Download Full Text - Wyno Academic Journals

Wyno Academic Journal of Social Sciences
http//www.wynoacademicjournals.org/soc_sci.html
Copy Right ©2015 Wyno Academic Journals
ISSN: 2384-7808
Critical Thoughts about Islam, Terrorism, and Contemporary Solutions.
Hasan T. Arslan PhD
Criminal Justice and Security Department
Pace University
861 Bedford Road Choate House Room 121N Pleasantville NY 10570
Phone: 914- 773 3955 Fax: 914- 7733 785
Accepted Date: 18th December 2014
Vol. 3(1) pp. 1-10January2015
Abstract
One of the “butterfly effects” of the 9/11 attacks is the notion of Muslim terrorists and “that Islam nurtures ideas
about killing innocent people.” Like one of the memorable quotes of the “I love Lucy” show, the Muslim scholars
“got some 'splainin' to do!” Therefore, while this paper discusses the notions of Islamic fundamentalism such as
jihad and the suicide attacks in the name of Islam, it also attempts to present certain solutions to the issues in
question. Indeed, a modern Turkish thinker, Fethullah Gulen, a renowned and distinguished Sunni scholar of Islam,
provides some solutions to this contemporary problem.
Key words: ISIS, Taliban, Al Qaeda, Islam, Jihad, Terrorism, New Terrorism, Fethullah Gulen
Introduction
Humans are born with both exceptional qualities and faults and no living creature carries such extreme
polarities within its nature. We have the capacity to fall and rise as well as to commit evil acts regardless of race,
ethnicity, gender, and age and terrorism is one of them. Despite the famous line "one man's terrorist is another
man's freedom fighter" still projects the difference of opinions on terrorism, but once more it was seen that terrorism
has become an asymmetric tool for a symmetric world. Nevertheless, the definition of terrorism has
multidimensional angles with an easy recognition (Prabha, 2002).
In the post-9/11 world, terrorism became a buzzword that has been recognized and used by an average citizen of
the world. In fact, one of the “butterfly effects” of the 9/11 attacks is the concept of the Muslim terrorist and the
misconception of Islamic terminology (Kassam, 2003). The 9/11 attacks reminded all people once more that the
spread of terrorism is predominantly nurtured by extremism and radicalism (Kapucu, et al., 2009). In reality, the
nexus between terrorism and the Islamic religion had never been emphasized more than after the September 11th
era; though without proof that the incident was the result of Islamic religion. Indeed, there is almost no scholarly
work that argued the interconnection between the Islam and terrorism until the late 1980s. Prior to this decade,
almost all academic sources, literature, movies, and editorial articles had been merely fanaticized stories about the
medieval Islamic world, its wealth and life styles. As a matter of fact, the tactics of today’s brutality had never even
been deployed by Muslim insurgency movements in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Jordan and etc. that took place
post-World War II era (Unal, 2005). Clearly, the introduction of this particular notion to the world news media and
academia began within the last 25-30 years. During this time, the emergence of such concepts like suicide bomber,
jihad, martyrdom, Muslim terrorist, sadly became catch phrases in almost every Western household in the world.
Unfortunately if similar events occur but executed by non-Muslims there is no reference to their respective believes.
The focus then is on the individual. Here is the contradiction.
For an average Western reader, the current and the brutal tactics of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
along with the recent terror attacks that took place in Sydney, Nairobi and Boston as well as the ongoing atrocities in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Syria clearly depict a picture of violence that is directed to Islam and the
Muslims albeit without sound proof that it is an act of religion and not of individuals with their own motives.
However, it should be read and viewed by many that religion is not only being called upon to explain evil in the
2. Soc. Sci.
world, but more so to justify its perpetuation. Even if religion per se is not a direct cause of terrorism, there is no
question that people may want to find justification for terrorism in religion. It is very intriguing to ask, why is a
fourteen hundred years old religion suddenly being blamed for an epidemic called terrorism? As stated above, since
the major portion of the problem looks at the Islamic faith and Muslims, it is important to lay some groundwork as
contemporary solutions to this epidemic. For many Muslims or Muslim thinkers, first step in solving any problem is
recognizing there is one. Furthermore, the classical question of theodicy has been overshadowed; “we are thus
ethically required to question whether religion is the victim or perpetrator of evil in the global terrorism crisis”
(Pizzuto, 2007: 49). Like one of the memorable quotes of “I love Lucy” show, it became very pertinent Muslim
scholars “got some 'splainin' to do!”
The purpose of this article is to show a variety of perspectives that Islam is not the problem but part of the
solution of religious terrorism witnessed today. Both the terrorists and religious fundamentals penetrate the minds of
many Muslims and operate their personal agendas and political ideologies under the Islamic garb. In the minds of
groups like Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Taliban, Islam provides an insurmountable wall that no one can easily breach. Since
the problem of religious terrorism has been at the center of our contemporary life, solutions must also be reflecting
the ideas of renowned and distinguished religious scholars. Therefore, the Islamic perspectives on terrorism in this
paper are mostly centered on the ideas of an influential modern day Sunni-Muslim and Turkish scholar, Fethullah
Gulen, who is also known as ‘Hodjaefendi’ among his followers, has a broad and in-depth knowledge of world
history, politics and philosophy. He was also indicated under the leaders’ category of the Time magazine’s 100 most
influential people listed in 2013, “as the most potent advocate of moderation in the Muslim world, Gulen is waging
an urgently important campaign” (Kinzer, 2013). Therefore, a short summary of his achievements is necessary
before delving into our argument.
