Muslim Heretics Conference

By Bramantyo Prijosusilo, New America Media. Posted December 17, 2008.

Indonesia not only has the largest Muslim population in the world, it also has the liveliest debate on issues related to Islam.

The founder of the Liberal Islam movement in Indonesia, Ulil Abshar Abdalla, frequently receives death threats from Islamists who accuse his movement of being designed by America and “the Jews” to destroy Islam.

However, amongst the educated elite in Indonesia, Liberal Islam’s supporters tend to be growing. It actively disseminates its ideas through a website (www.islamlib.com), through national broadsheets, a network of FM radios and even through Facebook.

The growth of liberal Islam was obvious when Islamic scholar Dr. Siti Musdah Mulia was recently awarded a prestigious human rights award in Jakarta. Dr. Mulia controversially accepts gay Muslims. Supporters of Liberal Islam feel that it is a way to express Islam without being in conflict with their common sense and modern values.

Meanwhile, hardliner Islamism is also growing through mass organizations that reach down to the village level through madrasahs and rallies. Recent surveys in West Java revealed that up to 80 percent of Muslims believe that Sharia law should be implemented by the state. Every problem, they believe, no matter how complex, can be solved by the implementation of Sharia law.

The current global financial crisis has supplied fresh ammunition to the jihadi propagandists. Indonesia’s chapter of the trans-national Islamist party, Hizbut Tahrir, for example, recently published a letter from a party member living in the United States, describing the crisis as a disaster of consumerism and proof of the damage and suffering caused by the absence of an Islamic Caliphate. This simplistic way of thinking becomes particularly attractive when it is presented by someone perceived to hold religious authority.

Indonesia not only has the largest Muslim population in the world, it also has the liveliest debate on issues related to Islam. The country holds a uniquely strategic position in the ideological battle against literalist Islamism. Historically, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), was founded in 1926 as a reaction to the Wahhabi takeover in Arabia. Most contemporary Indonesian scholars and activists of Liberal Islam were educated in NU schools, and many of the brightest amongst them are currently studying on American scholarships at Ivy League universities. The debate within Islam can be seen in a growing gap within NU between the educated elite and the village level: recent studies revealed a literalist and anti- pluralist trend among NU affiliated madrasahs in villages.

To decisively end the debate and bury Islamist terror forever, the United States, and particularly American Muslims, must aid the efforts of Liberal Islam activists in Indonesia, but not through moves that will be dismissed as a ‘scholars-for-dollars’ program. This debate is not only a war of ideas; it is also a battle of charisma. Though charisma alone will never suffice to deal with the task at hand, without charisma, there can be no spiritual leadership.

To keep and nurture a following, a scholar must be careful about where he or she receives funding. American Muslims must produce not only Islamic rap and Islamic youth novels. They need to nurture Islamic scholars who are educated in the classical subjects of Islam but who can also independently offer an Islamic way of life that is compatible with and beneficial to the global village of the 21st Century.

Islamist terror did not begin with perceived injustices committed by the United States; it started with ideology. Islamists respond violently to the perceived injustices of America’s foreign policy because their ideology demands it. Islamists have plenty of charismatic scholars whose works glorify their thirst for violence. Often these scholars lived through a time of profound suffering, such as Ibn Taimiyyah, who experienced the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate to the Mongols in the 13th Century.

Islamist ideologues see the Muslims’ predicament as punishment from Allah for not adhering to religion. In what can be seen as an inferiority complex, they feel compelled to purify the expression of Islam in their societies by word and by sword. The enforcement of a total acceptance of Islam is the main theme of all Islamist ideologues. The total acceptance of Islam requires a state that implements Sharia law expressed through the adoption of 7th Century customs of Arabia.

In a way, Islamdom today faces a situation similar to the time when Islamist fundamentalism was born in the ideas of Ibn Taimiyyah. While he faced the destruction of the Muslim community at the hands of the grandson of Genghis Khan, currently, mankind faces obliteration by the failure of states, nuclear wars, and natural and man- made environmental breakdowns.

The problem is that the Islamists’ responses to current issues are stuck in the 13th Century. The Mongols have become the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies. Muslims and the world need a new, relevant, expression of Islam, one that can stand up to the militancy and the desperation of the jihadi Islamists. It must be an expression of Islam that is true to the spirit of the Qur’an and the examples of the Prophet Muhammad, but it must also contribute towards the humanism and ecological awareness of the 21st Century.

