RAND's Report

Old Biases Serving New Agendas

Sheikh Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti

The most negative aspect of the report is found in its ideological presentation of the problems the United States is facing in the Muslim world today. It does this rather than addressing these problems for what they really are. Put broadly, the majority of Muslims view American foreign policy as unjust. One does not need to be radical in one's political views, or rigid in religious interpretation to oppose injustice and oppression. People of all religious and ideological affiliations oppose oppression imposed by their leaders and oppose the occupation of their lands.

I found two loaded phrases in the new report especially striking; I did not notice them at first. One is the term "false moderate," a concept that is clearly meant to exclude all Muslim figures and organizations that are not in line with the authors' political agenda. Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, for instance, was presented in the report as a "Salafi preacher," despite his strong criticism of rigid Salafi interpretations of Islam, while professor Tariq Ramadan is mentioned among the radicals, despite his global efforts against radicalism.

Another new turn in the recent report is the use of the phrase "violence in the past," which is considered a judgment of the present and future intentions of some Islamic groups. For example, if a group fought against French or British colonization of its country many decades ago, is it still, in the view of the writers, considered a supporter of violence?

The report reflects age-old Western biases and a fundamental inability to understand Islam on its own terms. For instance, in both Islamic and Western thought, equity is more important than equality; one Western liberalist argument against communism is based on this idea. However, when the authors of the report criticize the distinction between men and women in certain instances in Islamic law, they do not seriously consider the fact that equity is the deeper principle underlying these particular juridical rulings.

A few points in the report are valid and reflect legitimate concerns, not only to American liberals but also to committed Muslims who believe that today's Muslim societies need a profound reform and that Islam is at ease with democracy and other political values practiced in contemporary Western societies - for example, the position that the people are the only source of the political legitimacy of their leaders. This should be taken as a self-evident truth, because it is a Qur'anic principle. The right of non-Muslim citizens to hold any political office in their Muslim homeland is also what both Qur'anic justice and common sense lead one to accept. Furthermore, any political discrimination based on religion is against the Qur'anic principles of "kindness and fairness" in dealing with non-Muslims. The need to review some aspects of traditional penal law (especially the death sentence for apostasy) has been called for by many Muslim scholars because this penalty runs in scandalous contradiction with the Qur'anic principle that there is to be no compulsion in religion.

Muslims should take these valid points in the report as a positive challenge that helps them reexamine the authenticity of their interpretations of Islam and the soundness of the social and political norms ruling their societies today. The report is also commendable in emphasizing issues that stem from the application of ethics to war, such as the condemnation of the indiscriminate murder of civilians, but it is not consistent on the issue of just war and the difference between legitimate and illegitimate uses of force. The authors, for instance, ignore the fact that the vast majority of the civilian victims of today's wars and violence are Muslims.

There are many American scholars specialized in Islam and Muslim societies who can present a better advice to the American policy maker, without ideological agenda or cultural bias. None of them, apparently, contributed to this report, which further underscores the indications that it is a purely ideologically motivated effort to perpetuate the friction and misunderstandings between the United States and Muslim societies, rather than to find positive solutions through mutual respect.

Since the report is issued through the influential RAND Corporation, known to have close readership among key American political and military leaders, one should not underestimate the potential negative impact the report will have in the coming future.

Sheikh Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti is the imam of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas — USA