Significance of Fethullah Gulen
Fethullah Gulen dedicates himself to promoting cooperation of civilizations toward a peaceful world, as
opposed to a clash. Mr. Gulen was the first Islamic scholar, who condemned the unspeakable acts on 9/11 by
sending a message, which was published in Washington Post on September 21, 2001. His axiom of tolerance and
love among the people of the world can be clearly seen in his books, speeches and works. The ‘extremist theology’
suggests that the Islamic ideals of peace, justice, mercy and tolerance can be applied after achieving the Islamic
regime with all costs, whereas Gulen strongly implies with both his lifestyle and words that no one achieves any
kind of end with illegitimate means in Islam. For Fethullah Gulen, the notions of tolerance and interfaith dialogue
are not futuristic and fictional ideals, but are defining criterion of a true Muslim at all time (Kurtz, 2005). Gulen is
not alone in his views, indeed, he is “the inspirational figure for an emerging movement originally took shape in
Turkey of the late 20th century but is now found throughout many parts of the world” (Weller, 2006: 76).
An author of nearly 50 books, Gulen inspired and encouraged many people to open numerous schools,
universities, companies, cultural centers, foundations and media outlets across the world (140 countries). The people
who volunteered around him “carry forward a profound historical legacy with a modern approach” (Bulac, 2006:
91). His special interest with respect to the development of democracy in the entire world and the Muslim East is
worth mentioning in terms of presenting a solution to this new type of terrorism. According to Leonid Sykiainen, a
professor at Moscow State Scientific University, to explore Gulen’s views on the key problems of the Western and
Muslim world in regards to democracy and human rights is particularly fruitful (2006: 108). Simply, Marcia
Hermansen, professor of Islamic studies from the Divinity School of Loyola University in Chicago explains the
significance of Gulen’s contribution to the modern world: “It is not possible to conduct research on Muslims or the
Islamic world in the West by neglecting Fethullah Gulen or the Gulen Movement” (Kenes, 2007, October 29).
Fethullah Gulen is also the recipient of many prestigious awards1 mainly for his contributions to world peace or
peace-building efforts such as one of the few to mention “The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals” award by the
magazines Foreign Policy and Prospect in 2008, EastWest Institute (EWI) in 2011, Manhae Award Honorarium in
2013.
For more information about Gulen’s achievements please see http://fgulen.com/en/fethullah-gulens-life/about-fethullah-gulen/fethullah-gulenin-short
1
3. Hasan T. Arslan
New Terrorism
By the 1990s, terrorism literature began referring to a phenomenon known as the new terrorism, which was
based on more religious fanaticism and thought to be both deadlier and more destructive than the old terrorism
(Brown, 2007: 28). The practitioners of this form of terrorism tend to have more religious background and the use
of religious statements from the sacred scriptures. Bruce Hoffman, who is one of the pioneers in the field of conflict
and terrorism, describes the motivation for such violence as “a sacramental act or divine duty executed in direct
response some theological demand or imperative” (1995: 272). Regrettably, this is mainly labeled as Islamic
terrorism or Islamofascism in the academic world and the media. The core of the new terrorism definition is focused
on the increase in fanaticism among terrorists (Brown, 2007).
Jerrold Post from George Washington University describes the number one principle of the terrorism as being
an extremely complex and diverse phenomenon (2005: 7); thus, it demands an in depth analyses and direct solutions
(Silke, 2004: 179). Conventionally, terrorists in general implement the main principles of asymmetrical war: “when
you kill one, you threaten all”, which was believed to be said by Sun Tzu, Chinese military strategist, and
philosopher. Therefore, in the eye of terrorism, while every target is a symbol, every attack carries a message, and
each terrorist is a dissident of oppression. “The fear of terrorism, the insecurity created by terrorism on a specific
population, rather than immediate attack itself is what the terrorists are after” (Brown, 2007: 30), which could be
particularly observed after the Boston Marathon explosions and Westgate mall shootings in Kenya in 2013. In other
words, “terrorism is a tactic of extremists within each religion, and within secular religions of Marxism or
nationalism.
No religion, including Islam, preaches indiscriminate violence against innocents” (Cole, 2003).
Consequently, just because terrorists claim that they belong to a certain religion or use religious symbols will not
eliminate the other dynamic factors for its existence in one country. In other words, terrorism must not be simply
linked with a religion and to label it or to attach it with any religion is absolutely wrong. It is very clear in today’s
world that the religious texts are being hijacked in support of unjustifiable violence; thus, “any effective response in
favor of peace must itself be theological” (Pizzuto, 2007: 48). The quintessential question is that ‘can any religion be
a source for extremist agenda?’ More specifically, in lights of what is happening today in the name of Islam, to
answer such an important question demands multiple perspectives.
Discussion about Religion and Violence
First, Islam does not cause terrorism, nor does any other religion with which terrorist acts have been associated.
