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ISLAM.
Term Paper ID:28112
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Ideology, relevance. Impact on Muslim countries. Use as diplomatic tool; military & political elements.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Ideology, relevance. Impact on Muslim countries. Use as diplomatic tool; military & political elements.
Paper Introduction:
THE FIST OF ALLAH:
ISLAM AS A DIPLOMATIC TOOL
It is impossible to understate the relevance of Islam in the modern world. Boasting over one billion followers, Islam is among the planet’s most influential religions. For millennia, Muslim states have found Islam to be an entity which can cause divisiveness as surely as it can unity; as a weapon against non-believers, the Islamic faith has been instrumental in mobilizing the masses for armed conflict. And, the targets of these holy wars have not always been outside of the faith. Often throughout the course of history(and into the present day), Muslims have organized against other Muslims, as interfaith sects have found cause to oppose one another time and time again.
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The five pillars of the Islamic faith are belief in one god, prayer,giving alms to the poor, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and fasting.[21] In theprecarious days that lie ahead, Muslim nations(and the rest of the world)will be best off if this side of the faith is utilized when consideringdiplomatic practice. Although a westernizedlawyer, Jinnah's emotions and thinking championed the Muslim cause.[6] Hebelieved in the rights of women and minorities, human rights, andconstitutional rule, and he was an advocate of democracy.[7] Jinnah wasoriginally called an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, and was recognizedfor his support of synthesis with other communities- yet as his yearsadvanced his passion for Muslim culture and identity never wavered.[8] The diplomatic ideals of Jinnah, progressive and intriguingly moreconducive to the current trend(and seeming inevitability) of globalization,seemed to reflect a more tolerant side of Islam. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, May 16, 2 : www.unmah.net.Nelan, Bruce W. Jihad was scrawledon walls and in homes. Resistance by the military and the protesters wasinspired by fears that under the ISF Algeria would retard it's own economicdevelopment, de-westernize, and become a nation of religiousfanaticism.[15] In this, the composition of the Algerian civil war certainly serves asa microcosm of the larger debate. Soon, martiallaw was imposed. Either choice will profoundly effect diplomaticpractice, and either choice is grounded in an interpretation of Islamicideology. In the past we have witnessed the power of Islam as a diplomatic tool. "The new leaders," he contends, "want to destroy the state asa legacy of the West and replace it with a fundamentalist model".Explicitly anti-Western, fundamentalists hope to eventually use Islam asthe ultimate diplomatic tool: as a vehicle for all-encompassing politicaland social change and a challenge to the existing world order.[5] On the other hand, Ahmed finds at the opposite end of the spectrum menlike Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. On theagenda of the fundamentalists was the end of law, essentially believingthat the only governing doctrine necessary was the rule espoused in theKoran: the law of Allah. Nuclear weapons, in the era of globalization, are notso rare a commodity. After Algeria's first multi-party election(held in 199 at themunicipal level) resulted in victory for the Islamic Salvation Front(thefundamentalists), mosques began demanding the establishment of a trueIslamic State, and broadcasted calls for a holy uprising. On the otherhand, an isolationist, Islamist state could very well condemn an emergingMuslim nation to economic squalor in a distinctly capitalistic globalmarket. Fundamentalist policy thenopposed a 1993 peace plan for Israel, while clandestine fundamentalistguerrillas bombed supermarkets and X-rated theaters and assassinateddiplomats. ProfessorAhmed notes, "...from Karachi to Cairo, Muslim cities erupt into sectarianand ethnic violence at a moment's notice".[16] And in Jordan, years ofinternal Muslim strife have cost lives throughout the decade, culminatingin the deportation of political dissidents.[17] When, in 1989, King Hussein of Jordan allowed popular elections, (asin Algeria) the fundamentalist group the Muslim Brotherhood struck a majorvictory, becoming the biggest bloc in the parliament. Living Islam: From Samarkand to Stornoway. In his article, "Islam'sCrossroads", Ahmed postulates that the extent to which future Muslim stateswill utilize Islam as a diplomatic tool depends largely upon which model ofrule, and which style of leadership, wins out in Arab nations. Pakistan has nuclear weapons, as does India. And, the targets of these holywars have not always been outside of the faith. Essentially, in Muslim society the leader is expected to embody bothpolitical and moral authority; this creates fodder for controversy as thedebate over secularization rages in diplomatic circles and within extremistgroups. Iraq and Iran's ten yearreligious war may have killed as many as one million people. V353 i8147 p18."Muslim Brotherhood Movement." The Muslim Brotherhood Homepage. Ultimately, these factors render Islam a potent diplomatic tool,one upon which the policy-making process very often depends.