07 February 2006

IMPLICATIONS OF SAUDI FUNDING TO WESTERN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS (PART 2 OF 2)

MODERN EXPANSION OF DA‘WA (ISLAMIC MISSION) AND ITS ADOPTION BY MUSLIM STATES LED BY SAUDI ARABIA

In the West, Christian missionary efforts are operated only by churches and private voluntary organisations, with governments careful not to promote any specific religion. In the Muslim world, because of the Islamic concept of non-separation between religion and state, Muslim states see Islamic mission (Da‘wa) as part of their foreign policy and are willing to found and finance Da‘wa organisations and institutions on a large scale.

Islamic mission is thus not a matter solely for religious institutions as in the West, but for governments and for interstate organisations who organise and fund Da‘wa activities around the world. Da?wa is not limited to Muslim apologetics and efforts at converting individuals, but is very wide in its scope, including efforts at converting whole societies and at establishing Islamic ruled states or enclaves. Like Jihad, Da‘wa is part of the way Islamic states relate to non-Muslim states in their efforts to Islamise the world.

In Saudi Arabia, Da‘wa activity is supervised by the powerful Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Propagation and Guidance. This ministry oversees the Muslim World League (MWL), the International Islamic Relief Organisation (IIRO) and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). It funds Islamic outreach activities all over the world, including the organisation of conferences and seminars. It has a vast publishing programme in many languages to propagate Islam, and oversees the operation of many Muslim missionaries (Da‘ees) around the world. [1] It operates the King Fahd Complex for Printing the Qur’an in Medina, which has printed and distributed millions of copies of the Qur’an around the world in Arabic and other languages. The ministry also controls some fifty domestic outreach offices in Saudi Arabia – known as Islamic Propagation Offices, Foreigners Guidance Offices, Da‘wa and Guidance Centres, Cooperative Offices for Call and Guidance – working to convert non-Muslim residents (mainly expatriate workers). [2]

At a gathering of Imams and Da‘ees (Muslim missionaries) in London held at the Saudi Embassy in April 2005, Ibrahim Towe, a Nigerian Da‘ee, praised the missionary role of the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs and of the Saudi Embassy in the United Kingdom and Ireland, adding:

“We look at the Embassy as a very important connection. I think, Prince Turki is not only an Ambassador coming from Saudi Arabia, we look at him also as the Ambassador of Dawah.” [3]

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), composed of all Muslim states and funded mainly by the Saudis, has in its various summits emphasised the need to strengthen and systematise the work of Da?wa in the world. Amongst its recommendations were the establishment of educational and cultural centres to propagate the Arabic language and Islamic culture, the adoption of modern methods of presenting Islam contextually to various societies, and the creation of institutes for the training of Muslim Da‘wa workers who will propagate Islam. [4]

Appropriate structures were set up to ensure coordination among the various Islamic institutions working in the field of Islamic Da‘wa. These included the Committee for the Coordination of Joint Islamic Action, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) based in Rabat and the International Islamic Council for Dawah and Relief based in Cairo. The OIC at its third Islamic Summit at Mecca in 1981 pledged to provide the material needs for Da‘wa activities:

“Believing in the need to propagate the principles of Islam . . . in the world as a whole . . . we are determined to cooperate to provide the human and material means to acieve these objectives.” [5]

Similar decisions have been repeated at almost every OIC conference. The twenty-first Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) approved the development of a joint Islamic Da‘wa Strategy within the OIC framework. [6] The OIC also established the Islamic States Broadcasting Organization (ISBO) with the goal of spreading Da‘wa around the world. [7]

Observers note that Da‘wa is growing more assertive today. This is evidenced by the proliferation of state-supported organisations involved in it, the wide dissemination of published and online material and the formalisation of Da‘wa education in Muslim institutions. [8] All Islamist movements across the world, including the Saudi Wahhabists, cooperate in this massive programme backed by Muslim states and Muslim charities.

DA‘WA IN THE WEST

Most Muslims migrated to the West mainly in order to improve their material well-being. In the 1970s there was an awakening of communal self-consciousness among Muslims in the West, triggered by the quest to preserve their Islamic identity in the face of an increasingly secular Western culture. The resurgence of Islam worldwide and the rapid rise of Islamism backed by oil wealth helped radicalize Da‘wa efforts in North America and Europe. [9]

The goal of Islamist Da‘wa activists is to see the West converted to Islam and integrated into the global Umma (all Muslims in the world viewed as one community):

“On the other hand, there is the goal of bringing the same West to Islam, which would necessary mean that it would become part of the Muslim Ummah.” [10]

For many Islamist leaders, the recent mass Muslim migration to Western countries can have only one rationale, the participation in Da?wa to bring the non-Muslims to Islam and establish Islam in the West. [11] They believe it is a God-appointed move indicating the revival of Islam and of its power. No matter for what personal reasons individual Muslims settled in the West, the divine cause behind it is the establishment of Islam in these countries.

“As for Muslims, . . . their presence in the West can have only one justification: to communicate the message of Islam to their fellow human beings here, both by words and example. Even though they might have come for reasons other than Islamic, to get money or education or both, this duty is foremost.” [12]

Such Islamists hold that it is the duty of all individual Muslims in the West to witness to Islam, seek to establish the Muslim Umma in their adopted states and implement Shari?a as the law of the land:

“The individual Muslim may live anywhere on earth . . . When the laws of the residential territory affect his life in a manner adverse to Islam, he has the option of emigrating to an Islamic territory or to bear the adverse effect on his own life in the hope of achieving greater ulterior objectives . . . It is the duty of every individual Muslim, however, to call others to Islam, and seek to establish the ummah in the territory; it is their duty to seek the promulgation of the shari?ah as the law of the land.” [13]

Various international Islamic organisations have been established to facilitate the Islamisation of the West. The London-based Islamic Council of Europe, for example, was established in May 1973 with Saudi and OIC backing. It works in close cooperation with international Islamic organizations and the governments of Muslim states. Its main objectives are:

“First, protection, preservation and promotion of the religious and cultural life of Muslims in Europe. And second, the development of a better understanding of Islam in the West.” [14]

Developing a better understanding of Islam is a code term for the propagation of Islam, namely Da‘wa. In its first conference in London in July 1973, M. Ali Kettani stressed the importance of Muslim minorities in the West engaging in Da‘wa even as they consolidated themselves and sought to strengthen their Islamic identity. Successful Da‘wa should lead to the Muslim minority becoming the majority. A first step in this direction is the consolidation of areas of high Muslim concentration within the host country. [15] Similar organisations with the same goals are active in North America and other non-Muslim regions of the world.

A basic premise of Islamism, including Wahhabism, is that states which permit Da‘wa are seen as having a pact with Islam. They are not part of the house of war (dar al-harb), as non-Muslim territory is called in classical Islam. Rather, they are part of the house of covenant (dar al-aman). Should they place barriers in the way of the unfettered propagation of Islam, the pact is considered broken and they revert to being dar al-harb, making them legitimate targets of Jihad.

Concerned to re-establish and expand the power, honour and dominion of Islam, Islamists and their supporters have developed a programme of Islamising the West in stages. Backed by Saudi funding, Islamists have infiltrated many Western Muslim institutions and have succeeded in placing sympathetic Muslim experts in academia, politics and the media. They have mounted a consistent campaign to rewrite textbooks so as to present Islam only in a positive light, regardless of historical facts.

Led by Islamists, Muslim communities in the West constantly demand legal changes that would protect Islam and give it a privileged position in state and society. They also use the threat of violence as seen in riots in Muslim areas to intimidate government to accept their demands. This presages the final stage when Muslim communities in the West are deemed strong enough to take over power, by force if necessary.

DA‘WA IS LINKED TO JIHAD

Early on in Muslim history, Da‘wa and Jihad were linked as both had the same aim of spreading Islam and its dominion. Many Muslim scholars argue that Da‘wa is part of Jihad: “Da‘wa cannot be fulfilled without Jihad, and Jihad includes Da‘wa activities”. [16] In classical Islam, the Islamic state issued a call (Da‘wa) to its enemies to submit to Islam by either converting to Islam or submitting to becoming Dhimmis (Jews and Christians tolerated as marginalised communities under Islamic dominion) paying the humiliating Jizya tax. If they refused, Jihad was waged against them. Jihad then created the conditions in which conversion to Islam could easily take place supported by the state institutions and without opposition from powerful enemy forces. Da‘wa was thus inextricably linked to Jihad even though it later developed more peaceful missionary forms.

Bassam Tibi, an eminent Muslim scholar and professor at Goettingen University, Germany, explains this link between Da‘wa and Jihad:

“At its core Islam is a religious mission to all humanity. Muslims are religiously obliged to disseminate the Islamic faith throughout the world: “we have sent you forth to all mankind” (Saba? 34:28). [17] If non-Muslims submit to conversion or subjugation, this call (da‘wa) can be pursued peacefully. If they do not, Muslims are obliged to wage war against them. In Islam, peace requires that non-Muslims submit to the call of Islam, either by converting or by accepting the status of a religious minority (dhimmi) and paying the imposed tax, jizya. World peace, the final stage of the da‘wa, is reached only with the conversion or submission of all mankind to Islam.” [18]

Da‘wa, says Tibi, is actually an invitation to Jihad against those who reject Da‘wa and place obstacles in its way. [19] While Da?wa can be propagated by peaceful means of persuasion, Jihad is needed to enable it to function freely in all its forms. Da?wa is most effective when the state enforces Islam and Shari‘a (Islamic law) and supports Da?wa with all its resources. Islamists thus see themselves as committed to both Da?wa and Jihad, or rather see both as different stages in the same enterprise:

“It is a call for Jihad since it calls for preparation for Jihad by all its forms and means so that truth may have the force to protect it and that the Da?wah may be able to face the challenges and surmount the barriers . . . Force is the surest way to establish the truth and how beautiful it would be if truth and force went side by side. Thus Jihad for the spread of Islam and the protection of the holy places of Islam is another obligation which Allah made compulsory on the Muslims . . .” [20]

Or as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the leading scholar of the Wahhabi-allied Muslim Brotherhood, explains the aims of Jihad:

“This would be aimed at liberating Muslim lands, fighting the forces that oppose the Islamic da?wah and the Muslim Ummah . . .” [21]

Another Islamist scholar, Khurram Murad, sees Da?wa and Jihad as based on Muhammad’s role as final prophet for all humanity. All humans belong potentially to the Islamic Umma and must therefore be recalled to it using Muhammad’s methods – i.e., Da?wa and Jihad.

“Muslims must understand that Muhammad (pbuh) was not appointed prophet (by Allah) for any particular nation or era. Rather, he was sent for whole humanity irrespective of time and space. No other prophet shall follow Muhammad (pbuh) till the Day of Judgment. From the 6th century till the 21st and even beyond, Muhammad (pbuh) shall remain as the only prophet. The whole mankind today is his disciple and belongs to his Ummah. This statement, although simple, has far reaching connotations. It is obligatory then that Muhammad (pbuh)’s message be continuously delivered in the manner done in his time.” [22]

CONCLUSION

Saudi efforts at funding Western institutions are linked to Islamic doctrines of mission (Da‘wa) and holy war (Jihad) and aim at the total Islamisation of the West. Strengthening the infrastructure of radical Islamism in the West is part of this long-term strategy, and the support of Western academic institutions is part of the softening–up process. Whatever the Saudi authorities say and do to give an impression of moderation, there can be no real change until they openly denounce their Wahhabi heritage and accept a reformed form of Islam that rejects the integration of religion and state and accepts universal norms of human rights and religious freedoms. To be credible, these must operate within Saudi Arabia itself, which is still classed as a state that offers no religious freedom to its own citizens and to the expatriates living in it. Everything else the Saudis may do is mere window-dressing aimed at weakening the West and dulling its perceptions to the real danger of Islamist plans.

