The language of protest in the Islamic world  

Air Cdre Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury (Retd)

 

Published on April 02, 2006

 

The publication of a series of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a little known Danish newspaper in September last year has snowballed into outburst of protest from the Muslim community the world over. While the reaction of the vast majority of the Muslims to this despicable event has been one of utter disgust and contempt, they are not on the centre stage. Their peaceful protests do not get the media attention. What the world is watching is the burning down of western embassies and business houses by angry demonstrators.

In many countries, extremist elements of the society are trying to create a law and order situation under the cover of religious fervour. In Iraq, Nigeria and Pakistan, the minority Christians have been attacked and killed and their churches have been burnt down. This was despite the fact that the Churches of all denominations have roundly criticised the cartoon episode. In Bangladesh too, where the Christians are a small, docile minority, a Church in a rural community was attacked. To someone who is not a Muslim, these events and images would only confirm their apprehension that the Muslim community is prone to violence and anarchy. These highly visible acts would further alienate the rest of the world from Islam and the Muslims.

The chain of events over the last few years is threatening to widen the gap between Islamic world and the rest. Many are arguing that Prof. Samuel P. Huntington was right, after all, when in his seminal paper "The Clash of Civilizations" (Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993) the Professor predicted: "The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future. Conflict between civilizations will be the latest phase in the evolution of conflict in the modern world."

While there were serious objections at that time from the intellectuals and politicians on all sides against such a dire and simplistic conclusion, it now appears that we are indeed heading for such an Armageddon. To many on both sides of the civilizational divide, the clash between Islam and the West is already "on."

While we condemn in the strongest terms the demeaning act of publishing the cartoons, we shall have to remember that acts of violence only bolster the hands of those who want to prove that Islam, as a religion, is violent and dysfunctional in the 21st century. This issue is especially critical for Bangladesh. Our international image is already tarnished due to the activities of religious extremists of various hues. The spate of bombings by JMB, an underground pseudo-religious terrorist organisation, has left an indelible mark on the national psyche.

Any act of violence on western life or property will further erode our international standing. We have, over the years, built up a strong economic and political relationship with the West that is of vital interest to our continued growth and prosperity.

Especially, the government and the people of Denmark have been a development partner of Bangladesh since its birth. I remember the first RO-RO ferries that arrived from Denmark soon after the Liberation in 1971, and those played vital role in restoring our war-damaged surface communication systems.

Denmark is one of those few developed countries that had been spending 1 percent or more of its GDP on foreign aid. Although its aid package is not as large as those of Japan or the US, it is aimed at addressing core issues of poverty alleviation and job creation thus ensuring improved standard of living in the recipient country. DANIDA, the Danish aid agency, is a name synonymous with successful rural development, poverty alleviation, irrigation, river training projects that had benefited millions in Bangladesh. Danish investment, although small, has created new jobs and opened up new avenues of growth. We value our friendship with Denmark and an incident of sheer irresponsibility by a section of the press should not hurt the relationship between the two states and their people.

While the saner elements in the society try to defuse and contain the situation, it is also important for us to do some serious soul-searching. We need to ask questions as to why we opt for violence so often, so quick. Why we cannot argue peacefully and logically in a manner that would be emulated by others?

It is interesting to note that although the cartoons were printed in September 2005, there was hardly any reaction till January 2006. Just when people were accusing the Saudi and Egyptian governments for their gross failures in the Mina Stampede and the Red Sea Ferry disaster, respectively, the cartoon incident came as a respite for both. The media shifted its focus from the thousands who died needlessly to the cartoons that hardly anybody had seen.

It has become a daily routine in various Muslim countries for the demonstrators to engage in violent confrontation with the security forces, ending up with few deaths and extensive damage to public and private properties. To top it all, a religious leader in Pakistan declared a bounty on the heads of the cartoon artists. Incidents of this nature only strengthen those who claim that there is a violent streak in Islam.

Take the case of Amina Lawal of northern Nigeria, who gave birth to a child outside marriage in 2002. Sharia court ordered her to be stoned to death for adultery and the punishment would be carried out only after the child has grown out of suckling. This verdict was turned down by the appeals court after a world-wide outrage on this issue. Surprisingly, there was neither a street protest in support of the victim nor a Muslim lawyer of international repute available to defend her. Recently a minor girl named Nazneen has been ordered to be hanged by the Islamic court in Iran for allegedly killing a male assailant. There is a world-wide campaign launched to save the little girl's life. Meanwhile, stoning to death, amputation of limbs, and beheading in public goes on in many Muslim countries at a time when the rest of the world is challenging and re-evaluating the whole concept of crime and punishment.

Over the last few years, a human tragedy, many times larger than Iraq or Palestine, has been going on in Western Sudan's Dharfur region. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, thousands of women have been raped, and millions have been made homeless and facing starvation and death -- all because the victims are black Muslims, former slaves of Arab masters. Sudanese militia of Arab descent were systematically carrying out an ethnic cleansing unknown to the outside world until BBC, CNN and others got the news and flashed it to the world.

What has been the reaction of the Islamic world? Benign neglect -- to say the least! The OIC proved to be impotent to deal with the situation. The UN had to step in with peacekeepers. The UN, along with the western relief agencies, such as Oxfam, is feeding the starving Muslims in Sudanese camps. In Iraq and Pakistan, the Shias and Sunnis are killing each other in the hundreds by bombing each other's mosques, schools, and even funeral prayers. There is an on-going campaign in Bangladesh to declare the Ahmadiyya community as non-Muslims. The Ahmadiyyas are being socially ostracised and often physically abused. What are the cumulative effects of all these?

Today, the outlook for the Islamic world is bleaker than ever before. As the antagonism between the Islamic world and the rest increases, the access to high-tech knowledge will be shut on our face. Investment and technical cooperation from the West as well as East might decline. Migration, whether in search of job or education, might be increasingly difficult for the Muslims. Of all the major religious communities of the world, the Muslims are the poorest, most backward, and least educated, and consequently least prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century. Among the emerging powers in the world, there is not a single Muslim majority state. Along with the US and EU, the destiny of the 21st century will be shaped by countries such as Russia, China, India, and Japan. Where will the Islamic world be? Will it be in the abyss of violence and anarchy, ignorance and backwardness? Shall we be the pariah shunned by the rest of the world? The onus is on the educated and enlightened Muslims to turn the tide.

Who would be the beneficiaries if the Muslims remain backward? The beneficiaries would be the despotic rulers and the tradition-bound clergy. The two would rather keep the populace backward so that they would be easier to control, manipulate, and exploit. Under tight socio-political and theological control, liberal, modern thoughts are throttled, and conservative, obscurantist ideas are patronized. Democratic traditions cannot flourish under such conditions.

What is the way out? Reformist Islamic scholars around the world are asking for a serious attempt at "ijtihad" -- reasoned struggle and rethinking -- within Islam to seek answers to the problems facing the contemporary world. We need a liberal society that think rationally and interacts with the rest of the world peacefully. Peaceful protests are possible only where democratic culture is nurtured. Until that happens, violence will be the only language of protest in the Islamic world.

 

The author is Registrar, The University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka. The essay was published in the Daily Star of Dhaka on February 27, 2006.