Until the leading
Islamic scholars provide a peaceful theology that clearly contradicts
the violent views of the IS, the existence of a “moderate Islam” must be
questioned.
Muslim Brotherhood demonstration, Amman, August 8, 2014. .
(photo credit:REUTERS)
The guiding principle of the Islamic
State (IS) is that Muslims must fight non-Muslims all over the world and
offer them the following choices: Convert to Islam, pay a humiliating
tax called “Jijya,” or be killed. This violent doctrine was the primary
justification for the Islamic conquests by the early Muslims.
Following the latest in a long string of inhumane and barbaric
attacks by the IS, who only offer these three options to non-Muslims, it
becomes mandatory to ask whether this principle IS uses is Islamic or
Un-Islamic.
In other words, can a young Muslim become more religious—and more
obedient to Allah—without subscribing to this ancient brutality? Will he
be able to find an approved Islamic theological source or
interpretation that clearly contradicts this principle, or at least
teaches it in a different way (i.e., contextualizing it in time and
place)?
The sad answer is: No, he cannot.
Traditionally there are five sources for Islamic Law: the Koran,
the Hadith of Prophet Mohamed (such as Sahih Al-Buchakry), the actions
of the disciples of Mohamed (Sahaba), the four schools of Islamic
jurisprudence, and the Tafseer (or Interpretations) of the Koran.
If a young Muslim were to do some research to examine whether what
the IS is doing is in fact Islamic or Un-Islamic, he would find some
shocking results.
The literal understanding of the Koran 9:29 can easily be used to
justify what the IS is doing. “Fight those who do not believe in Allah
or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His
Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth
from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) - [fight]
until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humiliated."
But perhaps this young Muslim will decide to see if the Hadith of
Al-Buchakry may explain it differently. The following Sahih (authentic)
Hadith in Al-Buchakry also supports the violent IS ideology: Sahih
al-Bukhari 6924—Muhammad said: “I have been ordered to fight the people
till they say: ‘La ilaha illallah’ (none has the right to be worshipped
but Allah), and whoever said ‘No God other than Allah’ will save his
property and his life from me."
Feeling uncomfortable with the literal interpretations of such
texts, the young Sunni Muslim might try to find an answer in the actions
of the Sahaba. Sadly, the Sahaba (Disciples of Mohamed) were the ones
who first used these principles to justify the Islamic conquests and the
subjugation of non-Muslims to Islam.
The fourth source for Islamic law is the four schools of Islamic
Jurisprudence, namely: Al-Shafeii, Al-Hanbali, Al-Hanafi, and Al-
Maleki. These four schools, without a single exception, support the
principle that Muslims must fight non-Muslims and offer them the
following choices: Convert to Islam, pay a humiliating tax called
“Jijya,” or be killed.
The fifth, and last hope for a young Muslim to hold a less horrific
view of Koran 9:29 is to find a Tafseer (an interpretation or
commentary) that interprets it differently.
A basic search of almost ALL approved interpretations for the Koran
supports the same violent conclusion. The 25 leading approved Koran
Interpretations (commentaries)—that are usually used by Muslims to
understand the Koran --unambiguously support the violent understanding
of the verse.
So where might a young moderate Muslim find a non-violent understanding for such a verse?
Saying that “Islam is the religion of Peace” or condemning the IS
as being “un-Islamic” without condemning the principle that Muslims must
fight non-Muslims to subjugate them to Islam is not just hypocritical
but also counterproductive as it hides the true cause of the problem and
impedes the efforts to solve it.
Similarly, not calling the IS the Islamic State (to avoid using the
word Islamic)—as suggested by some Islamic scholars—is not going to
change the painful fact that the IS is using an approved and
unchallenged principle of the Islamic theology. Such scholars need to
work on providing peaceful alternatives to the current violent theology
instead of asking the world not to call the IS the Islamic State.
In brief, there are certainly many moderate “Muslims.” Until the
leading Islamic scholars provide a peaceful theology that clearly
contradicts the violent views of the IS, however, the existence of a
“moderate Islam” must be questioned.
Important note: A modern and peaceful interpretation of Koran 9:29
is available at “Modern Interpretation of the Quran” [in Arabic] written
by the author of this Op-Ed (Dr. T. HAMID).
The book (which could currently be the only available peaceful
interpretation for the verse) has not been approved yet by the leading
Islamic institutes but has gained more than two Million (2M) followers
(Likes) mostly from young Arabic speaking Muslims since it was created
in May 2013.
The writer is an Islamic thinker and reformer, and a one-time
Islamic extremist from Egypt. He was a member of the terrorist
organization JI with Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later became the
second-in-command of al-Qaida. He is currently a senior fellow and
chairman of the study of Islamic radicalism at the Potomac Institute for
Policy Studies. www.tawfikhamid.com
Read More...
No comments:
Post a Comment