The statement of ‘terror is just the misinterpretation of the Islam’ is an Orientalist’ reading of Muslim reaction
against terrorism, because terror cannot be Islamic at all (Balci, 2005, August 08). The notion and the existence goal
of any religion do not serve the purpose of violence and terrorism, because these two concepts are antithetical.
Furthermore, paradoxically, one of the perils of this new terrorism is to use God as a license to kill innocent people.
On the contrary, in a holistic view, all religions offer more spiritual oriented life rather than material one; promise
and teach the peace in world and afterlife. Many would agree with Aruna Gnanadason's assertion that "all religions
have at their center a commitment to peace . . . [or] a spirituality of nonviolence" (Gnanadason, 2004: 65), as well as
acknowledge the truth of Oliver McTernan's claim that contemporary religious terrorists and extremists can find a
storehouse of justifications for their use of violence in the teachings and history of their faith (McTernan, 2003: 73).
Other scholars like William Cavanaugh (2004) and Robert Pape (2005) are also not convinced that religion plays a
major role in terrorism. Therefore, mostly just focusing on the perpetrators’ use of Islamic language or target
selection would not indicate that Islam as a religion is the only source for this new terrorism; in fact, such thought
process definitely conceals the real political, economical and social factors of the phenomena. Cinar and Aslandogan
pointed out that religious terrorism is “just a part of a larger picture that includes various forms of violence that
usually stem from frustration under adverse political conditions and have political goals” (2007: 315). During an
interview in 2004a, Fethullah Gulen perfectly outlined the Islamic view on violence:
“Terrorism cannot be a means for any Islamic goal, and a terrorist cannot be a Muslim, nor can a true
Muslim be a terrorist…Any right, whatever it’s nature, is respected in Islam and it cannot be violated. The
right of an individual cannot be violated in the interest of the community. The Qur’an, Islam’s sacred Book,
declares (5:32) that one who takes a life unjustly is as if he/she took the lives of all humankind, and that
one who saves a life is as if he/ she saved the lives of all. In the words of our Prophet, a Muslim is one from
who comes no harm, neither from his/her tongue nor hand.”
4. Soc. Sci.
It is evident from the primary sources of Islam, (Qur’an surah Al-Maidah, and verse 32), that the
consequence of taking innocent lives deserves an eternal banishment from God on the Day of Judgment. “This point
is crucially important because it demonstrates that Islam considers killing to be a crime against not only Muslims but
all humanity” (Albayrak, 2006: 120). Therefore, under the light of this religious decree, for example, how could a
true believer morally, religiously and socially justify the killings of 145 people, more than 100 of them children, at a
military-run school in northwestern Pakistan by members of the Pakistani Taliban on December 16, 2014? (Mehsud
and Masood, 2014). Such atrocity is nothing religious but a sole product of barbaric, cruel and despicable mentality
of narrow-minded terrorist organization.
Second, all divine religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam can neither be used as the essential sources or
be the tools for anyone’s extremist agenda. However, the fact is that most religious system at one time or another
suffered from extremism and Islam is no exception to this rule (Sezgin and Bicer, 2006: 406). For contemporary
extremists, religion serves as a culpable but unwilling accomplice in their use of terror and violence (Lincoln, 2003).
When religion is viewed as the ‘order of God to defend terrorism’ that is when it becomes the most dangerous
weapon for anyone. The people who have professed such understanding and involved themselves in terror activities
must be called with their names as sinister criminals, but not be labeled simply as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish
terrorists. A Christian pastor, Herbert Brown (2010), accentuates the importance of fighting against such backward
ideas, “religious violence and violence justified by interpretation or support (overt or tacit) of religious ideals
(whether a militia or a national military) needs to be actively challenged in both word and deed.” Christopher
Catherwood argued in his book “Why the Nations Rage: Killing in the Name of God” (2002) that the problem was
not the religion but the ‘religious nationalism’ and religion was perverted to be used for justification of murders.
Karen Armstrong, a British author who is mostly known for writing on comparative religion, believes “people have
often resisted colonial domination or oppressive governments by evolving millennial visions that amounted to a
systematic repudiation of the mainstream culture” (2003). In this context, Fethullah Gulen points to the fact that
killing in the name of one’s ideologies has been a phenomenon for ages:
“Everybody is killing in the name of an ideal; this was the case yesterday and this is still the case today.
Everybody, not only Muslims, was making the same mistake. Look at the conflict areas; the blood does not
shed only in Muslim lands. One also should consider the possibility that there are some catalyzes that
contribute this bloodshed other than the Muslim fundamentals” (2004a: 7).
We cannot clearly say why or justify the actions Al Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban and similar terrorist groups in
consistently violating the basic and one of the most essential principles of Islam and yet still promise salvation to its
members in afterlife.