American (and Western) Muslims are the best equipped to produce this desperately needed expression of Islam. Traditional Islamic scholars are not well educated on current environmental issues, and do not relate to modern humanistic concepts such as gender equality and democracy. Islamic scholars brought up in the West have a much broader understanding of the issues facing mankind today.

Could these scholars now please stand up and speak?

Liberals and Hardliners: Islam at War with Itself | ForeignPolicy | AlterNet

An international conference on jihad that took place in Jerusalem yesterday highlighted what hawkish scholars on Islam described as “real disputes” about the nature of the problem. The event also inspired the controversial Dutch legislator Geert Wilders to plan a European follow-up in the coming months.
“It’s time for such an event in the Netherlands,” the far-right Wilders said on the terrace of Jerusalem’s Begin Center, where the event was held. “But the cost of security would be much higher in Holland than in Israel.”
Wilders - the only one of the six speakers to receive a standing ovation from the 600 people in the audience - told his listeners that “as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai proved, there’s no moderate Islam,” and it is time for the West to realize it is “in a conflict with the Muslim faith at large.” He sided with scholars like Haifa University’s David Bukay, who averred that “moderate Islam” does not exist and that the Koran could not be reformed or modernized.

But American scholar and activist Daniel Pipes disagreed. Quoting Egyptian philosopher Hassan Hanafi, Pipes said the Koran “is like a supermarket where one takes what one wants and leaves the rest.” This freedom of selection, he argued, provides a means for reshaping Islam.
Pipes opined that those who regard Islam rather than jihad as the enemy fail to realize that a change has occurred over the past few years: Although moderate Muslims are still a small force, they are stronger than they were two years ago.
“Millions took to the streets to protest Turkey’s Islamist ruling party, the AKP,” he said when asked to name examples. And “hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Pakistan” following the murder of prime ministerial candidate (and former premier) Benazir Bhutto last year.
Nonetheless, Pipes said he supported more determined Western military action against radical Islam as a means of fostering this change. He also advocated “crushing the Palestinians’ hope for eliminating Israel” and opposed the creation of a Palestinian state and the ongoing peace talks.
Duke University’s Prof. John Lewis, pointing out that Turkey and Pakistan are not Arab countries, suggested that the fight against jihad needs to focus on non-Arab Muslim nations like Indonesia, whose populations “do not share the jihadists’ apocalyptic practice of Islam.”
Wilders’ short movie “Fitna” also received its first Israeli screening at the event, which was organized by MK Aryeh Eldad of the Hatikva Party. The film consists mainly of Muslim hate sermons and gory images from jihad-inspired attacks, and due to the death threats he has received since its release in February, Wilders is now constantly accompanied by bodyguards.

Speakers vie over nature of Islam at int’l jihad conference - Haaretz - Israel News

Rabbi at Temple Shalom in Dallas emerges as leader in Muslim-Jewish dialogue

12:00 AM CST on Saturday, December 13, 2008

By SAM HODGES / The Dallas Morning News
samhodges@dallasnews.com

Rabbi Jeremy Schneider spends a lot of time talking to Muslims, and wants other Jews to do the same.

MIKE STONE/Special Contributor

Rabbi Jeremy Schneider has emerged as a leader in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.

At age 32, the assistant rabbi at Dallas’ Temple Shalom has emerged as a national leader in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.

“He has been in the forefront of strengthening relations between our two communities,” said Rabbi Marc Schneider, president of the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

 

MIKE STONE/Special Contributor

From left: Rabbi Jeremy Schneider, Azhar Azeez, president of the Islamic Association of Carrollton, and temple board member Gail Plotkin participated in a service last month at Temple Shalom in Dallas.

Rabbi Schneider – whose office boasts not only diplomas but a neon University of Texas longhorn – was one of 20 clergy who participated in last year’s groundbreaking National Summit of Imams and Rabbis.

He was the only rabbi in a National Peace Foundation-sponsored delegation visiting the Muslim Middle East – specifically Egypt and Syria – last June.

At Temple Shalom, he preached against “Islamophobia” on Rosh Hashana, pointedly telling his congregation, “We must learn what Islam truly stands for, not from politicians, not from e-mail forwards, and not from the media, but from Muslims themselves by engaging in dialogue.”

