Jordanian military Imams discuss Islam’s role in defeating extremism
Terrorists use religion as an effective weapon to deceive, recruit and ignite conflicts that always claim the lives of innocents and those who are fooled by terrorist recruitment. They violate religious principles by cherry-picking words from the holy book to deceive young Muslims. This problem requires a strong response from skillful religious leaders who specialize in countering the deceit of terrorists. Jordan was among the first nations that responded to the falsehoods of terror by issuing the Amman Message. The Jordan Armed Forces conduct specialized training at an academy for military imams. Today we witness close cooperation between the U.S. and Jordanian militaries in this field, most recently during the Chaplain and Imam Conference at Emir al-Hasan College for Islamic Studies near Amman in November 2015. Attendees exchanged ideas and shared knowledge with their peers.
Unipath magazine conducted an interview with Brig. Gen. Dr. Majid Salim Al-Drawsha, director of academic study at Emir al-Hasan College for Islamic Studies, and his colleagues 1st Lt. Sheikh Nabil Ali Al-Khatataba and 1st Lt. Sheikh Zyad Mohammad Al-Momani. Meeting such religious leaders is a very special occasion because these men’s humbleness and friendliness make guests feel as if they are conversing with childhood friends.
Unipath: Can you tell us the goal of the imam conference in Amman?
Brig. Gen. Dr. Al-Drawsha: The conference held at the college is not new; I personally attended many conferences with our friends, our brother chaplains in the U.S. military. The goal is knowledge exchange and reaching common ground that enable us to solve our daily problems. We also learn from our friends’ experiences to organize the duties of our imams accordingly to accurately serve our military and community. These multilateral meetings develop a wish for peace among our nations and the world.
Unipath: How do you handle religious diversity in the Jordan Armed Forces?
Al-Drawsha: We have Muslims and Christians in the Jordan Armed Forces. Our Christian brothers have total freedom to attend churches on Sunday and on their holidays for those who practice their religion. Sunday is considered a business day in Jordan, but we give our brothers the right to practice their faith.
Unipath: Can Christian Soldiers seek help from Muslim imams?
Al-Drawsha: Our Christian brothers always come to us to find solutions for their personal and family matters. Because the culture and traditions are identical in our society, sometimes they come to us to resolve family issues, which are no different than those in Muslim families.
Unipath: Why is it important to meet with religious leaders of different beliefs?
Al-Drawsha: The monotheistic religions have one goal, and that is to make mankind live as one nation. In Islam, we believe that God creates us to accept each other — “Mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.” [Al-Hujraat: 13] This means we must establish connections between civilizations that respect human beings and pass this message on to coming generations. This can’t be the mission of one religion over another. The science that we benefit from is not exclusive to Islam, Judaism, Christianity or Buddhism. We believe that “the wisdom that benefits mankind is the goal of a Muslim.” Anytime a Muslim finds something beneficial to people, he will adopt it.
Lt. Nabil Ali Al-Khatataba: Religious leaders are the safety valves of the societies. A gathering like this is very important to close the gap that exists in the minds of people but does not exist in the religions. Some people think there is conflict between Islam and Christianity; however, when religious leaders gather and discuss and comment on important matters and meet with respect and friendship, it will make people correct their wrong assumptions. Religious leaders of different faiths all represent humanity. The problem is with us human beings, not the holy books. For us in Jordan, this gathering is very important, and that is why we established the religious tolerance center, to show interfaith harmony.
Unipath: What is religion’s role in combating lies spun by terrorists?
Al-Drawsha: The most effective tool to combat this wrongful ideology is by showing true Islam. For youth, there are lectures and seminars to show them the true face of those criminals and where they came from, to protect young Muslims from being deceived. This is an idea that we discuss with our friends in the U.S., to establish a center that preaches pure Islam, and to open dialogue with these young people. The center will be hosted at the Royal Military College in the Arjan area. We will join with the rest of the government agencies, and it will have a large role in preparing professors of religion from Jordanian universities. The center will focus on protecting young Muslims against terror ideology. I also would like to add that about 200 imams from the Armed Forces are conducting sermons and lectures in the city mosques as a good way to communicate with the populace. Even I and my brothers here have lectured in civilian mosques. This effort between the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Religion and Endowment has been in place for a long time to use the skills of military imams. Because it’s common knowledge among people that Armed Forces imams are well-trained, the ministry requests our assistance, especially in areas showing infiltration by radical and extremist ideologies.
Al-Khatataba: We are combating the takfirist and terrorist ideology by using true Islam and carrying the message of peace among all society. Humanity is a priceless gift from God, and to respect mankind, the Creator forbids killing. Killing is a dangerous act. As God mentions in the holy book: “Whoever kills a person unjustly, it is as if he has killed all of mankind.” Therefore, we focus our lectures and sermons on the denunciation of violence and extremism. We encourage people to follow the path of true religion of modesty and humbleness. We also counter misguided ideology by providing examples and prove from the Sunna and the Quran how terrorists take advantage of less educated individuals and deceive them with their false slogans.
Lt. Zyad Mohammad Al-Momani: I would like to talk about the meaning of life. It is a precious gift from God; it comes right from the sacred being that no one is allowed, regardless of ideology or position, to revoke a person’s right to life. Religion is a lifestyle that leads to heaven. We live in this world to worship and deal with people, to live peacefully with Muslims and non-Muslims. If there is right or wrong, it will be shown when an individual meets his Creator on judgment day. At this time we must live with laws. Regarding combating extremists, I think we should start in the holy book and the Prophet’s legacy, because Islam is inclusive to the rest of the holy books and never dismisses them. In addition, we must adopt the right ideology. Islamic ideology is very clear and simple; the Quran and the legacy of the Prophet, peace be upon him, are clear as long as there is understanding without cherry-picking some verses and lines to justify extremist ideology as they do today. It is wrongful to cut a piece from a verse like “don’t pray” or “punishing the prayers,” and this is exactly what the extremists do. We call it cherry-picking certain phrases and using them in wrong contexts.
Unipath: How can religious leaders in the region unify efforts to combat this wrongful ideology?
Al-Drawsha: There are efforts, but unfortunately they don’t share the same road map or centralized leadership. This is what terrorists took advantage of to widen the gap and spread hate and discredit legitimate religious leaders by claiming that since there is no unified religious leadership, they can reference the holy book exclusively. But at the international Islamic level, there is an entity called the Islamic World League and also the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, which includes Muslim scholars from all nations. It is accredited and issues many verdicts agreed upon by Muslim scholars. The majority of terrorists and extremists are from the ignorant and less informed, and the second group comes from those with psychological problems who wrongfully interpret the Quran to justify their crimes. Maybe there is a small portion who were deceived by the terrorists and considers them to be the only entity that supports the poor or finds solution to economic problems through issuing payments to commit terrorist acts. The percentage of educated people is very limited in these groups. Even those considered scholars among the extremists and terrorists, if you engage them in religious discussion with real scholars, are clueless about Islam and unable to extract the right answers from the Quran. They do not even know proper Arabic grammar, so how can they understand the Quran properly? We wish to unify the Muslim effort in our region to combat this wrongful ideology.
AMIR AL-HASAN COLLEGE FOR RELIGIOUS SCIENCE PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Al-Momani: The causes of extremism are known to the world. Some involve the harsh economic situation, and terrorists tackle this issue by showing their financial ability to generate money through extortion, ransoms and oil smuggling. Therefore, they were able to attract many young men who have nothing by claiming they will offer compensation, housing and a wife. In addition, these people suffer from total ignorance, I mean the lack of Islamic education. Furthermore, the majority of these extremists felt many failures in their lives and that created a desire to take revenge on society. Also, there exists unauthorized clerics who issue fatwas without proper vetting. Thank God, in Jordan we have laws to punish such individuals. I believe we need to focus on the mercy and compassion of Islam. Muslims must concentrate on the Prophet’s quotes and the Quranic verses that soften our hearts and teach us mercy. We should stress the fact that it’s forbidden to spill human blood, not only a Muslim’s blood, but that of all humans. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “He who kills a monotheist will never catch the scent of heaven.” He also said: “He who hurts a monotheist hurts me.” The non-Muslims who live in Muslim lands are protected by Islam. In fact, during wars, Islam disallows the killing of noncombatants.
Unipath: Many people say Islam always focuses on punishment and threats of hellfire and never talks about mercy and forgiveness. Isn’t that intimidating?
Al-Drawsha: One of the big problems we face today is education and reforming curriculums. We must focus on elementary education and developing kindness and gentleness inside young Muslims. We must create a person who seeks closeness to God, not a sword to punish people. We don’t know who goes to heaven and hell; this is decided only by God. Islam is a religion of peace; therefore, we must focus on compassion and cooperation between communities regardless of faith and ethnicity. In the entire history of Islam, we never heard of minority sects being persecuted while they lived among Muslims, so how can terrorists today wipe out communities of non-Muslims? The Yazidi were here for thousands of years; they were never attacked by Caliph Omar bin Alkhattab when he conquered Iraq and were never bothered during the rise of the Abbasid caliphs or the Ottoman Empire.
Al-Momani: In the first 30 years of Islam, Caliph Omar, who was known for his strict adherence to Islamic laws and rules, decided to suspend an important law, that of cutting off the hands of thieves, because of the harsh economic conditions at that time. People had been stealing to feed their children or to stay alive. Islam is not only punishment and threats but compassion and love throughout.
Al-Drawsha: One of the most important principles in Islam is that a punishment was established to stop the wrongdoer and deter the populace from doing the same. The idea is to establish human laws that are similar to modern laws, to create a safe society. Islam doesn’t seek to punish as much as it seeks to build a peaceful and nonviolent society.
Unipath: How important is tolerance in a mixed faith and multiethnic community?
Al-Drawsha: The message of Islam is this: “We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures.” [Al-Anbiya: 107] It doesn’t say “mercy for Muslims only.” This message is for all humans to establish righteousness, justice and equality. Tolerance is fundamental to our society. Because God said “There is no compulsion in religion” [Al-Baqra: 256] and “You have your religion and I have mine” [Al-Kaaferoon: 6]. Respect for freedom of religion and tolerance is one of the most essential Islamic principles. In our society, the Christians were here before the emergence of Islam. Sometimes you see a family name that represents a mix of Muslims and Christians, which means that most of the tribe was originally Christian — some converted to Islam and others chose to keep their religion and live peacefully for thousands of years. Islam never came to wipe out others but to respect them and to protect them. A verse says “It is He Who hath produced you from the earth and settled you therein” [Hud: 61], which means to establish civilizations and improve life, and that is accomplished only in peaceful societies. It is impossible to have creativity and talent and build civilized society with insecurity and wars.
Unipath: But today, Da’ish kills minorities and burns churches. How does it justify that?
Al-Drawsha: There is no justification for their acts; there is no such chapter in the Quran or within the Prophet’s legacy or actions by the Prophet’s friends, and not even one true Muslim Soldier has done such a thing. What these terrorists are doing is baseless, and we have no idea how they come up with it. But I think the agenda behind their behavior is to drag humankind into sedition and chaos. They are seeking to create conflicts and clashes of civilizations; they aim to make people of the world fight each other. They have a terror agenda that is impossible to justify by the holy book.
Unipath: In reference to recent terrorist attacks in a Western nation carried out by individuals who lived there, how does Islam view such acts?
Al-Khatataba: It is forbidden for Muslims to deceive. You are guests in that country, and they respected you and protected you. You have no right to attack their peaceful facilities and kill innocents.
Al-Drawsha: We have nothing to justify these crimes. I can’t imagine any religion has anything to allow such a crime. How could such a horrific act be done by a person who claims he is Muslim? You are living in a nation that provides you a respectful living. Muslim principles don’t include betrayal, killing and destruction. What these terrorists have done is the total opposite to Islam. These nations grant you the right to practice your faith and accept you as a member of society, and you enjoy the same rights and privileges, so what they did is never allowed by any religion and can’t be based on any religion. I hope the West understands these terrorists’ goals are to distort the image of Islam.