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PURITY, HONOUR, CONTEMPT OF DEATH Muslims should reform their religion. Moderate Islam bears too strong a resemblance to radical interpretations of the faith By Ahmad Mansour They perform the act of killing as their triumph. A video on the Internet shows the decapitation of an enemy of the Islamist fighters to the whole world. We see the victim’s blood-stained hair stuck to his pale, grey forehead; eyes closed and mouth contorted. This is what can happen, the scene suggests, to people who do not fit in with us. This is how you produce terror, which of course means nothing other than fear. In the video, a young man with a black beard, grinning proudly, poses beside the victim as if he were a hunter showing off his prize. A perpetrator without an ounce of remorse, without any consciousness of doing wrong. With the terrorist group ‘Islamic State’ (IS), the horror caused by Islamists reaches a new level. How have culprits like this monstrously disturbed young man emerged? How and where do they grow up? These questions become yet more urgent in light of the large number of young adults from Europe who have joined IS. Why does an extremely brutalised fanaticism appeal to young people? And what is being said and done to stop it? The vast majority of Muslims, not only in Europe, clearly distance themselves from the terrorist group IS. These Muslims feel that their religion is being abused and discredited; they appear helpless in the face of events they are unable to influence. There have been numerous press releases from mosques and associations; Muslims do not tire of emphasising that this barbarism has absolutely nothing to do with the real Islam, with their Islam. That is right; that is how it should be. But is it enough? Have they been hitting the right note? I think not. The dissociation has come too late – this cannot be helped now – and the message has still not been expressed clearly enough. It is true that the Muslims who strongly declare their dissociation have nothing to do with the horrors of ‘Islamic State’. But without being aware of it, many of them have over the years been creating the breeding ground for ideologies like that of the IS group. Because, essentially, the Islamists have not invented anything new. They have simply exaggerated and radicalised the established interpretation of Islam. When it comes to the ‘infidels’, or the Ummah -- the religious community of the Muslims, or the roles of men and women, their attitudes differ in degrees but not in principle. The basis is the same: the imam next door and the IS ideologist share many of the same words, fears, taboos and defence strategies. It is these stale, outdated contents which collide with enlightened modernity in such a way that the ensuing friction can produce a group like IS. It is important to ask why radical Islamic thinking is so attractive to many young men and women. Failed integration and experiences of discrimination are by no means the only reason, as is so often claimed. That argument serves only to relinquish responsibility and to avoid serious debate. We Muslims have to start looking for the causes amongst ourselves as well. Which concepts and religious beliefs are taken and fundamentally exaggerated by the radicals? Unfortunately, we are familiar with most of them. Even moderate Imams celebrate the victim role of Muslims; they rigorously and mercilessly foster hostilities: evil are the West, democracy, the Shiites, non-practising Muslims, critics of Islam and so forth. Good are their own followers, true Islam, pure teachings, blind obedience to all commandments, taboos etc. Anything that differs is devalued. Claiming to be in possession of the absolute and sole truth (and other religious followers, like evangelical fundamentalists, are no different here) goes hand in hand with the prohibition of questioning statements and critical thinking. It is forbidden to read or even discuss new, more contemporary interpretations of the Koran or scientific findings about the history of Islam. Then there is the suppression, tabooing and denigration of sexuality, which can lead to aimless aggression, particularly in young men. All of this contributes to an education based on intimidation -- and education that is closely connected with the fear of hell, and can lead to the glorification of death. Purity, honour, contempt of death – these are aspects that go down well with many confused adolescents. Radical Islamists offer them the ‘true’ cause, the ‘genuine’ cause. The victim can become the victor, and this is presented to them visually and in concrete terms by the image of the perpetrator posing next to person who has been beheaded. The Salafists and similar radical groups in Europe, offer young men -- and also women -- the illusion of complete security and of being completely in the right through their supposed crystal clear system of distinguishing between right and wrong; good and evil. Again: the radical currents owe their dangerousness not so much to their deviation from ‘normal’ Islam but rather to their resemblance. Already in childhood, Muslims are told about ‘unclean women’ and ‘sinful infidels’; adolescents, therefore, are very familiar with these terms. Many are brought up in a climate of control, fear and punishment. Their ‘respect’ is to be shown only to the clan, to the collective, and to authority figures. Fundamentalists see themselves as purifying enforcers of such thinking. This is why young people are so susceptible to the argumentation of radical Islamists. If I, the young person, adopt and practise this radical behaviour, then can I show my own group, in a gesture of adolescent bigboy superiority, that I am the ‘better Muslim’ – in other words, I show my own group to be guilty of hypocrisy. This means that aggression towards the parents and the family can be acted out indirectly, without having to take the courageous step of looking critically at their antiquated ways of thinking. In the same way, aggression towards mainstream society can be acted out by my appearing -- or becoming -- dangerous to them, and I will finally gain the respect that they seemingly refuse to pay me. That is where the problem lies: in the untenable attitudes of many Muslims. In order to bring about the change that will truly protect Islam, it needs to be reformed and opened up to necessary debate. Young Muslim men need alternatives to hate preachers. They need role models in the domain of moderate Islam, they need people in their immediate environment, in their communities, who have nothing – any longer – in common with the radicals, and who encourage them to think critically and independently. Only in this way can we effectively counter the pull towards fundamentalism. Unfortunately, such impulses are still too few. Instead of engaging in an inner-Islamic discussion about the radicals, some Muslims prefer to spread conspiracy theories. Everything evil comes from the West, from the Jews, from America. By simply maintaining that there is a worldwide oppressed Muslim community, they shirk their responsibility and allow the IS ideology to go unopposed and therefore confirmed. Even now, in the face of IS terror. You can read it all over the Internet in blogs, chatrooms, and religious forums: that the IS terror is a product of American and Israeli secret services, that it was them who trained these people and supported them in order to show Islam in a bad light and destabilise the religion. Wild theories circulate which are meant to shield us from the self-awareness that it is us, us Muslims, who need to change something about ourselves and our understanding of Islam. Very sadly, the most essential thing is still missing: deep emotional horror from the majority of Muslims in view of the murders carried out by radical Muslims, like those we are currently witnessing in Syria and Iraq. If we look back to the Gaza protests of recent weeks, the hatred, the anti-Semitism and the ideological delusion, it is clear how far we have to go. There we saw Muslim protestors show their horror – but mainly for the suffering that non-Muslims had inflicted. However, where fellow Muslims are the culprits, such passion is often absent. The blind spots in the Muslim construct of identity are to be blamed for this double standard: we are the victims; it cannot and must not be that there are perpetrators amongst us. It cannot and must not be that this has anything to do with ‘us’. And so it can happen that a religious community in Germany publicly distances itself from the IS terror, but continues to sell books by a radical Islamist like Jussuf-al-Karadawi, and to present him to young people as a role model. This is a man who legitimises the killing of Israeli children through suicide bombing, trivialises the Shoah and wishes that Muslims complete Hitler’s ‘work’. And so it can also happen that many Muslims in Germany admire the terrorist organisation Hamas who recently executed dozens of Palestinians in broad daylight. In order to curb radical currents, much more is required than mere lip service. Strong and convincing voices are needed; voices that dare to engage in a debate about the compatibility of Islam and democratic values. We need a new discourse away from victimhood and fear of discrimination. Muslim self-reflection and self-critique are required. This can and must succeed. We have the same ability to think and feel as everyone else in this world. We have nothing to lose except fear. And the future of our children and young people is what we stand to gain. Translation from the German by Eike Hibbett