Fundamentalism: A Way to Peacebuilding?
Egyptian activist and URI Global Council member Dr. Mohamed Mosaad critiques attempts at fighting "fundamentalism" by shutting down discourse. Instead he proposes that fundamentalism, in particular Islamic fundamentalism that promotes violence between religions, should be countered by likewise returning to the holy books (the fundamentals) in true intra-religious dialogue.
January, 2005
The Middle East conflict is perhaps the most cited conflict as a clear example of the negative role religion might play in complicating an already inflamed political crisis. What prevented political solutions, as those conducted in Oslo and Camp David II, from achieving their goals was simply, it is claimed, the mutual religious fundamentalism. How can you make peace with a nation, which your holy book asserts you will fight? How can you convince someone who is committing suicide that peace is good because it gives him better education and a better job? Besides, how can you divide a piece of land between two peoples when each people's holy book grants the entire land to the holder of this book?
Admitting the significance of religion, particularly in its ability to make peace fail, it was advised that peacebuilders must refer to religion in speeches, writings and activism. It was also thought that once the "religious leaders" instruct their corresponding followers of making peace the followers will automatically shift to a peace agenda. The two pieces of advice were observed but unfortunately the results were disappointing. In Islam the religious leaders' liberal arguments that Ben Laden has no right to interpret Koran, his ideology is wrong and Islam "naturally" calls to peace have fallen on deaf ears.
What went wrong was that depriving Ben Laden from his right to read and interpret the text is simply self-contradictory with a liberal discourse. Second, the emphasis on the need of a new liberal reading to advocate peace sounds conspiratory to mainstream Arab Muslims as it puts the result of the fatwa before conducting its very process. Third, what legitimizes a religious discourse and makes it theologically authentic is not the results it reaches, but rather the strict methodology it follows to reach those results. In other words, it is not the question, of what but that of how, which matters.
Fundamentalism is a migrating concept that has held different meanings in different milieus. In the Islamic theological sphere the meaning it carries is one of orthodoxy; the going back to the two Islamic fundamentals, Koran and Sunna, in encountering the contemporary events and problems. As such its meaning is desirable and respected, leaving behind a very negative sense of heresy and schism to whatever becomes its opponent. The Islamic discourse that calls for using violence has legitimized itself by sticking to fundamentalism, in methodological terms. On the other hand, those Islamic discourses that call for peace have unfortunately used both liberal rhetoric that pleases Western media and politicians, and ethical preaching that convinces no one.
To encounter the violence-discourse one must first critique it both conceptually and methodologically. We have to isolate the corner-stones concepts of this discourse and then pay them a serious and patient analysis using the traditional methodology Muslim scholars have built up and observed for long centuries. We must also examine the structure of the discourse and the consistency of its arguments; how concepts, pieces of texts and old writings are weaved together to make up, and rationalize, an independent body of knowledge with a specific political agenda.
There is a long list of conflict-making concepts such as Jihad, Martyrdom, The Jews, Holy Land, Islamic State, the Prophecy… . In their new context Jihad would mean an eternal war against non-Muslims; martyrdom will be used to legitimize suicide operations against civilians; the Jews will reflect a pan-historical transcendental mass of people, which is destined to a hostile attitude against Muslims; and the Holy Land will grant a sacred nature to a piece of land with the creation of new specific political regulations and considerations while approaching it. The Islamic State will turn into an integral part of religion, a necessary political system that is essential to the practice of Islam, and which overcasts the political relations and the land and people it ever ruled with a set of must-observed regulations. The whole discourse is led by a prophecy, a view of the future, and it is not a future of peace. It is a future of war between Muslims and Jews in the Holy Land that will mark the end of this world. How could nice rhetoric like "Islam and Salam have the same linguistic root" swiftly shift these giant obstacles?
Far from being in need to quit the traditional methodology, or to reject the ancient works and writings, we have rather to work them out. By using such a fundamentalist critique, and ultimately founding a new encountering discourse we will achieve two main goals. First, we will show up the inconsistency and the major, sometimes fatal, mistakes the violence-discourse is committing from a traditional point of view. Second, embarking on the rich and diverse Islamic works, which have been carved out through different and quite contradictory historical contexts, we will prove that the known fundamentalist discourse is not the only possible one of its kind. An authentic traditionalist discourse, which yet maintains a peaceful political agenda, is also possible.
Would that automatically solve the Middle East conflict? Certainly not! The conflict has so many elements that the religious element is only one of them. That however will help solve the problem by neutralizing its inflammable religious element. Most religious people, I believe, want peace. For them, the economic promises are not enough and the ethical preaching is almost meaningless. They need and long for an outlet, a legitimized authentic outlet. This approach aims to offer them what I think is the only one possible for them!
Dr. Mohamed Mosaad Cairo January 2005
Dr Mosaad is an Egyptian psychiatrist, sociologist, educator and peace activist. His is coordinator of the Abrahamic Forum, and member of the Abrahamic Forum Council, an International Interfaith dialog. He is a member of the Global Council of the United Religons Initiative URI.
I am the news editor for a new English-language magazine in Cairo, and would like the contact information for the author of this article, Dr. Mosaad for possible future articles we may publish. Thank you
We seem to be forgetting a key element of the fundamentalism, that is ignorance or more precisely wrong knowledge. Here is an example from my book www.chickenstand.ca I was always offended by “blind faith,” and I still am. I recall visiting Pakistan in the late 1990s, during the month of Ramadan, the holiest period of the calendar for Muslims. The last Friday of that month is the most sacred day, and it is said that anyone who prays that day will be blessed, as God will grant what they ask for.
On that holy day, I was traveling from Lahore to another city by car, accompanied by some Pakistani businessmen. As we passed through a town, we heard the call to prayer. There was a mosque by the roadside, and it was overflowing with people. Young children were milling about everywhere. We stopped the car and got out, and heard the imam preaching the sermon of the Noon Prayer. Mats were spread outside the mosque, and right unto the road, because of the huge overflow of people. We sat down on the mats and listened to the sermon.
My blood started to boil, as I heard what the imam was telling the multitude. My heart started to beat faster and faster, and my face was clearly turning a bright shade of red, because the others I was with kept staring at me. “Why are you so upset?” one asked me. “You are saying a prayer to God, Zia, and not to that imam! Ignore what he is saying!”
But I could not. I remember all too well what the foolish religious leader was declaiming to his flock. “This is the holiest day of the year, so you should pray to Allah,” he exclaimed. “If you are sincere in your heart, I promise you that a miracle will happen! Pray all night, making sure that you place a glass of water beside you! And in the morning, your prayers will be answered, as your water will have turned into milk!”
Was this in the holy Koran? I doubted it. But I was filled with anger, regardless. These are innocent people, in a backward town, in a Third World Country! And he was telling them that by praying, water would be turned into milk!
He said something else which made me even angrier, and I could not forgive him for it. There were all these gullible children there, many of them soaking in every stupid word! The imam exclaimed, “Because this week is the holiest week of the year, it is the responsibility of every angel on this earth to throw stones at Satan, who is up there, in the sky! So, at night, when you see streaks of light across the sky, know thee that the angels are throwing stones at Satan up there!”
Muslims have to look at ways to demolish myths, wrong knowledge and ignorance.