I am highly skeptical that the recent peace conference to Promote Peace in Muslim Societies and combat ‘Islamic Extremism’ held in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, will have any real impact on the ground amongst those to whom it should matter. Adding to the bad timing of the conference itself, is the atmosphere of suspicion and contempt for Muslim scholarship amongst the liberalised Muslim youth. Furthermore, the absence any credible alternative revolutionary voices and forces (such as once held by socialist and Marxists movements) that can rationalise a process of change for a ’lost generation’ (both Muslim and non-Muslim), this recent attempt to claw back some respectability for Muslim scholarship will have little effect in promoting peace. Why?

My contention here in this article that the real problems of radicalism, extremism and of “terrorism” — and I have raised four fingers to that — lies at the heart of institutionalised corruption and the absence of a political culture that allows for dialogue and civic participation in a peaceful process to air grievances and to engender social change in Muslim societies. The same can be said, to some extent of the Muslim diasporas in non-Muslim societies.

We have seen that some of the factors which gave rise to the Arab Spring uprisings and thereafter for instance, proponents of the ‘occupy movements’ in some Western liberal democratic countries and which is now seen in some developing Latin American economies that arguable understood social depravation and dependancy, such as Brazil and Venezuela that mass protests and challenge to the state can be attributed to economic alienation and social isolation of disenfranchised groups. The dissent witnessed from a generation who have been brought up to trust the wisdom of a free market economy and ‘freedom’ as espoused by liberal democratic societies now feel betrayed by banking and socio-economic institutions favouring the rich and wealthy at the expense of poor. What has made this scenario worse in the western world is that those who bought into the middle class franchise of owning property, sending their children to university and reaping the fruits of a pension their old age are also disenfranchised from attaining their dreams. Moreover, such a future is now seen remote for younger generations.

These problems and concerns are now shared by an internet generation whose only avenue of initially voicing their dissent and protest is Twitter and Facebook before finding common cause on the streets of their capitals. Islamists are no different from those who fit that profile. What distinguishes ‘Islamists’ from their compatriots in other countries is that they have had a lot of time to ferment their dissent into a view of the world and modus-operand drawn from a romanticised past. Unlike those from the West, Muslim populations in many of the Arab spring countries have been disenfranchised a decade ago and have seen those scholarly officials who spoke on behalf of God and the State as stooges of dictators and part of the problem hindering political justice and real social change. In some cases religious scholarship have given ground to a multitude in Muslim societies who now believe the famous Marxist saying that ‘Religion is the opium of the masses.’ As a result the only scholarship and scholars that the religiously educated and uneducated masses respected were those who have suffered at the hands of their governments and have died or martyred for the cause of Islam. It is their worldview that they tended to turn to liberate them from the oppressors of the world. Jihaad became the ‘liberation theory’ of the Muslim middle east from internal enemies and external colonisers, Umar Mukhtaar of Libya, Muhammad Ahmad aka al-Mahdi of Sudan, Hasan Al-Banna (the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood) and later his protégée Syed Qutb and all of those personalities who are littered across islamic history to have been involved in some struggle against occupiers and corrupt leaders. Are you seriously going to reinterpret all of the works of Ibn Tayimmiyah and Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab so Sunnis worldwide will not resort to hatred and violence? Or are you going to convince Shias that their narrative of the oppression of Ali, the nephew of the Holy Prophet, al-Husayn (ra) or the Ahlu-Bayt is no longer relevant and that Ayaatullah Khomeni and his ilk should no longer been seen as liberators and defenders of the Shiaism? The answers to these questions are obvious. Those scholars and many more provided a language and discourse of dissent within the overreaching worldview of Islam. They have done more than contemporary Muslim scholarship and political leaders have failed to do, which is to provide some sort a discourse in the absence of transparent political processes to channel dissent and to act upon the needs and grievances of the masses. Not to mention that inclusive systems of protest and dissent have been elitist and tribal from the earliest Muslim political rule.