Truly, history repeats itself once more around the world. The current and barbaric violence created by ISIS has
been a product of many factors such as political vacuum, poverty, ignorance, and insubordination by one part
against the other without forgetting the role of superpowers in trying to control developing countries natural
resource. Of course such multiple involvement of players with differing interest erodes social cohesion. Therefore,
using the “call of God” as a justification for un-Godly methods should be understood as the ISIS’s attempt to create
its’ own franchised world, which was not prescribed by any scriptures. ISIS does neither speak for the Islam nor
represent it. Since it was emerged from the al Qaeda ideology, it is clearly the illegitimate child of Muslim’s own
reactions to the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet’s during the 1980s. Though it was perceived as the best ‘postmodern response’ to an unjust, biased and ferocious global system (Bulac, 2014) by some young Muslims of our
time. When those young Muslims, mostly in the developing Muslim countries, see someone challenges to a greater
political power, like Osama Bin Laden’s declaration of Jihad against Americans on August 23, 1996 or the recent
emergence of ISIS declaring the establishment of a new Islamic State on June 29, 2014 while demanding allegiance
from other Islamist groups (Bradley, 2014), the recruitment becomes very easy for the religious zealots with their
franchised religion. Frequently but mistakenly, the religious terms in Islam like Jihad and martyrdom have been
solely interpreted within military terms rather than within a spiritual and moral meaning by some radical clerics to
entice some of those young Muslims, who already view the Western governments immoral and unjust.
The impact of politicization of Islam and lack of transparent and accountable leadership in the Muslim world
should also be argued briefly here. For the last two hundred years, there has been a dispersion of several ideas and
thoughts among the Muslim world. More specifically, the politicization of religion did not only distort the image of
Islam but also its Islamic terminology. Deviant sects and cults, which practiced some Islamic notions outside the
usual commonly accepted Islamic traditions, began to emerge and evolve by 18th century. The arrival of new
5. Hasan T. Arslan
practices in Islam introduced new perspectives, which did not accept any reverence for the Prophet and just gave
literal interpretations of Qur’an. This problem turned to be a much worse and complex matter after the collapse of
Ottoman Empire, because, since then, in the Muslim world there has been lack of a strong leadership, which created
a tremendous vacuum particularly in the Middle East. According to Gulen (2004a):
“Today, there is no Islamic world; there are places where Muslims live and Islam has become a way of
living, a culture; it is not being followed as a faith. Today, there is an Islam of the individual. There are
Muslims in different places of the world. One by one, all have been separated from one another. Since this
is the reality, then every believe acts individually.”
Since the collapse of the Ottomans, the politicization of Islam gave birth to the radicalization of Islam mainly in
the Arab peninsula and the North African coast. More specifically, teachings of Wahhabism began to influence
Muslims in this part of the world more than the teachings of Sufi Islam, which emphasizes the spiritual life and
proneness to Allah. According to Vali Nasr, an associate professor of political science at the University of San
Diego, specializing in the politics of Islamic extremism in South Asia, describes Wahhabism as “sort of an extreme
orthodoxy that historically has not been shared by a majority of Muslims, particularly nobody outside of the Arabian
Peninsula” (PBS, Frontline). In contrast to Sufism, Wahhabism rejects some sections of the Sunnah that according to
them has no authenticity, the second source of Islam after Quran and relies on the literal meanings of the Quranic
verses. The Wahhabi tradition although respects the four schools (Hanefi, Safii, Maliki, and Hanbali) they do not
consider Sufism to be part of Islam. According to Wahhabi Islamic thought, the Muslim world is sullied by the
Western ideologies and the existing governments of the Muslim countries must be brought down to establish a
“pure” Islamic regime (Lang, 2003). In other words, Islam is being used to legitimize political, economic and social
behaviors in every aspects of one’s life. Later such ideology has been exported to other parts of the Muslim world.
The cases in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Chechnya provide great examples to show the influence of such Islamic
thought. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Saudi mujahedeen battled alongside cadres inspired by
Egyptian Muslims. In a way, the two dynamic forces came in to fill the vacuum caused in-fighting by merging their
powers as well as with a new interpretation of Jihad, fighting the enemy at anytime anywhere (Van Biema and
Crumley, 2003). When Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban regime came to rescue the situation
may be with the influence of ‘Wahhabism’. Like Afghanistan, Chechnya also faced with Russian invasion in 1994.
The first war resulted to a shameful defeat for the Russian military. From this day forward, nevertheless, the ongoing
political instability in those countries provided a great opportunity as well as the justification for those religious
fanatics more than anything else, because they had won victories against a greater military force both in Afghanistan
and Chechnya in the near past. Here it gets interesting; neither in the Soviet invasion (1979-1989), nor in the first
Chechen war (1994-1996), there was a single suicide attack claimed by the mujahedeen against military or civilian
targets. However, this reality suddenly was reversed in the conflicts resumed after late 1990s in the same territories.
Rapidly, there has been an increase in the number of suicide attacks not only in those parts of the world but also
worldwide. It is also clear that members of the Salafist ideology, extreme orthodox version of Islam, might have
introduced the deployment of suicide bombings. Furthermore, what may be said about suicide attack is simply a
‘war tactic’ rather than a religious injunction. Most of the times, suicide is a result of desperation where the opposed
has no other option.
Third, Islam is not being understood properly today. Many people fail to recognize the differences between
Islam and mainstream Muslims compared to the extremists, who justify their acts of terrorism for their political end
(Esposito, 2002). Those radicals who take shelter under the politics of Islam hurt its most faithful believers.
