ISLAM HAS GONE THROUGH CHANGES SINCE THE DEATH OF ITS PROPHET, MOHAMED, 14-HUNDRED YEARS AGO -- INCLUDING WHAT WESTERN WRITERS CALL THE RISE OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM. IT HAS BEEN A WIDELY-DISCUSSED ISSUE SINCE THE 1979 ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN. THIS IS THE THIRD OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ON ISLAM IN AFRICA, ABOUT THE DEBATE SURROUNDING THE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST MOVEMENT.THE TERM -- FUNDAMENTALISM -- WAS ORIGINALLY USED MORE THAN 100-YEARS AGO IN AMERICA TO REFER TO PROTESTANTS COMMITTED TO A LITERAL READING OF THE BIBLE. IN RECENT YEARS, IT HAS LENT ITSELF TO DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS AND APPLICATIONS.
WESTERN MEDIA TEND TO ASSOCIATE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM WITH THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION, AND SEE IT AS A MOVEMENT OF FANATICS BENT ON HARMING WESTERN INTERESTS. IT IS PERCEIVED BY SOME AS A MILITANT MOVEMENT AIMED AT OVERTHROWING SECULAR GOVERNMENTS AND UNITING THE MUSLIM WORLD UNDER ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS LAWS.
MANY MUSLIMS REJECT THE FUNDAMENTALIST LABEL, SAYING IT HAS CREATED A WRONG IMPRESSION ISLAM IS A VIOLENT RELIGION. THEY SAY ISLAM STRESSES JUSTICE AND PEACE. AFRICAN SCHOLAR ALI MAZRUI IS A PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS AT STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BINGHAMTON. HE SAYS THE WORD FUNDAMENTALISM IS BEING MISINTERPRETED.
IT IS A MUCH ABUSED TERM. IT IS USED LOOSELY, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO POLITICIZED ISLAM -- ISLAM WHICH IS POLITICALLY MILITANT -- AND PEOPLE CALL IT ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM. OF COURSE VERY CONSERVATIVE MUSLIM GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE GREAT FRIENDS OF THE WEST, INCLUDING SAUDI ARABIA, ARE NOT CALLED FUNDAMENTALISTS BY WESTERN PRESS, EVEN IF THEY ARE VERY RELIGIOUS. FUNDAMENTALISM IS A POLITICAL TERM IMPLYING SOMETHING FANATICAL, WHICH IS A PITY BECAUSE ORIGINALLY IT COULD SIMPLY HAVE IMPLIED GOING BACK TO ROOTS [FOR] PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF ISLAM. SO I HAVE NO DIFFICULTY WITH USING A TERM LIKE ISLAMIC MILITANCY FOR THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE VERY MILITANT.
PROFESSOR MAZRUI CITES THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN ALGERIA AND ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT AS EXAMPLES OF ISLAMIC MILITANTS.
OTHERS SAY MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS REGARD ISLAM AS COVERING ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE, AND DENYING THE VALIDITY OF SECULARISM -- THE SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND STATE. THEY SAY FUNDAMENTALISTS CAN BE CHARACTERIZED IN THEIR AGGRESSIVE ATTEMPT TO USE THE STATE TO IMPLEMENT THEIR IDEAS. IN THIS REGARD, THEY SEE A RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS AND MARXISTS.
PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN POLITICS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY, SULEIMAN NYANG, IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN IDENTITY". HE DRAWS A PARALLEL BETWEEN MARXISTS AND THOSE CALLED ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS.
SO MUSLIMS SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR DESTINIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN VALUES, AND OF COURSE THEY SEE THE STATE AS A CENTRAL INSTRUMENT TO BE IN THE HAND. IN THIS CASE REALLY, WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING IT, MANY OF THESE PEOPLE (FUNDAMENTALISTS) FARE WITH MARXISTS IN THE FACT THAT HISTORY HAS BEEN VERY MUCH CONTROLLED, NOT BY CLASS STRUGGLE IN THEIR VIEW, BUT BY THE STATE AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THE STATE IS USED AS AN INSTRUMENT OF AN IDEOLOGUE.
