Pearls of Iraq: Part Four - Islamic Peacebuilding
This is a continuing series on Islamic Educational Peacebuilding Initiatives in Iraq. We continue with the prospect of developing a school focused on Islamic peacebuilding, dialogue and justice, including nonviolence. I would like to add there are many people across the global working on Islamic approaches to peace and dialogue, but…but their voices are not heard.
Islamic Approach to Dialogue, Nonviolence and Peacebuilding
But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).
Al Qur’an. Surah 8:61
The question is… are traditional Western methods enough, especially in a culture that is not “Western?” Obviously, the answer is NO. What is needed both domestically and internationally is further understanding and application of the positive and useful principles of Islam. Many applications being taught now are methods developed over the years by mostly Westerners. While these have been very helpful and beneficial, they cannot completely address conflict in a traditional, High Context culture; especially in an Islamic society.
George Irani in his article “Islamic Mediation Techniques for Middle East Conflict” provides a strong argument for applying Islamic principles to conflict in addition to traditional Western methods. “Conflict resolution is viewed by many as a false Western panacea, a program imposed from outside and thus insensitive to indigenous problems, needs, and political processes.” He goes on to give example of Islamic mediation:
The Middle Eastern rituals of sulh (settlement) and musalaha (reconciliation) are alternative and indigenous forms of conflict control and reduction. The sulh ritual, which is an institutionalized form of conflict management and control, has its origins in tribal and village contexts. "The sulh ritual stresses the close link between the psychological and political dimensions of communal life through its recognition that injuries between individuals and groups will fester and expand if not acknowledged, repaired, forgiven and transcended.”
According to Islamic Law (Shari'a), "the purpose of sulh is to end conflict and hostility among believers so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity....In Islamic law, sulh is a form of contract ('akd), legally binding on both the individual and community levels."
Approaching a conflict, dialogue or preventative peacebuilding initiatives in an Islamic culture without an Islamic element will not be fully accepted and sustainable. Many of the Western approaches have a secular, non-religious base, separating justice from peace. Islam has an integrated system in which justice and peace are part of a religious, communal and socio-political system. Additionally, other religions have taken an interest in these Islamic principles for greater understanding of Islam and to provide understanding of these cultural differences.
Mohammad Abu-Nimer addresses this issue, “there is an abundance of cultural and religious indigenous practices and values in Muslim communities that can be drawn upon in designing models of intervention to promote social and political change and development; there is no need to mechanically import Western-based models. Western models may at best produce a short-term outcome, but in the long term cannot be expected to take root in the life of the community.”
We will next explore the five Islamic peace paradigms.
Islamic Peace Paradigms
On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
Al Qur’an. Surah 5:32
The key in the above quote from the Holy Qur’an is “all of humanity”. Islam represents the unity of humanity, a community of creation, created by the Creator, Allah. More importantly to Islam is the word and concept of tawhid – Divine Unity, and the awareness of the “unity of being” (wahdat al-wujud). Three facets of the Tawhid are: Tawhid ar-Rububiyya, Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat and Tawhid al-ibada.
Tawhid ar-Rububiyya is described as that which only Allah designs and nourishes his Creation, the universe. Without his will, creation could not continue to exist. Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat translates as, “declaring God One in His names and Attributes." There are traditionally 99 “Beautiful Names” denoting Supreme Attributes describing God, who truly is indescribable, “Allah! there is no god but He! To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names” (The Holy Qur’an 20:8). Although the 99 Names are the ones traditionally used in prayers and meditations, it is obvious that God is without limitation, so conceivably there are more than 99 Beautiful Names. All are extinguished in the Essence of The One.
The last Tawhid, Tawhid al-ibada, points out that Allah alone is the Only One worthy of our worship. This can be seen in the Holy Qur’an’s statement, “I have created not the jinn and men except that they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allâh is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.” (The Holy Qur’an 51:56-58)
Tawhid exemplifies the unity of creation with Allah in the Islamic Ummah, a community and a living, multi-personal organism that is interconnected and interdependent. There is a complex, multi-level integrated system of values and universal virtues within the Ummah. These include human rights, prosperity, social, political and reconciliation, including peaceful co-existence.
Once more I will refer to Abdul Said and his work on Islamic Peace Paradigms in a very brief summary as each of the five Islamic approaches to Peace is a full study and dissertation unto itself. The five Islamic peace paradigms are Power Politics, World Order, Communal Conflict Resolution, Nonviolence and Sufism.
Power Politics uses Islam to “Legitimize power and authority, and to preserve social order.” Simply, peace is a state of being in the absence of war. It is further explained, “Critics, of course, may be quick to note that basic concepts, such as “interest,” are easily manipulated to justify abuses of power. They may also point out that, in an environment of power politics, Islam often becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself.” The Shari’a is used to counter abuse of power and to protect society and human rights, although in some regiments this is overlooked.
