Looking at the Lost Moro Kingdoms

Looking at the Other Lost Moro Kingdoms

Going against Radicalization and extremism

The Challenge of Counter Radicalization

a reflection paper by Yusuf Morales

The concept of Radicalism and extremism has been widely used in the previous years, there are also times that the term fundamentalism (al-ussuliyun) is erroneously used to describe this trend. One must understand that Fundamentalism is named to any movement or trend which coherently holds fast to the virtues, basic tenets or principles of a religion or ideology. The word radicalism/extremism in arabic (al-tataruf) denotes strictness and exceeding limits in religion to the point of mediocrity lying between the position of strictness and leniency while the opposite term denotes holding fast to the fundamental principles which is considered a moderate stand.

Despite the affluent status of some of our Muslim youth, some elements of the radical youths come from affluent families and even actively participating in radical activities.

We can look at the incident wherein a 19-year-old Somali-born American citizen, Muhammad Osman Mohamud, arrested on 25 November for attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. Putting aside questions regarding the nature of the FBI’s involvement in this case, it appears that despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on counter-radicalisation programmes in the United States, Europe and Muslim-majority countries around the world, it indeed takes more than just serious effort to ensure that the flow of radicalization and Salafization can be curtailed..

If we were to consider on both a positive evaluation and critique to the strategies that would deter extremist violence are to be effective, we must take a serious look at some of their strengths and weaknesses.

Although the voices of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri have faded due to renewed vigilance of both governments and the Muslim clerics who advocate moderation,new ideologues who are in the guise of revival and reform likeideologue cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and organizations like hizbut tahrir and other like-minded Salafi organizations are gradually inspiring this new stream of at-risk youth. Despite their small numbers and lack of mainstream followers, extremists like al-Awlaki disproportionately affect the discourse on Muslim-Western relations because their acts of violence capture the most headlines and provide ammunition to political opportunists determined to further complicate Muslim and Western world relations.

Considering the gradual proliferation of extremist idelogues, efforts must be made that a concierted effort to combat the influence of these influence of radical ideologues, an entire cadre of Muslims leaders around the world has come forward with active campaigns to take the “Islam” out of “Muslim terrorism”. They aim to make clear that such acts of violence are not only morally repugnant but clear violations of Islamic principles and law.

For example, earlier this year an international group of Muslim scholars gathered in Mardin, Turkey in order to publicly refute the infamous fatwa (non-binding legal opinion) by 14th century cleric Ibn Taymiyyah that calls for violence against non-Muslim rulers. The fatwa has been used repeatedly as justification by extremists.

Similarly, earlier this year scholar Dr. Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri issued a 600-page fatwa condemning “Islamic terrorism.” Relying upon traditional sources and methodologies, scholars like ul-Qadri hope to break the monopoly violent ideologues have held over the discourse on Muslim and Western world relations.

Governments, civic groups and Muslim leaders around the world have supported these efforts in a number of ways. For example, in the UK the Radical Middle Way and the Quilliam Foundation have sought to educate the public about Islam, while at the same time promote a distinctly British Muslim identity for emerging youth. They do so with the help of prominent Muslim leaders like Hamza Yusuf and Abdul Hakim Murad.

While these efforts should be commended, many of them have fallen short of their mandate because of their largely non-political orientation. If de-radicalising potentially violent Muslim youth and deterring religious extremism is the aim, how can these approaches reach their target audience without offering a viable pressure valve in today’s intensely conflicted world? How can such programming influence the angry and disaffected to deter extremism?

It is common sense to most people that the acts of violence committed by groups like Al Qaeda and their home grown wannabes are political in origin but wrapped in religious ideology. Muslim youth today are enraged, for instance, by misdirected drone strikes in Pakistan that kill innocent women and children, and the seemingly endless oppression of Palestinians. Both Afghanistan and Somalia, today’s terrorist hot spots, have been failed states for two generations; the youth in these countries have only known social strife, war and failed promises from the international community.

It is these raw conditions that brew extremism. Nonetheless, counter-radicalisation programmes often shy away from difficult and direct political conversations. Instead, they overemphasise topics like the multicultural legacy of Cordoba in Spain, the inward spiritual teachings of Sufi sages, and the scientific achievements of the medieval Muslim world.