Interfaith gatherings

To that end, Rabbi Schneider has organized monthly meetings with five members of his congregation and five from the Islamic Association of Carrollton. He and his wife, Rachel, had a dinner at their home for the group during the Jewish holiday Sukkot.

“I find Rabbi Jeremy to be an amazing person, and a dear friend,” said Azhar Azeez, president of the Carrollton mosque, who at Rabbi Schneider’s request gave the sermon at Temple Shalom during a service last month. “He’s been extremely sincere.”

Rabbi Schneider traces his passion for interfaith efforts to growing up in the predominantly Christian suburbs of Houston.

His mother, a teacher, made it a point to educate schoolchildren about Judaism. He visited a church with his best friend and had the friend over for Passover.

“It was second nature,” he said. “I thought that’s what you do – learn about others’ religion and teach them about yours.”

After attending Jewish summer camps and spending a high school term in Israel, Rabbi Schneider majored in education at the University of Texas. He decided his junior year to be a rabbi, and after graduation enrolled at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

There, he got involved in interfaith efforts, and wrote a thesis titled “Jewish-Christian Relations: From Tolerance to Pluralism to Partnership.” His thesis adviser was Rabbi Reuven Firestone, author of An Introduction to Islam for Jews and an advocate of Jews and Muslims learning from one another about their faiths.

Rabbi Schneider launched right into interfaith work – both with Christians and Muslims – soon after joining the staff at Temple Shalom, a Reform congregation, in 2006.

Tension in Middle East

While Jewish-Christian dialogue and projects have been going on for decades, Jewish-Muslim efforts are in an early and tentative stage, impeded by a strained, often violent political situation in the Middle East.

“It’s the beginning of a marathon, not a sprint,” said Mohamed Elibiary, president of the Freedom and Justice Foundation in Carrollton, and another Muslim who has spoken at Temple Shalom.

Rabbi Schneider makes plain that the dialogue he fosters is not aimed at changing anyone’s faith. Nor is it about wrangling over the Middle East.

Rather, he said, it’s about building relationships between Jews and Muslims in North Texas and across the United States, and working through fears to solid knowledge of the other’s faith.

Rabbi Schneider argues that the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – have much in common, and that extremists have, at times, “hijacked” each of them.

“There is terrorism in the world. There are fanatics in Judaism, in Christianity, in Islam. But if we give in to the fear that they’re creating, then they win,” he said.

Rabbi Schneider will be honored Jan. 10 by the National Peace Foundation for his interfaith work, and he plans to do more, including forming additional dialogue groups and starting a class on Islam at Temple Shalom.

There, he said, he has found “far more support than pushback,” but acknowledges some congregants think he is naïve. Solidly in his corner is Rabbi Andrew Paley – senior rabbi at Temple Shalom.

“He’s a terrific pastor and a wonderful teacher,” Rabbi Paley said. “I’m praying that his example here will be a real model for people to follow.”

Rabbi at Temple Shalom in Dallas emerges as leader in Muslim-Jewish dialogue | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

MANILA, Philippines - Muslim scholars joined appeals for Muslim leaders to actively achieve peace with Christians and intensify efforts of inter-religious dialogue especially in Mindanao.
The scholars, in an open letter to their leaders, said the future of the world depends on peace between Christians and Muslims.
“The two commandments of love namely, love of God and love of the neighbor … (are) part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbor. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity,” they said in a letter to Davao-based DC Herald.
Excerpts of the letter were posted Wednesday on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.
“Let this common ground be the basis of all future interfaith dialogue between us, for our common good is that on which hangs all the law and the prophets,” the letter added.
The religious scholars also said finding common ground between Muslims and Christians “is not simply a matter for polite ecumenical dialogue between selected religious leaders.”
In their letter, they said Christianity and Islam are the largest in the world and in history.
Christians and Muslims reportedly make up over a third and over a fifth of humanity respectively, they added.
“Together they make up more than 55% of the world’s population, making the relationship between these two religious communities the most important, factor contributing to meaningful peace around the world,”
they said.
“If Muslims and Christians are not at peace, the word cannot be at peace. With the terrible weaponry of the modern world and with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world’s inhabitants,” they added.
“So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill,’ the letter said.
Muslim leaders in Mindanao had manifested all-out-support through prayer and fasting to the ongoing Mindanao Week of Peace which was to culminate Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Silsilah Dialogue Movement promoting inter-religious cooperation encouraged a heightened awareness of Advent among Muslims in solidarity with Christians.
“The Silsilah family, composed of Christians and Muslims, for more than twenty years has given special attention to the month of Ramadhan of Muslims. Christians are encouraged to share a special solidarity with Muslims during Ramadhan. Now, as a family and as a movement, we encourage a heightened awareness of Advent and its spirit, inviting Muslims to share solidarity with Christians,” it said on the CBCP website.
Advent is the beginning of the Christian liturgical calendar. This year the period of Advent is from November 30 to December 25, culminating with Christmas.
It said that while the Muslim and the Christian faiths differ in the understanding of these two events, there is something in common to remember and celebrate.
Both communities of believers celebrate God’s love and compassion expressed in two different ways, it said. - GMANews.TV

