The enemy is not Islam but Muslim Terrorists who deceive the poor
and ignorant to join them under their false interpretations of Religious
'Jihad' Holy War. As about suicide, it is clearly forbidden by Islamic law,
even in the case when someone is committing it for a supposed good cause. The Qur'an says:
"And do not kill yourselves, for God is indeed merciful to you" (Qur'an,
"Women", Sura 4:29). Terrorist acts against civilian populations are not
included in the definition of "jihad"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attorney John Loftus volunteers as General Legal Counsel, Root & Branch Association
and Advisory Board Member of the Association's Islam-Israel Fellowship. The following
essay by Sheik Palazzi is a clear and powerful summary of the true nature of Islam, and
exhibits a well-researched condemnation of terrorism as Islamic heresy.
ORTHODOX ISLAMIC PERCEPTIONS OF JIHAD AND MARTYRDOM by Sheikh Professor
Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Text of Sheikh Palazzi's Address to the February 20-23, 2000, International Conference on
Countering Suicide Terrorism sponsored by the Institute for Counter-Terrorism of the
Interdisciplinary Center in Herzlyia. Dr. Reuven Paz, Academic Director
EXCERPT FROM "ORTHODOX PERCEPTIONS" -- GROUND ZERO FOR INTERNATIONAL MASS MURDER
("TERRORISM"):
"Countries like Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan are easily identified as radical,
totalitarian and enemies of the Western world, but their contribution to the international
network of pseudo-Islamic fundamentalism is insignificant".
"ON THE CONTRARY, THE POWERFUL STRUCTURE OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS MAINLY
SUPPORTED BY THOSE COUNTRIES WHICH ARE REGARDED AS MODERATE AND 'FRIENDS OF THE WEST':
SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT AND THE ARAB EMIRATES".
1. ORTHODOX ISLAMIC PERCEPTIONS OF JIHAD AND MARTYRDOM by Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi
Palazzi
YERUSHALIYIM, D.C. (David's Capital), Yom Rishon ("Sunday"), 26 Elul, 5761
(Gregorian Date: September 16, 2001) (Hijri Date: 28 Jumad Thani, 1422), Root &
Branch:
1. ORTHODOX ISLAMIC PERCEPTIONS OF JIHAD AND MARTYRDOM Address by Sheikh Professor Abdul
Hadi Palazzi
I want to thank the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism for the
invitation to speak at this International Conference, in front of this distinguished and
highly qualified public.
My main goal is making a distinction between the traditional Islamic concepts of
"jihad" and martyrdom and the distortion of those concepts made by radical
movements which promote terrorism and claim to do so "in the name of Islam".
This distinction is obviously a more general aspect of a basic dualism, and permits us to
understand in details the differences between orthodox and traditional Islam on the one
hand -- the religion that was revealed by the Prophet Muhammad and whose main sources are
the Qur'an and the Prophetic tradition (Sunnah) -- and the contemporary ideology that is
commonly referred to as "Islamic fundamentalism".
As a Muslim scholar, I must first of all remark that I cannot agree with this same
definition, so common in the contemporary media. As a matter of fact, I personally never
deal with "Islamic fundamentalism" or "Islamic radicalism", but rather
with "pseudo-Islamic radicalism". This depends on the fact that
"fundamentalism" is not a legitimate form of Islam, but an evident distortion of
Islamic values, an attempt to change Islam from a religious tradition into a political,
totalitarian ideology.
ISLAM AND "ISLAMISM"
Some Muslim scholars, such as my friend and colleague, Professor Khalid Duran of Temple
University of Philadelphia, mark the distinction between orthodox Islamic doctrine and its
political counterfeit by calling the former "Islam", and the latter
"Islamism".
Professor Duran writes: "Whether Islamists like the term fundamentalist or not, their
understanding of religion resembles that of fundamentalists in other religions. This is
not to say that Islamists are more religious or more genuinely Islamic than other Muslims.
A common misunderstanding in the West has it that Islamists are the one hundred percenters
among Muslims, and that they are the people of tradition. This is not at all the case.
Islamists have a problem with the people of tradition, especially the Sufis (mystics).
Islamism is a late 20th century totalitarianism. It follows in the wake of Fascism and
Communism, picking up from those and seeking to refine their methods of domination.
Islamists mold tradition so as to serve their political ends. This causes them to clash
with traditionalist Muslims who resist this manipulation of religion for power politics.
Islamism is not a reaction of people feeling a loss of religious meaning, but a reaction
to a sense of loss in the political sphere; it is a quest for power, an attempt to conquer
the state, not to regain independence for religion, least of all individual faith".