“Millennial or fundamentalist extremism has risen in nearly every cultural tradition where there are pronounced
inequalities of wealth, power, and status” (Armstrong, 2003). The three major problems in existence now are that of
civil turmoil, poverty, and ignorance in the Islamic world, which provide a great momentum and cause for the
extremists. Once they mix their faith with politics, the emerging picture becomes blurry and distorted for the people
outside mainstream Islam. This is because the nature of politics consists of lying and deceiving, which conflicts
with the core values of any religion. Nevertheless, Gulen refuses the use of religion as a political ideology:
“A Muslim’s beginning point must have an Islamic basis. In the present situation, Muslims cannot act out
of ideological or political partisanship and then dress this partisanship in Islamic garb, or represent mere
desires in the form of ideas. If we can overcome this tendency, Islam’s true image will become known”
(2006).
6. Soc. Sci.
Islam, indeed, has been marginalized by radical, Islamic hooligans for their greed to become powerful due to
the existence of a leadership vacuum in the Muslim world. These religious hooligans have no shame in using every
possible means to legitimize their actions as well as to win public sympathy. Sadly, there are people among the
Muslims who have been using Islam mostly as a political instrument not as a spiritual source. Particularly, when
some poor, weak and misguided souls are brainwashed under the “political entrepreneur or hate-mongering leader”
(Post, 2005: 8), evidently, it becomes very difficult to choose another path other than to follow the given instructions
for those lost souls. ISIS leadership replaced Islamic logic with their personal desires and ambitions by creating
nothing but a monster. Anybody who thinks like that is also locked into this monstrosity and should be condemned
equivocally for this. During an interview at PBS Frontline program, Prof. Mai Yamani, a research fellow at the
Royal Institute for International Affairs in London, describes this notion explicitly:
“Probably there would be a relation between an interpretation of Islam that lacks tolerance, and is a more
narrow vision of the world. But particularly the problem is about the political systems that promote this
type of interpretation of religion. This gives people the excuse, the platform, to go ahead and express
themselves in Islamic language to suit their purpose of political ends.”
Fourth and the last of these points, it would not be wrong if it were said a casual western media follower might
consider the word ‘Muslim’ connotes the terrorism. This part of the problem, however, has two edges: the ignorance
of the Western Media about true Islam and the negligence of Muslim scholars, writers and thinkers on addressing
the issue of terrorism enough. According to Griff Witte, the Deputy Foreign Editor of the Washington Post, the
responsibility of journalism is not only to show one side of religious terrorism but also its multidimensional aspect,
because “the West has stereotyped Islam as a religion with full of barbaric “beliefs which breed a medieval approach
to justice and a terrorist approach to world politics” (2007: 6). One of the concerns of the Gulen movement is to
breakdown these misconceptions and barriers about Islam by sending love and interfaith dialogue messages to the
prominent leaders of the world. The brilliance of his ideas laid the foundations of happiness for thousands of souls
worldwide and still continues to do so. The Gulen Movement is very successful in many areas but its real
achievement lies in its education program, which has “a vision of reviving a faithful and tolerant Turkish-Islamic
tradition as exemplified in the Ottoman Empire” (Bilici, 2006: 10).
Critical Thoughts for Policy Recommendations
Below presents some ideas that can layout foundations both for private and government entrepreneurship to
target today’s ‘new terrorism’ problem.
First, no human is born a terrorist and the decision to get involved in terrorism does not happen overnight.
Therefore, an important realization here is that terrorism is a process (Silke, 2004) and terrorism is a choice; it is a
political strategy selected from among a range of options (Walzer, 2002). When religion is pointed to as the only and
solely culprit, then surely real factors behind terrorism are allowed to escape. Therefore, identifying the main
problems within the Muslim societies is seen as a political, economic and social factor. This does not mean that
these countries do not have leadership and any political structures or weak economies; it is mostly the result of
superpowers interference.
Second, ignorance is the most dangerous thing for man. Without knowledge people become blind and
uncivilized; therefore, to defeat extremism and terrorism, education should be the primary weapon of mankind. This
is true, but in many Muslim societies the educated and the well to do are involved in fighting. Ignorance in absolute
terms is therefore not the cause. However, elements of inadequate education emerge and hence Gulen envisions
education as the primary problem solver as well as a sense of purpose in life that provides guidance to those lost
souls in their relationships with their environment (Aslandogan and Cetin, 2006: 33). In fact, educating young spirits
in the schools should be the greatest challenges for today’s governments; every requirement of life should be met
within the school system. The power of education plays a major role in defeating three major problems of Muslim
societies as well as the world: ignorance, poverty, and disunity (Unal and Williams, 2000: 319-20). The education
system must be an incentive maker not a heart breaker. For that matter, the members of the Gulen movement started
an educational revolution worldwide and have been changing many people’s lives since early 1990s. 2
2
For more information about Gulen’s schools please see http://gulenschoolsworldwide.blogspot.com/.
7. Hasan T. Arslan
Third, young men and women that have been trained in terrorist camps must be rehabilitated with the help from
respected, true Islamic scholars in their community. Many of those people were believed to pursue “false prophets”
under heavy indoctrination. In other words, policies aim the “hate the sin not the sinner” approach in terms of their
reintegration to the society. Certain rehabilitation and welfare programs must be established not the torture
chambers, which would create more motivated offenders. Religion itself must be presented as a bridge that sets up a
balance between spiritualism and rationalism, a balance between two worlds, nothing else.