GMANews.TV - Muslim scholars call for inter-religious peace - Regions - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News - BETA

HRT

Sadiq al Mahdi. Photo ©

4 December 08 - The Sudanese Imam, Sadiq al Mahdi advocates for an Islam that is more tolerant towards women. He was taking part in a seminar on women and Islam co-organised by the Institute for Public Law in Bern. Interview.

Carole Vann / Human Rights Tribune - Notorious for its ultra conservative Islamic laws, it may come as a surprise in the West that Sudan also embraces more modern interpretations of Islam. One of its representatives, Imam Sadiq al Mahdi, took part last week, with other reformist Muslims, in a seminar organised at the University of Bern by the Institute of Public Law, run by Walter Kalin, and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights. Delegates discussed the issue of compatibility between woman and Islam and human rights.

Imam Sadiq al Mahdi is the grandson of the founder of the religious movement Al Ansar in Sudan. At the end of the 18th century this movement stood out for its openess towards women and influenced, amongst others, muslims in Tunisia. A religious leader himself and head of one of the largest opposition parties in Sudan, the National Umma Party, Al Mahdi was prime minister in the coalition government between 1986 and 1989, right up to the coup d’etat led by the current President, Omar al-Bashir. An Oxford graduate and member of the board of the Madrid Club, he is a key figure in the modern Islamic movement in the world today.

Are human rights compatible with the status of women in Islam?

Yes, absolutely. You have to look in detail at the religious texts, putting them in a modern day context and not reading them as they were written a thousand years ago. There is no link between the opinions that were accepted then and now. But let’s be careful, it is not a question of introducing western secularisation. There is an Islam that is based on rationality, humanism, science, plurality. It is an Islam where the status of women has been improved. There is no reason that this status should be diminished today.

How do countries such as Saudia Arabia react to such opinions?

Today Islam is dominated by conservative forces. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are the most extreme, wanting to link us to an idealised past. They want to subjugate women as inferior. Well known schools of law take ambivalent passages of the Koran or from other religious texts and interpret them literally. I think that there is room for a different approach.

Such as?

In the sacred texts, it is written that the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man. If this is taken out of context, you can become a prisoner of the past. At the time, most women were illiterate, so their testimony was based on memory (a reason why it was seen that two women were needed rather than one). Today the context is different and this passage should not be read literally. The testimony of a woman should be given the same value as that of a man.

Is wearing the veil enshrined in the Koran ?

This is also about a question of interpretation. The Koran requires that men and women dress decently. But I admit that here man is the weaker sex and it asks the woman to help him not to fail (laughter). Women and men are certainly not seen as equals there.

Two countries, Tunisia and Morocco have very progressive laws relating to women. Are they role models to follow ?

There is a fundamental difference in the two approaches. The Tunisian family code was drawn up with secular intent, outside of Islam, while the Moroccan code, the Moudawana, has based its laws on religious texts. The Moroccan approach is much more legitimate for a Muslim society than the Tunisian one.

How can these changes be concretely applied on the ground ?

In many countries, women sit on commitees that study laws. But the principle constraints are cultural. We have to work on laws but also change mentalities. In Sudan, for example, a woman has legal rights. The problem comes in applying them. There has to be political will. The changes in Morocco and Tunisia would not have happened without the agreement of the President or the King.