"Like most totalitarian ideologies, Islamism is a utopianism. Islamists seek to
dominate by the most advanced technologies; in that sense they are modernists. But their
model for an ideal society takes inspiration from an idealized seventh century Arabia and
an a-historical view of religion and human development in general. It is an anachronistic
mode of thinking in conflict with modern concepts of democracy, pluralism and human
rights".
A relevant difference between traditional (or orthodox) Islam and Islamism is in the way
of understanding the link between religion and politics.
"Few Muslims would deny that political commitment is part of Islamic ethics, but most
disagree with the Islamist insistence that there exists a clearly defined 'Islamic
system', different from all other political systems. Islamists refuse to accept a secular
state that puts a member of a non-Muslim minority at par with a member of the Muslim
majority, and a woman at par with man".
PROPHETS AND POLITICAL LEADERS
According to traditional Islamic theology, prophets are sent among human beings to teach
them some necessary truths about the nature of God, about ethics, about those actions and
those omissions which cause prosperity in this world and beatitude in the hereafter. It
can sometimes happen that those Prophets are called to preach in a milieu where a state
and a complex social organization does not exist at all, and this causes them to assume a
role of political leadership.
This was, for instance, the role of Moses as a leader of the Children of Israel in the
exodus from Egypt, or the position of Muhammad as a governor of the state centered in
Medina. Even so, Islamic orthodoxy teaches that this happens per accident, and political
leadership is not among the necessary elements of the prophetic mastership. As a matter of
fact, the Qur'an uses different titles to describe the Prophet Muhammad, but none of these
titles refers to a political function.
The Qur'an says that Muhammad has been sent as an "Admonisher", as a
"Warner", as "someone who calls to God", as "a shining
light", but it never says that he was sent as a political leader or as a head of
State.
Islamists, on the contrary, have a completely opposite attitude. According to their point
of view, the diffusion of Islam cannot be separated from the creation of a claimed
"Islamic State". The role of Muslim scholars is immediately confused with the
role of leaders of a political movement or party.
Islamists continuously repeat that "Islam is both religion and government". This
is the basic description of their creed. What they forget to underline is that those words
"Islam is both religion and government" ("al-Islam din wa dawlah") are
neither found in the Holy Qur'an, Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) or in
ancient, authoritative Islamic sources.
As a matter of fact, this slogan ("al-Islam din wa dawlah") was coined by
Taqiyyu-d-Din Ibn Taymiyyah, a scholar who lived during the thirteen and fourteenth
centuries C.E. and who was condemned to life imprisonment for his numerous heresies.
Those who repeat Ibn Taymiyyah's slogan "Islam is religion and government" are
the same ones who, for instance deal with "liberation of Jerusalem from the hands of
the Jews". Unfortunately for them, the heretic Ibn Taymiyyah, from whom they take
their slogan, is the same one who strongly denies any special role of Jerusalem in Islam.
Ibn Taymiyyah openly writes "there is no Muslim holy place in Jerusalem" but his
followers claim to fight for the "liberation of Jerusalem" in the name of Ibn
Taymiyyah. This is a clear example of how Islamism is a confused ideology, wherein
contradictions are dealt with by silence.
"ISLAMISM" A SYMPTOM OF WESTERN-STYLE SECULARIZATION
While many Western researchers are inclined to describe Islamism as a form of
"resurgence of Islam", Muslim traditional scholars see its appearance as a
symptom of secularization, as a reshaping of our religion as a modern, ideological
totalitarianism. This is especially evident in the Islamist deformation of the role of
"jihad". In the original meaning, "jihad" is not limited to the
military field, but generally means "striving hard toward a goal".
JIHAD
According to some sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that are contained in the compilation
called Sahih al-Bukhari, "Delivery is the 'jihad' of a woman", while "The
'jihad' of someone who has old parents is taking care of them". The military 'jihad'
was not a form of "expansion of the religion by means of the sword", but a form
of defense against religious persecution.
The Qur'anic verses giving permission for military jihad say:
"To those against whom war is made, permission is given [to defend themselves],
because they are wronged. And verily God is Most powerful for their aid. [They are] those
who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right [for no cause] except that
they say, 'Our Lord is God'. Had not God checked one people by means of another, there
would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which
the name of God is commemorated in abundant measure. God will certainly help those who
help His cause, for verily God is Full of strength, exalted in Might". [Qur'an,
"The Pilgrimage", Sura 22:39-40]
As one can see, military "jihad" is not conceived to expand a certain faith, but
to defend the rights of those who are persecuted because of their religion. The verses
which describe violation of religious freedom as a justification for self-defense are
clear in including not only mosques, but also monasteries, churches and synagogues, among
the places where God's name is frequently mentioned, and among the places that are
necessary to protect, even by recourse to war.