World Order Islamic approach is a philosophy base on an Islamic way of life. This paradigm supports the aim for co-existence and goes beyond power politics, “As a paradigm, the Islamic world order approach challenges the idolatry of state and tribe, points beyond power politics and affirms the need for cooperative and participatory political processes that can secure the well-being of the Islamic umma (community) and the larger community of humanity.” This approach explores innovative models, “that combine democratic governance, equitable development, and cultural and religious values.”
The third paradigm, Communal Conflict Resolution is important. This deals with conflict and reconciliation on the ground level, the grassroots. Preservation of Islamic and local cultural approaches to peace, reconciliation and mediation among interpersonal, inter-group relations is imperative to peace. Abdul Said uses the following examples, “These contexts include the Lebanese civil war and the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Palestinians seeking to strengthen their civil society at a time of great turmoil have established conflict resolution centers in Bethlehem (Wi’am – Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center) and Gaza City (the Palestinian Center for Helping to Resolve community Disputes).”
The Islamic Nonviolence paradigm has been overlooked in today’s world, although it does exist. Examples on nonviolence and activism can be seen in Iraq by Sadr. On April 10, 2005, MASNET, the Muslim American Society reported that Sadr supported protest of U.S. occupation and the call for an Islamic state. MASNET reports, "Sadr followers vowed the rally was the first of many to pressure the new Iraqi government to demand that U.S. troops withdraw, but they stressed Sadr was not calling for a resumption of armed struggle against the U.S. military."
Additionally, Moayad al-Khazrajy, an aid to Sadr describes this new form of nonviolent protest, "We've organized ourselves now to continue these demonstrations until we force the government and national assembly to take our demands seriously and carry them out. We've received strict orders from Sayed Moqtada not to carry weapons, and even if we're fired at by occupation forces not to respond. For the time being, our position is peaceful."
This can also be seen in Lebanon where people of diverse religions have joined together to protest against Syria’s influence in the country. This is one of the most exciting developments where Muslims and people of other faiths have joined together, especially the youth:
Alaa Merhi, aged 23, from the youth organisation of the mainly-Druze Progressive Socialist Party of prominent opposition leader MP Walid Jumblatt, says “the youth went much faster and further than elder leaders could ever go.” “They (the older leaders) keep thinking about wartime massacres. It is not that we want to forget the war one has to learn from the past. But we cannot keep thinking about the past and forget our nation and its future,” said the unemployed graphic designer, adding that he had sent 350 applications out to try to get a job, in vain. Young people argue about the war and the past, he acknowledged, but added: “But we never argue about the future because we all want a free, democratic and independent Lebanon.”
Additionally, there are thousands of online groups and websites promoting Islamic peace. Just within the Yahoo Group Search under “Islam + Peace,” it lists over 350 groups. This does not count many other forums, chats and organizations, both Islamic and Inter-religious working together through various forms of electronic dialogue.
The final Islamic paradigm Abdul Said addressed is Sufism. Sufism is based in classical Islamic Tradition (Qur’an and Sunnah)and provides a complimentary transformational and spiritual framework to peace through the actions of the numerous members of the Sufi Orders worldwide, both guides (murids, i.e. complete Sufis) and students (murids i.e. dervishes on “The Path”). Some actions taken are very public, others are discrete. Inter-religiously, Sufism complements certain forms of Pre-Pauline, Rosicrucian and Gnostic Christian Mysticism as well as Jewish Kabbalah (the mystical path) and it is not unusual to see true bridges built among the Abrahamic faiths through these spiritual paths.
Sufism is based on strong traditional Islamic practices, as Said explains, “Deeply rooted in historical Islam, tasawwuf (Sufism) may be understood as the Islamic equivalent of the contemplative disciplines present in other world religions. Those who adhere to Sufism emphasize that, while tasawwuf focuses human attention completely on the ‘greater jihad’ of inner purification and the transformation of character, it does not presuppose social quietism. Indeed, the Sufi tradition places considerably stronger emphasis on the presence of the individual in society (and hence on the fulfillment of social duties) than the contemplative traditions of other world religions.”
The summaries above are shamefully too brief, but it is an impossibility to expand on them in this paper. They provide a foundation and a reason for the implementation of education, research and application of Islamic frameworks for peace by establishing the Iraqi Islamic School of Dialogue and Peacebuilding and International Islamic Center for Global Peace. Now we will review briefly some foundations in an Islamic approach to dialogue and why understanding these styles of dialogue are important.
