Paper no. 1006	25. 05. 2005
TERROR IDEOLOGY- Is it Divine?  by R.Upadhyay No one will dispute that "Terrorism has found its most menacing expression in the context of resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism so evident during the past decade" ('Terrorism in the New Millennium' by S.K.Shiva, 2001, Page 116).  Ideology-backed global threat of Islamist terrorism is a great challenge to the rational world. In  the absence of proper space for ideological debate all over the world the problem of terrorism is gradually increasing. Radical Islamists therefore propagate the terror ideology under religious sanctions without any challenge. It could be possibly combated only if the theologians of that particular faith get united and challenge its perpetrators. But indifference of the Muslim thinkers over this issue has posed a major problem.   In the absence of any single internationally recognized centre for issuing mandatory Islamic decree against terror ideology, diverse groups of Islamists have stirred the civilised world in the name of religion. There will be some in the Muslim community, opposed to the terror ideology but they are yet to come out openly and  squarely  on the war against terrorism on ideological grounds. "Many Islamists and Islamic movements and groups have succeeded in convincing many in the Muslim world that they alone represent the true contemporary interpretation of Islam....  .  They base their views on Islamic scholars like Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taymiyyah of middle ages and Ibn Abd al Wahhab of 18th century who were the leading fundamentalist religious scholars as well as the most unyielding" (Reuven Paz in his paper -"The Brotherhood of Global Jehad" published in The Global Threat of Terror, 2002, page 55-56.).  Increasing influence of Islamist terrorists over the Muslim masses whose religious knowledge is poor and their bend to the psychological pressure in accepting the radical perception of jihad as divinely ordained duty of the Muslim needs a thread bare discussion before coming to any rational conclusion.  The ideology propagated by Osama bin Laden and his allied group is to be negated only by the Muslim thinkers of repute but their absence from the Intellectual meets on terror issue has only aggravated the problem.  The success of the doctrine that has created "a notion of a kind of global cultural war" among the Muslims is a dangerous trend that needs to be halted soon. The Muslims, who view terrorism as a part of religious duty to save Islam from the alleged onslaught of un-Islamic world, are to be convinced against this medieval doctrine.  The concept of jihad (holy war), Takfir (refutation), Ishtishhad (Martyrdom) and Shahid(Martyr) is projected as the religious duty of the faithfuls.  Historically, all the wars Prophet Mohammad fought during his lifetime were in the cause of Allah. His followers also claimed the same reason to spread Islam in different parts of the world. Advent of Islam in Indian soil through Muslim invaders, whose blood-soaked actions in the cause of Allah is part of history . Ever since  Islamist terrorism raised its head particularly in the closing decades of twentieth century their terror ideology stirred the intellectuals all over the world. After the horrible events like September 11 and attack on J & K Assembly and Indian Parliament, the modern thinkers and academicians all over the world have written extensively on Islamic terrorism.  They have routinely organised seminars, debates, workshops on this issue all over the world but no mechanism has so far been developed to counter the ideology behind the menace, which is going ahead as if in a  triumphant march in the cause of divinity.  In the absence of any ideologically viable solution the fight against terror remained and will remain inconclusive. Basically the intellectual exercises are focussed on the social, political, economic and law and order aspects of this problem but they ignore the ideological aspect.  In the absence of active participation of Muslim thinkers particularly theologians in the discussion over the ideological aspect of the problem, the possibility of any meaningful solution can be ruled out. Some honest voices exposing the jehadi spirit of Islamists are being raised but its echo is so meek that it fails to stir the conscience of the Islamist terrorists.  Spiritual Islam may not have any place for violence but political Islam used it as the barrel of gun that gave birth to the terror ideology  Islamic orthodoxy with vested interests has no space for human values and therefore they offer warm salute to Osama bin Laden for his ideology-based terrorism.   The reason behind the indifferent attitude of the Muslim intellectuals towards ideological aspect of the problem is that they are scared of the fatwa of the hard core Islamists even though they may have a different opinion. The non-believers on the other hand are seen to be hesitant to discuss the issue on the plea that their comments may be viewed as communal. The situation therefore suggests that the intellectuals around the world with active participation of Muslims must give priority to discuss whether the ideology behind Islamist terrorism has any divine sanction or not.   