Download Identity Forming and the Role of Technology

Extremism on the WWW
By Aftab Ahmad Malik
Visiting Fellow
CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF ETHNICITY AND CULTURE
Topics
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Filling the gap: The Internet’s Challenge to Authority
Defining Extremism
Extremism is Not New
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Extremist Traits
Extremist websites identified
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The Root of Muslim Extremism
Who do they represent?
What commonalities do they share, if any?
What attracts young Muslims to their sites?
The Internet as the ideal Medium
Filling the Gap: The Internet’s Challenge to
Authority
• A growing gap in communication between the old and the young
• Young Muslims search for quick and immediate answers
– No need is there to travel to seek out or consult learned scholars when an
individual can go directly and effortlessly to the World Wide-Web
• Ignore the complexities and nuances of Islamic scholarship
– such nuances vanish as a simple and comforting worldview is constructed for
Muslims
• While the vast majority of Muslims condemn extremism, many do
have grave concerns over the war on terrorism and it is here that
confusion amongst the present generation of Muslims sets in:
– who speaks for Islam and by what authority?
• The Internet has compounded this problem as ill-informed opinions
appear to be fatwas written by scholarly authorities.
– In an attempt to project authority, most of the websites use the term “fatwa” to
indicate some authenticity to their claim. A fatwa is a juristic legal opinion that is
not binding. The key word here is juristic. One needs to be a qualified expert (a
Mufti) and grounded in all the necessary requisite sciences to be able to present
one.
Defining Extremism
• Utilise the word carefully and as a Muslim looking at the state of the
Muslim world from within his tradition.
• The Prophet Muhammad said: “Beware of extremism in the religion,”
and the Qur’an in many instances warns:
– “Commit not transgression therein, lest My anger should justly descend
upon you,” and
– “Do not exceed the bounds in your religion.”
• Islamic terms often used to describe an imbalance in the believer
are:
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al-ta‘assub (being zealous or a zealot in religion);
al-ghuluw (excessiveness, extremism);
al-tashdid (exceedingly restrictive) and
al-tatarruf (moving to the farthest point).
• All these terms basically signifying a tendency that is away from
what is deemed moderate and balanced, whether in belief or by
action, and so, it is this understanding that I apply to the words
“extremism” and “extremist.”
Extremism is not New
“Are men to arbitrate in the affairs of Allah? There can be
no arbitration except by Allah.” "The prerogative of command rests
with none but Allah. He declares the truth and He is the best of judges"
(Qur’an 6:57)
Urwa ibn Udaiyya objecting to the pact that was agreed between ‘Ali and
Muawiyyah at the Battle of Siffin who then seceded from the party of ‘Ali
along with 12,000 others.
The Root of Muslim Extremism
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The prerogative of command rests with none but Allah. He declares the truth and He
is the best of judges"
– This statement read in its proper Kharijite context, is: “only we (with our swords)
have the prerogative of command.”
The Hadith of Hurqus ibn Zuhair (Distribution of booty after the battle of Hunain
– Rebuking the Prophet: seem to know better than the Prophet Muhammad
Hurqus confronted ‘Ali and said, "O son of Abi Talib, I fight you not except for the sake
of Allah, and for my reward in the afterlife." ‘Ali retorted, "Your kind, Hurqus, is the
kind that God Almighty refers to in the Qur’an where He states, 'Say: Shall We tell
you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been
wasted in this life, while they imagined that they were acquiring good by their works'
(18: 103). Amongst these - and I swear by this in the name of the Lord of the Ka’ba are you Hurqus!"
"There will come a time when a group of people will leave our ranks. They will recite
the Qur’an with fervour and passion but its spirit will not go beyond their throats. They
will leave our ranks in the manner of an arrow when it shoots from its bow."
Abdullah ibn Wahb al-Rasibi was one of the Khawarij leaders. al-Rasibi was known
for his fervour in reciting the Quran and was also nicknamed Dhu al-Thafanat (the
one whose kneecaps appeared like two humps of a camel because of the intense
and extended nature of his prostration in prayer)
Numerous factions occurred within the Kharajite ranks, which created other subfactions. These factions and sub-factions merely differed in the extent of their
extremism (kufr Vs shirk)
Extremist traits
• “They transfer the Qur’anic verses meant to refer to those of
no faith to refer to Muslims.”
• "What I most fear in my community is a man who interprets
verses of the Qur'an out of context."
• "They recite Qur’an and consider it in their favor but it is
against them."
Three principles that set them apart from mainstream
Muslims:
• That all perpetrators of major sins were permanently destined
for hell (Exception are the Ibadites).
• The declaration of either kufr or shirk upon those who differ
with them.
• It is obligatory to overthrow an oppressive ruler by force.
Extremist Websites Identified
• In all the websites examined, three underlying “intellectual”
orientations were apparent:
• Salafi
• Political and
• Jihadi
• The salafi approach itself falls into moderate and extreme factions,
which often are at loggerheads with one another
– “traditional” Vs “classical” Vs neo-/takfiri Salafi } “Next Generation”
• Political discourses on Islam focus on the need to re-instate the
Caliphate and the prohibition and condemnation of those being
involved in any democratic process
• The Jihadist discourse criticises the former two orientations for their
lack of attention to the necessity of jihad.
– “National” Vs Global Jihadists
• From reviewing their websites, these three orientations share a
number of commonalities and over-lapping concerns …
Extremist Websites Identified
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They all claimed to hold the belief of the “salaf” (“salafee aqeeda”
sic)
Condemnation and/or excommunication of fellow Muslims and
movements/groups that follow something other than their
methodology. In particular, their contempt and rejection of any
mystical aspect of Islam with particular condemnation of Sufism.
Espousal of the medieval Muslim view that the world is
categorized in two domains: The domain of War (dar al-Islam) and
the domain of Peace (dar al-Islam)
A narrow definition of “innovation” effectively allowing them to
categorise many Muslim scholars, activities, celebrations, habits,
customs and ideas as taking a Muslim “outside the pail of Islam.”
The reduction of issues into black and white and ignoring the
feasibility that there may be a scholarly difference over any given
issue
Most equate the war on terrorism with a war against Islam and
make no distinction between the governments that sanction war
and the civilians that are opposed to it
The extensive use of emotional blackmail. By highlighting Muslim
suffering around the world as a crime perpetuated by Western
governments, the surfer is urged to fulfil his or her religious duty to
remove hardships on fellow Muslims
What Attracts Young Muslims to their Sites?
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Discussing issues openly that are almost closed/prohibited from
being addressed/discussed in mosques (even more so in Muslim
countries)
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They appear to ask questions that many Muslims want asked about
the “war on terrorism”
Keeping messages simple and written in an accessible language
to all
Being almost always first to analyse current events and put
forward their commentary and making quick use of e-mailing lists
Having articles (and small books) that are easily downloadable
and printed off as fliers that can be circulated on the streets and
particularly, after the Friday Sermon
Having the status of taboo websites provokes many to visit the
website to find out exactly why they have been told not to go there
They don’t call for restraint: their message is one of
emergency: Muslims are being killed and Islam itself is
under siege. You have to do something or be complicit in
the assault against Islam
The Internet as the Ideal Medium
The Internet itself is an ideal medium for the transportation
of these ideas because it offers:
• easy access;
• little or no regulation, censorship, or other forms of
government control;
• anonymity of communication;
• fast flow of information;
• inexpensive development and maintenance of a web
presence;
• a multimedia environment (the ability to combine text,
graphics, audio, and video and to allow users to
download films, songs, books, posters, etc)