Side Note. The blogger format will not allow for footnotes, etc. so I will present them at the of this series, or you can write me at my email and I can send you the information.
Islamic Approach to Dialogue, Nonviolence and Peacebuilding
But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that heareth and knoweth (all things).
Al Qur’an. Surah 8:61
The question is… are traditional Western methods enough, especially in a culture that is not “Western?” Obviously, the answer is NO. What is needed both domestically and internationally is further understanding and application of the positive and useful principles of Islam. Many applications being taught now are methods developed over the years by mostly Westerners. While these have been very helpful and beneficial, they cannot completely address conflict in a traditional, High Context culture; especially in an Islamic society.
George Irani in his article “Islamic Mediation Techniques for Middle East Conflict” provides a strong argument for applying Islamic principles to conflict in addition to traditional Western methods. “Conflict resolution is viewed by many as a false Western panacea, a program imposed from outside and thus insensitive to indigenous problems, needs, and political processes.” He goes on to give example of Islamic mediation:
The Middle Eastern rituals of sulh (settlement) and musalaha (reconciliation) are alternative and indigenous forms of conflict control and reduction. The sulh ritual, which is an institutionalized form of conflict management and control, has its origins in tribal and village contexts. "The sulh ritual stresses the close link between the psychological and political dimensions of communal life through its recognition that injuries between individuals and groups will fester and expand if not acknowledged, repaired, forgiven and transcended.”
According to Islamic Law (Shari'a), "the purpose of sulh is to end conflict and hostility among believers so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity....In Islamic law, sulh is a form of contract ('akd), legally binding on both the individual and community levels."
Approaching a conflict, dialogue or preventative peacebuilding initiatives in an Islamic culture without an Islamic element will not be fully accepted and sustainable. Many of the Western approaches have a secular, non-religious base, separating justice from peace. Islam has an integrated system in which justice and peace are part of a religious, communal and socio-political system. Additionally, other religions have taken an interest in these Islamic principles for greater understanding of Islam and to provide understanding of these cultural differences.
Mohammad Abu-Nimer addresses this issue, “there is an abundance of cultural and religious indigenous practices and values in Muslim communities that can be drawn upon in designing models of intervention to promote social and political change and development; there is no need to mechanically import Western-based models. Western models may at best produce a short-term outcome, but in the long term cannot be expected to take root in the life of the community.”
We will next explore the five Islamic peace paradigms.
Islamic Peace Paradigms
On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.
Al Qur’an. Surah 5:32
The key in the above quote from the Holy Qur’an is “all of humanity”. Islam represents the unity of humanity, a community of creation, created by the Creator, Allah. More importantly to Islam is the word and concept of tawhid – Divine Unity, and the awareness of the “unity of being” (wahdat al-wujud). Three facets of the Tawhid are: Tawhid ar-Rububiyya, Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat and Tawhid al-ibada.
Tawhid ar-Rububiyya is described as that which only Allah designs and nourishes his Creation, the universe. Without his will, creation could not continue to exist. Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat translates as, “declaring God One in His names and Attributes." There are traditionally 99 “Beautiful Names” denoting Supreme Attributes describing God, who truly is indescribable, “Allah! there is no god but He! To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names” (The Holy Qur’an 20:8). Although the 99 Names are the ones traditionally used in prayers and meditations, it is obvious that God is without limitation, so conceivably there are more than 99 Beautiful Names. All are extinguished in the Essence of The One.
The last Tawhid, Tawhid al-ibada, points out that Allah alone is the Only One worthy of our worship. This can be seen in the Holy Qur’an’s statement, “I have created not the jinn and men except that they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allâh is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong.” (The Holy Qur’an 51:56-58)
Tawhid exemplifies the unity of creation with Allah in the Islamic Ummah, a community and a living, multi-personal organism that is interconnected and interdependent. There is a complex, multi-level integrated system of values and universal virtues within the Ummah. These include human rights, prosperity, social, political and reconciliation, including peaceful co-existence.
Once more I will refer to Abdul Said and his work on Islamic Peace Paradigms in a very brief summary as each of the five Islamic approaches to Peace is a full study and dissertation unto itself. The five Islamic peace paradigms are Power Politics, World Order, Communal Conflict Resolution, Nonviolence and Sufism.
Power Politics uses Islam to “Legitimize power and authority, and to preserve social order.” Simply, peace is a state of being in the absence of war. It is further explained, “Critics, of course, may be quick to note that basic concepts, such as “interest,” are easily manipulated to justify abuses of power. They may also point out that, in an environment of power politics, Islam often becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself.” The Shari’a is used to counter abuse of power and to protect society and human rights, although in some regiments this is overlooked.
