Islamic Fundamentalism and Terrorism

21 Feb, 2000    ·   329

Report of IPCS seminar held on 16 February 2000
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Kostiner

 

 

Research Associate, Moshe Dayan Center for Near Eastern Studies, Tel Aviv University

 

 

Dr. Joseph Kostiner outlined the essential reasons for the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. One is the tendency within Islamic civilization to scrutinize its early origins and scriptures for clues to return to its golden eras. Islamic scriptures have sanctioned no political institution that has arisen in the Middle East since Prophet Mohammed did not clearly designate a successor. Since no particular system of government is prescribed by the Quran, a strong tradition of scriptural scrutiny has been embedded in the Middle East . Added to this is the fact that the Quran was disclosed in the full bloom of history, unlike say, Christianity whose origins are obscured by the turbulence of the Roman occupation of Judea . The Muslim perception that the Quran is eternal besides being a miracle creates an aspiration of looking for political solutions to contemporary problems within the principles of a text that was conditioned by medieval life. 

 

 

The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is also linked to the problems of the Arab world over the last several centuries, wherein Islamic revivalism has stalled soon after its territorial expansionism ceased. The Ottoman Empire is an exception though, but it did not reach the level of sophistication that the Abbasids attained in the 11th century. Over the last two centuries, Arab leaders have been trying religious reforms to galvanize Islam somewhat unsuccessfully. Islamic proponents have been overwhelmed by the bureaucratization of their societies through the introduction of Western mechanics such as the army and secular education. The import of liberalism and parliamentarianism in Egypt , Syria has bred cultural anxieties that political Islam has capitalized on. The failure of pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism has created a political space for fundamentalism. Islamists have insisted that imported influences and ideologies have failed to deliver genuine development while fostering illegitimate values, and therefore a return to traditional Islamic concepts of governance is the only way to redeem crisis-ridden societies. Hence, a combination of existential frustration and disenchantment with the West has created the conditions for Islamic fundamentalism. 

 

 

Kostiner clarified that Islamic fundamentalism should not considered as tantamount to Islamic orthodoxy. In fact, fundamentalism could imply the rebellion against an existing orthodoxy just as Saudi Wahhabism was a rebellion against the regnant practices of its day. Fundamentalism is a move to return to the fundamentals of the Islamic faith. An Islamic fundamentalist is an extremist but not a terrorist. Islamic Fundamentalism is an impulse to reconcile the pristine morality of the days of the Prophet with the challenges of modernity. 

 

 

Terrorism is the violent manifestation of a frustration that modernity induces in Islamic groupings. Organizations that employ terror inveigh against the existing social order and attempt to annihilate it completely. Most Islamic thinkers have not reached such extreme conclusions but a few are very vocal. There are two main streams of Islamic terrorism prevalent: one is the Iranian Shii stream inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini which is practiced by the Hizbollah in Lebanon at the behest of its leader Fadlallah. The other is the Sunni stream inspired by Sayyid Qutb and is observed in Egypt and Gaza etc. The Shii leadership grew out of the seminary in Najaf in southern Iraq . Khomeini entirely overturned the traditional Shii attitude to state power that was pietistic and almost fatalistic. Khomeini argued that corrupt regimes can be violently opposed and toppled if Islam was under attack. Militant Shiism has not been very successful by hindsight though it threaten to spread to Iraq and the Gulf. Its success is most evident in southern Lebanon where the Hizbollah has managed to create a state within a state -- a feat none too difficult in Lebanon which has always been a disorganized state. Hizbollah is funded by Iran and receives arms via Syria , it is opposed to the peace process. 

 

 

The Sunni proponents of terror tactics do not originate from the Wahhabi trend but project themselves as a kind of an Islamic vanguard who impose traditional lifestyle patterns and attacks symbols of foreign influence like tourists in Egypt . Qutb is their patron thinker, who interestingly studied in the United States . He preached that Middle Eastern regimes were corrupt and was eventually executed by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1965. The Muslim Brotherhood that he inspired eventually assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The Brothers have not had much success elsewhere besides Jordan where they have alternately ruthlessly dealt with or coopted. President Hafez al-Asad of Syria too ruthlessly destroyed the Brotherhood stronghold of Hama in 1984 where an estimated 25,000 people were killed. 

