A conference on international radical Islam was held today at Bar Ilan University in Israel. I bring quotes from an article on it.
Syrian-born Professor Bassam Tibi of Cornell University, however, disagreed, saying: “I am a Muslim, and a German citizen. I am reaching my hand out to peace. We must distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Is Islam a belief in god, a faith or a political order? If a person says it is a faith, this is an ordinary Muslim. But if they say it is a political order, you are talking to an Islamist.”
Tibi rejected the Islamist understanding of Islam’s relationship to power, saying: “The term ‘state' does not occur a single time in the Koran. The term Sharia occurs only once in the Koran. It is morality.”
Tibi also distinguished between two forms of jihadists: Those who work within a country, trying to Islamize the state, which he called institutional jihadists, and revolutionary jihadists, or those who seek to accomplish their goal through violence.
“Hamas blurred the line between these,” Tibi said, noting that “it is a jihadist movement which was voted in.”
“Arabs need to recognize Israel and live alongside it.” Tibi said, before speaking of his ideal of a Jewish-Muslim alliance.
“I’m a realist and I have no illusions. At the moment, this is not in reach, but it should remain an ideal,” he said.
Tibi also blasted the European and German Left for seeing jihadist movements as complimentary to their own anti-American views.
Source: Ynet (English)
1 comment:
Although I appreciate most of Tibi's statements herein, I have to disagree that Islam in not a politacal order. That moderate muslims don't see it as a political order means that they are selectively applying Islam, which is probably a good thing, but they will not stop Jihadism that way only. They have also to work on the secularism of Islam or at least work on a redefinition of the Qu'ran as a created book and not anymore as "increated" and eternal document.
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