One must understand the context of politicization of Salafi extremists enabling them to channel the rage against the system mentality of certain portions of the Muslim youth in soceity, irrespective if this is in a democratic or a tyrannical state. The question has always been how to politicize and connecting the current problems of society and the idea of a puritanical Islamic state as a go all alternative to the present corrupt system. And disnce the question of freedom and expression of individual identity has been the concurrent problem of the youth, the idea of a puritanical Islam that empowers them to act and behave as its soldiers gives them a much needed “kick” and often become unknowing recruits to extremist salafi oriented groups.

Muslim leaders and their allies in government and civil society must move beyond simply nurturing the “Good Muslim” role model and encouraging acts of good citizenship like charity and community service. They must realise that stories of water-boarding and pictures from Abu Ghraib will have a far more profound influence on shaping the political perceptions of Muslim youth than Western leaders motherhood statements or eloquent words of peace or the interfaith declarations of Muslim clerics.

One must understand that todays youth live in a different world., a world that is dominated by western media, and that western media has always filled itself with images of violence, hate and war, it is againts this backdraft that we find our Muslim youth and in their search for identity, and need for direction, moderates may be equally unprepared as well as unable to cope up with the challenges of confronting western modernity. This is where the radicals are able to come in and present a utopic worldview to the youth as an alternative asking them only nothing except deication to the cause of this Islamic utopia.

If Muslim leaders are expected to guide their youth in a religious cause against violence and extremism they should also be encouraged to speak truth to power against issues of political injustice, which are real driving factors fuelling extremism. By ignoring this call, Muslim leaders and their allies will not only be seen by their target audiences as mere puppets of Western governments, but guarantee that those disaffected masses are forced into the shadowy world of extremist cyber space and the arms of figures like al-Awlaki.

Islamic Pluralism as a Basis for Muslim Living

Islamic Pluralism as a Basis for Muslim Livin

Reflections on the first to third chapters of Aqeedah Tahawiyyah

Reflections from Reading Aqeedah Tahawiyyah

I have recently been reading Aqeedah Tahawiyah prepared in English by Shaykh Muhammad bn Yahya Ninowy (may Allah prolong his life and bless him for his efforts). Aqeedah tahawiyyah is one of the simpliest and easiest manuals in explaining Islamic aqeedah without creating any conflicts.

It was Shaykh Ahmad (may Allah bless him) who forwarded me some materials and guides... I eventually started reading it alone and now am reading it with Sister Nur. She has been very supporting and guiding as to how the text is being read (studied with a teacher). We have been done last Saturday morning with chapters one to three. And I appreciate and am very glad with how I saw things .

I have decided to write my reflections and understandings of the first three chapters as a result of my readings.

It is important to note in the words of Shaykh Muhammad bn Yahya Ninowy that, “Aqeedah is Islam, as it constitutes our faith, must be found on unshakeable convistions and established beyond doubt, therefore Muslims are demanded to search for the indisputable truth, base their aqeedah on sound convictions and naturally...use their intellect and oppose blind imitation.”

As this being the basis of our path, I put my reflections on the feet of the illustrious scholars to see if indeed it is under the shade of the aqeedah of Islam.

One must understand that indeed Tawheed or the path of understanding tawheed is a knowledge acquisition process. Although basiocally worship for the laymen is learning by imitation (taqlid) of the scholars as taught through the chains of transmission). It must be emphasized that people ( Muslims in particular) become accountable to Allah for their actions and decisions on the basis of their knowledge ... and that belief must always be substantiated by knowledge. It would be best be put in the principle of : belief=knowledge+understanding and faith=belief+satisfaction. One must always consider that the main role of aqeedah is to teach tawheed in effect teach man the correct set of beliefs and valuesto prepare one's heart for the correct state of belief. (perhaps prepare him for yaqeen)

A lot of people conceive Monotheism as tawheed. Perhaps it may be so and it may not be so.Tawheed establishes what is the limitations and concepts when associated with understanding how to aproach things. How to know the gulf that separates the One who has created and the created. The verse in Surah ikhlas is the best parameter to use, “wa lam yakoon lahu kufuwan ahad”.

