The War for Muslim Minds: A History of 21 st century Islamic Extremism BCDS Senior Spring Elective 2009
May 10, 2015
The War for Muslim Minds:A History of 21st century Islamic Extremism
BCDS Senior Spring Elective 2009
The goals of this course
What do you know about Islam and Islamic
extremism?
Why you should study these issues? To be able to engage intellectually and critically in the discourse
on “Islam” To be able to answer/problematize questions like:
Why do “they” hate “us”? Is Islam inherently violent?
Syllabus
Grading Process (15%) Progress (15%) Performance (70%)
Process (15%) Class work Homework Study guide Meeting mile markers/pacing Collaboration/group work Taking responsibility
Progress (15%)
Improvement in writing Improvement in process and product Improvement in participation and leadership Meeting terms of expected growth
Performance/Product (70%)
Blog entries-20% Blog conversations-20%
http://islamicextremism.wordpress.com/ Weekly entries
Final Project/Essay-20% Projects/Presentations/Debates-20% Class Participation-20%
Texts
Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (2003), Gilles Kepel (GK)
Reader
The classPresentation on readings
You will be asked to read chapters from the book, and present them orally to the
class: Read pages and take notes Explain your reading to the class Do not paraphrase Use notes, and do not read Find questions to ask to the class about the reading Use paragraphs in book to explain your arguments Support your ideas with evidence from other readings Be prepared to answer questions from the class
Your presentation should be 7-10 minutes long.
Syllabus: Timeline of the rise of 21st century Islamic extremism
Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) disintegrates after World War 1Reader, AH pg. 207-225, 256-258
Colonization by Britain, France and RussiaReader, AH, pg. 263-264, 299-301
Decolonization after World War2
The rise of Arab nationalism 1950-60s
The failure of Arab Nationalism (late 1960s)
Islamism and its evolution into Islamic extremism •The failure of Arab nationalism and the
rise of the Muslim Brotherhood- (GK 23-32, 62-69)
•The rise of Saudi Arabia (GK 50-53, 69-75)•Iranian revolution 1979 and its legacy (GK 106-118, 118-136)•Jihad in Afghanistan (GK 136-150)•The Palestinian Israeli crisis (GK 150-158)•Gulf War and the Taliban’s Jihad (GK 205-217, 217-236)
•Pan-Arab nationalism and Nassirian politics (AH 340-349,397-400)•The ascendancy and failure of Nasirism (AH 407-415)
The rise of Islamic extremism
•The failure of Islamic revivalism•The birth of Islamic extremist groups and the ideology behind it (explain salafiyya, jihadi and takfir) •Hamas (GK 323-334)•Hezbollah (GK 123-130)•Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda (GK 313-322)•Conclusion (GK 361-376)-summit
The beginning of Islam andIslam todayJE, Introduction, pg 1-28
?
Where do we go from here?
Choose an issue that is related to this topic that you’re interested in
I will incorporate 2 issues with the most votes into the last part of our syllabus
Definitions (3-4 minutes) for tomorrow, March 3, 2009 Islam Muhammad Qur’an Sunni-Chris L Shi’a-Sam O’ Reilly Shari’a Jihad-Rachel D & Roland A Salafism Takfirism-Sam Freeman Islamism-Jon Z. Wahhabism Orientalism-Andrew G and Stephanie G Extremism- Terrorism- Cala F. Fundamentalism
Is extremism Islamic?
NO!!! Extremism exists in other religions too.
Rev. Paul J. Hill (1954-2003)
"If I am in fact killed, I think you could justifiably call me a martyr," Mr. Hill said. "Of course, the world sneers at martyrs, but there's no question that God has used people who are willing to die for their cause to save human life, and I'm certainly willing to do that."
Is extremism Islamic?"Contrary to popular belief, the highest value for a Jew is not the preservation of human or even of Jewish life. The highest value is doing what God wants you to do. So in an attempt to put Jewish values in a hierarchy, human life in general, Jewish life in particular, is high on the list. But it's not the top."
"There are a number of circumstances under which the individual is enjoined to take a Jewish life if necessary without consulting a court. If you see a person preparing to commit a capital crime -- rape or murder -- it is your duty to stop him. You must stop him any way you can. It's similar in some respects to the right Jewish law accords the individual to restore his own property from a thief if it is stolen. You don't have to bring him to court. If you can catch up with him, you can take your property back by force. You don't have to bother the court with stuff like that. Rabin was stealing Jewish property, proposing to give it away.
(Yoel Lerner)
Yigal Amir
Yitzhak Rabin(1922-1995)
Is this Islamic Extremism?
New York City, September 11 2001 Bali, Indonesia, October 12 2002
Madrid, March 11 2004 Attacks in Victoria Terminus, Mumbai, November 26-29, 2008
The Middle East/Arab Region
20% of Muslims live in the Middle East
30% of Muslims live in South Asia
15.6% of Muslims live in Indonesia
BCDS Survey Question:What do you identify Islam with?
The Middle East/Arab Region
Arabs are…All Arabs are
Muslims
BCDS Survey Questions
All Arabs speak
Arabic
Muslim populations in the world
Rank Country Muslim Population1 Indonesia 182,570,0002 Pakistan 134,480,0003 India 121,000,0004 Bangladesh 114,080,0005 Turkey 65,510,0006 Iran 62,430,0007 Egypt 58,630,0008 Nigeria 53,000,0009 Algeria 30,530,00010 Morocco 28,780,000
Source: CIA World Factbook
BCDS Survey:What is the most populous Muslimnation in the world?
Who practices Islam?
