Jihad and the Developing World - Essay Example

JIHAD AND THE DEVELOPING WORLD Introduction Islam focuses on performing the will of God by action and on following the law. Muslims are called to act, to struggle (jihad) to carry out their belief, to lead an obedient life, to defend religion and to help develop a just Islamic society throughout the world. The spread and defense of Islam through hijra or emigration, coupled with jihad has evolved from the early community of Muslims. When Muhammed and his companions underwent continued persecution in Mecca, they emigrated to Medina which was earlier known as Yathrib. In Medina, after regrouping and strengthening the community, Prophet Muhammed started the struggle (jihad) to spread and defend God’s word and rule. Thus, whenever Muslims were confronted with adversity, they followed the pattern of hijra and jihad. This characteristic was integrated with the concept of the ummah or the emphasis on world-wide inter-Islamic unity, and has constantly guided Muslims through the ages including the contemporary Bin Laden and other terrorists1. This paper proposes to identify the differences between the extremist Jihad which is based on a fanatic interpretation of the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims; and the Islamic struggle to spread and defend God’s word and rule. The factors that contribute to extremism in the third world including economic conditions, educational inadequacies and fanaticism will be examined. Discussion The Extremist Jihad versus the Islamic Struggle Self-styled Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran etc, followed a rigid puritannical form of Islam that emphasized literal interpretation of the Quran, and established religious and political legitimation of extremist ideologies. Earlier key leaders such as Egypt’s Sayyid Qutb and Saudi Arabia’s Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as well as Abdulaziz created religio-political movements to promote Islam by hijra and jihad. “Un-Islamic behavior constituted unbelief (kufr) in their eyes, which must be countered by jihad”, due to which the holy war was considered essential to fight the unbelievers and establish Islamism2. The Muslims combined military might, missionary zeal and a desire for acquiring booty, to wage wars approved by their religious leaders. The Islamists’ belief was that death in battle meant martyrdom and eternal bliss in paradise; and victory was considered as a triumph of virtue, along with acquiring booty from plunder. In the 1970s, Islamic activists such as Saudi-born Dr. Abdullah Azzam, described as the Emir or Godfather of global jihad, preached a clear message of militancy: “Jihad and the rifle alone: no negotiations, no conferences and no dialogues”3. Contemporary extremists such as Osama Bin Laden draw heavily from militant Islamic history, in their fanatic ideologies. Terrorist attacks by Jihad organizations all over the world: in America and the West, and also in Egypt, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in South Asia as in India, with its mindless killing of “unbelievers” in the name of a holy war, have repeatedly portrayed militant Islamic fundamentalism. These attacks of religious extremism reduce Islam to an international crusade threatening global stability and security. As a result, “Islam and the vast diversity of Muslim believers are often equated simply with fundamentalism, radicalism and terrorism”4. Islam has the second largest number of followers among the world’s religions, and as a contrast to the religious militancy and terrorism that has become a hallmark of the religion, Islam means “peace” and submission to God’s will. Over the centuries, Jihad has had three meanings: first, the struggle of all believers to be faithful to the religion and to lead virtuous lives; second the struggle or process of understanding and interpreting Islam; and third is the sacred struggle to defend and to spread Islam. The last meaning is the same as the holy war, because of which aggression has been legitimated; while other Muslims have argued that aggression should be used only in self-defense, or in defense of Islam or Muslim territory. The Factors that Contribute to Extremism in the Developing World Contemporary Islam is a result of religion, faith, politics, and the economic realities of Muslim societies. Believers face the challenge of relating the relevance of their faith to the demands and realities of life today. Though some Muslims restrict religion to their personal belief and practice, most believe that Islam is a comprehensive way of life. The religion lays down rules and guidelines on personal as well as public issues: “from diet, dress, women’s status, and family values to politics, economics, and international affairs”5. All believers have to necessarily comply with the strict codes and guidelines. However, within Islam, there exist opposing viewpoints, conflicts, differences, violence and extremism; all of which are occurring simultaneously with prayer and piety. These contradictory features within the religion pose a challenge to fully comprehend the realities of Islam. Politically, despite western-oriented political and social development in Egypt and throughout the Arab world, there was a prevalence of autocratic rule by authoritarian rulers, instead of the establishment of the legitimacy of the political regime, or promotion of national unity. Economically, poverty and illiteracy were predominant, although both western capitalism and marxist socialism had been adopted. Capitalism particularly resulted in materialism and conspicuous consumption rather than concern for equality and social justice. “Unemployment, housing shortages and a lack of political participation” confronted young people who were disillusioned and frustrated, unable to find a way to build a future, based on their idealism, study and hard work. Frustration and hopelessness resulted from the declining economic conditions. The predominant reasons for militant Islam in Central Asia is the repressiveness of the Central Asian regimes. These include the impoverished countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. These governments do not broaden their political base, carry out basic democratic reforms, or allow any political opposition to their autocratic mode of government. From decreasing economic opportunities, along with rising poverty and unemployment emerge the debt-ridden societies of the region which are keen to accept any organization or party that offer them hope for a better life. The regimes increase their repression on the population, since they consider not only Islamic militancy but also Islamic practice as a threat to their grip on power. The problems in Central Asia have been aggravated not only by the continuing civil war in Afghanistan, but also by the growth of Islamic extremism and terrorism associated with Osama bin Laden and his Arab-Afghans who form the Al Qaeda, and have considerable influence with the Taliban, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Jihadi groups in Pakistan6. The fanaticism which dominates these terrorist groups spreads to the other youth in the general population. Suffering due to unemployment, poverty, hopelessness of ever achieving a fulfilling future, the youth are in a state of readiness for being recruited into the terror outfits. Even educated youth who find a complete lack of economic opportunities, are drawn into extremist activities through the spread of fanatic ideologies and also because of temptations of monetary benefits that are offered to them. The declining political, social and economic environment in the impoverished regions promotes the adoption of extremist ideologies. The drug trade from Afghanistan funds political activism and drugs also pay for the weapons used by the extremists and the radical Islamic movements7. This is supported by the author Richardson, 2006, who states that very often religion and politics integrate together to fuel the expansion of militant groups. In many Muslim societies there is a wide-spread feeling of failure and loss of self-esteem. Moreover, other issues of social and political injustice are: lack of social services, “maldistribution of wealth and corruption, combined with concerns about the preservation of religious and cultural identity and values”8. Frequently, these failures have been attributed to the following of western models of political and economic development, and for moral decline and spiritual lack. Wealthy Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Libya promoted their religious and ideological views by supporting mainstream as well as extremist movements. Conclusion This paper has highlighted Jihad originating from developing countries where Islam is the predominant religion. It is found that there are differences between the present-day extremist Jihad which is based on a fanatic interpretation of the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims; and the original Islamic struggle to spread and defend God’s word and rule, as initiated by the Prophet Muhammed. The factors that contribute to extremism in the third world were found to be economic conditions, educational inadequacies, fanaticism, lack of opportunities, inadequate housing, unavailability of jobs, and failure of governments to promote citizens’ interests. Unlike the majority of Islamists, a significant and dangerous minority of extremists and “jihad groups from Egypt to Indonesia such as the Al Qaeda believe that they have a mandate from God” and have mobilized support and motivated their followers to continue the holy war9. References Esposito, John L. Unholy war: terror in the name of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Esposito, John L. “Jihad: the struggle for Islam”. In Green, William S. & Neusner, Jacob (Eds.). The religion factor: an introduction to how religion matters. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Rashid, Ahmed. Jihad: the rise of militant Islam in Central Asia. The United States of America: Yale University Press, 2002. Richardson, Louise. The roots of terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2006 Read More