Do you think you are in danger because of your views ?

I don’t know. Some forces accuse us of a lack of religious respect. But important political players in Turkey, Malaysia, Morocco and Indonesia share our ideas. At the moment there is a lot of competition between the various interpretations of the Koran over the future of Islam.

Walter Kalin wants to show another side of Islam

Former member of the UN Human Rights Commission, Walter Kalin has since 2004 been the UN Secretary General’s representative for displaced people. He also heads the Institute for International Law at the University of Bern and is one of the organisers of the forum. “This type of debate is one of the biggest challenges facing our university. It is about showing how the Muslim world is not a monolithic block and that there are competing forces between those who favour a fundamental approach and those who are more reformist.

The reformists are not marginal players. Al Mahdi is head of one of the biggest political parties in Sudan. Others are members of the Egyptian and Jordanian parliaments where they are extremely socially and politically active. But in general Europe or the West tends to ignore this. C.V.

What status do women have in Islam ? | Human Rights Tribune - www.humanrights-geneva.info

Saturday 13 December 2008 (15 Dhul Hijjah 1429)

 

Muslim journalists urged to portray true image of Islam
Jihad Ziadah | Arab News

JEDDAH: Media persons attending a reception organized by the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information in Jeddah on Thursday night called on the Muslim journalists to portray the true image of Islam to the world.

“Muslim journalists, writers and thinkers living and working in non-Muslim countries should present the true image of Islam to the world through their work,” said Farah Al-Attasi, chief of the US-Arab Center for Translation, Research and Information, at the reception held at Jeddah Hilton for media persons who covered this year’s Haj.

“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s initiative for holding interfaith dialogues has, undoubtedly, contributed to broadening a Muslim’s vision about other religions and has emphasized the need to promote dialogues rather than violence, fanaticism and hatred,” she said.

The event was presided over by Assistant Minister of Culture and Information Prince Turki bin Sultan.

Speaking on behalf of African media delegates, Abdullah Sik, information adviser to the Senegalese president, praised the arrangement made by the Saudi government to facilitate the pilgrims perform Haj with ease.

He said the efforts of the Saudi authorities made the Haj incident-free and successful in all respects although the number of pilgrims have been increasing every year.

Hassan Mansour, an expert on the Andalusian literature of Spain, said the media in Muslim countries needed to play their role in countering the negative propaganda against Muslims and turning the world public opinion in favor of Islam. He was speaking on behalf of the European delegates.

Aqil Al-Janahi of the Qatar TV channel, who was representing Asian media, said: “Through the Haj coverage, the media have been able to draw the world attention to Islam’s noble values of selflessness, service and love for the fellow human beings.”

He also expressed his admiration over the interest shown by King Abdullah and other high officials for the welfare and safety of pilgrims who came from the four corners of the world.

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Information and Culture Iyad Madani, Prince Turki thanked the media persons for the ample coverage they gave to Haj and called on them to carry the message of Haj to their countries.

Prince Turki said, “We are pleased to see that the guests of Allah have completed their Haj rituals in a satisfactory manner. The Kingdom has been doing its best under the leadership of King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan to provide all comforts to the pilgrims. Our leaders since the days of the late King Abdul Aziz have been doing their best to provide all facilities to the pilgrims.”

Muhammad Abdul Hameed Zakaria, director of the Australian Center for Arab Media, expressed his satisfaction over the massive expansion work carried out in Makkah and other holy sites to facilitate smooth Haj.

He added that King Abdullah’s initiative for closer cooperation between religions was inspired by the Islamic principles of justice, cooperation, love for peace and hatred for violence and terror.

“King Abdullah’s initiative has been received well by the world. It has already begun to yield tangible results. People have started to understand that Islam in its true sense is a message of compassion and love,” Zakaria said.

Those who attended the function included the ministry’s Undersecretary for External Information Saleh Al-Namlah, Adviser at the Ministry of Culture and Information Ibrahim Al-Muslam, Undersecretary for Cultural and International Relations Omar Baqadir and Undersecretary for Cultural Affairs Abdul Aziz Al-Sabeel. Acting Director General of Saudi Press Agency Abdullah Al-Hussein also was present at the event.

Muslim journalists urged to portray true image of Islam

For the world community of Muslims, known as the “umma,” this might be the dawning of the “e-umma.”