 

 

The Islamization of the Arab-Israeli conflict is of recent vintage. The physical absence of the PLO leadership prior to 1993 created a vacuum of political opposition to Israeli rule in West Bank and Gaza that was filled by the Islamic Resistance Movement commonly known as the Hamas. It garnered support from professionals like doctors, engineers, teachers and trade unionists and is led by the blind cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Their sociopolitical message is directed against Chairman Yassir Arafat’s regime which is supposedly neither ameliorating Palestinian discontent nor extracting adequate concessions from the Israelis. The Hamas could command the loyalty of upto 20 percent of the Palestinians. It aims at qualitative terrorism intending to send a message by conducting blasts in Israeli cities that the Jewish nation is vulnerable even at its core. There have been many psychological studies into the psyche of suicide bombers. The belief that heaven is the reward for a martyr may be a compelling reason as also the fact that large sums of money are promised to the families of suicide bombers. 

 

 

Kostiner concluded with the note that Islamic fundamentalism has not had much political success in the world with the exception of Iran which is an autocratic regime. Sudan is another that has an Islamic regime prone to violence but it does not rank as an important country like Iran does. There is a stalemate in Algeria while Islamists have failed to capture power in Jordan, Egypt or any of the Gulf states . 

 

 

Discussion:

 

 

Comment

 

 

Pakistan has a sizable population of  Shias who are largely politically dormant. Pakistan believes not in a reinterpretation of  fundamental Islamic principle, rather it believes in exporting jihad to different parts of the sub -continent. Comment.

 

 

Response

 

 

The politically inferior situation of Shias is common to many Muslim country's with sizable population of Shias like Lebanon . In fact, in Iraq , despite being in a majority, they were politically weak. It has to do with a historical sense of neglect of the community. Until the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran , the Shia did not assert themselves politically. The doctrine of jihad as practised  in Pakistan , may have political motives. Gen. Musharraf seems to use this to ensure his survival. There are a number of schools in Pakistan that teach fundamentalism. Further, recruitment of jihadis is done from the lower economic strata with promises of  monetary benefits for their families. In fact ,the action of the jihadis especially there involvement in suicide missions cannot be explained rationally. As for export of jihad by Pakistan to different parts of South Asia , it is a particularly murderous brand of fundamentalism that caters to the campaigns of revenge and vendetta as well as an anti West propaganda.

 

 

Comment

 

 

Fundamentalism is the political face of Islam. Akin  to Marxism, it has a certain ideology, a revolutionary aim and a cellular structure. The line between fundamentalism and fanaticism is very thin. There is no gentle face of Islamic fundamentalism. This should be kept in mind while dealing with fundamentalism elements.

 

 

Response

 

 

All movements in Islamic history have been political movements. The Prophet Mohammed established a political order and  the Caliph was a religious and political leader.  However, not every manifestation of Islamic fundamentalism leads to terrorism. Fundamentalism also aims at a merging tradition with modernity in a reinterpretation of the fundamentals of Islam. The call to rebel against the existing regimes or to annihilate existing orders has not been very widely accepted in the Islamic world.

 

 

Question

 

 

Kindly provide a comparative analysis of the Arabism and Islamism?

 

 

Response

 

 

Arabism is a trend in decline. Arab national identity based on secular criteria like language, geography, ethnicity and common history did not work very well in the Arab world as it led to no socio-economic changes. In the 1960s Marxism emerged as an option to Arabism. It was in 1967 that South Yemen gained independence and became Marxist. However, because of the decline of  Marxism as an ideology in other parts of the world, it did not cut much ice in the Arab world. Hence in the late 1970s the Arab world turned to Islamism. This was prompted by a reinterpretation of fundamentals of Islam. The rise of Khomeini was a manifestation of this phenomenon. Khomeini crowned himself as the source of all law and Islamic belief in Iran .

 

 

Question

 

 

How are the suicide mission of the fundamentalism groups any different from serving in a national army?

 

 

Response

 

 

The situation in an Army is different because armies are not indoctrinated to commit suicide. Psychologists have enumerated thirty different reasons for people opting for suicide missions. Some of these are, a religious desire to ascend heaven, personal failure in life, revenge etc. Rational choice depends on the definition of rationalism adhered to by different people. This is not to say that Muslims are irrational but suicide mission are not rational. It cannot be likened to taking a job in the army.