SUDAN'S SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, HASSAN AL TURABI, SAYS HE REGARDS SUCH AN ARGUMENT AS A DISTORTION. HE INTERPRETS FUNDAMENTALISM AS AN ISLAMIC REVIVAL THAT OFFERS MUSLIMS A SENSE OF IDENTITY AND HIGHER VALUES. HE SAYS UNLIKE MARXISM THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL MANIFESTS ITSELF PEACEFULLY.
ISLAMIC REVIVAL ONLY MEANS TOTAL SUBMISSION TO GOD. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE STATE IS THE ONLY FORCE THAT DETERMINES HISTORY OR MOVES IT. ISLAM DOES NOT BELIEVE IN IMPOSING FROM ABOVE. THE COMMUNIST PARTY ON BEHALF OF THE PROLETARIAT TAKING POWER BY FORCE. ISLAM ACTUALLY SPREADS VOLUNTARILY, FREELY THROUGH THE MASSES AND EXPRESSES ITSELF UPWARD INTO GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY, ART, CULTURE, HUMAN RELATIONS, ACROSS EVEN BORDERS OF RELIGIONS AND CULTURES.
MR. AL-TURABI SAYS THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL IS BASED ON THE RELIGION'S HOLY BOOK, THE KORAN, WHICH HE SAYS PEOPLE OBEY OUT OF BELIEF, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE ENFORCED BY GOVERNMENTS.
BUT SOME MUSLIM SCHOLARS SAY THE KORAN DOES NOT DEAL GREATLY WITH MATTERS OF GOVERNMENT. PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE IN STANISLAUS, ASAD ABUKALIL, AGREES THE SUBJECT IS NOT BROADLY COVERED.
VERY LITTLE. I HAVE COME TO KORAN AND ISLAMIC SOURCES. YOU WILL FIND YOU ARE LOOKING IN VAIN FOR A RECIPE OF POLITICAL GOVERNMENT IN THE KORAN. YOU WILL FIND SCATTERED REFERENCES TO NOTIONS SUCH AS, LET THEM CONSULT AMONG THEMSELVES, THEY SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT AMONG THEMSELVES, CONSULTATION IS RECOMMENDED. YOU WILL FIND OTHER REFERENCES TO THAT THERE IS NO RULE EXCEPT THE RULE OF GOD. HOWEVER THE WORDS THAT ARE USED DID NOT HAVE THE SAME CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICAL CONNOTATIONS OF THE DAY. SO ISLAM REALLY LEFT THAT POLITICAL MODEL OPEN FOR MUSLIMS THEMSELVES TO DEVISE. SO THIS FLEXIBILITY, IN FACT, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPREAD OF THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM IN PLACES LIKE THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA.
OTHERS CONTEND MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS WANT TO ANSWER ALL PROBLEMS WITH THE PHRASE -- ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION -- A SLOGAN THEY SAY CAN BE ACHIEVED BY EVERYTHING FROM PEACEFUL ACTIVISM TO SUICIDE BOMBINGS. THE SPOKESMAN FOR EGYPT'S MAIN ISLAMIC GROUP -- THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD -- SAYS MUSLIMS CAN ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS PEACEFULLY THROUGH ISLAM.
WE BELIEVE IN ISLAM. PART OF IT HAS WHAT WE CALL THE SHARIA -- SOME LAWS THAT ORGANIZE OUR SOCIETY, OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM, OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. WE MUST APPLY ALL THESE (TO OUR LIFE) BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT PARTS OF OUR RELIGION, ISLAM. ONLY THE HOLY KORAN GIVES US THE IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES -- HOW TO LIVE, HOW TO ORGANIZE EVERYTHING IN OUR LIFE IS FROM GOD. AND WE MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN THIS AND THAT IS WHY THEY SAY ISLAM IS THE IMPORTANT SOLUTION, AND WE MUST APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM TO OUR LIFE.