For the world community of Muslims, known as the “umma,” this might be the dawning of the “e-umma.”

(Muxlim)

This week Muxlim.com, an Islam-focused Web portal based in Finland, launched what it calls the world’s first virtual Muslim world.

The application, Muxlim Pal, allows users to create avatars or alter egos that interact with other players while following a proper Muslim lifestyle. Users can design their online pal to wear a “hijab” (or head scarf) and choose to pray in their custom-designed room.

“We’re giving users an extra channel to express themselves. You have a virtual friend and you can develop that virtual friend,” Mohamed El-Fatatry, Muxlim’s founder and CEO, told ABC News a day after the application’s launch.

Related

Through Muxlim Pal users can have their online persona shop, play sports, go to concerts and socialize around the virtual town. As the pal prays or engages in other religious activities its spirituality meter rises. Elements deemed un-Islamic, like drugs and sexual references, are banned from the virtual world.

Muxlim’s basic portal launched in 2006 and calls itself the world’s largest Muslim online community, with 1.5 million visitors per month across 190 countries.

Most users are based in the United States and Europe — less than 15 percent are from the Middle East, said El-Fatatry — though the application has the potential to bridge a broad swath of Muslim lifestyles.

“One of the benefits of the Internet in the Muslim world, which is a generally closed society, is this ability to interact and connect in a way that isn’t improper,” said Mahdis Keshavarz of the MAKE Agency, a public relations firm focused on the Middle East.

“It means that people in more secular societies are in contact with the more traditional?planting new ideas in places where that exposure hasn’t traditionally existed,” she said.

Muxlim Pal has a huge potential user base in the young Middle East, where an estimated 65 percent of the population is younger than 24 years old. Other portals like Mecca.com, likened to an Islamic Facebook, are geared toward the same demographic. 

“We’re much more connected,” Mohamed Kadry, 23, said of fellow Muslims in his generation.

Kadry, who grew up in Detroit and now lives in Dubai, says technology also bridges the gender divide.

“There are a lot of social boundaries we have in our religion. ? You can’t just speak to someone of the opposite sex as easily as you can in the West, and technology lets us connect in ways that are still modest and acceptable.”

Muxlim’s success to date and its hopes for Muxlim Pal rest on what a recent study called the “new age Muslim,” whose lifestyle is both religious and modern.

Research published by advertising firm JWT found that the highest percentage of new age Muslims live in the United Arab Emirates. From Muxlim.com to the malls of Dubai, that joins moderate Muslim values and global consumer culture.

“We often try to describe an Islamic or a Muslim consumer as Westernized or not Westernized, which is totally stupid,” said Roy Haddad, the chairman of JWT MENA told the National newspaper.

“Yes, we want to be modern. But we are not Western.”

ABC News: A New Muslim (Virtual) World

Misrepresentations of Islam, chiefly via the use of misleading erroneous terms, must be corrected for there to be a better understanding of Muslim aspirations.

IKIM co-organised a Symposium on Islam and Asia with the Japan Institute of International Affairs, hosted by the latter in Tokyo on Oct 15 and 16. There were approximately 30 senior participants from 11 countries, including seven delegates from IKIM.

The over-arching theme, Revisiting the Socio-political Dimension of Islam, was discussed in three sessions. Presenters from various nations deliberated on the rule of law, democracy, secularism, participating in Islamic governance, and, moderation, radicalism and extremism in international security and relations. Each session was followed by an hour-long discussion.

In his opening remarks, IKIM chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid deplored the events of Sept 11, 2001, as well as the US response, said to be a global crusade on terrorism – leading to the invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and the occupation of Iraq (2003).

There was also an urgent need to correct the mis-representations of Islam, chiefly through the mass media, as reflected in the use of many misleading erroneous terms such as “violent Islamic fanatics”, “Islamist radicals”, “Islamic terrorists”, and “global jihadists”.

IKIM director-general Datuk Dr Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas, in his presentation, On the Political Institution of Democracy, pointed out that secularism, and subsequently the conception of secular democracy, is intrinsic to the Western worldview, which is inherently impermanent, shorn of real identity, and in the state of being disillusioned towards Revealed knowledge.

