Martin SMEDJEBACK
Review of Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam:
Theory and Practice by Mohammed Abu-Nimer
Today we live in a multicultural world with many religions existing side by side. But still there are many of us Christians who have never met Muslims. The only thing we hear about Islam is on the news and most times it is connected with violence. It is not strange that even peace loving persons have an idea of Islam as a violent religion.
Here is a book that might change your view that. The book is highly recommended for the one who wants to get a clearer view on Islam and peace.
The book both provides a theoretical framework as well as a practical one. In the theoretical part Abu-Nimer starts with an overview of the many studies done on just war and Islam. It is clear that there is a school of thought in Islam that justifies acts of war and the use of force under certain strict conditions. They who support war often point out the Quran verse: "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah does not love transgressors." (2:190). Jihad was subsequently applied to religious war but was never used in the Quran in such a sense. The Quran says: "Let there be no compulsion in religion." Jihad should above all be understood as a struggle for the individual Muslim to become a better Muslim.
A number of passages in the Quran seem to provide explicit justification for the use of war or fighting unbelievers, and deciding whether the Quran actually condones offensive war for faith or only for offensive war is really left to judgment of the exegete, according to Abi-Nimer. Compare to the Bible which supports genocide in some texts. This seldom means that Church leaders support genocide.
What ABU-NIMER mainly objects to is that too little research has been focused on the other side of Islam - namely the traditions and teachings of nonviolence and peace building in Islam. It turns out that both the Quran and the traditions of Muslim societies harbour treasures of nonviolence and techniques for resolving conflicts.
The word `Islam' is itself defined as the "making of peace." The Prophet says: "Break your bows, sever your strings, beat stones on your swords" (to break the blades). Peace (salam) in Islam means not merely an absence of war, but also the elimination of the grounds for conflict and the waste and corruption it creates. Peace is God's true purpose for humanity. The Quran also affirms the sacredness of human life: "And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."
There are countless stories on how the Prophet Mohammed acted as an arbitrator when two parties were in conflict which shows that third-party intervention is an acceptable option to end fighting in Islam. During the Meccan period of the Prophets life (610-622 C.E) the Prophet showed no inclination towards the use of force in any form, even for self-defense. He practiced a nonviolent resistance that was reflected in all his teachings during that period, when Muslims were a minority and under threat. Although tortured, accused of blasphemy, humiliated, ostracized, the he permitted himself neither violence nor even swearing. The Prophet always prayed when he was persecuted during the Mecca Period, saying, "Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do". Something we Christians have no problem recognizing! Some of the Prophet's followers asked him to invoke the wrath of God upon the Meccans because of their persecution of Muslims. His reply to them was: "I have not been sent to curse anyone but to be a source of rahmah (compassion and mercy)."
Justice is the ultimate goal of Islamic religious teachings. It can be argued that pursuing justice and peace through nonviolent strategies is the more viable and effective method for achieving it. Except for the existence of one God, no other religious moral principles are more emphasized in the Quran and the traditions than the principles of justice, uprightness, equity and temperance. The notion that peace cannot be achieved without justice is echoed in the works of numerous peace-building researchers and activists.
It is also supported by the Quran: "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the last day, and the Angels and the Book and the Messengers; to spend your substance, out of love for him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves." ( 2:177)
There are a few new Islamic scholars that have begun to study the connection between Islam and nonviolence. One that Abu-Nimer mentions is Satha-Anand. He argues that even if Islam once accepted violence as a way of defense it is today forbidden because of the modern technology of war that has been invented. Since Muslims are forbidden to kill civilians and since modern weapons can't generally distinguish between soldier and civilian it means that Muslims should not use violence. But Muslims are not allowed to be passive either when they face injustice, so therefore they should use nonviolence as a way to resist injustice.
So there seems to be a good foundation for a nonviolent struggle in Islam. Has this been practiced by Muslims? It leads us to the practical part of the book. Abu-Nimer shows us examples of different nonviolent campaigns in Muslim communities: the mass protests against the British in Egypt in 1919, the revolt of Muslims of Peshawar Pathans in Pakistan 1930; the Palestinian general strike of 1936; the 1948 Iraqi upraising; the Iran Revolution of 1978-79; the Golan Druze resistance movement in 1981-82; the activities in defense of al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem since the 1970s; the Sudanese insurrection of 1985 and the first Palestinian Intifada, which began 1987.