Apart from this, the legitimate form of military "jihad" is regulated by very
strict rules:
RULES FOR WAGING MILITARY "JIHAD"
1. It must be waged by a regular army which wages war against another army. Terrorist acts
against civilian populations are not included in the definition of "jihad". The
collection of Prophetic sayings that we have already mentioned, Sahih al-Bukhari, narrates
that when the Prophet Muhammad was informed that a certain group of fighters of
"jihad" had killed some women, he raised his hands and prayed by saying, "O
God, be my witness that my hands are innocent of this crime".
2. The reaction in self-defense must not be exaggerated. The typical example of this is
the story of Moses and the Egyptian, as narrated in the Qur'an. To defend an Israelite who
was being beaten by an Egyptian, Moses killed an Egyptian. No doubt, the Israelite was a
member of the oppressed people, one of those who were persecuted because of their religion
and enslaved, while the Egyptian was one of the oppressors. The event could even been
described as a legitimate form of "jihad", but the Qur'an does not support this
opinion, and condemns Moses' reaction as exaggerated. Moses himself asks forgiveness for
his excess.
The Qur'an says: "And he [Moses] entered the city at a time when its inhabitants were
in a state of heedlessness; and he found therein two men fighting one of his own religion
and the other of his enemies. And he who was of his party sought his help against him who
was of his enemies. So Moses struck the latter with his fist, and thereby caused his
death. Then Moses said, 'This is Satan's doing, he is indeed an enemy, a manifest
misleader'. He said, 'My Lord, I have wronged my soul, so do Thou forgive me'. So He
forgave him; for He is Most Forgiving, ever Merciful". [Qur'an, "The
Story", Sura 28:15-16]
The Qur'an also says: "And fight in the way of God against those who fight
against you, but do not exaggerate. Verily, God does not love those who
exaggerate". [Qur'an, "The Cow", Sura 2:190]
3. When the former enemy is ready to stop hostilities and is looking for an opportunity
for peace, Muslims must stop fighting and accept to look for a peaceful solution.
The Qur'an says: "And make ready for those who fight you whatever you can of armed
force and of mounted pickets at the frontier, whereby you may frighten the enemy of God
and your enemy and others besides them whom you know not, but God knows them. And whatever
you spend in the way of God, it shall be paid back to you in full, and you shall not be
wronged.
But if they incline towards peace, incline thou also towards it, and put thy trust
in God. Surely, it is He Who is All-Hearing, All-Knowing". [Qur'an, "The
Spoils", Sura 8:60-61]
MARTYRDOM
Martyrdom in Islam is the praiseworthy condition of the one who offers his life as a
witness for the Truth. "Shahid", the word that we translate in English as
"martyr", etymologically means "witness", someone whose existence is a
living witnessing, even after his death.
About martyrs, the Qur'an says: "Think not of those who have been slain in the cause
of God, as dead. Nay, they are alive in the presence of their Lord, and are granted gifts
from Him; jubilant because of that which God has given them of His bounty; and rejoicing
for the sake of those who have not yet joined them from behind them, because on them shall
come no fear nor shall they grieve. They rejoice at the favour of God and His bounty, and
at the fact that God suffers not the reward of the believers to be lost". [Qur'an,
"The Imrans", Sura 3:169-170]
SUICIDE
As about suicide, it is clearly forbidden by Islamic law, even in the case when
someone is committing it for a supposed good cause. The Qur'an says: "And do not kill
yourselves, for God is indeed merciful to you" [Qur'an, "Women", Sura
4:29].
The verse underlines how committing suicide is a direct negation of Divine mercy.
In another verse the Qur'an says: "...And do not throw yourselves into destruction
with your own hands". [Qur'an, "The Cow", Sura 2:195]
The evil status in the hereafter of those who commit suicide is described in a saying of
the Prophet Muhammad that is contained in Sahih Muslim, another authoritative compilation.
It says: "Whoever kills himself with a knife will be in hell forever stabbing himself
in the stomach. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will drink it eternally in the
Hell fire. And whoever kills himself by falling off a mountain will forever fall in the
fire of Hell".
In the face of all these evident proofs, one is spontaneously led to ask himself a
question: how it is possible for some groups which claim to be "Islamic" and to
"represent Islam" to advocate both terrorism against civil populations and
suicide terrorism?
WAHHABIS
This is just one of the fruits of a heretical tendency, based on the deformation and the
falsification of many basic elements of Islamic belief. Although those extreme
consequences are recent enough, their point of departure must be identified with the
beginnings of the Wahhabi heretical movement. Understanding the nature and theoretical
apparatus of Wahhabism is essential to the comprehension of the contemporary Islamist
radicalism, and also to the conception of possible countermeasures.