OTHERS CONSIDER THE SLOGAN -- ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION -- A MYTH DESIGNED TO ATTRACT MASS SUPPORT. THEY SAY SUDAN HAS DEMONSTRATED ISLAM CANNOT PROVIDE ALL THE ANSWERS FOR THAT COUNTRY'S PROBLEMS. THEY SAY IT DID NOT PAY SUDAN'S FOREIGN DEBTS, BUILD ITS INFRASTRUCTURE, SOLVE ITS POLITICAL PROBLEMS, OR FEED ITS HUNGRY.
BUT SUDAN'S SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, HASSAN AL-TURABI, SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH ITS ISLAMIST PROGRAM.
BUT THE SUDAN, NOW EVOLVING ISLAMIC, IS DEFINITELY SETTLING ITS PROBLEMS. IN THE SOUTH, THE MUSLIM TRENDS (HAVE) DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER, FEDERATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS, A MAJOR REGIONAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT. WE HAD FORMAL INDEPENDENCE LONG AGO, BUT NOW WE ARE ASSERTING OUR REAL INDEPENDENCE. THE COUNTRY IS BECOMING MORE UNITED, DEMOCRACY IS NOW BEING INCULCATED INTO OUR SPIRIT, NOT JUST IN FORM. WE WERE SOCIALISTS BUT NOW WE ARE LIBERATING THE ECONOMY. MONOPOLY OF RELIGION AND APPROACH TO GOD IS NOW BEING COMPLETELY LIBERATED SO THERE IS A DEMOCRATIZATION OF A RELIGION. SO THERE IS SOME PROGRESS.
BY MOST ACCOUNTS, SUDAN HAS NUMEROUS PROBLEMS. POLITICALLY, THE COUNTRY IS ISOLATED MORE THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF ITS POOR HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS AND ITS ALLEGED SUPPORT FOR TERRORISTS. ITS 13-YEAR-OLD WAR AGAINST THE MAINLY CHRISTIAN AND ANIMIST REBELS IN THE SOUTH HAS CLAIMED ABOUT ONE-MILLION LIVES AND DESTROYED THE REGION'S INFRASTRUCTURE. MILLIONS IN THE AREA HAVE BEEN DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES BY THE FIGHTING.
NEVERTHELESS, SOME SUDAN WATCHERS SAY THEY SEE POSITIVE TRENDS ON THE ECONOMIC FRONT. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR ISLAM-CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON D-C IS JOHN VOLL
THERE ARE CERTAIN DIMENSIONS OF LIFE IN THE SUDAN THAT ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY WERE AND THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS MORE PER-CAPITA ELECTRICITY PRODUCED NOW THAN THERE WAS BEFORE. THERE HAS NOT BEEN A MAJOR FOOD SHORTAGE, AT LEAST IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES, FOR SOMETIME. THERE DOES SEEM TO BE SOME PROGRESS IN MOVING TOWARDS OIL PRODUCTION, DEVELOPING THE OIL RESOURCES IN THE SOUTHERN-CENTRAL REGION. I THINK WHERE THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED MOST STRONGLY IS IN CREATING A BROADER SENSE OF NATIONAL UNITY. YOU HAVE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REGIONAL DISCONTENTS. IT IS NOT JUST SIMPLY NORTH-SOUTH WAR.
AS THE DEBATE OVER THE CHARACTER AND GOALS OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM CONTINUES, THERE APPEARS TO BE A STEADY RISE IN THE NUMBER OF ISLAMIC GROUPS IN AFRICA. SOME, CONSIDERED FUNDAMENTALISTS, HAVE GROWN TO CHALLENGE LONG-STANDING SECULAR GOVERNMENTS IN NORTH AFRICA, AND OTHERS ARE GRADUALLY EMERGING. MORE ABOUT THIS, IN THE NEXT PART OF OUR SERIES ON ISLAM IN AFRICA.
01-Apr-97
Source: Voice of America