Reflecting on what are the basic prerequisites to studying Aqeedah tahawiyyah indeed it is but important that the following which I have found to be trully important among them was that worship and obedience is always the result of applying acquired religious knowledge. And that this acquired knowled is required to be put into action. Remebering that every act of worship must be firmly grounded on correct knowledge. Mere intentions are not enough.The path to faith must be based on the correct understanding and knolwdge of Faith, Islam and Tawheed.

There are 4 things that I have realize as a result:

1. To possess correct knowledge one must go back to the basics so that all succeeding efforts to acquiring knowledge will bebguided from the basics

2. Correct actions only will come from correct knowledge

3. Good intentions and acttions are not enough but must be firmly based on correct and accurate knowledge

4. We are mandated to acquire knowledge.

A very notable part of the discussion and reading is that one must acquire knowledge from a teacher and not mere books. One taking ones knowledge directly from a book is a suhufi, bereft of the guidance and teaching of a teacher. A good point to consider here also is that books can never answer back your questions in detail, and that teachers contain the sum of all his personal knowledge, experiences as well as that of the teacher who had preceeded him or her. Thus this is indeed one of the very important reasons why transmission of knowledge through teachers is needed. I have discovered in this process the five (5) criterias in acquiring knowledge:

1. Sincerity to Alah

2. Great effort must be exerted in this process

3. Take knowledge from someone who posesses it (a teacher not simply a book or a person who has learned through a book)

4. Students must employ proper etiquette with their teachers

5. Humility and kindness.

Tawheed is made up of two categories, one is fard/obligatory to be understood personally like the five pillar and 6 fundamentals of belief and second is the communal obligations wlike understanding the precepts and basis of Islamic teachings and the ability to refute those who are teaching the wrong concepts.

When one possess knowledge it is a divine task upon him to impart it to others like truth being told . And that finally ones words and speeches should never be without basis.

Wa salaatu wa salaamu alal ashrafil anbiya'ah wal mursalin wal hamdulillah hirabeel alameen.

Pushing the Ulama in the Philippines further

A step towards the migration of intellect towards higher understanding.

It is a grim realization that the ulama in the Philippines as a whole has not yet matured and reached its full potential. The label “Warasatul al-Anbiya” cannot be still appended to them.

One may see that even in the worldview that as a general concept, a lot of them hasn't come up to their counterpart from the other parts of world. At present, when one looks at the curriculum being used to train Ulama in the country we see a wide disparity. Indeed from how we look at it since the collective culture of the Muslims in this country hasn't evolved or matured, as a result even the religious institutions did not progress a bit further, with a few exceptions of certain Muslim intellectual and religious personalities; but as a whole the Philippine Muslim religious institutions need more than a face lift but an overhaul.

One may like to look at the curricular content in the educational institutions used to train Imam's and the religious. A simple survey would show that when we would try to match the curricular standard with he modern educational institutions training their Christian counterparts in the Philippines, they would lag really fa r behind. One couldn't even find equivalency between the madrasah's and the regular public educational system.

This is quite alarming, add to this, Filipino scholars sent abroad to study Islamic studies come hope ill-equipped and ill trained, due to several circumstances. Most of the Filipino Muslim's best minds have taken the path of secular knowledge like engineering, medicine and other fields, and normally those who have lesser educational opportunities due to various circumstances like not being able to pass the collegiate entrance exam, dismal academic ratings in public school system, financial incapacity to pursue further studies, one or several of these and other factors push these students to “study in Madrassah” not as an option but the only choice to gain an education and gain social acceptability in their conmmunities. Others who may be able to go abroad to continue their Religious studies abroad come home ill-prepared due to the fact that they were not fully trained in Arabic before leaving and specializing only in Arabic language and not in other fields only delimits them the capacity of becoming translators. And being unprepared intellectually to read the Islamic classics in Fiqh, Shari'ah and other Islamic fields also leads them further to translate and teach concepts even not within their reach or breadth of understanding. This has far-reaching consequences. Add t this the literalist-narrow-mindedness of Salafi ideology has led other Filipino Muslims to the Pitfalls of Radicalist fundamentalism.

With these things in mind, one may be induced to think, “could there be a probable solution, comprehensive so that to otherwise mitigate if not eradicate the problem?”.

Although indeed due to the perceived Government bias against Muslims due to the Mindanao conflict reservations of government intervention would be highly doubted and the fear of politicized intervention thus losing track of the original objective; still it is the best objective although to be done in another manner.

