By Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Contributor for In Homeland Security
Islam in the Near East is passing through a cross-roads point in history. Either it conducts itself in way of peace and good works or it falls prey to the way of mass murder, torture and descends into the dark ages, where groups like the Islamic State or the Taliban control the people’s lives.
Just recently, during the Hajj, prominent Muslim clerics vocalized and elucidated this argument before their audiences in their sermons, demanding Muslims pursue peace and good works. Many recommend the way of right actions in light of the ‘pseudo’ Islamic State’s reign of terror; especially, those Muslim clerics in whose regimes are threatened by violence, instability and coup (e.g. Saudi Arabia). The problem is that those same oppressive states have and are force to accommodate the radical elements of Islam in order to pretend to be the guardians and preservers of the faith and prevent theocratic coups. Moreover, such state rulers must continue to gradually give the extremists what they want so they can stay in power while at the same time becoming more of an enemy to their own Muslim populations and to any true liberty and freedom in their realms. So they end up sponsoring international jihad but now they are trying to rally peace. How can this stick?
Identifying the root problem as doctrinal error such of: murder, mass murder, attacking civilians, rape, torture, sex trafficking, narcotics, terrorism and so forth, seems too basic of evils to have to explain as evil, but it has come to this in that part of the world. As of now, a socio-religious pacification effort becomes a critical necessity for all parties that want to shield their populations from the allure of international jihad and terrorists acts, in addition to Western nations. And it must become a repeated and sponsored necessity by the world in order to rally the makings of a substantial opposition to defend against the international jihadist movement. Even in those countries where they must now address ‘peace’ concepts and civility with emphasis, the states themselves have not yet abandoned all of the violent ways are evil. The message comes ‘too little too late.’
At any rate, this is the right path for Muslims and Muslims states—embracing and rallying behind a revolutionary peace movement rather than international call to rampant jihad. Is it a fantasy or could it be made pragmatic? Too much liberal hope is placed on some inevitability that states, and particularly those in Central Asia, will somehow evolve and attain peace on their own.
The barbaric practices of public executions must also be phased out over time and should not be expected to erode on their own. Iran’s recent execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari for allegedly murdering her rapist, Dr. Dr. Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi is a prime example, but these executions happen frequently in Arab states the West has good diplomatic relations as well. The Arabians still cut the hands off of thieves.
What could replace all the centuries of political Islamic violence and propel this region of the world into some civilization process? Is it possible to reverse brainwash the people if their own states get involved in the process? It may not be as simple as sprinkling fairy dust or casting a verbose spell but yes, anything is possible if you put your mind to it—even pacifying the Middle East, should that ever become a real priority. The trigger may not be so much a group like the Islamic State, but the movement for “an” Islamic State concept by jihadists that is worse than anything on the table right now. Sponsorship by foreign powers would mean the redirecting of massive economic assistance to a grand civilization and peace movement throughout the region rather than the reliance of security assistance funding.
Grass-roots peace-movements stationed within states of the Near East could be sponsored in coordination with these governments and given leniency as to their ideological and behavioral affairs. They would, for the foreseeable future, be mainly Muslim organizations that are run by peace activists of the faith. If there could be found any Muslim pacifists, anti-war and non-violent types in the region, those would be the key blessings in this pursuit.
Between the regional state government and foreign sponsorship, there may be enough potential to at least mitigate the violence doctrines and purge the extremists over the long-term (30-50 years?).
There needs to be the start of what appears like a grass-roots pacifist Muslim movement while at the same time the phase-out of the radical violent ways of thinking and groups. Engineering protestant movements might make matters worse initially. Sponsorship by state authorities and key religious figures, which was lacking before, is now on the horizon. But this religious support for a civil Islamic movement and perhaps reformation and protestant movement must be strong, patient, enduring and committed to morality and preaching peace doctrines in sincerity.
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