A recently concluded two-day " Workshop on International Terrorism in South-East-Asia and its likely implications for South Asia" (April 28-29, 2004-Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi) had a number of participants including delegates from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. What was not discussed was the ideology angle of terrorism. During a question -answer session I raised the issue regarding the divine sanction to the terror ideology but no one felt it necessary to discuss it. "The threat of extremist Islamist terror in South Asia must be estimated not just in terms of visible violence and subversion, but the unique and lethal mix of a virulent and vigorously propagated ideology" (Ajay Sahni in his paper "South Asia: Extremist Islamist Terror and Subversion' published in the Global Threat of Terror, 2002, page 237). But no one discussed or elaborated this aspect- Is there a divine sanction for terror acts as is believed by the perpetrators? How do we counter it ideologically and whether it could be done by the non believers only or whether the initiative should come from the believers? These were the the thoughts that arose in my mind during that seminar.  Divinity in itself is an eternal and spiritual concept for all the human beings irrespective of their geo-socio or ethnic diversities. Religion as an instrument for advancement of spiritual life does not dispute its Supremeness. Any holy war for the cause of that Supreme is not physical but spiritual. However, its manifestation in historical perspective is more guided by the personal ambitions and socio-political compulsion. The prime task of any religion is not only to guide the human beings for their spiritual elevation but also to provide humanitarian space by formulating a code of religious conduct for them. But the religious ideology based on barbaric conflict going by the name  terrorism faced hy  the humankind today has undermined the very concept of religion. How could the Muslim thinkers allow their community to accept the terror ideology of Islamic Jehadis that justifies t large-scale barbaric killings of innocent kafirs as well as believers is to be answered by them  if not today perhaps on the day of judgment.  A digitalised voice of Osama bin Laden (News paper report) calling for the murder of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and US Iraq Administrator Paul Bremer with an allurement of ten Kgs of gold as  prize to the assailant does not justify the spirituality of his religion.   The ideology of the terrorist outfits of Islam as we see today is linked with jehad, which is known as holy war for the cause of Allah. But the psychological support the Muslim world is providing to the terror ideology of the hard core Islamists and converting the innocent Muslims to religious bigotry is more guided by the worldly ambitions of the various jihad groups to establish their political command than for any spiritual achievement. Allah Bukhsh K. Brohi of Pakistan in his preface to a book entitled 'The Quranic Concept of War' written by Brigadier S.K.Malik (First Reprint in India by Himalayan Books, New Delhi, in 1986) referred to the accusation of western scholars that " world of Islam is in a state of perpetual struggle against the non-Muslims".  Arguing against this contention he said, "the defiance of God's authority by one who is his slave exposes that slave to the risk of being held guilty of treason and such a one, in the perspective of Islamic law, is indeed to be treated as a sort of that cancerous growth on that organism of humanity..." (Page xix). Justifying the perpetual struggle of Muslims against the non-Muslims for the cause of God may be his subjective interpretation but how far this view is acceptable to the rational world is a debatable issue. God had given His authority to the Prophet to launch a perpetual war against the oppressors but what about the innocent victims of such oppressive and barbaric terrorism in contemporary era?  Jihad being one of the divinely ordained pillars of Islam is a fight against those, who do not believe in the revelations of Allah. The perpetrators of terror also project it as a divinely ordained ideology, which however, may not be acceptable to the contemporary rational world. To achieve their goal, the violent radical Islamist groups under the banner of the brotherhood of global jihad are struggling against the alleged conspiracy against Islamic culture and way of life. To implement the doctrine of pan-Islamism and establish one Islamic state to rule the whole world is something that will neither be acceptable nor achievable in contemporary world.   General M. ZIA-UL-HAQ, former Chief of the Army Staff, Pakistan in his foreword commended Brigadier S.K.Malik for his book on 'The Quranic Concept of War' (Indian Reprint 1986, Himalayan Books, New Delhi 110001) and recommended jehad to both soldiers and civilians alike. He said, "Jehad Fi-Sabilillah is not the exclusive domain of the professional soldier, nor it is restricted to the application of military force alone".   