That opinion was later echoed in general by another speaker, Dr Azzam Tamimi (director, Institute of Islamic Political Thought, Britain), who borrowed quotes from Rachid Ghannouchi, on how Western colonialists had imposed secularisation on Muslim societies beginning in the middle of the 19th Century.

On the seeming contradiction between religious precepts and the requirements for a modern, democratic society, al-Attas emphasised that the paramount religious precept was justice.

Nevertheless, he elaborated, in order to be just, one cannot simply adopt the Western institution of democracy, as those institutions must first be interpreted and conceptualised according to the worldview of Islam so that democracy is made compatible with religion.

Since the transmission of Muslim institutions of democracy to the Western world beginning in the 10th Century was done by learned erudite savants, the same should be true in the other direction.

Due to their different conceptual philosophies, Western Democracy is not the solution to the current Muslim crisis. Al-Attas illustrated this by analysing how the institution of Western democracy understands freedom to mean a right to behave as one pleases in accordance with societal acceptance, devoid of responsibility as specified by God; whereas as far as Islam was concerned freedom included the element of responsibility as defined by God, hence, freedom meant a choice for the better.

Similarly on human rights, al-Attas observed how the institution of Western democracy understood human rights to mean just that, a right; whereas Islam brought it to mean a trust.

On gender equality or women’s rights, the institution of Western democracy understood those rights to mean equal status regardless of the different burden of responsibility, whereas Islam understood it to mean a choice for equal opportunity, for example, in terms of seeking knowledge.

On the subject of participation in Islamic Governance, three presenters talked on the experience of their respective countries.

Presenting how Muslims in minority sustained their activism in a secular setting throughout the past 50 years, Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied (National University of Singapore) made special reference to the experience of the Muhammadiyah movement in Singapore.

The most extensive paper in the session on contemporary radicalism and extremism was presented by Prof Dr Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud (Honorary Fellow, IKIM). Among other things, he highlighted the following:

“First, internal reform of Muslim religious education, concentrating first at the higher levels (especially the madrasah and the university), by re-traditionalising Islamic education and re-introducing proper Sufi narratives and ethical discourse by authoritative and moderate scholars representing their Community, even as they may be critical of certain secular and Western ideas and institutions.

“While subjects dealing with modern humanities, including comparative religion should be introduced, simply Westernising or liberalising traditional Islamic education will be counter-productive.

“Second, the establishment of a more just and transparent leadership and governance in Muslim-majority countries, which are not perceived to be Western puppets. The West’s persistent support for political leaders who were widely perceived as unjust and corrupt by Muslim themselves will increase support for the radicals.

“Third, permanent peace in the Middle East, especially in Palestine and Iraq, must be achieved. The Muslims and the Arabs must accept the rights of Israel to exist and prosper within the boundaries determined by the United Nations; but Israel and the international community should help with the restorative and other forms of compensation for the Palestinian people to live and prosper with meaningful independence.

“Fourth, a similarly permanent solution to the problems of indigenous Muslim minorities must be found, for example, in the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar.

“These Muslims should be made to understand that they must live under current national governments – but meaningful autonomy should be granted. Their religious, linguistic, and cultural identity should be protected, and their socio-economic opportunities should be enhanced.

“Fifth, immigrant minority Muslim communities should be given due rights like the others. Meanwhile, they must recognise their true responsibilities within the new nation-states, and contribute the utmost to be the moral and socio-economic strengths of the nation.

“Sixth, the international community should not demonise Islam and the Muslims merely due to the faults of an extremely small number, while conveniently ignoring or glossing over the more serious atrocities against the Muslims and others by other religious, secular or tribal entities, failing which will give rise to more extremists and radicals, and make many Muslims perceive the international community’s peaceful endeavours as hypocritical.”

There was a panel discussion on the Prospect of Coexistence with Islam, held the following afternoon and was attended by an audience of around 100. IKIM director Ir Dr Muhamad Fuad Abdullah deliberated on Malaysia’s multi-religious and multi-racial communities.

He explained how their co-existence was based on the following basic understanding: first, that Islam was the religion of the Federation, while every person had the right to profess and practice his own religion.

Second, that the Malay language was the official, national language, while there was freedom to learn and speak other languages.

And third, that there was a special provision for the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak – quotas for their entry into the civil service, public scholarships and public education, all understood within this basic socio-legal framework.