In traditional Islam it is clear that military "jihad" and all other forms of
material "jihad" only constitute the external aspect of "jihad". The
inner dimension of "jihad" is the struggle that every Muslim undertakes to
purify his soul from mundane desires, defects and egotism. According to a well-known
tradition, after coming back from a military expedition, the Prophet Muhammad said,
"We have returned from the lesser 'jihad' to the greater 'jihad'" ["Raja'na
min jihad al-asghar ila jihad al-akbar"].
Muhammed was asked, "O Messenger of God, what is the greater 'jihad'?" He
answered, "It is the 'jihad' against one's soul".
This narration has always been quoted by Sunni scholars when explaining the inner
dimension of jihad. Sufis especially have quoted this as an antidote against a limited,
physical understanding of the nature of "jihad".
Wahhabis, on the contrary, completely reject this tradition, in the same
way that they deny any deeper understanding of the Islamic doctrine. The recently
disappeared leader of the Wahhabi sect, Nasir ad-Din al-Albani, recurred to all possible
captious arguments to prove that the tradition we cited above is not authentic, and that
the "greater jihad" simply does not exist.
On the contrary, we think that meditating on this tradition can contribute very much to
understanding the present situation of those who confuse "jihad" with terrorism.
Crimes against civil populations can by no means be a legitimate form of "jihad"
for the simple reason that they are caused by hate, the most irrational of human passions.
Since fighting those anti-human passions is in itself the greater "jihad",
refuting those who abuse Islam to legitimate terrorism is also a very important form of
the real "jihad".
THE PRIMITIVE, VIOLENT AND ANTI-INTELLECTUAL TENDENCIES OF WAHHABISM
Regarding the origin on the Wahhabi movement, we must remember that the beginning of the
eighteenth century of the common era witnessed the emergence of a movement in the Arabian
Peninsula that would shatter the spiritual equilibrium of the Islamic world and lead to an
explosion of primitive, violent and anti-intellectual tendencies.
The rallying cry of "returning to origins" was the primal scream of a
primitivism that destroyed the life giving variety of Islamic religious culture.
Multiplicity of opinion was replaced with a monolithic and simple-minded dogmatism.
Eighteenth century Arabia was among the most desolate areas of the Ottoman Empire.
Arabia's only claim to fame was the fact that its territory included the two Holy Cities
of Mecca and Medina. Ottoman Sultans were satisfied with nominal sovereignty over this
region. Power was effectively in the hand of local emirs and tribal chieftains whose
loyalty toward the Sultan was dependent on cash payoffs such as exemption from taxation
and a share in government revenues.
The City of Mecca was an autonomous district under the authority of the Sharif, the oldest
representative of the Hashemite family. As a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, the
Sharif of Mecca was among the first to pledge allegiance when a new Sultan was elected.
The Sharif's support was regarded as one of the most important forms of legitimacy for the
Ottoman government.
The man who broke the chain of the pluralistic transmission of Islamic teachings was
Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, a descendent of the Banu Tamim tribe, who was born in the
Uyaynah village (Najd) in 1699 C.E. Wahhab's father was a learned Hanbali scholar who and
sent his son to study Qur'anic exegesis, jurisprudence and mysticism in Mecca, Medina,
Baghdad, Basrah and Damascus, as well as in Iran and India.
Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's attitude from the beginning was very polemical, and he took active
part in scholarly debates. At the age of thirty-two, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab returned to Najd
and started working as a teacher for Bedouins. He demonstrated proficiency in academic
debates and independence in judgment.
Wahhab did not follow the principles of any one of the four Sunni schools of Islamic
jurisprudence. Rather, he liked to reach his own conclusions and was ready to criticize
sages regarded by all Muslim scholars as authoritative.
Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab became convinced that Islamic society was degenerate and in need of
reform. In his opinion, the traditional veneration of Muslim saints was idol-worship.
Those involved in it were apostates from Islam. In his analysis of alleged
"deviations" and "corruptions" he became more and more extremist. He
was finally excommunicated by his former teachers and even by scholars from his own
family.
WAHHAB AND IBN SA'UD
In 1730 C.E. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab met Muhammad Ibn Sa'ud, chief thug of a gang of roving
raiders whose "profession" was robbing pilgrims and travelers in the desert of
Najd. As most Bedouins living in Dar'iyyah were completely illiterate, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab
had no difficulty in convincing them of his ideas.
Ibn Sa'ud and Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab made a deal whereby Ibn Sa'ud was proclaimed political
leader (emir) and Wahhabr was proclaimed eligious authority (sheikh). The
"Sheikh" declared that he was ready to issue a religious decree
("fatwah") whereby non-Wahhabi Muslims were branded "apostates" and
"idol-worshippers".
This arrangement gave Ibn Sa'ud the cloak of religious legitimacy he needed to respectably
persecute innocent people. His gang was no longer a mob of traveling thugs and his victims
were no longer innocent people. Ibn Sa'ud's storm troopers were now "fighters for
jihad", authorized to murder "unbelievers", plunder their property and rape
their women.