Brigadier Malik gave a number of references from Holy Quran to legitimise the war against non-Muslims. He said, "In the Quranic perspective, object of war is to obtain condition of peace, justice and faith" (Ibid. Page 35). According to him the only concession to the non-Muslims the Quran provides is to pay jezya (Poll Tax) if they do not embrace Islam. Trying to rationalise the philosophy of holy war as divine command for Muslims he said , "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever you catch them ("'The Quranic Concept of War' by Brigadier S.K.Malik, Page 21). "Fight them on, ruled the Book, until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevails justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere" (Ibid.). " The Book imposed a total ban on the inhuman methods of warfare, practised in Arabia and elsewhere prior to Islam" Even Dr. Hamidullah in the preface of Malik's book maintained, "all cruel and torturous ways of killing the enemy are prohibited" (Page 47). The Prophet also fought against the pagans (oppressors), who had denied the right of the faithful to worship in the mosque.   Despite his philosophy of the checks and balances about war Brigadier Malik maintained: "The faith conferred upon us by the Holy Quran has the inherent strength to ward off terror from us and to enable us to strive terror into the enemy" (Page 62). His interpretation of faith has therefore, legitimized the terror ideology under Quranic sanction. The non-believers, who constitute the vast largest majority of human race, are the targets of the terrorists and whose objective is to establish the religious and temporal hegemony of Islam all over the world.   Contrary to the thesis of Brigadier Malik legitimising the terror ideology with Quranic sanction, there are some Muslim theologians, who believe that the ideological spirit of Quran is peace. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, a widely known Islamic scholar and President of Islamic centre, New Delhi has focused his thought to present the teachings of Islam with a positive outlook with a view to neutralise the communal confrontation between believers and non-believers. He said, "In the tenth chapter of the Quran (10:25), there is a verse which says, ' And God calls you to the home of peace and guides whosoever He wills to the straight path' (Indian Muslims - The need for a positive outlook, Goodword Books, 2000, Page 155). He maintained, " The Quran permits to fight only against attackers, so that we have no right to wage war against anyone who is not on the offensive" (Ibid. Page159).  He rebutted the misinterpretation of the certain sayings of the Prophet as recorded in Hadith literature and said, "The Prophet's saying: 'Paradise lies in the shadow of swords' is indisputably a reference to the act of fighting as a matter of self-defence, and cannot by any stretch of the imagination be construed to mean that doing battle in the name of Islam is a guarantee of one's admission to Paradise" (Ibid. Page 178).  In his another book ('The Prophet Muhammad -A simple guide to his life', Goodword Books, 2002, page 191),Maulana Wahiduddin Khan  said," Islam teaches us non-violence. The Quran tells us that God does not love disorder" (2:205). For him the entire spirit of Quran is the concept of peace with jehad as non-violent activism. "The Quran is no weapon or war" (Ibid. Page 193). He has agreed that "all successes or victories in the first phase of Islam and successive period were achieved by the non-violent method" (Ibid. Page 196) but did not agree with the terror ideology as being propagated by the hard-line Islamists. Referring to the Prophet, who "had clearly foretold that in later times all kinds of rot would set in the Muslim rulers" he maintained that "after the period of Pious Caliphate, corruption set in the Muslim rulers" (Ibid. Page 200-201). In the circumstances he again referred to the Prophet's injunction suggesting that "staging an insurrection against the rulers was unlawful" (Ibid. Page 201).   Syed Mohammad Jeelani, Chairman, World Sufi Council, in an interview said, "Prophet Mohammad advocated peace, brotherhood and opposed any kind of violence. Whenever and whosoever committed atrocities to impose Islam on others, did so against the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad" (Organiser dated May 23, 2004).  The contradiction between the two schools of Muslim thinkers on the divine concept of terror ideology shows that the fundamental fault-line lies with the perverted interpretation of the Islamic texts by the hard-line Islamists legitimizing the divinity of terror ideology and that non-believers are the enemies of Islam. One may understand the compulsion of Brigadier Malik for justifying the war from army point of view, but why don’t the liberal and peace loving Muslim thinkers come forward with a thesis on Quranic concept of peace with a view to neutralise the mindset of Pakistan army?   In the absence of wider space to expose the misinterpretation of the Quranic tenets, moderate Muslim thinkers are not in a position to convince the Muslim masses. Muslim theologians like Maulana Wahiduddin and others are not widely acceptable in the contemporary Muslim world because of the domination of hard-line Islamists. But is it not imperative on the part of Muslim academicians with liberal views to launch a movement against the terror ideology and neutralise the Quranic concept of war with the Quranic concept of peace?   The organisers of seminars, workshop, debate and discussion on Islamist terrorism could very well involve the Muslim thinkers and extend moral and material support to them for launching movement against their terror ideology. The embarrassing question whether non-believers, who do not accept Islam have the right to stay together with Muslims without paying jezya or not or whether Muslims can co-exist in the polity with majority of non-believers need a rational answer.   