politics or religion but would buy into a jihadist” counterculture. Lastly are those attached to specific close-knit community of friends, not necessarily motivated on the ideologies. Media sources portrayal of Islam with terrorism, in relation to terms such as jihad and martyrdom, have paved negative ways in looking at Islam. It lacks discussing their true significance and meanings. Terrorist groups have misconstrued and exploited the intended usages and true meanings of these Islamic concepts for recruitment purposes.
Misunderstanding Jihad
Jihad in Arabic means “struggle.” Jihad can refer to everything from striving to be a better person to waging war for God. However, jihad has become a synonym for “holy war” and “terrorism” in the West. To engage in Jihad one must readdress unjust actions and defend oneself, which ties in with Just war theories indicating that one can only act in order to right a wrong and in defence. In relation, Rashied (2017) talked about the greater Jihad which is about self-disciple, whereas, the lesser Jihad is about physical fighting.
Jihad is also referenced to the defence of a nation or for a just cause, therefore it should be differentiated from indiscriminate killing by condition and portrayed in a way of God’s meaning to struggle in self-defence to alleviate tyranny, or to prevent aggression. Most scholars misunderstood Jihad as an external fight to implement and defend Islam from non-Muslim aggressions. Jihad became a way to defend self and human rights, and those who conformed to this type of jihad “literally and figuratively enjoined the good and forbid the evil.”
Issues such as poverty, unemployment, prejudice or relative social deprivation can act as a foundation on which jihadist and radicalization could grow. But resolving these issues will alone not be enough, as jihadist could come from wealthy and educated backgrounds but it could certainly undercut certain pathways. For example, In Iran most of the leaders and activist within the Islamic movements are from the middle and upper classes who are well educated and often affluent. However, the hypocrisy and the unfairness portrayed by the West, or the belief that the war on terror as a stratagem for westernization to emerge as a background are grievances Muslims feel. The relationship between violence and jihad is not easily anticipated, however, the Qur’an does not illegitimately condone violence or war. “Violence, according to the Quran, must be proportional and defensive in nature.”
Rashied (2017) discussed the two formulations that are based on truth about Islam. First, Islam’s contemporary socio-political and economic conditions are implicated in violence. Second, all Muslims ignorantly accept Islam is not a pacifist tradition that allows for and legitimates the use of violence under certain conditions, depending on the variation of definitions from Muslim scholar. Interestingly, Rashied stated “religion contains the seeds for violence,” and argued that most of the sacred texts provided opportunities for justifying violence. However, text can be interpreted differently the way readers perceive information in them. The state-run authoritative regimes hardly leave room for Muslim societies to express their opposition. The mere presence of a state-run authoritative regime and their constant need to repress individual and their collective rights promote a culture a violence.
Abuses
Terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda have argued that is acceptable to kill women, children and other protected groups if the enemy used them as human shield. Similarly, Islamic scholars have agreed it was permissible to attack the Kafir (unbeliever) when they take in Muslim as human shields for the reason for other Muslims not to feel defeated. It becomes acceptable for Muslims to kill Kafir if their treaty or their leaders have been violated. Terrorist groups only need one religious rationale for attack in order to justify terrorism under an infinite array of possible scenarios and conditions.
An authoritarian regime leaves no or little room for Islamic scholars to reinterpret Quranic teachings without being expelled from religious institutes. Intellectuals feed certain religious myths. Tribal loyalties not only shapes political, social reforms and how gender is to be conceived. For example, the education provided is frontal, conformist, authoritative and obedient type of education which promotes shame and dishonour by decreasing the creative level and critical thinking. The social institutions are an essay tool for political, ethnic and religious elites to control. Religion is co-opted by religious and political leaders through manipulation of varies regimes. For example, Fatwa issued by religious leaders in support of the Syrian democide.
Islam scholar, Ibn Taymiyyah believed that waging external battle to defend Islam was the duty of all Muslims. The lack of hierarchical, centralized Muslim religious authority and fear of reprisal, as well as the lack of centralized authority is why Muslim leaders both within and outside the Muslim world have not condemned Islam motivated terrorism. Islamists revivalist movements thrive in the least developed, no stable government and places with poor economic conditions. For example, places like Authoritarian police state run-Egypt and Afghanistan where the state and civil society have failed or does not exist.
Why Islamic revivalism?
It gives people a sense of identity, and expectations by allowing them to focus on emotions of anger, and frustrations which then creates a divide between Muslims and non-Muslims as the enemy. Another reason why reactionary Islam is attractive to some Muslims is because it is often the only version of Islam taught. Prisons have become breeding ground for radicalism, where mostly youths are converted and influenced by jihadist ideologies. However, ideologies only play a small part in people’s decision to become jihadist, rather the strong sense of identity and community to help their fellow Muslims was the most dominant motivator.
The youth becomes easy targets for extremist group’s recruitment due to their inability to balance between the “demand of religion and the norm of modernity”, an opportunity for violent extremist groups to use certain theological ideologies doctrines as a justification and recruitment tool. Using forces as an obligation and a religious duty to all Muslims thus, elevating the use of forces and violence of believers that in turn defines the Al- Qaeda’s phenomenon narrative. The teachings of Religious actors varies depending on how they perceive information and their precepts of the religious beliefs on reconciliation with their own struggle.
In conclusion, The Islamic concepts of sacrifice, martyrdom, and jihad have been distorted and abused by the Islamic State for their vision of an extreme pan-Islamic state. Suicide bombers stereotyped by policy makers and commentators as radical young Muslim males with violent tendencies. Suicide attacks symbolises the highest form of sacrifice to achieve political goals and religious agendas as the Islamic State. The divide between ‘us’ (Jihadist) and ‘them’ Kafir have lead followers of extremist ideologies to self-sacrifice under the pretext of Islam. The motivation of suicide are based on emotive reasoning, and the Western aggression view on the social and cultural degradation of Islamic values and communities pose as critical motivators. “Self-sacrifice is used as a tool to achieve strategic aims at an organisational level”. Islam teachings were aimed at freeing the Arab Muslims from their tribal mentality, but through manipulation its lead into the direction of the tribal and authoritative mentality in the 20th century.