85 % Muslims are Sunni while the rest are Shia
Who practices Islam?
Indonesia
Malaysia
Who are Muslims?
Islam
What does it mean?
A strong commitment to God, attaining peace through commitment to God’s will
Who is a M/muslim?
One who practices the central tenets of Islam
One who has a strong commitment to God
Islam Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (570 CE-632 CE)
The last messenger of God
Islam is part of the monotheistic Abrahamic faith. Why?
They worship the God of Abraham as do Christians and Jews
What about the biblical prophets and stories?
Muslims recognize the biblical prophets and God’s revelation to Moses, Jesus, and Mary. They share the same stories from the Torah and the New Testament.
Islam
What is the Qur’an? Central religious text of Islam Cannot be seen as the “bible” of
the Muslims, but instead, it is the “Jesus” of the Muslims
God’s revelation to Mohammed through the angel, Jibril (Gabriel) from 610 CE- 632 CE
Arabic as the language of revelation
The five pillars of Islam Shahadah (Profession of faith)
Salat (Prayer)
Zakat (Almsgiving)
Sawm (during Ramadan)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
“There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God”
Nothing except God deserves to be worshipped
What is tawhid?
Muslims pray 5 times a day
Muslims are required to contribute2.5% of all liquid assets , not just annual income, to the poor, sick, or suffering
A time for physical and mental reflection Muslims refrain from food, drink and sexual activity fromdawn to dusk
Why Mecca?It is the birthplace of Muhammad and it was the place where Islam was first revealed
Islamic Caliphate
Ottoman Empire (1299-1923)
Hussein-McMahon correspondence, 1915-1916Between the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali and Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt. The British encouraged Sharif Hussein to revolt to distract the Ottoman Empire during WWI
In return, the British promised Sharif Hussein that he would have all areas liberated from the Ottoman Empire in the Arab region except:
"The two districts of Mersina and Alexandretta and portions of Syria lying to the west of the districts of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo cannot be said to be purely Arab, and should be excluded from the limits demanded."
Sykes-Picot Agreement, May 1916Between Great Britain, France and Russia
Balfour Declaration, 1917Between the British Cabinet and Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland
British government states supports the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.
However, "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.“
Treaty of Versailles, 1919
Stated that the Arab countries formally under Ottoman rule could be provisionally recognized as independent, subject to the rendering of assistance and advice by a state charged with the “mandate” for them
Britain-Iraq and Palestine
France- Syria and Lebanon
Creation of an independent Turkey
The Muslim Brotherhood
Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna (1906-1949)
It is the world’s largest and most influential Islamic political group
Called for the return to “original” Islam and that the Arab world today has been corrupted by Western influences
Was often in conflict with Nasser Attempted assassination of Nasser in
1954 led to full scale repression of MB
Sayyed Qutb (1906-1966) For Muslims, there are no gap between
faith and life The Qur’an and the Hadith provide the
principles on how one should live Redefined the Quranic term jahilliya
(pre-Islamic period of ignorance), jihad and ummah
Revolution from the bottom His works are widely read across the
Muslim world Important to recognize that he is not a
cleric
Middle East in the 1920s
Ottoman Empire disintegrates after WW1 Britain, France and Russia carve up the
Empire (1916 Sykes-Picot Arrangement)-oil interest
Britain controls the area of Palestine, France controls Lebanon and Syria
Ramifications of the carving up of the Middle East Lack of concern regarding the different
religions, tribal groups in each political boundary e.g. Lebanon, Iraq
Palestinian-Israeli crisis
Decolonization and the rise of Arab nationalism Creation of new nation states in the Middle
East Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970) of Egypt
Nasserism-Arab nationalism-pan Arab identity-modernization and industrialization of the Arab
world-espouses a secular ideology-Islam was marginalized during this period (God is
dead period)
The Failure of Arab Nationalism Lack of growth in the Middle East despite the
heavy investment Concentration of power and wealth among
the few Seen as corrupt and weak by the Arabs The Six Day War 1967
The rise of Islamism
A reaction to Arab nationalism Muslim Brotherhood-Sayyed Qutb Sayyid abu a’la Maududi
Islamic revivalism Petro-Islam Iranian Revolution 1979 Soviet-Afghanistan War (1978-1988) Palestinian-Israeli Crisis
Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi (1903-1979) Islamization from above
through politics Founded the Jamaat-e-Islami
as the vanguard of the Islamic Revolution
Petro-Islam: Saudi Arabia and Islam Practices the Wahhabi
interpretation of Islam Home of the two holiest sites of
Islam-Mecca and Medinah Uses its large financial
resources to fund global Islamic missionary activities (Why?)
The Iranian Revolution 1979
The revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, deposed the Shah of Iran and created an Islamic republic
Symbolized a victory against capitalist and imperialist forces
Became an inspiration for the Islamist movements around the world
Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988)
Soviet-Afghanistan War (1978-1988) The Soviet’s Vietnam War The largest US funded
covert operation in history ($600million per year)-aided by Pakistan (Zia ul-Haq) and Saudi Arabia
Drew mujahideens from all around the world
Map of the Middle East
Palestinian-Israeli Crisis
Yasser Arafat (1929-2004) founded the PLO in 1974
Fused Arab nationalism and Islamism with the Palestinian cause
The return of the Palestinian state coupled with the destruction of Israel has become one of Islamic extremism’s biggest goal
Islamic Extremism Today
Hezbollah Al-Qaeda Hamas
What triggers Islamic extremism today? US occupation of Iraq Palestinian-Israeli crisis Globalization and modernity