To be honest the absence of political processes for civic participation by the masses, and I mean by this, the lack of strong localised governmental institutions and bodies that listen to community concerns and problems and its ability to mobilise people to take an active role in solving their problems is a major contributing factor towards the dismal social and political crisis facing the Muslim world. If these processes exists they are controlled by influential educated lobbying groups that see themselves as the voice of the dispossessed or the manner in which these offices are selected/elected are obscure to the masses.

In fact, the problems are both in the East and West, but more so in the Muslim world, because of the absence of real communities empowered to look after their immediate needs and the building of socially cohesive and inclusive neighbourhoods. The Shisha bars and in some cases social clubs have replaced mosques as the places where the birth, religious and family occasions are celebrated. One can pray in a mosque for a long time and not get to know the person praying next to you out of fear of knowing the wrong person. Hence, when friendships are eventually forged they tend to be by those of like minds leaving little room for intellectual dissent, debate and discussion. The fear of speaking what one thinks dominates the public space so when anger and disapproval is vented it erupts into an uncontrollable force of emotion. The absence of political processes albeit Education for debate and dialogue produces in people the inability to listen to each other. Whereas, opportunities for engendering dialogue exists in the education system of many western societies — though often in the best schools — it contributes towards social understanding and cohesion.

Religious and political leaders who today are calling for tolerance and at the same time a war on extremists are themselves a great part of the problem. Their messages are mixed and so the insincerity in their tone as well as their actions elsewhere seeking their political interests lay them bare to the criticisms of the common masses. They are also largely out-of-touch with the concerns and grievances of their populations. Moreover, they are not allowed to speak about matters political, economical or offer social commentary that shed insight on community and global issues and problems without double entendre. This is primarily so, because they are either too close to political leadership and power or not part of the consultant institutions that advise political leadership and negotiate and moderate — seemingly sincerely — between the State and its citizenry.

It is high time that Muslim nations as well as non-Muslim ones revisit the idea of the ‘Social Contract’ between themselves and those constituents they represent. I find it difficult to understand how one could become a leader over a population and their people go to bed hungry, sleep on streets or are not given the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty. Why then should people be not inspired by those leaders who put themselves last on the list and not before the aspirations and needs of their people. Abu Bakr (ra) the first Muslim caliph understood this when in his inauguration speech: “O People! I have been put in authority over you and I am not the best of you. So if I do the right thing then help me and if I do wrong then put me straight. Truthfulness is a sacred trust and lying is a betrayal. The weak amongst you is strong in my sight. I will surely try to remove his pain and suffering. And the strong amongst you is weak to me I will — Allah willing — realise the right from him fully. When obscene things spread among any nation, calamities generally continued to descend upon them. As long as I obey Allah and His messenger, you should obey me, and if I do not obey Allah and His messenger, then obedience to me is not incumbent upon you. (Now prepare for prayer).” Why would not people be inspired by the civil-disobedience of the Mahatmah Ghandies against British injustice and Nelson Mandela sacrifices in the name of peace and equity? Stop selling the masses pipe-dreams they are much more enlightened than we want to acknowledge. People no longer want hierarchical structures of leadership. They want participatory and shared rights and responsibilities in shaping their lives and destiny. Words like extremism, terrorism and radicalisation are all value laden, unhelpful, and mean different things to both oppressors and the oppressed. If peace is to become a reality, Muslim scholars and leaders must be seen where they are needed the most, that is, amongst the weak and disadvantaged. That is the spirit of religion is it not? The call in the recent Abu Dhabi Islamic conference for ‘Peace Teams’ what does it mean? A group of clerics convincing the oppressed to be patient and pray harder? Call instead for volunteers to elevate people from poverty and established community centres and groups that empower people to develop and look after their environments. I can bet you that volunteers from all of the Muslim world and the world of Islam will harken to such a call just as they beckoned to give their lives for others in war torn countries. Give people back their dignity, humanity and hope in a better world to come. Get off your high-chair and let’s fight extremism together!

Malick Elias