[1] Islam does not recognize any distinction between mosque and state,theology and politics- this creates many diplomatic challenges for modernMuslim states that are grappling to find an identity in an increasinglyglobalized world.[2] Internal diplomatic disputes are intensified asexternal fundamentalist zealots attempt to push their own agenda, oftenthrough the use of terrorism. How could it not be? And of course, theessence of jihad symbolizes the utter synthesis of Islam and diplomacy- itis, in colloquial terms, a religious war- diplomatic action backed by thewill of God.[11] In Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East, regional conflicts aboundwithin and between the Muslim states; jihad is employed to cleanse theimpurities of the enemy, and restore a sense of true Islam. Whether strifeoriginates among the oppressed or the oppressor, Islam is the chiefdiplomatic means for mobilizing the masses. Military generals soon oustedthe civilian government, voided the election, and outlawed the ISF.Fundamentalist terrorism then erupted.[12] Many journalists, teachers, and intellectuals who opposed theocracywere murdered. Therefore,bloodshed is not viewed as barbaric, or tragic, or wrong. Dec 1999 v65 i3 p12.Haught, James A. AsAhmed states, "Now that the Muslim world...has an 'Islamic nuclear bomb'Muslim leadership matters more than ever".[2 ] Islam will continue to be a major tool used by Muslim nations seekingto develop diplomatic habits. (1994): 119-12 .[7] Ahmed, "Islam's Crossroads", 25.[8] Ahmed, Living Islam, 12 -122.[9] Ahmed, "Islam's Crossroads", 26.[1 ] Nelan, 64.[11] Ahmed, Living Islam, 17, 152-3.[12] James A. In these dawning months of the 21st century, the nature ofbattle has changed. As a powerful voting contingency,fundamentalists in the Muslim Brotherhood remained true to their platform,which stated that "Islam is the solution". Graffiti in the capital, Algiers, proclaimed "Divine justiceat work".[13] Ultimately, the Algerian army defeated the fundamentalists, althoughterrorism in the region has not subsisted entirely- today an estimated1 , lives have been lost in the conflict.[14] Clearly, the tragicrecent history of Algeria recalls the age-old struggle among Muslim statesfor a working political process that does not subvert the tenets of Islamin the eyes of the most devout followers. "Islam's Crossroads." History Today. Campaigns to drive foreigners from what was hopedto be an exclusive Muslim nation resulted in the deaths of many innocents.The Armed Islamic Group staged attacks in the name of punishing "enemies ofthe faith". V142 n14 (Oct 1993): 62.[3] "Muslim Brotherhood Movement", Muslim Brotherhood Movement Homepage.www.unmah.net.[4] Nelan, 63.[5] Ahmed, 25.[6] Akbar S. In Muslim states, controlling the lunatic fringe willremain the issue, and in a region in which rebellion and violence are notuncommon, this can be tricky business, particularly in hard economic times. In either scenario, Islam will remain the driving forcebehind political and military action; indeed, most often it is not untiljihad is declared that true bloodshed can commence. June 1999. Great Britain: Butler and Tanner, Ltd., 1994."Fighting for the Cause." Canada and the World Backgrounder. THE FIST OF ALLAH: ISLAM AS A DIPLOMATIC TOOL It is impossible to understate the relevance of Islam in the modernworld. Islamic fundamentalists have been slaughtering other Muslims since1991. Parliamentary elections were reset for late 1991, andwhen the Islamists again won in a landslide, nearly 3 , secular-mindedAlgerians marched against fundamentalism. V49 i6 p24.Ahmed, Akbar S. Boasting over one billion followers, Islam is among the planet'smost influential religions. In anage in which leaders like Osama bin Laden orchestrate terroristinsurgencies in the name of Allah, precautions must not be overlooked. Ahmed, Living Islam: From Samarkand to Stornoway. Religious zealotry has no placein modern diplomacy. "The Dark Side of Islam." Time. V49 i6 (June 1999):24.