World Order Islamic approach is a philosophy base on an Islamic way of life. This paradigm supports the aim for co-existence and goes beyond power politics, “As a paradigm, the Islamic world order approach challenges the idolatry of state and tribe, points beyond power politics and affirms the need for cooperative and participatory political processes that can secure the well-being of the Islamic umma (community) and the larger community of humanity.” This approach explores innovative models, “that combine democratic governance, equitable development, and cultural and religious values.”
The third paradigm, Communal Conflict Resolution is important. This deals with conflict and reconciliation on the ground level, the grassroots. Preservation of Islamic and local cultural approaches to peace, reconciliation and mediation among interpersonal, inter-group relations is imperative to peace. Abdul Said uses the following examples, “These contexts include the Lebanese civil war and the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Palestinians seeking to strengthen their civil society at a time of great turmoil have established conflict resolution centers in Bethlehem (Wi’am – Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center) and Gaza City (the Palestinian Center for Helping to Resolve community Disputes).”
The Islamic Nonviolence paradigm has been overlooked in today’s world, although it does exist. Examples on nonviolence and activism can be seen in Iraq by Sadr. On April 10, 2005, MASNET, the Muslim American Society reported that Sadr supported protest of U.S. occupation and the call for an Islamic state. MASNET reports, "Sadr followers vowed the rally was the first of many to pressure the new Iraqi government to demand that U.S. troops withdraw, but they stressed Sadr was not calling for a resumption of armed struggle against the U.S. military."
Additionally, Moayad al-Khazrajy, an aid to Sadr describes this new form of nonviolent protest, "We've organized ourselves now to continue these demonstrations until we force the government and national assembly to take our demands seriously and carry them out. We've received strict orders from Sayed Moqtada not to carry weapons, and even if we're fired at by occupation forces not to respond. For the time being, our position is peaceful."
This can also be seen in Lebanon where people of diverse religions have joined together to protest against Syria’s influence in the country. This is one of the most exciting developments where Muslims and people of other faiths have joined together, especially the youth:
Alaa Merhi, aged 23, from the youth organisation of the mainly-Druze Progressive Socialist Party of prominent opposition leader MP Walid Jumblatt, says “the youth went much faster and further than elder leaders could ever go.” “They (the older leaders) keep thinking about wartime massacres. It is not that we want to forget the war one has to learn from the past. But we cannot keep thinking about the past and forget our nation and its future,” said the unemployed graphic designer, adding that he had sent 350 applications out to try to get a job, in vain. Young people argue about the war and the past, he acknowledged, but added: “But we never argue about the future because we all want a free, democratic and independent Lebanon.”
Additionally, there are thousands of online groups and websites promoting Islamic peace. Just within the Yahoo Group Search under “Islam + Peace,” it lists over 350 groups. This does not count many other forums, chats and organizations, both Islamic and Inter-religious working together through various forms of electronic dialogue.
The final Islamic paradigm Abdul Said addressed is Sufism. Sufism is based in classical Islamic Tradition (Qur’an and Sunnah)and provides a complimentary transformational and spiritual framework to peace through the actions of the numerous members of the Sufi Orders worldwide, both guides (murids, i.e. complete Sufis) and students (murids i.e. dervishes on “The Path”). Some actions taken are very public, others are discrete. Inter-religiously, Sufism complements certain forms of Pre-Pauline, Rosicrucian and Gnostic Christian Mysticism as well as Jewish Kabbalah (the mystical path) and it is not unusual to see true bridges built among the Abrahamic faiths through these spiritual paths.
Sufism is based on strong traditional Islamic practices, as Said explains, “Deeply rooted in historical Islam, tasawwuf (Sufism) may be understood as the Islamic equivalent of the contemplative disciplines present in other world religions. Those who adhere to Sufism emphasize that, while tasawwuf focuses human attention completely on the ‘greater jihad’ of inner purification and the transformation of character, it does not presuppose social quietism. Indeed, the Sufi tradition places considerably stronger emphasis on the presence of the individual in society (and hence on the fulfillment of social duties) than the contemplative traditions of other world religions.”
The summaries above are shamefully too brief, but it is an impossibility to expand on them in this paper. They provide a foundation and a reason for the implementation of education, research and application of Islamic frameworks for peace by establishing the Iraqi Islamic School of Dialogue and Peacebuilding and International Islamic Center for Global Peace. Now we will review briefly some foundations in an Islamic approach to dialogue and why understanding these styles of dialogue are important.
Side Note. The blogger format will not allow for footnotes, etc. so I will present them at the of this series, or you can write me at my email and I can send you the information.
posted by Miriam | 4:15 AM
<< Home