The most famous Muslim nonviolence resister in modern time would be Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his "Army of God", consisting of people from the Pashtun-people who used to be known as feared warriors. It was a nonviolence movement of about 100 000 people who struggled nonviolently for twenty years against the British occupation in what is today Pakistan. Khan said: "There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pashtun subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time he was in Mecca, and it has since been followed by all those who wanted to throw off an oppressor's yoke. But we had...forgotten it." When recruited the "Servants of God" had to sign a ten-point pledge in which they swore to serve God and to live by nonviolent principles.
Although Abu-Nimer wants to show the world the good examples of nonviolence in Muslim communities he is also critical that there are not more efforts of peace building and nonviolence from the Arab world. The obstacles according to him are lack of creativity from the leadership, patriarchal social structures, extensive authoritarian control systems and a lack of critical self-examination. There are also different myths in the Islamic world that Abu-Nimer sees as obstacles to peace building. One widespread myth in the Middle East is that violence can eliminate conflicts. "What was taken by force can only be returned with force" is an old Arabic saying. Another myth is that nonviolence is not an effective method. Abu-Nimer mentions that one antidote to this myths can be to remind Muslims of the considerable experience the Prophet in waging nonviolent campaigns against his oppressors.
Even if Islam contains plenty of nonviolence principles, these thoughts and words can still be seen as something "Western" for many Muslims in the Arab world. There are also obstacles to pass because of differences in culture if people from the West come to these countries to train in nonviolence. He also points out that western conflict resolution methods would often not be effective in settling disputes in Muslim communities since there is often a fear that some of their indigenous values and norms might not only be violated but also entirely undermined. Knowing about all these differences and obstacles should increase significantly the chances of succeeding in training of nonviolence and conflict resolution were participants come from both Arabic and Western countries alike.
In the last part of the book Abu-Nimer makes a case study of the nonviolence during the first Intifada (uprising) in Palestine. Abu-Nimer shows convincingly that although the Palestinian Intifada is known for its violence it was really dominated by a massive and impressive nonviolent campaign. He is not saying that the Intifada was an islamic movement, because it was foremost a Palestinian struggle, Muslims and Christians side by side. But like the civil rights movement in the USA the religious institutions played a large part. The Palestinians gathered for political meetings in mosques and churches. The loudspeakers in the mosques were used to direct demonstrators or to encourage them in their efforts. Abu-Nimer argues that if it wasn't for their religion they wouldn't have been able to preserve their humanity and their patience. He shows it with the example of an Israeli soldier in Hebron being protected by an Arab family.
The martyr plays a big role in the Intifada. I saw this myself when I was one among thousands who demonstrated in Palestine last year. Many mothers and fathers had pictures with them of their loved ones who had been killed in the struggle. Yes, some thinks that by blowing themselves up will bring them to heaven, but Abu-Nimer shows that the thinking about martyrdom varies a lot between different Palestinians. Everybody sees them as a witness to the Palestinian struggle, but whether the shahid (martyr) went to heaven was "a matter for God to decide." This attitude has the very practical effect of religious tolerance and political flexibility. It does not judge the outcome for a Christian Palestinian who died in the struggle. It allows religious Muslims to honor them equally. Before the Intifada, a primary symbol in the occupation was the armed guerilla. Now, in place of this symbol of heroic armed aggression stood a symbol of innocent suffering.
Although it has to be said that the posters of martyrs in Palestine almost always contains weapons. I can testify myself that even if unarmed children have been made into martyrs they are often pictured with weapons in the posters.
In conclusion Abu-Nimer says that Islam can both reinforce violence and nonviolence, and has done both in history. Much like Christianity I would say. Islam has not developed an explicit ideology of nonviolence and Muslims have done little preaching or teaching about nonviolence as a way of life, but the roots and the traditions are all in place creating a fertile ground for nonviolence.
Abu-Nimers wish is clear with one of his last statements in the book: "Every religion can foster either violence or nonviolence. It is the responsibility of those who follow a particular faith to cull these resources for nonviolence from their religious scriptures."
"Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam" has helped me tremendously in understanding the tradition of nonviolence and conflict resolution in Islam and Abu-Nimer is to be thanked for this. I can recommend it to anyone interested in religion and peace issues.
Religion is a mighty power. Our future could depend on us treating it right. This book (published in Florida in 2003) gives us tools and knowledge to make Islam a powerful force for peace in cooperation with other peace loving religions in the world.
Martin SMEDJEBACK is former president of the SCM Sweden. He is currently working as the secretary of nonviolence of SweFOR, Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation, at their office in Stockholm. His email address is martin.smedjeback@krf.se. 2002 he co-wrote Nonviolence in Israel and Palestine (in Swedish).
Mohammed Abu-Nimer is associate professor at the International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program, American University, Washington D.C. He has been conducting workshops in conflict resolution since 1982 in numerous countries.
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