One of my favourite writers these days on the subject of Islamic terrorism is Wasiq Wasiq who is a counter terrorism researcher, a founding member of Muslims Against Anti-Semitism and an Associate Fellow of the Henry Jackson Society. Mr Wasiq does not shy away, as some do, from speaking about the negative aspects of Islam and the negative effects of both non-violent and violent Islamism on Western nations. Whenever I see his byline, whether it be in print, broadcast media or online I know that even if I do not agree 100% with everything the man says I know that I will be presented with thoughtful words on a very important subject.
He’s recently published an article in Unherd magazine where he is quite excoriating about comments made by a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates who claimed in a statement to the United Nations, that ‘there is nothing Islamic about terrorism’. Mr Wasiq in his article shows that the diplomat was wrong in his assumption. Mr Wasiq said that it is plain to see that Salafism did not appear from nowhere, it came from within Islam.
Whilst I accept that there are a few Islamic sects that have disavowed to a very large extent the idea of violent jihad and who respect sex equality and religious and political pluralism, I also have to admit that such groups are in the minority when it comes to numbers of adherents. The main issue with jihad and Islamic extremism comes from within the main paths within Islam which is where the bulk of Islam’s followers come from.
On the subject of the nature and roots of Islamic extremism and in particular Salafism, Mr Wasiq said:
But the Salafis didn’t just wake up one day and declare themselves jihadists; instead they produced a whole doctrine which provides the justification for their violence. Shiraz Maher, the Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) posits that there are five essential and irreducible features of the Salafi-Jihadi movement: 1) tawhíd (belief in the oneness of God), 2) hákimiyyah (the absolute rule of God), 3) al-walá wa-l-bará (loyalty and disavowal), 4) jihad (holy war) and 5) takfír (excommunication). The first two features are used to promote the faith whereas the remainder three features are to protect it.
The key point to note here is that while these features are needed to form the Salafi Jihadist ideology, these ideas exist in normative Islamic traditions nonetheless. They do not exist because of Salafis — they exist despite Salafis. Therefore, to assume that there is nothing Islamic about terrorism ignores the very history of ideas in Islamic theology that have existed since its conception 1400 years ago.
Mr Wasiq said that the diplomat’s comments showed that the United Nations is in denial about the nature of Islamic extremism. On this I believe that Mr Wasiq is correct. Attempts to change how we describe Islamic terrorism such as using phrases such as ‘faith based violence’ or ‘violence based on the misuse of faith’ miss the point and rather than help to crack down on such extremism could end up feeding extremism by divorcing Islamic extremism from Islam.
Islamic terrorism comes from within Islamic theology and Islamic culture and cannot be seen as something coming from outside Islam. In a way it is similar to how Zionism, the yearning for the return of the national Jewish home and the return of the Temple and the arrival of the Messiah (Moshiach), is an integral part of the belief system of many Jews. You can’t look at Judaism and ignore the yearning for home, nationhood and the arrival of the Moshiach in Jewish theology and similarly you can’t ignore the culture of jihad that comes from within Islam.
If nations or international organisations follow a path that dishonestly claims that jihad is not a part of Islam but something that came from outside Islam then the only ones who will win from this situation will be the extremists. They will win because we will have disavowed the intimate connection between Islam the theology and the actions and beliefs of the extremists and jihadists. If we can’t discuss the link between Islam and extremism then we will have removed some of the tools that we need to wield in order to counter Islamic extremism. We need to be honest about Islam, we need to recognise that whilst there are many individual Muslims who are opposed to jihad and religious extremism, the roots of such extremism come from within Islam itself.
