Seeking a Commander-in-Chief for True Islam

I wonder if an ad went up on some websites on May 1, seeking applicants for a new commander-in-chief for al Qaeda? Trust me. Al Qaeda Inc. is not going to allow a leadership vacuum to develop -- no matter how decentralized their operations become and how many terror franchises they open.

It's a stark reality: Bin laden is dead, but his ideology is not. And inspirational leadership is the best catalyst for ideologies to thrive.

Today, the Islamic world is facing a hard choice: follow the militant ideology or revert to our roots of peaceful Islam? Choose militant figures or follow spiritual leaders? It's like a billion investors looking at their portfolios and wondering: Where shall I invest my savings? The Corporation of Somali Pirates or Apple Inc.?

If al Qaeda wants to keep selling the shares for Corporation of Somali Pirates, they better fill their top spot soon.

So let's imagine what an online ad from al Qaeda might look like:

"Seeking a new commander-in-chief for a multinational network of dedicated workers. Candidate must be fluent in the Salafi version of Jihad. Ten years of field experience is desirable (but could be waived for US citizens). Ability to work under stress and under cover is critical. Must be willing to relocate and travel. Interested applicants can call 1-800-TERROR1 for further instructions."

As a side note, who were we trying to help by dropping bin Laden's corpse in the Arabian Sea, spilling champagne in the American streets and chanting jubilantly, "USA, USA"? That was a free recruitment ad for al Qaeda right there.

Not to forget the declaration of Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an Indonesian radical group: "If it's true Osama bin Laden is dead, then he died a martyr. He fought for Islam and he fought for the lands colonized by America."

Like all top jobs, it is plausible that someone from within had already been promoted. Rest assured. Al Qaeda Inc. has a new leader by now.

But where is the inspirational leader of peaceful Islam? Someone who can reciprocate to the President's call of "United States is, and will never be, at war with Islam" with "Islam is, and will never be, at war with the United States"?

No matter how many Muslims keep rejecting the notion of violence, the ideology of peaceful Islam will remain in tatters in the absence of a commander-in-chief.

So if we were to float an online ad, seeking a candidate to lead the true, peaceful Islam, what credentials would be required? Consider my first draft:

Seeking a commander-in-chief for true Islam. The candidate must demonstrate a long track record of rejecting extremism, empowering women, allowing freedom of expression, promoting education and providing spiritual guidance to mankind. Belief in separation of church and state is necessary so candidates seeking governmental control need not apply. Prior experience in leading a multinational Islamic group is a plus.

While many Muslim leaders have jumped on the post-9/11 bandwagon of "peace," one would be hard pressed to find a group with a track record of practicing such views, say for over a hundred years. Twentieth-century Islam has largely seen militant Islamic organizations coming to the forefront, whether it was Maudoodi in the sub-continent, Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab States or the ever-spreading Saudi/Wahabi movement.

Ironically, one group meeting the above criteria, Ahmadiyya Muslims, is bitterly persecuted by the same ideology of militancy and hatred that attacks America.

Since the President rightly claimed, "America can do whatever we set our minds to. That is the story of our history," we must set our minds to finding and empowering a peaceful universal leadership within Islam. The world must float the ad, seeking a commander-in-chief for true Islam.

God willing, we can fill the position internally.

Faheem Younus is an adjunct faculty member for religion/history at the Community Colleges of Baltimore County and a clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland.

 

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Comments

[Abdul-Halim Vazquez]

12:07 AM on 05/17/2011

I realize that the Ahmadiyya have suffered at the hands of other Muslims but sectarianism on the part of Ahamdiyya isn, acting as if they were the only representatives of "true Islam" isn't helpful either. The majority of Muslims who don't happen to believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed was the second coming of Christ and the Mahdi can still be good people who make positive contributions to society.

[Zubair Ahmed Hayat]

07:47 PM on 05/11/2011

I agree with the comments in this thought-provoking article. As a member of the Ahmadiyya Community I understand fully that "violence begets violence and peace enables peace" therefore we should retaliate to such hateful people or organisations. We should not stand in the streets taunting any person or nation, that does not enable peace, that only creates boundaries of ignorance and intolerance between nations, races and civilisations.

In this global village or global community the boundaries are slowly being broken down and replaced by tolerant loving people. The only way that we can fight or oppose terrorism and hatred is to show peace in our words and actions therefore giving the message of peace wherever we go.

