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Winter
2001
BETWEEN
PEACE & TERROR
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As part
of this paradigm, this puritanism tends to be distinctly anti-intellectual.
Intellectualism or social thinking that attempts to have a critical
approach to hermeneutics, or that introduces nuances of meaning to
the text, or that attempts to integrate sociohistorical insights into
the understanding of the doctrines of the Islamic law, is considered
to be pure sophistry and a corruption of the purity of the Divine
message.
Fundamentally,
however, this puritan theology projects its own frustrations and
aspirations upon the text. In fact, one notes that it responds to
the feelings of powerlessness and defeat with uncompromising symbolic
displays of power, not only against non-Muslims, but also against
Muslim women. It is not accidental that this puritan orientation
is the most virulent in flexing its muscles against women, and that
it is also plagued by erotic fantasies of virgins in heaven submissively
catering to the whims and desires of men.
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This contemporary
orientation is anchored in profound feelings of defeatism, alienation
and frustration. It is a theology that is alienated not only from
the institutions of power of the modern world, but also from its
own Islamic heritage and tradition. Importantly, this puritan trend
compensates for those feelings of defeatism and alienation with
a distinct sense of self-righteous arrogance vis-à-vis the
nondescript "other" — whether
the other is the West, nonbelievers in general or even Muslim women.
It is
certainly true that the extreme and violent form of puritan Islam
does not represent the vast majority of Muslims today. But there
are two ways in which contemporary Muslim culture, Arab or non-Arab,
inadvertently contributes to, and feeds, these extreme trends. First,
since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the onslaught of colonialism,
Islamic intellectuals have busied themselves with the task of "defending
Islam" by rampant apologetics. This produced a culture that
eschews self-critical and introspective insight and embraces projection
of blame and a fantasy-like level of confidence and arrogance. Second,
confronted by the challenges of modernity, many Muslim intellectuals
and activists tended to give  precedence
to the logic of pragmatism over any other competing normative requirements.
Invoking the logic of necessity or public interest to justify a
variety of courses of action, at the expense of normative moral
imperatives, became common practice. Effectively, Muslims got into
the habit of paying homage to the presumed superiority of the Islamic
tradition, but marginalized this idealistic image in everyday life.
The reality
of contemporary Muslims is unfortunate. Easy oil money, easy apologetics,
easy puritanism and easy appeals to the logic of necessity have
all but obliterated the incentive for introspection and critical
insight. Arab and Muslim organizations in the United States are
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