One of the things we have done was comparative analysis of the curricular content of Southeast Asian, Egyptian, Syrian Iranian and Western Islamic religious educational models and try adapting selective characteristics of these systems. When we were given an opportunity to design the Commission on Higher Education's BS Islamic Studies curriculum, we included these important facets thus , ensuring that even following the minimum standards set by CHED in BS Islamic Studies education, we can at least raise the quality of Islamic scholarship in the country.
In the case of Malaysia and Singapore, both countries allowed the profligation of Sufi-oriented Islam in their countries as well as allowing the proliferation of the Islamic classics and Islamic Philosophy. Even though the government takes an indirect hand in this matter, but allowing Sufi Islam to profligate is a good idea.

I would like to emphasize on record that despite the comments on the evolution of the Amercican Muslim movement, I personally believe that even their experiences are worth studying and emulating (except of course the theological evolution before the Honorable Late Warith Deen Muhammad took over the American Muslim religious institutions).


Perhaps by trying to do this, we can push the Ulama a step further in professionalizing themselves as we face more challenges.
More to come later.

Faiths in climate change summit

Muslims, Jews and Christians are among the attendants

In an action that seemed quite odd to the nature of the gathering,hundreds of representatives of the world's leading religions are in Sweden for a summit on climate change - said to be the first of its kind.

The two-day conference involves Christians, Muslims, Jews, Chinese Daoists and a native American representative, among others.

Their aim is to set a manifesto to encourage far-reaching policy goals from the United Nations and to push the body to adopt serious actions on the matter.

They also want to encourage personal commitments from people of faith.

The lack of enthusiasm for action on climate change in some religious quarters is being tackled head on by the meeting.

The Anglican Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, says the religious community must speak out.

"Here is a major, human emergency."

"Many of our constituencies regard this still as a peripheral second-order issue - it's got to be moved up the agenda."

As it is well known that major religious traditions have in one way or another theological concepts relating to trusteeship (Khilafah) of the earth and that each religious tradition has its own way of believeing how divine rules decree them on taking care of the environment. The gathering indeed is set on converging the major religious traditions and setting a systematic program on how to involve the "faithful"
in taking care of the environment.

Reflections : Attending the UNESCO Conference on Power and Rights

I had recently attended a conference sponsored by by the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines Social and Human Sciences Commitee in cooperation with Ateneo Human Rights Center and Ateneo De Manila Philosophy Department. The Theme for the Conference was "Power and Rights." and Since it was World Philosophy Day I tried to seriously relish the conference , nibbling its details and contents as if it was a course of delectable dishes.

And It was held only recently (today actually), I wasnt able to make commentaries on the articles presented there for this blog. But I would eventually do later after ding my other work here at the school.

In a way I found it intellectually awakening, hearing people qoute the same authors Ive read in College like Habermas, Foccault, or Maciavelli. It also was enlightening to hear what our intellectual philosophical giants had to say about the current issues of the day and how it would relate to your regular Fish monger,street sweeper or College student.

I was struck in a way that there indeed is a need to philosophize about things and that Philosophy is indeed an intellectual need for a nation to continue in its development.

I remember in Islamic History that when in the times when Islamic Philosophy flourished, Islamic Civilization was also at its peak and finest. Thus, as a progenitor of creative intellectual development, I believe that indeed for the Muslim Ummah to develop again, it mus rekindle Islamic Philosophy.

I only wished that in the next conference hosted by UNESCO, Prof Ibana would include speakers on Islamic Philosophy.

It would also be wonderful to think that had we decided to rekindle Philosophy in this country (the Philippines) perhaps we could see a reflourishing of intellectual advances in the country and perhaps a moral revolution in the country. Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (Salu Allahu Alayhi wa alihi wa salam) has said , "The Learned (scholars) are the heirs of the Prophets."

I also had a realization that has been rationalizing in my mind since attending the Interfaith Conference in DLSU, We have been always using western models and conceptual frameworks in our works, although the East has a living intellectual tradition worthy of emulation, we still take note and use western models for our discourses. Perhaps its about time to adapt a moratorium on using these models and instead adapt eastern models and conceptual frameworks and eventually creating our own indigenous and even unique conceptual models and frameworks when discussing concepts in Social Sciences.

More to follow after I do my commentaries on the articles in the conference.