The fourth solution is a strong reminder to the Western world. It is two folds: the apathy of the West to the
ongoing violence and the destructive language of Western Scholarship about the image of Islam. About the former,
certain policies of the Western nations over the Muslim lands serve as catalyzer in the escalation of suicide terrorism
and violence. The later is more concerned about the negative depictions and damaging stereotypes about Islam on
fictitious grounds, such as “killing for the sake of 72 virgins” or “asserting the existence of culture of martyrdom
within Islam”, which do not allow anybody to see the real reasons of “new terrorism” problem. For example, the
term Jihad is actually a misnomer to explain the suicide attacks, because the word in Islamic texts refers to one’s
inner struggle. By mid 1990s, this notion had been frequently used within the context of fighting for the sake of
Allah, rather than one’s fight against his/her desires. Over the years, “the word jihad has lost its holiness and
retained only its military connotation” (Lewis, 2003: 37). Islam orders all believers to live a life with full of good
deeds. In addition, the Islamic tradition defines the human body as a loan from God (An-Nisaa 4:29); therefore, man
does not have the right to claim the ownership of his body. Any malicious harm or defection to this sacred body by
the trustee is subjected to punishment. It is a serious concern where Western scholars claim to have proficiency on
Islamic notions; but specifically lack the sufficient and accurate knowledge about Islam as well as scholarly
authority within Muslim communities. Gulen strongly prompts the western scholars about the use of proper Islamic
sources, the Quran and the Sunnah. Additionally, the interpretation of them accordingly is also essential. Most of
those scholars do not even know about the Islamic knowledge and its critical thinking process which had been
formed for centuries such as tafsir (interpretation), kelam (word-utterance) and fiqh (jurisprudence) and they would
not think there was any other possible interpretation of a verse in the Qur’an when they see, hear, or read.
Unfortunately this is applied to some scholars even within the Muslim communities. It is this position that could be
the possible claim by Gulen to believe that there is no common Islamic understanding, “which has been agreed
upon, approved by qualified scholars, reliably based upon the Quran, and repeatedly tested” (Gulen, 2004a).
Fifth, media has a crucial share in this fight. Terror demands audience and seeks legitimacy via illegitimate
methods. In other words, “without media, terrorists would have no stage on which to perform their acts of flagrant
violence against noncombatants…the disproportionate media attention given to extreme acts of predatory violence
can further distort the public’s already inflated fears of terrorism and other predatory events” (Forst, 2009: 312-13).
Journalists and many scholars portray such criminal acts as unique and new, when history clearly shows it is not
(Caldararo, 2005). Some television networks broadcast big segment of their airtime about the attacks of those
terrorist groups, which can appear to lend legitimacy to their acts. The media along with the social network sites like
Facebook, Twitter and Youtube should question such terror attacks by monitoring any attempts that glorify any
perpetrators who have involved in those terroristic acts. Therefore, there is a thin line to draw the responsibilities
and ethical duties of the media in terms of broadcasting and reporting about terrorism.
The sixth and the last tenet, Gulen asks the questions that every scholar must find the answers to. He proposes
interfaith dialogue and enduring cultural exchange. His calls have been carried to several parts of the world by his
followers and resulted in several conferences, meetings, and publications. As a counter strike method against
terrorist incidents, Gulen emphasizes the love and the notion of living life for others. Specifically, he says that
heroes are those who do not live for themselves but live for others (Hussain, 2007: 312). Thus, the message of Islam
should be carried with humility and with a gentle approach, not with a demanding or moralizing mind-set. Due to
existing of such philosophy, the members of the Gulen movement specifically avoid any type of conflict with
anyone (Ozdalga, 2003: 67-68). Fethullah Gulen himself initiated dialogues with Christians and Jews, as well as
secular intellectuals and civic leaders including Patriarch Barthalemeos of the Orthodox Church, Turkey's Chief
Rabbi David Aseo, Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II and Israel's Sephardic Head Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron.
The recent visit of Pope Francis to Turkey and meeting with the religious leaders encourages the mutual respect and
common human values against terrorism. It is therefore important to note that cultural, religious, and civilization
diversity “contribute to the richness and potential of human existence and as such need to be protected and
respected” (Palma Summary Notes, 2005).
8. Soc. Sci.
Conclusion
Today, we are witnessing an age with dual sides of extreme human condition; one side lives in constant extreme
pleasure and happiness, a self-centric life style, whereas the others seek the eternal life via death. In other words, one
group pursues happiness in the world of materialism, which explicitly rejects the spiritual aspect of the life; whereas
the other edge, a group of religious fanatics, seek paradise by blowing themselves up while targeting innocent
civilians and children. Obviously, there is something wrong with this picture, because these two do not compliment
each other and are wrong for many reasons.