[2] Bruce W. New York: Prometheus Books, 1995."Islam's Arab Backlash." The Economist(US). Beauty parlors and nightclubs were burned, their occupantsslain. Cooperation andsecularization will continue to brand progressive, more modernizedgovernments as impure by fundamentalists, as surely as fundamentalist-inspired revolts and cries denouncing the Western "Great Satan" willcontinue to invoke worry and superstition from the rest of the modernglobal community. V142 n14 p62(3). Nov 27, 1999. The Islamic state ordained bythe ISF in Algeria was an attempt to follow the Shari`a of Islam. If millions of men can beenticed to bleed on the battlefield in the name of Allah, how hard will itbe for one man to push a button? Ahmed, "Islam's Crossroads" History Today. Foreign diplomats and emissaries were tortured. It has justifiedaggression in virtually every form imaginable. It has enabled men to kill one another without remorse. Often throughout thecourse of history(and into the present day), Muslims have organized againstother Muslims, as interfaith sects have found cause to oppose one anothertime and time again. Islamists soonsought to ban alcohol, disallow kissing on television, and prohibit menfrom watching women's athletics. For millennia, Muslim states have found Islamto be an entity which can cause divisiveness as surely as it can unity; asa weapon against non-believers, the Islamic faith has been instrumental inmobilizing the masses for armed conflict. Holy Hatred: Religious Conflict in the 9 s. Oct 4, 1993. Indeed, the all-encompassing nature of the pure Islamic messageremains difficult for Muslim governments to reconcile; governing a statestrictly by Shari`a- the Islamic legal code- is a virtually impossible taskin a global environment in which the ability to compromise and cooperate isa necessity.[1 ] And of course, the danger of cooperation- when it occurs-is that it can ultimately attract the scorn of religious zealots, evenmobilize support for an aggressive fundamentalist agenda. Certainly, there is little to indicate that Islam will not continue tobe the preeminent diplomatic tool in Muslim states in the years to come:virtually all regional Muslim disputes have been a matter of interpretingIslamic doctrine and applying it to governance. Ultimately, conflict is filtered throughIslam; those in power utilize Islam as a diplomatic tool- both sides fearthat the other will, if victorious, bastardize the faith. A Jihad in this day and age could do in the entireplanet, should the wrong sides square off. Ahmed, distinguished commentator on Islamicaffairs indicates that the clash between Islamic religious and politicalauthority has reached a crucial juncture. Of course, Algeria is not an isolated case. Islam hence becomes the ultimate diplomatictool: it can dismiss(as in the Algerian elections of '92) any othermandate, political, social, or otherwise, and it can assuage the collectiveconscience of those who are expected to kill. Today, supporters ofOsama attack Jinnah's legacy, calling him a kafir(non-believer)specifically because of that tolerance; as Ahmed writes, "Jinnah wasaccused of being an enemy of Allah and the Prophet because he supportedwomen, Christians, and Hindus, and advocated democracy".[9] It is clear that in the modern context, the fate of many Muslimnations hang in the balance, forced with a critical choice betweenmilitancy and moderation. "We arewitnessing," writes Ahmed, "new Muslim movements and a new kind ofpopulist, aggressive, and literalist Muslim leadership struggling toemerge". Haught, Holy Hatred: Religious Conflicts of the '9 s, (1995):123-6.[13] Ibid., 124-9.[14] "Islam's Arab Backlash," The Economist(US), v353 i8147 (Nov 1999): 18.[15] Haught, 124-8.[16] Ahmed, "Islam's Crossroads", 26.[17] "Islam's Arab Backlash," 19.[18] Haught, 166-8.[19] "Islam's Arab Backlash," 19.[2 ] Ahmed, "Islam's Crossroads," 26.[21] "Fighting for the Cause," Canada and the World Backgrounder, v65 i3(1999): 14. With one-fifth of theworld's population committed to Allah, deep secularization- orWesternization for that matter- is simply not a practical prescription forthe world at large. Nelan, "The Dark Side of Islam" Time. -----------------------[1] Akbar S. He points to Saudi dissident(and possible master-mind of the 1998American Embassy bombings in Africa) Osama bin Laden as the best symbol ofthis trend. By 1993, Jordanians had rejected political zealotry and oustedsix fundamentalist seats in the parliament, and Prince Talal articulatedthe new Jordanian objective of containing "the rising tide offanaticism".[18] In recent months, Jordan's policy toward fundamentalists has grownharsher; four members of the Palestinian Islamist Movement, Hamas werearrested and deported in November of 1999. This type of behaviorrepresents a current theme among Muslim nations; Islamist politicians areconsistently viewed as a potential or actual danger- ideally to be keptsilent and powerless.[19] And yet, Professor Ahmed's "critical choice" theory is not to bediscounted. As an example: Algeria has hosted inter-Muslim conflict for nearly adecade. REFERENCESAhmed, Akbar S. Jinnah, who died in 1948,espoused an ideology that was ahead of his time. On the contrary,it is divine justice at work. Following the conviction that Islam is"Creed and state, book and sword, and a way of life"[3], Islamistfundamentalists routinely condemn Muslim states such as Egypt, Algeria andTunisia for trying to modernize- a process which often includes allowingelements of nationalism, secularism, and Western-style democracy toinfluence diplomatic practice.[4] Professor Akbar S.
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