Terrorism has reached to a point of battle for hearts and minds, which cannot be defused without engaging the moderate Muslims actively for rolling back the hard-line strands of Islam. "All terrorist violence, 'Islamic or otherwise is unjustifiable, unforgivable, cowardly and contemptible. But just because we condemn does not mean we should not strive to comprehend" (Al Qaeda Casting a Shadow of Terror by Jason Burke, 2003, page 250).  The challenge of Islamist terrorism as India is facing today is an enlarged extension of the centuries old communal problem of this sub-continent, which is perpetually promoted by Pakistan army in the name of Islam. The mindset of senior army personnel of our immediate neighbour is constantly finding justification of war in their holy Book. With Islamisation of this country ideology backed concept of war has become an instrument for them to attack the non-believers to maintain their political hold in their country.  In a movement against the awful and barbaric nature of Islamist terrorism as India is facing today it is the major responsibility of the liberal Muslim theologians to neutralise the psychological support this menace is getting from the Muslim masses. They are supposed to unload the burden of the medieval political mindset of the community. Quranic concept of Peace is the only answer to the terror ideology based on  'Quranic concept of War'. Kashmiir being the key field of Islamist terrorism in the name of Holy War should be the starting point.  Basically, the terror ideology is the subjective interpretation of Islamic history of medieval era with a view to resolve the contemporary social, economic and political problems of Muslim world. The aspiration to establish the world leadership of Umma and prove their political, cultural and military superiority with the terror doctrine as legitimised by hard core Islamists and their supporting Muslim thinkers is leading the Muslim world to a never ending dark tunnel. Eulogising the death of terrorists as martyrs and surety to their entry in heaven as an effective allurement  "made them extremely effective fighters" (Al Qaeda Casting a Shadow of Terror by Jason Burke, 2003, page 41-42).  The legacy of radical Islamists of eighteenth century who were shocked with the down fall of Mogul Empire is no more relevant in secular and democratic India.  To take up arms and join the holy war against the oppressors may be a divine command and therefore religious duty of all the Muslims. But in the contemporary nuclear age with technically advanced weapons, such a war in the name of religion would be disastrous to the entire humanity. The 'Divine Command' of seventh century might have left the decision on the use of such weapons to the conscience of the users. But there is no guarantee that these weapons once used would distinguish between the innocent people including women and children and devout believers. Spirituality in divine revelation of seventh century is eternal for the Muslims all over the world but its concept of war does not mean that they should be on perpetual triumphant march against the non-believers. The terrorists have no problem in violating the Quranic injunction against shedding the blood of innocent people including Muslims, since they are to  "obtain peace justice and faith". To achieve this goal they have even adopted the anti-Islam Marxists' philosophy that 'power comes out of the barrel of gun'.  Right from the days of freedom movement the attitude of the Indian leaders was to reconcile with the hard-line approach of the Muslim leaders. This attitude continued even after partition and the Muslim leadership remained the best bet for the political leadership in the country and it still continues. From Jinnah to Musharraf the political leadership in Pakistan did not like to develop a nationalist mechanism perhaps due to compulsion of international real politick and took the political Islamists at their face value. The intellectual investigators of Islamic terrorism without understanding the complicated mental disconnect between the Islamist terrorists and the common Muslims in the street may not find any quick solution. It requires the intellectuals to "go by what the scripture as a whole says, not by what a stray passage plucked from it says". They are also to "go by the plain meaning of scriptures not by the construction that apologists and commentators contrive to put on it" (Arun Shourie in his paper in "Responding to Terrorism" published in 'The Global Threat of Terror edited by K.P.S. Gill and Ajay Sahni, 2002, page22).  The ideological link that is being thrown up  in Islamist terrorism can be combated only by the sharp ideological weapon of Islamic scriptures with rational arguments provided, the intellectuals of the world unite without any reservation transgressing their own national frontiers. This terror ideology is nothing but an instrument to establish the political command of the terrorists that needs to be understood, countered and not allowed to fester in the minds of innocent people. <email-ramashray60@rediffmail.com>
Back to the top Home  | Papers  | Notes  | Forum  | Search  | Feedback  | Links Copyright © South Asia Analysis Group  All rights reserved. Permission is given to refer this on-line document for use in research papers and articles, provided the source and the author's name  are acknowledged. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes.