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| Caliphate & the Myth of Violence |
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Since the furore that followed the demise of the Caliphate, the question of Islam in politics and Shariah-based government has arguably confronted every Islamic movement in the Muslim world, regardless of how they resolved to answer that question. Undoubtedly, some argued there must be no such thing; the reformer Ali Abdul Razaq for example challenged the likes of Rida by demanding a separation of religion from state, saying of the Caliphate "In reality, the religion of Islam is innocent of the Caliphate which Muslims have come to know". Clearly, a branch of the post-Caliphate debate did not reference Islam, driven by other ideological drifts. But after failed experiments with nationalism -Arab or otherwise Communism, Socialism during the 50s and 60s, secularism and bitter experiences with regimes that forcibly kept religion out of sight not just out of government, organisations seeking to introduce Shariah and Islam into the political system are now arguably the biggest force in the Muslim world. Any opening in the authoritarian architecture of the Muslim world is likely to yield Islamic government. F. Gregory Gause III, associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont and director of its Middle East studies program, points to the increasing paradox of democratising the Middle East for US policymakers in October's Foreign Affairs, "based on public opinion surveys and recent elections in the Arab world, the advent of democracy there seems likely to produce new Islamist governments that would be much less willing to cooperate with the United States than are the current authoritarian rulers"
For numerous organisations now, the goal of reviving Shariah in ruling matters feature at the root of their political activity. The means they employ differ, as does their vision of the Caliphate's exact workings. Some, like those affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, PAS in Malaysia and others, opt for a gradual reform of the political system using existent mechanisms; others through encouraging individual reform whilst some opt to operate outside of existing political structures like the transnational organisation Hizb ut Tahrir. Crucially many such organisations are non-violent and do not endorse attacks from 9/11 to 7/7 let alone believe violence to be the methodology for change. Islamic organisations seeking to establish a Shariah-based government are clearly not limited to the few who have chosen violence, or to the individuals who have bought carnage to western capitals.The suggestion that the Caliphate is an inherently violent system because it is exclusive to - and draws its reality exclusively from - the violence of such people is therefore false. The formulae needs to be deconstructed and an assessment of the Caliphate made independently of such misleading associations.
Let us pose a broader question to highlight the point in a different way: is it sound to discredit a set of political goals because of the means employed by some to achieve them? If the logic held true, some of the most celebrated historical events in the West should be recast as triumphs for political violence. The founding pillars of the "enlightenment" should be held responsible for motivating violent upheaval on the continent of Europe and North America and thus should remain under the shadow of - and scarred by - the means of terror. More acutely, if Blair's careful stitch-work between means and goals is credible we must go further to render ideas of the enlightenment inherently violent, for they represented the ideals of the violent and bloody struggles that were the French and American revolutions. Thomas Paine, the esteemed thinker at the heart of America's struggle for independence, articulated the case for an American revolution in his highly influential pamphlet 'Common Sense' when he wrote "We view our enemies in the characters of Highwaymen and Housebreakers, and having no defence for ourselves in the civil law; are obliged to punish them by the military one, and apply the sword, in the very case, where you have before now, applied the halter". Thomas Jefferson too acknowledged that violence would feature in the path to America's independence, his words suggesting that although 'unfortunate' the focus should be on the bigger picture:"It is unfortunate that the efforts of mankind to recover the freedom of which they have been so long deprived, will be accompanied with violence, with errors, and even with crimes. But while we weep over the means, we must pray for the end."
Equally, national liberation struggles that used violence should render the goal of independence from foreign control violent and immoral, a far cry however from the glowing endorsements they selectively received from Western powers. On the Afghan effort to force out the Soviets, former US President Ronald Reagan commented "Self-determination, the right to freely choose one's own destiny, has been the central point of the Afghan struggle… We are proud to have supported their brave struggle to regain their freedom, and our support for this noble cause will continue as long as it is needed". The African National Congress' struggle against apartheid represented a noble cause but as Nelson Mandela admitted in 1963 that "without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle" although he "planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation". None of this rendered the fight against racism in South Africa wrong, Mandela now a respected figure in international politics indeed in global peace movements, re-branded a freedom fighter no less.
The use of violence to achieve a political end is even a point of debate in western circles. Opinions range from those who believe it is never justified to those who believe that some situations necessitate it. Gary Younge, a columnist in the British newspaper the Guardian, wrote regarding the recent rioting in Parisian suburbs that "in certain conditions rioting is not just justified but may also be necessary, and effective" because "when all non-violent, democratic means of achieving a just end are unavailable, redundant or exhausted, rioting is justifiable". Thomas Paine's view that "having no defence for ourselves in the civil law; are obliged to punish them by the military one" also moves to justify the use of violence when no alternative is available. For the Oxford academic Timothy Garton-Ash: "We may want to uphold the universal principle 'no violence', but we all know that these are, in political fact and in moral content, very different things, and some violent political actions are - shall we say - less unjustified than others". Other variations debate whether the maxim 'the end justifies the means' can pragmatically justify the use of political violence to overcome an obstacle that obstructs critical human progress, as Jefferson's earlier remarks on the American revolution may lead one to conclude.
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