For the first time in the history, "jihad" was proclaimed against Muslims, and
even against the Ottoman State, whose Sultan was considered the heir of the prophet
Muhammad and the highest Islamic authority. This obviously opened the way for many other
cases in which the concept of "jihad" was deformed.
Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also ordained missionaries ("wakil") and sent them to preach
his heresy in Mecca. However, scholars living in the Holy City already understood how
dangerous his doctrine was. Sayyid Ahmad Zayni Dahlan was at that time Chief Mufti of
Mecca. He wrote in his book "Al-Futuhat al-Islamiyyah":
"To deceive scholars in Mecca and Medina, those people sent emissaries to Mecca and
Medina, but these missionaries were not able to answer questions asked by Sunni scholars.
It became evident that they were ignorant heretics. Muftis of the four schools wrote a
'fatwah' that declared them renegades, and this document was distributed throughout the
entire Arabian Peninsula. The emir of Mecca, Sharif Mas'ud ibn Sa'id, ordered the Wahhabis
imprisoned. Some Wahhabis fled to Dar'iyyah and informed their leader of what was
happening".
Another scholar of that period, Muhammad Ibn Sulayman Effendi wrote:
"O Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, do not slander Muslims! I admonish you for God's
sake! Does anyone of them say that there is a Creator besides God? If you have anything to
argue against Muslims, please, show them authoritative proofs. It is more correct to call
you, a single person, an unbeliever, than to call millions of Muslims unbelievers. God
says, 'If anyone contends with the Messenger after guidance has been plainly conveyed to
him, and follows a path other than the one followed by Believers, we shall leave him in
the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, quite an evil refuge!' [Qur'an,
"Women", Sura 4:114]. This verse points to the results of departing from Ahl
as-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah".
TURKISH SULTAN ORDERS EGYPTIAN GOVERNOR TO CRUSH WAHHABIS
When the order from the emir of Mecca reached the Sultan in Istanbul, he ordered Muhammad
'Ali Pashah, governor of Egypt, to move to Najd and to stop the Wahhabi sedition.
Among the Sunni scholars who refuted Wahhabism we can also mention Sayyid Dawud Ibn
Sulayman, Mawlana Khalid al-Baghdadi, Sun'Allah al-Halabi al-Makki al-Hanafi, Muhammad
Ma'sum as-Sarhindi and Muhammad Ibn Sulayman al-Madani ash-Shaf'i.
ash-Shafi was the Shaf'i Mufti of Medina, who was asked to write a "fatwah"
against Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. This "fatwah" is quoted in the book
"Ashadd al-Jihad" (The Stronger Jihad) and declares:
"This man is leading the ignoramuses of the present age to a heretical path. He is
trying to extinguish God's light, but God will not permit His light to be extinguished, in
spite of the opposition of polytheists, and will illuminate every place with the light of
Ahl as-Sunnah".
Although thousands of Muslims were murdered by Wahhabis, the scholars of Ahl as-Sunnah
continued to refute Wahhabism in their books. An example is what the Mufti of Mecca, Ahmad
Zayni ad-Dahlan al-Makki ash-Shaf'i wrote in a work entitled "Fitnah
al-Wahhabiyyah" (The Wahhabi Sedition) stating:
"In 1802 C.E. they [the Wahhabis] marched with large armies to the area of at-Tayf.
In Dhu al-Qa'dah of the same year, they laid siege to the area occupied by Muslims,
defeated them, and murdered all the people, including men, women, and children. They also
looted the Muslims' belongings and possessions. Only a few people escaped their
barbarism".
"They even stole gifts from the Noble Grave of the Prophet, took all that was there,
and engaged in similar acts of profanation".
"In 1786 C.E. they laid siege to Mecca the Blessed and then surrounded it from all
directions to tighten their siege. They blocked the routes to the City and prevented
supplies from reaching there. This caused great hardship to the people of Mecca. Food
became very expensive and then unavailable. The people resorted to eating dogs".
These events which we have briefly described disfigured the face of the Islamic world.
Mecca and Medina, the two Sanctuaries from which Islam spread to the rest of the world,
were no longer centers for the transmission of the Sunni heritage of Islamic teachings.
They became places where certain aspects of worship according the four schools of Islamic
jurisprudence were suppressed and replaced by a primitive and literalist cult that was
propagated through violence and coercion.
But the drama did not stop there. Like all other forms of totalitarian ideology, Wahhabism
is expansionist by its own nature, and its goal was firstly to take possession of the
whole Islamic world, and then to expand its influence beyond those limits.