The religions have become so manifestly sourced as instruments of terror, oppression and nationalism. Thus, it
is more crucial than ever for all people of faith to share this common problem and the resolution itself so that these
new breed terrorists must not promote and execute untold violence on the human community in the name of God
with their so-called religious ideologies. It should be conceived that the solution of the problem requires the alliance
of civilizations rather than clashes, because terrorism is not unique to one religion, ethnicity, or nation. Rather, it is
a problem for all. Gulen’s approach includes a synthesis of the East and West in which the Western civilization with
its material foundation meets with spiritually rich Islamic civilization. Consequently, he warns both the Islamic and
western scholars by saying “on the way to attaining faith, one can never use untrue methods” (Aslandogan & Cinar,
2005). He strongly believes in tolerance and interfaith dialogue in which one looks at the other without seeing the
religious, national, racial and ethnical tags on him/her first.
Thomas Michel, a Catholic scholar, who worked for the Vatican, personally had witnessed the achievements of
Gulen’s visions in life. In his article, Sufism and Modernity in the Thought of Fethullah Gulen, he concluded with
the Mission Statement of the Journalists’ and Writers’ Foundation, an organization that promotes interreligious
dialogue and cooperation (2005: 342). The following statement presents the core ideas of Gulen’s vision for the
world briefly:
“The modern world will be shaped by systems and approaches which cherish universal values which
consider affection, tolerance, understanding and unity as basics . . . which prefer to overcome all
hostilities, hatred and wrath by friendship, tolerance and reconciliation; which undertake the mission of
delivering culture and knowledge for the benefit of humanity; which can create a balance between the
individual and the society without sacrificing one for the other; which have a great vision without falling
into the trap of utopias and without leaving realities aside; which believe in the merit of keeping
determinant factors such as religion, language, race free from any compulsory pressure.”
References
Anonymous (n.d.). “Osama Bin Laden’s Declaration of Jihad Against Americans.” Milestone Documents in World
History. Salem Press.
Albayrak, I. (2006). The Juxtaposition of Islam and Violence. In Hunt, R. A. & Aslandogan, Y. A. Muslim Citizens
of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement. (p119-129). Somerset, NJ: The Light, Inc. &
IID Press.
Arsmtrong, K. (2003, September 17). Our Role in the Terror. The Guardian. London, UK.
Aslandogan, Y. A. & Cetin, M. (2006). The Educational Philosophy of Gulen in Thought and Practice. In Hunt, R.
A. & Aslandogan, Y. A. Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement. (p3154). Somerset, NJ: The Light, Inc & IID Press.
Balci, K. (2005, August 08). Terror Dinin Yanlis Yorumu Degildir (Terror is not the Misinterpretation of the
Religion). Zaman Daily Newspaper. Istanbul, TR.
Bilici, M. (January 2006). The Fethullah Gulen Movement and Its Politics of Representation in Turkey. The Muslim
World, 96, p1-20.
Bradley, M. (2014, June 29). ISIS Declares New Islamist Caliphate. Wall Street Journal. New York.
Brown, C. (Fall 2007). The New Terrorism Debate. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, 6(3/4),
p28-43.
Brown, H. (2010, April 5). Killing in the Name of God: Danger of Biblical Misinterpretation. Retrieved on
December 3, 2011 from http://faithinactiononline.com/2010/04/killing-in-the-name-of-god-the-danger-ofbiblical-misinterpretation/
Bulac, A. (2006), The Most Recent Reviver in the ‘Ulama’ Tradition. In Hunt, R. A. & Aslandogan, Y. A. Muslim
Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement. (p89-106). Somerset, NJ: The Light,
Inc & IID Press.
9. Hasan T. Arslan
Bulac, A. (2014, September 27). El Kaide’nin iki kolu: ISID ve Nusra (in English: The two arms of Al Qaida: ISIS
and El Nusra). Zaman Newspaper. Istanbul, TR.
Catherwood, C. (2002). Why the Nations Rage: Killing in the Name of God (2nd ed). Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers.
Cavanaugh, W. T. (September 2004). Killing in the Name of God. New Blackfriars, 85(999), p510-526.
Caldararo, N. (September 2005). Suicide Bombing and Terror Are Not New. Anthropology News, 46(6), p6.
Cinar, B. & Aslandogan, Y. A. “A Sunni Muslim Scholar’s Humanitarian and Religious Rejection of Violence
Against Civilians”. Published in conference proceedings of Muslim World in Transition: Contributions of the
Gulen Movement, October 25-26-27, 2007. p319-333: London, United Kingdom.
Cole, J. (2013). Terrorism and the Other Religions. Washington Report On Middle East Affairs, 32(5), 11-33.
Esposito, J. L. (2002). Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.
Forst, B. (2009). Terrorism, Crime, and Public Policy. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
Gnanadason, A. (2004). Religion and Violence: A Challenge to the Unity of the Churches. Political Theology. 5(1),
p61-75.
Gulen, M. F. (2004a). In true Islam, terror does not exist. In Capan, E. Terror and Suicide Attacks: An Islamic
Perspective, (p1-8). New Jersey, NJ: The Light Inc.
Gulen, M. F. (2004b). Love and the essence of being human. Faruk Tuncer, ed. Mehmet Unal and Nilufer Korkmaz,
trans. Istanbul: Journalist and Writers Foundation Publications.
Gulen, M. F. (2006, June 14). Dialogue is a Must. Retrieved on December 3, 2011 from
http://en.fgulen.com/content/view/1336/
Hertog, K. (September 2005). A Self-fulfilling Prophecy: The Seeds of Islamic Radicalization in Chechnya.
