Islamic Liberalism and America
mohammad
Published: 3/9/2004
The claim that the concept of Islamic liberalism is merely a US
message is often heard. People who are concerned with the issue of
freedom of thinking and faith, democracy, rationality, woman's
roles, human rights and so on are seen as influenced by the Western
agenda. This assumption indicates that Islam has no original
teaching regarding those matters.
This article was previously published in Indonesian at 16/8/2004
There has been a sharp debate in Arabic lands about the relation
between the trend of Islamic liberalism and American policy. Sayyid
Yasin, a senior researcher at Centre of Ahram Strategic Studies of
Egypt for instance, tried to associate the liberal Islamic trend in
Arab with US foreign policy. Yasin referred to the report of United
States (US) researcher, Cheryl Bernard, who work at National
Security Research Division, The RAND Corporation, under the title of
Civic Democratic Islam; Partner, Resources, and Strategies (2003).
To Yasin, Bernard's report is `dangerous' since it is not only
contained of trends of Islamic thought -Islamic fundamentalism,
revivalism and terrorism-but also strategic report for the US
foreign policy. That research recommends the US to confront Muslim
fundamentalists, by supporting Islamic secularism, modernism, and
liberalism. Yasin finally accuses that Islamic secularism, modernism
and liberalism is none other than the US `message'.
Yasin raised up about two matters: first, about the transformation
of a nation's political policy; second, about the originality of
Islamic liberalism.
First, this charge is not new. A similar charge is used by Islamic
fundamentalism against the trend of Islamic liberalism. They assumed
that there is a `smell' of US involvement in the trend of Islamic
liberalism. They forgot that Cheryl Bernard's research and etc is
both a recommendation as well as a criticism of US foreign policy.
Before the tragedy of 11 September 2001, the US played a huge share
in developing Islamic fundamentalism which is the origin of
terrorism. America has just been rethinking its policy as soon as
they realized that their national security was threatened by the
terrorists brought up by their own military and the CIA.
The US support, in the form of fund, military equipment, strategy of
war, are real in the case of Al-Qaeda network led by Ben Laden,
Taliban regime, and Afghani mujahedeen (defenders of the faith),
when it clashed with the Soviet Union. Now the history turned! Their
colleagues become a real enemy, and undermined the life of the US
(Musthafa Abd Rahman: 2003). The intimate relation between US and
Saddam regime in the war against Iran is not a secret. In the
Iranian-Iraqi war, the Soviet Union was behind Iran, while US
supported Iraq. Now the US toppled Saddam. The US has spoiled the
Islamic fundamentalisms in Saudi Arabia, by neglecting the danger of
wahhabism which has disseminated the seeds of terrorism. Only after
the 11 September tragedy did America became busy in freezing Saudi
funding institutions that give financial support to terrorism.
Unfortunately, as conveyed by Fareed Zakaria (Newsweek, 29/06/2004),
the Saudi people still empathize with Islamic fundamentalism rather
than with Islamic reformism. The tragedy of 11 September has not
changed them. They consider Ben Laden a hero and claimed that
tragedy of 11 September was a US-Israeli conspiracy. However when
terrorists killed 35 persons and wounded 200 persons (12/05/2003) in
Riyadh, they came to realize that what had happened in New York
happens in the holy land as well. Now they also live in fear due to
the escalating terrorism. Since then there has been the emergence of
Islamic moderation against the mainstream of radical wahhabism. The
kingdom of Saudi Arabia have asked the preachers and ulemas to talk
about Islamic moderation and tolerance!
The 11 September tragedy gives precious lesson for the US and
several countries supporting religious fundamentalism. Cynically,
Egyptian thinker, Sayyid Al-Qumni in his book Syukran Yâ bin Lâdin
(Thanks Ben Laden!) wrote that US and fundamentalist countries have
to thank to Ben laden. Without him, their political choice will
never change!
The Roots of Islamic Liberalism
The claim that the concept of Islamic liberalism is merely a US
message is often heard. People who are concerned with the issue of
freedom of thinking and faith, democracy, rationality, woman's
roles, human rights and so on are seen as influenced by the Western
agenda. This assumption indicates that Islam has no original
teaching regarding those matters.
However, we can find the root of Islamic liberalism from the
reformist figures in Tunisia and Morocco such as Syekh Abd Aziz al-
Tsa'alabi. In 1904, al-Tsa'alabi wrote a book under the title
L'esprit Libéral du Coran which is translated into Arabic as Rûhut
Taharrur fîl Qur'ân (Liberal Spirit in Koran). At that early time,
he called for the urgency of revitalizing woman's roles, tolerance,
rejecting fanaticism, reinterpretation of jihad verses, and the
urgency of dialog between Islam and other religions. The amazing
thing is that al-Tsa'alabi laid his notions upon the liberating élan
contained in Koran. To him, if Koran could not be the liberating
élan, it will be shackled by fanatic interpretation, and not the
liberal interpretation. Al-Tsa'alabi's work indicates that the roots
of Islamic liberalism is strongly embedded in the verses of the
Koran.
Another example is Gamal al-Banna. This youngest brother of the
founder of Al-Ikhwanul Muslimun (Muslim Brethren), Hasan al-Banna,
claimed that his elder brother was a liberal figure. He admitted
that the Koran is a liberal book. Al-Banna said that his elder
brother is a man who recognized the freedom of faith. Even in the
principles (mabâdî') of Al-Ikhwanul Muslimun, he inserted verses
supporting freedom of faith like man syâ' fal yu'min waman syâ'a fal
yakfur (anyone may believe or disbelieve in god). Al-Banna viewed
that exclusivity and fanaticism within the activist of Al-Ikhwanul
Muslimun is a `virus' of Sayyid Quthb's thought; and not the
original thought of al-Banna. Through his work, like Nahwa Fiqhin
Jadîd (toward a new fikh), Tatswîrul Qur'ân (revolutionizing Koran),
al-Mar'atul Muslimah Bayna Tahrîril Qur'ân wa Taqyîdil Fuqâhâ
(woman
between Koranic liberation and the shackle of Muslim scholars), al-
Banna indicates that liberalism is the most original vital élan in
the Koran.
Our conclusion is this: the trend of Islamic liberalism has nothing
to do with the US message, conceptually as well as politically. The
Islamic liberalism upholding democracy will always be critical upon
the US foreign policy which contradicts democratic principles.
Islamic liberalism and US will be in a line whenever they encounter
fundamentalism or terrorism. But the second motive is different: the
US against terrorism with the motive of security an its interest,
while Islamic liberalism challenges fundamentalism and terrorism
since both are against Islam's basic notions, and potentially
exterminate the future of Islam. []
Mohamad Guntur Romli, Student of Al-Azhar University Cairo, Egypt,
and Activist of KOSIEM (Komunitas Islam Emansipatoris)