SAUDI ARABIAN CONTROLLED MECCA BECOMES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR "WORLD ISLAMIC
LEAGUE" (WORLDWIDE WAHHABI MURDER AND MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
The establishment of a world center for Wahhabi propaganda (the so-called World Islamic
League) in Mecca was the final result of a plan whose goal was to replace orthodox Islam
with a puritanical so-called "Salafi school". Dogmatic uniformity began to
suffocate the humane and enlightened Islamic tradition. The distortion of notions like
"jihad" and martyrdom had a central role in the expansionist Wahhabi ideology.
From the second half of the nineteenth century C.E. and onward, Salafis (as Wahhabis
define themselves) targeted as their main opponents to be silenced the University of
al-Azhar al-Sharif in Egypt and other traditional centers of Sunni teachings. Sunnis have
always been alert to sectarian trends in theological interpretation.
MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
The main instrument for the "Wahhabisation" of Arab society was an organization
called Ikhwan al-Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood). The Brotherhood's founder was Hasan
al-Bannah, an elementary school teacher from Ismailiyyah who became one of the leaders of
pro-British Masonry (United Lodge of England, Mother of the World) in Egypt.
From a religious point of view, al-Bannah was a "reformer" (but not so advanced
in his knowledge of Islamic tradition). From a political point of view, he was radically
anti-Ottoman. By creating his own sect, al-Bannah's goal was to develop a new ruling class
whose ideology would be a form of "modernized" and "westernized"
Islam. Obviously, as was the Wahhabi way, he used to describe the fight of his followers
against their Sunni Muslim opponents as "jihad".
Since then, leadership within the movement is hereditary. Only members of certain families
can hope to get important positions. After World War II, Nasser attempted to outlaw the
sect, but this drove the Muslim Brotherhood underground.
The Syrian dictator Assad bombed Hama, a Syrian city that was a center of the Brotherhood.
Members of the Brotherhood became more secretive than ever. They learned to deny any
connection to the organization, and even refuse to acknowledge that the Brotherhood exists
at all.
From this point of view, there are similarities between internal Wahhabi power struggles
and those of organized crime. Wahhabi leaders are extremely arrogant in imposing their
will on legitimate Muslim organizations and communities.
In most cases, so called militant "Islamic fundamentalists" (Wahhabis) are from
a religious point of view lay persons with little background in Islamic studies. They are
appointed as "imams" of important mosques, especially in democratic countries
where there is no "Ministry of Religious Affairs" to check their orientation and
where imams having a regular permission to teach ("ijazah shar'i") are the
exception.
In most Western countries, members of the Wahhabi sect immigrated as university students
and began to set up legal front organizations in different sectors of society.
HAMAS
The Palestinian Hamas is one of the important Ikhwan (Wahhabi Muslim Brotherhood)
controlled organizations in the Middle East. Hamas leaders are not among the original
families of founders. On a worldwide level the Ikhwan (Wahhabi Muslim Brotherhood)
leadership is as before in the hands of Syrian and Egyptian elements.
For a radical militant who is poor, ignorant and fanatic, his life dream is to throw
stones, commit acts of terrorism or murder himself and many innocent people as a suicide
bomber.
For a militant with a bit more brains, his life dream is to travel abroad as a student and
became a full time professional agitator and propagandist. He will spent his life visiting
mosques in the United States, England, France, Germany, Italy, etc., and speak (and it is
nothing more than talk) about "jihad for Palestine", "fighting against the
Zionist enemy" and other such slogans.
In so doing, the brainier radical will receive a generous, regular salary and money to
finance his activities. He will probably also learn how to collect donations, not only
from major donors but also from local followers.
Their doctrine is that "people doing social work can keep the money they
collect". They start collecting money for poor children in Palestine, for refugees in
Kosovo, for Bosnia, and after a week their leaders have new luxury items, which obviously
are not declared as a private property.
"ISLAMIC RELIEF" AND "HUMAN APPEAL INTERNATIONAL"
The Egyptian branch controls a charitable institution called "Islamic Relief".
The Palestinian branch is supported by the United Arab Emirates through Human Appeal
International.
Ikhwani (Wahhabi Muslim Brotherhood) beliefs were theologically refuted by Sunni scholars
of the Ottoman period. After World War II, King Faysal of Saudi Arabia was in need of
allies against secular Nasserianism. The Egyptian leader of the Brotherhood, Sayyed Qutb,
therefore received unexpected financial support from Faysal for their worldwide
activities.
From then on, the vast majority of Ikhwans adopted Wahhabi doctrines. Only an
insignificant minority of them are Sunni. Qutb's heir is today Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an
Egyptian professor who controls the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Qatar.
The fundraising game exploits conflicts between the Egyptian, Syrian and Palestinian
branches of the Brotherhood. As soon as, for example, Saudi Arabia starts increasing its
support for one branch, Kuwait and the Emirates finance their internal opponents. Real
local leaders never have official positions inside the dependent organizations. Their
legal representatives are usually employed as figureheads only.