We can only reform ourselves and let God reform others, today there are only a minority of men actively promoting peace and the rest of humanity has a "couldn't care less" attitude. This is slowly changing and the work the Ahmadiyya Community does for global Peace is astounding. We take every breath and walk every step keeping our motto in mind: Love for All Hatred for None. There is no better way to put it.

Read by blog at: www.ahmadiyya-post.blogspot.com

[SarahRuth23]

02:38 PM on 05/06/2011

The person who fulfills Islam and rids it of misguided, radical militants is the same person who fulfills Judaism and Christianity and rids them of misguided, radical militants.

He doesn't do it as a warrior, though. He does it as a peacemaker, issuing the needed and prophesied judgment that renders hypocrites contrite of spirit, and humbled in the face of truth.

He tells us that the Qur'an makes it very clear that Islam does not cancel out the messages of previous prophets such as Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, David, Solomon, Enoch, and Jesus. And the Qur'an commands Muslims to be courteous to Jews and Christians because they "all believe in the same God" (29:46).

The Qur’an 2:136136 instructs Muslims to believe in God and that which is was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received.

The Qur'an condemns violence and aggression, and holds that killing is always a great evil (2:190 and 2:217). It does permit a war of self-defense to fight foreign invasion and persecution, but one of Muhammad's main purposes was to stop indiscriminate killing.

The Qur'an says it is a meritorious act to "be charitable and to refrain from retaliation." (5:45) It is very similar to the teaching of Jesus, which advises us to "turn the other cheek" rather than retaliate by striking back.

The above was excerpted from an article title About Islam, at http://messenger.cjcmp.org/aboutislam.html

[Zain al abideen]

11:47 PM on 05/06/2011

SarahRuth23, please consider the role Afghanistan and the religious extremists there have played in practicing and spreading terrorism while reading the quote below.

Referring to the misunderstanding of the concept of Jihad in Islam, the person whom you described in your first three paragraphs, writes over ***a hundred years ago***: One solution (to this problem: erroneous interpretation of Islamic Jihad) is that the Amir (ruler) of Kabul (Afghanistan) should gather the great scholars of religion and convene a discussion on the true nature of (Islamic) Jihad. These religious scholars should then educate the public about its errors. The passions instilled by the ignorant maulvis (Islamic extremists (of a 100 years ago)] will gradually subside. ***The Amir’s (Afghanistan’s) citizens will surely suffer if he fails to pay heed to this essential reform***…these days, such maulvis readily label people disbelievers over minor religious differences…A group that has the power to declare a person a believer or a disbeliever is dangerous, and the Amir should not be complacent with respect to them. ***They are the source of rebellion confronted by every government.*** They have power over the common people and (can) create havoc by turning them in whatever direction they phase.

Remember, this was written over a hundred years ago (by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community).

The above quote is taken from ***British Government and Jihad*** available for view at http://www.alislam.org/library/browse/volume/Ruhani_Khazain/book/Government_Angrezi_Aur_Jihad/?l=English#page/3/mode/1up

[SarahRuth23]

04:17 PM on 05/07/2011

Yes, thank you for bringing that up. It is true that many people have construed their religion in certain ways to justify themselves. And it's certainly not just Muslim zealots. There have been and are Jewish zealots and Christian zealots who also justify their pride and militancy by clinging to certain isolated words in their scriptures.

Fortunately, when we take the Toraha, Tanach, Bible and Qur'an in their full context, we can see the universal truths that are there as well.

[patchesowl]

02:12 AM on 05/09/2011

It cannot be that a just God would favor people being passive to their detriment, injury or death without extending to them the right to defend against their attacker. Such premission was granted to Muhammad by God on several occasions. Has it been Christian or Judaism's Charity which caused the Palestinians to have been pushed from their ancestral lands? It was certainly not God who ordained this but mortal men with political and military power. Did God ordain that Britain, France and the U.S. should set about in the Middle East, Africa and other far flung places to colonize people and subjugate them for profits of gold and silver? Was it God who Ordained that various elected government principles around the world should be deposed that their nations wealth could be collected, denied them and sold for profit to others who were unknown the any of them? God had nothing whatever to do with these acts, even though those engaging invoked his name and even openly stated they were doing their deeds with his blessings. There has been more deaths attributable to colonial demarcation lines drawn for administrative efficiency than from any other source worldwide. Again, God did not ordain that these acts be carried out. Osama openly stated that his mission was to "let those who've brutally claimed Muslim lives know what it feels like." Over 350 K lives lost in an illegal Iraq's war... The real question is: "Do we understand what we're doing?"