Religion, State & Society, 33(3), p239-252.
Hoffman, B. (Oct-Dec 1995). “Holy Terror”: The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by a Religious Imperative.
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 18(4), p271-284.
Hussain, A. “Combatting Terrorism in Britain: Gulen’s Ideas”. Published in conference proceedings of Muslim
World in Transition: Contributions of the Gulen Movement, October 25-26-27, 2007. p298-314: London,
United Kingdom.
Kapucu, N., Garayev, V. & Arslan, T., (2009). Alliance of Civilizations: Global Response to Intolerance and
Terrorism. In Ozguler, M., Osdogan, A., Yayla, A. S., Mus, E. & Iltas, H. (Eds) Terrorism: A Global
Perspective, (p109-122). Washington, D.C.: The Turkish Institute for Security and Democracy (TISD)
Kassam, Z. (2003). Can a Muslim Be a Terrorist? In J. B. Sterba, Terrorism and International Justice (p114-131).
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kenes, B. (2007, October 29). No Research on Islamic World is possible without making mention of Gulen.
TodaysZaman. Retrieved on December 08, 2011 from http://www.todayszaman.com/news-125770-no-researchon-islamic-world-is-possible-without-making-mention-of-gulen.html
Kinzer, S. (2013, April 18). Fethullah Gulen: Turkish educator and Islamic Scholar. Time Magazine. Retrieved from
http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/fethullah-gulen/
Kurtz, L. (July 2005). Gulen's Paradox: Combining Commitment and Tolerance. Muslim World, 95(3), p373-384.
Lang, P. (2003, March 10). Wahhabism and Jihad. America, 188(8), p10-13.
Lewis, B. (2003). The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. New York City, NY: The Modern Library.
Lincoln, B. (2003). Holy Terrors: Thinking about Religion after September 11. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago
Press.
McTernan, O. J., (2003). Violence in God's Name: Religion in an Age of Conflict. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.
Michel, T. (July 2005). Sufism and Modernity in the Thought of Fethullah Gulen. The Muslim World. 95, p341-358.
Mehsud, I. T. & Masood, S. (2014, December 16). Pakistani Taliban Attack on Peshawar School Leaves 145 Dead.
The New York Times (Asia Pacific Edition). http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/world/asia/taliban-attackpakistani-school.html
Nasr,
V.
(2001,
Oct.
25).
Saudi
Time
Bomb?
[Interview].
Retrieved
from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/interviews/nasr.html
Ozdalga, M. E. (Spring 2003). Secularizing Trends in Fethullah Gulen’s Movement: Impasse or Opportunity for
Further Renewal? Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies. 12(1), p61–73.
Palma Summary Notes. (2005, November 27-29). Retrieved December 2, 2011 from Alliance of Civilizations:
http://unaoc.org/repository/First%20Meeting%20of%20High-level%20Group%20Summary%20Notes.doc.pdf
Pape, R. A. (2005). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. New York, NY: Random House.
10. Soc. Sci.
Pape, R. A. (2010, December 9). What Really Drives Suicide Terrorists? Christian Science Monitor. p1.
Prabha, K. (April 2000). Defining Terrorism. Strategic Analysis, 14(1), p125-135.
Pizzuto, V. (Summer 2007). Religious Terror and the Prophetic Voice of Reason: Unmasking Our Myths of
Righteousness. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 37(2), p47-53.
Post, J. M., (2005). Introduction (Psychology). Addressing the Causes of Terrorism the Club De Madrid Series on
Democracy and Terrorism. The International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism And Security. March 8-11,
2005. Madrid, Spain.
Sezgin, O. & Bicer, R. (2006). Foundations of Tolerance in Turkish Culture. The European Legacy, 11(4), p405–
415.
Silke, A. (2004). Courage in Dark Places: Reflections on Terrorist Psychology. Social Research, 71(1), p177-198.
Sykianien, L. (2006). Democracy and the Dialogue between Western and Islamic Legal Cultures. In Hunt, R. A. &
Aslandogan, Y. A. Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement. (p107117). Somerset, NJ: The Light, Inc & IID Press.
Unal, A. (2005, July 25). Terror Konusunda Temel Tespitler (The Essential Evaluations About the Terror). Zaman
Daily Newspaper. Istanbul, TR.
Unal, A. & Williams, A. (2000). Fethullah Gulen: Advocate of Dialogue. Fairfax: The Fountain.
Van Biema, D. & Crumley, B. (2003, September 15). Wahhabism: Toxic Faith? Time, 162(11), p46-47.
Walzer, M. (Winter 2002). Five Questions About Terrorism. Dissent, 49(1), p5-9.
Weller, P. (2006). Fethullah Gulen, Religions, Globalization and Dialogue. In Hunt, R. A. & Aslandogan, Y. A.
Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World: Contributions of the Gulen Movement. (p75-88). Somerset, NJ: The
Light, Inc & IID Press.
Witte, G. (Summer 2007). Violence: Its source is not always it seems. Nieman Reports, 61(2), p6-7.
Yamani,
M.
(2001,
Oct.
25).
Saudi
Time
Bomb?
[Interview].
Retrieved
from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/interviews/yamani.html