COUNCIL FOR AMERICAN-ISRAEL RELATIONS (C.A.I.R.)
The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim Brotherhood front
organization. It works in the United States as a lobby against radio, television and print
media journalists who dare to produce anything about Islam that is at variance with their
fundamentalist agenda. C.A.I.R. opposes diversity in Islam: they are aggressive and closed
minded. Notwithstanding C.A.I.R.'s evident connection to Hamas, they are regarded by U.S.
administrations as legitimate representatives of the Muslim American Community.
AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCIL (A.M.C.)
Another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the American Muslim Council (A.M.C.), has a
monopoly for the appointment and training of Muslim chaplains in the U.S. Army. While
non-fundamentalist Islamic organizations are more or less ignored by the U.S.
administration, Muslim American soldiers receive "spiritual assistance" from
fundamentalist chaplains.
These are only some of the consequences of the influence of Saudi-American relations.
UNHEEDED WARNING FROM HISHAM KABBANI
The leader of the Nazimi-Kabbani organization, the American-Lebanese Hisham Kabbani,
recently declared in an open forum with the U.S. State Department:
"We would like to advise our Government, our congressmen, that there is something big
going on and people do not understand it. You have many mosques around the United States.
It's not an organized government policy to supervise mosques as it is in Muslim
countries".
"In Muslim countries, you cannot open a mosque by yourself. That's why you see that
in Muslim countries you cannot find extremist ideology. As soon as you find extremist
ideology, they kick the extremists out and bring in the traditional Islamic
scholars".
"So the most dangerous things are going on in these mosques that have self-appointed
leaders throughout the United States. The extremist ideology makes them very active. It
was by election that these leaders took over the mosques".
"We can say that they took over eighty percent of the mosques in the United States.
There are more than 3,000 mosques in the United States. This means that the ideology of
extremism has been spread to eighty percent of the Muslim population, mostly the youth and
the new generation".
Kabbani is trying to show Westerners the reality behind the deceptive facade. That over
eighty percent of all mosques in the democratic countries are controlled by extremists is
a matter of fact, not only in North America, but in most of Western Europe as well.
Local Ikhwani organizations are linked through a single secret world body. Membership in
the secret world body requires an oath of strict secrecy.
Therefore, until recently it was impossible to find anything in writing about the
organization's international structure or even its existence.
Since 1928 and throughout seventy years of Ikhwani activity, not a single piece of paper
was ever signed or published in the name of "The Muslim Brotherhood". Since
March 13, 1998, the Californian branch has its own web site explaining the nature of the
sect as follows:
"Al-Ikhwan has branches in over 70 countries all over the world. The movement is
flexible enough to allow working under the 'Ikhwan' name, under other names, or working
according to every country's circumstances".
"However, all Ikhwan groups, in all countries are characterized by the following with
respect to their method:
"Political Activism: By putting political programs for 'Islamisizing' government in
different countries (after realistic studies), and establishing these programs through the
convenient ways which do not conflict with Islam".
"Stressing Physical Health: By forming sports clubs and committing members to regular
exercises..."
"Establishing a Sound Economic Infrastructure: By supporting and/or sponsoring any
Islamic project and facing its "fiqh" problems. By the way, the only accepted
source of money to the Ikhwan is its members' own money".
In the contemporary world, opening a web site and calling its index the "home page
of..." is one of the most evident forms of giving publicity to a certain activity.
Even so, the tradition of secrecy and the tendency to deny being a member is so deeply
rooted that the Home Page of the Muslim Brotherhood ends with the following:
"Important Disclaimer: The maintainer of this page is not a member of the Al-Ikhwan
party and does not approve or agree with everything they say. This page is for the soul
purpose of answering the questions you always had and never knew who to ask. This page has
no political purpose of any kind and no connection whatsoever to any organization or
institution".
"UNION OF ISLAMIC COMMUNITIES" (U.C.O.I.I.) AND "UNION OF MUSLIM
STUDENTS" IN ITALY (U.S.M.I.)
In Italy, my country, there are two Ikhwan-controlled organizations: the Union of Islamic
Communities and Organizations in Italy (U.C.O.I.I.) and the Union of Muslim Students in
Italy (U.S.M.I.).
Although their membership does not exceed one hundred persons, due to a steady flow of
foreign funds they are able to control a certain number of mosques in Italy. In the past
few years two of their leaders, 'Omar Tariq and Abu Ja'far, were expelled by a decree of
the Italian Minister of the Interior at that time, Nicola Mancino. Their presence in Italy
was considered to be "dangerous for national security and public order".