How Islam views the socio-political angle

In honor of Eid al-Adha, Festival of the Sacrifice, President Shimon Peres is scheduled this morning to visit the mainly Muslim city of Sakhnin in Galilee. Also in honor of the Eid, West Bank Palestinian Arabs with close relatives in Israel will be permitted to enter the Jewish state; and Arab citizens of Israel may travel to the Palestinian Authority.

Moreover, some 230 Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons will gain an early release and be handed over to Mahmoud Abbas when he returns from the haj pilgrimage.

While 4,000 West Bank Palestinians went on the haj, infighting between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas resulted in none making the pilgrimage from Gaza.

For the world’s estimated 1.4 billion Muslims, yesterday marked the culmination of the haj and beginning of the four-day Eid festival. The holiday commemorates the biblical story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son. In Muslim tradition, the son who is saved at the last minute is not Isaac, but Ishmael.

This year, some 3 million faithful journeyed to Saudi Arabia, seeking forgiveness and spirituality as they proceeded through various stages of the haj around Mecca. Eventually, they circle the Kaaba, a cube-like structure in the courtyard of the great Haram mosque. It is the holiest shrine of Islam. During prayer, Muslims the world over face the Kaaba, which the Koran teaches was originally linked with Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael.

It is important to distinguish Islam - the religion and civilization - from the threat posed by its extremist adherents, the Islamists, who are at war with the West and our values of liberty, tolerance and individual freedom. Without deluding ourselves about the extent to which the Islamists have penetrated the Muslim world, it is nevertheless important to acknowledge non-Islamist Muslim figures who seek a modus vivendi with the rest of us.

Which is why we were pleased that in his annual Mount Arafat sermon on Sunday, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, declared: “The world must criminalize terrorism… we must be cautious of terrorism and fight hostile criminal gangs that destroy countries and people.”

The Saudi grand mufti urged the faithful to show “the bright face of Islam” and spread “forgiveness, peace and love.” He also advocated Shari’a law - but what matters most to us is that he urged the faithful to abjure bloodshed.

OFTEN, we in Israel lose sight of that “bright face of Islam.” That’s understandable, considering that Muslim fanatics control the nearby Gaza Strip, with wide popular support. A hundred mortar shells and rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel in the past week alone.

Hamas has been relentless in trying to plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the border fence. Indeed, the current round of fighting began on November 4, when the IDF preempted Hamas from abducting Israeli soldiers there.

Hamas says the tenets of Islamic “resistance” prohibit Palestinians from ever living in peace with Israel. Yet when Hamas isn’t shooting at us, Israeli authorities, in the context of a limited embargo, allow fuel, food, humanitarian supplies and even Israeli currency to flow into the Strip.

Nor does the “bright face of Islam” radiate from Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University. He’s found it necessary to deny that he purposefully shook hands, on November 12, with our president while both were attending an interfaith conference in New York under Saudi Arabian sponsorship.

“Many people walked up to shake my hand, among them Peres. I didn’t know him. It was a random handshake.” Those who suggest otherwise, the sheikh insisted, are liars and “the sons of 60 dogs.”

Islam is mostly at war within itself. And nowhere is this better illustrated than in Pakistan, where a moderate government is contending with a Taliban supported by Islamist elements within the regime’s own intelligence agency. Closer to our neck of the woods, we see a similar scenario playing out between relative Fatah moderates and Hamas fundamentalists.

Only Muslims can chart the direction in which they want to take their society. Some, like the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, seem to appreciate that a theology which celebrates brutality will ultimately consume its own.

Islam’s war within | Editorials | Jerusalem Post

KAZAN, Tatarstan — The winner of the Miss Muslim 2008 beauty contest held in the Russian republic of Tatarstan last week says that such contests do not contradict the teachings of Islam.
Gulina Shahivaliyeva told RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service that Muslims should use modern trends such as beauty contests as a way to attract more people to the Islamic faith.
Tatarstan’s Mufti Office and the Union of Muslim Women of Tatarstan organized the contest.
Nine finalists displayed their knowledge of Tatar culture, history, and traditions, while also showing Tatar folk clothes in lieu of a swimsuit competition.
Shahivalieva is studying to be a teacher at the Tatar Teacher Training University.

[Miss Muslim 2008 Says Beauty Contest Does Not Contradict Islam] - [Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2008]