 

 

Question

 

 

How does the creation of Israel and the occupation of South Lebanon by Israel contribute to the rise in Islamic fundamentalism?

 

 

Response

 

 

Israel does not aim to dominate or colonize Lebanon .  Though in 1982, Israel did invade Lebanon ,  it withdrew its forces from all parts of Lebanon including Beirut . In fact, it has created a security zone in South Lebanon as a buffer zone. This region is populated by Christians who are more comfortable with Israel than Lebanon and also keen to avoid the Hizbollah. The alternative for Israel is to withdraw from South Lebanon . The current Israeli Prime Minister is offering this solution. Compared to Syria , which despite an agreement of friendship between it and Lebanon continues to sit in Lebanese territory, Israel has only created a security zone as a peaceful way to deal with the situation. Israel is not a source of fundamentalism. Fundamentalism emerges in countries like Sudan , Egypt , Iran without having any thing to do with Israel . The Arab Israeli conflict has been Islamized. It was not a religious conflict to begin.

 

 

Comment

 

 

Any Islamic movement is condemned as fundamentalist . The Wahabbi movement in Saudi Arabia   and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan can be condemned as fundamentalist, however, there are other aspects to it. Ideologizing of Islamic belief to reach certain goals like in Iran cannot be condemned as fundamentalist. The slogan for the Islamic revolution in Iran was "Freedom , Independence and Republic". Further, the Israeli are making the Arabs pay for the sins of the Europeans against the Jewish community by rendering Arabs homeless in Palestine . These Palestinians, who are struggling to save their homes cannot be branded terrorists.

 

 

Response

 

 

In the Arab-Isreali conflict there is no one side which is right. In fact, it is in the interest of both sided to come to a peaceful compromise to the situation. As for Khomeini, he  was fundamentalist in that he posited himself as the chief interpreter of Islam.

 

 

Question

 

 

Can you represent Hamas and the rise of Osama Bin Laden as a unified threat of Islamic terrorism?

 

 

Response

 

 

At present, Islamic revolution is the only one in the world that offers any hope and the Hamas has place within the Islamic ideology. As for Osama Bin Laden, he is not the only source of the jihadi threat. It  probably has a number of actors under working on similar ideological lines.

 

 

Question

 

 

Comment on the succession race in Palestine after Yasser Arafat.

 

 

Response

 

 

Arafat is not openly grooming any one successor. However, there are echelons within the PLO where the struggle for succession to Arafat is being waged. Some of the prominent names in this race are those of Mahmoud Abbas and Abu Ala. Abbas is perceived by the Israelis to be the best bet as  he  comes across as  balanced person. Abu Ala , the minister for finance and the head of the Parliament is another contender in the race for succession. Of the younger people , the new  security establishment seems set to play an important role. They are knowledgeable, well informed people used to the ground realities of the situation. Secondly,, there are groups of academicians and business people who have local constituencies like youth movements in Palestine . Some of these people Like Hannah Ashrawi and Jonathan Qutaab are Christians. They  argue for democracy and have influence among the intellectuals. Any future government in Palestine shall be composed of these of these different groups.

 

 

Question

 

 

What is the future of Islamic terrorism?

 

 

Response

 

 

There may be an single idea that guides Islamic movement all over the world but there can be no single authority that control all activity. The reason is the conflicts within the Islamic world, and at some point some of these movements may turn hostile towards each other. However, in the lack of any other revolutionary idea, Islamic revolution does hold a certain legitimacy and shall give rise to corresponding movements.

 

 

Comment

 

 

The various state funded Islamic fundamentalist organization such as the Hamas and the Hizbollah are increasingly becoming independent of their supporters. They generate their own funding through drug trade and are consequently becoming independent in their operations. This is a very dangerous trend. The Taliban was created by vested American interests in Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet influence. However, after the end of the Cold War, it has come into its own as an independent organization operating from a largely lawless state like Afghanistan . One can deal with state terrorism but to deal with amorphous entities like these is more difficult and more dangerous. 

 

 

 

 

 

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