MISUSE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Religious freedom granted by Western governments is having terrible consequences. Radical
movements, local branches of those same structures which promote terrorism in Middle East,
are taking roots in the countries of immigration. Although they do not represent in their
host countries more that 10% of the total Muslim populations in those countries, they are
able to control most of mosques in Europe, the United States and Canada.
This situation has many causes. First of all, traditional Muslims do not identify
religious identity with membership in an organized group. Radicals, on the contrary, are
not a spontaneous movement, but a worldwide organized Network. They work through thousands
of different groups, but the secret Muslim Brotherhood is always the inner circle behind
the stage.
"MODERATES" AND "EXTREMISTS"
From this point of view, the distinction between "moderate" and
"extremist" regimes in the Muslim world reveals its inner weakness.
Countries such as Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan are easily identified as radical,
totalitarian and enemies of the Western world, but their contribution to the international
network of pseudo-Islamic fundamentalism is insignificant.
ON THE CONTRARY, THE POWERFUL STRUCTURE OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IS MAINLY SUPPORTED BY
THOSE COUNTRIES WHICH ARE REGARDED AS "MODERATE" AND "FRIENDS OF THE
WEST": SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT AND THE ARAB EMIRATES.
Wahhabi fundamentalism is used as a tool for the preservation of the present equilibrium
of the Arab world. Rich oil producing Arab countries fear peace between Israel and Egypt,
Jordan or the Palestine Authority very much. A pacified Middle East can create serious
problems for the autocratic and feudal systems of those regimes. They know for sure that
the diffusion of notions such as human and civil rights, democracy and parity of rights
between men and women can represent the end of their unlimited power. This is the reason
why these rich, oil producing Arab countries support radicalism as an instrument of
de-education and de-culturization.
The more advanced among the Arab countries are aware of this project for the preservation
of backwardness. The governments of Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan are taking measures to
limit and to put the activities of the fundamentalist network under control.
Unfortunately, the real risk is that these same Wahhabi groups which are illegal in
Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan will become self-appointed official representatives to Western
governments of Muslim immigrants to Western countries. As Hisham Kabbani and Khalid Duran
are doing in the United States, the Italian Muslim Association is trying to inform
European governments about the risks they are facing. While we risk very much in so doing,
it seems that until now our cry of alarm is only the voice of one who cries in the desert.
The best means to limit the influence of Saudi and Gulf State backed Wahhabi groups which
promote suicide terrorism "in the name of Islam" is countering their influence
by supporting the diffusion of the teachings of exponents of traditional, Sunni Islam. In
the same way, non-Muslims must avoid becoming victim of the same confusion by believing
that real Islam is the one propagandized by the Wahhabis and their fundamentalist network.
THE ISLAM-ISRAEL FELLOWSHIP OF THE ROOT & BRANCH ASSOCIATION
My friend Dr. Asher Eder, Jewish Co-Founder and Co-chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship
of the Root & Branch Association, has wrote a historic essay (originally published in
1969) entitled, "Peace Is Possible between Ishmael and Israel according to the
Qur'an" (with a Preface written by myself). This paper is of the maximum importance,
and I felt honored in writing its Preface. It helps non-Muslims to understand that the
teaching of the Qur'an is something radically different from what is claimed by
fundamentalists, and helps Muslims to understand that hate against Israel and against Jews
is by no means a part of authentic Islam.
Dr. Eder's paper may be considered a small seed, but we are now realizing how it is giving
fruits with the passing of time.
ISLAM KARIMOV, PRESIDENT OF UZBEKISTAN
The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, has recently founded a new Islamic
International University in Tashkent. Among the main goals of this University there is the
graduation of imams and religious leaders in the spirit of the authentic Sunni Muslim
tradition, especially trained in refuting fundamentalism and in promoting cooperation
between Muslims, Jews and Christian.
This could mean that, for the first time, a Sunni Muslim anti-Wahhabi fundamentalist
international coalition will at last be created. In comparison to the worldwide influence
of the Saudi and Gulf State funded Wahhabi Muslim Brotherhood, the role of such a Sunni
Muslim international coalition may be compared to that of David facing Goliath.
NEVER LOSE HOPE! However, we are forbidden to lose hope.
As the Qur'an says: "How oft, by God's will, hath a small force vanquished a big one?
Verily, God is with those who steadfastly persevere". [Qur'an, "The Cow",
Sura 2:249].
["Orthodox Perceptions was originally distributed through the Root & Branch
Information Services on September 26, 2000. We thank our subscriber, Mr. Art Sherman
(ASher26593@aol.com), for encouraging us to redistribute this essay]
ORTHODOX ISLAMIC PERCEPTIONS OF JIHAD AND MARTYRDOM
copyright, 2001, by Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi
© Copyright 2003 John Loftus. All rights reserved.
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