REFERENCES

[1] – “Philippines Terrorism: The Role of Militant Islamic Converts”, International Crisis Group, Asia report No. 110, 19 December 2005.

[2] – “Philippines Terrorism: The Role of Militant Islamic Converts”, International Crisis Group, Asia report No. 110, 19 December 2005.

[3] – Mozammel Haque, “No Place Of Radicalism In Islam”, viewed 21 December 2005. http://www.iccuk.org/media/reports/no_place_of_radicalism_in_islam.htm

[4] – Abdullah al-Ahsan, “OIC The Organization of the Islamic Conference: An Introduction to an Islamic Political Institution”, Herndon, Virginia: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1988, p. 106.

[5] – Abdullah al-Ahsan, “OIC The Organization of the Islamic Conference: An Introduction to an Islamic Political Institution”, p. 334.

[6] – “Resolutions On Dawa Activities And Reactivation Of The Committee On Coordination Of Joint Islamic Action, Adopted By The Thirty-First Session Of The Islamic Conference Of Foreign Ministers (Session Of Progress And Global Harmony)”, Istanbul, Republic Of Turkey, 26-28 Rabiul Thani 1425h (14-16 June 2004), viewed 4 January 2006. http://www.oic-oci.org/english/fm/31/31%20icfm-dawa-eng.htm

[7] – Abdullah al-Ahsan, “OIC The Organization of the Islamic Conference: An Introduction to an Islamic Political Institution”, p. 110.

[8] – Egdunas Racius, “The Multiple Nature Of The Islamic Da‘wa”, Academic Dissertation, The Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, Helsinki: Valopaino Oy, 2004, pp. 104-105.

[9] – Egdunas Racius, “The Multiple Nature Of The Islamic Da‘wa”, p. 116.

[10] – Khurram Murad, “Da?wah Among Non-Muslims in the West: Some Conceptual and Methodological Aspects”, Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1986, p. 8.

[11] – Humayun Ansari, ” ‘The Infidel Within’: Muslims in Britain Since 1800″, London: Hurst & Company, 2004, p. 205.

[12] – Khurram Murad, “Editor’s Preface”, in Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, “Muslims in the West: The Message and Mission”, edited by Khurram Murad, Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1983, p. 7.

[13] – Isma?il Raji al-Faruqi, “Al Tawhid: Its Implications for Thought and Life”, Herndon, Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought, second edition, 1992, p. 142.

[14] – John Lawton, “Muslims in Europe: The Presence” viewed 18 November 2005. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197901/muslims.in.europe-the.presence.htm

[15] – M. Ali Kettani, “The Problems of Muslim Minorities and Their Solutions”, in “Muslim Communities In non-Muslim States”, London: Islamic Council of Europe, 1980, pp. 103-104.

[16] – Egdunas Racius, “The Multiple Nature Of The Islamic Da‘wa”, pp. 51, 54.

[17] – Tibi is quoting from theQur’an: Saba’ is Sura 34.

[18] – Bassam Tibi, “War and Peace in Islam”, in Terry Nardin, ed., “The Ethics of War and Peace : Religious and Secular Perspectives”, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996, p. 130.

[19] – Bassam Tibi, “War and Peace in Islam”, in Terry Nardin, ed., “The Ethics of War and Peace : Religious and Secular Perspectives”, p. 130.

[20] – Fathi Yakan, “Problems Faced by the Da?wah and the Da?iyah”, Singapore: International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, 1985, p. 231.

[21] – Yusuf al-Qaradawi, “Priorities of the Islamic Movement in the Coming Phase”, Swansea: Awakening Publications, 2000, p. 34.

[22] – Khurram Murad, “Prophethood: Root Cause of Islam-West Conflict”, Tarjuman al-Quran, July 1992, viewed 8 September 2005. http://www.jamaat.org/isharat/archive/792.html

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