Mohammed Abu Nimer - Nonviolence and Peacebuilding in Islam

..Abu-Nimer starts [his book "Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam"] with an overview of the many studies done on just war and Islam. It is clear that there is a school of thought in Islam that justifies acts of war and the use of force under certain strict conditions.. [but, says Abu-Nimer] Jihad should above all be understood as a struggle for the individual Muslim to become a better Muslim.

What Abu-Nimer mainly objects to is that too little research has been focused on the other side of Islam - namely the traditions and teachings of nonviolence and peace building in Islam. It turns out that both the Quran and the traditions of Muslim societies harbour treasures of nonviolence and techniques for resolving conflicts.

The word `Islam' is itself defined as the "making of peace." The Prophet says: "Break your bows, sever your strings, beat stones on your swords" (to break the blades). Peace (salam) in Islam means not merely an absence of war, but also the elimination of the grounds for conflict and the waste and corruption it creates. Peace is God's true purpose for humanity. The Quran also affirms the sacredness of human life: "And if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."

There are countless stories on how the Prophet Mohammed acted as an arbitrator when two parties were in conflict which shows that third-party intervention is an acceptable option to end fighting in Islam. During the Meccan period of the Prophets life (610-622 C.E) the Prophet showed no inclination towards the use of force in any form, even for self-defense. He practiced a nonviolent resistance that was reflected in all his teachings during that period, when Muslims were a minority and under threat. Although tortured, accused of blasphemy, humiliated, ostracized, he permitted himself neither violence nor even swearing. The Prophet always prayed when he was persecuted during the Mecca Period, saying, "Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do". Something we Christians have no problem recognizing! Some of the Prophet's followers asked him to invoke the wrath of God upon the Meccans because of their persecution of Muslims. His reply to them was: "I have not been sent to curse anyone but to be a source of rahmah (compassion and mercy)."

Justice is the ultimate goal of Islamic religious teachings. It can be argued that pursuing justice and peace through nonviolent strategies is the more viable and effective method for achieving it. Except for the existence of one God, no other religious moral principles are more emphasized in the Quran and the traditions than the principles of justice, uprightness, equity and temperance. The notion that peace cannot be achieved without justice is echoed in the works of numerous peace-building researchers and activists.

There are a few new Islamic scholars that have begun to study the connection between Islam and nonviolence. One that Abu-Nimer mentions is Satha-Anand. He argues that even if Islam once accepted violence as a way of defense it is today forbidden because of the modern technology of war that has been invented. Since Muslims are forbidden to kill civilians and since modern weapons can't generally distinguish between soldier and civilian it means that Muslims should not use violence. But Muslims are not allowed to be passive either when they face injustice, so therefore they should use nonviolence as a way to resist injustice.

So there seems to be a good foundation for a nonviolent struggle in Islam. Has this been practiced by Muslims? It leads us to the practical part of the book. Abu-Nimer shows us examples of different nonviolent campaigns in Muslim communities: the mass protests against the British in Egypt in 1919, the revolt of Muslims of Peshawar Pathans in Pakistan 1930; the Palestinian general strike of 1936; the 1948 Iraqi upraising; the Iran Revolution of 1978-79; the Golan Druze resistance movement in 1981-82; the activities in defense of al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem since the 1970s; the Sudanese insurrection of 1985 and the first Palestinian Intifada, which began 1987.

The most famous Muslim nonviolence resister in modern time would be Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his "Army of God", consisting of people from the Pashtun-people who used to be known as feared warriors. It was a nonviolence movement of about 100 000 people who struggled nonviolently for twenty years against the British occupation in what is today Pakistan. Khan said: "There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pashtun subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed. It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all the time he was in Mecca, and it has since been followed by all those who wanted to throw off an oppressor's yoke. But we had...forgotten it." When recruited the "Servants of God" had to sign a ten-point pledge in which they swore to serve God and to live by nonviolent principles.

Although Abu-Nimer wants to show the world the good examples of nonviolence in Muslim communities he is also critical that there are not more efforts of peace building and nonviolence from the Arab world. The obstacles according to him are lack of creativity from the leadership, patriarchal social structures, extensive authoritarian control systems and a lack of critical self-examination. There are also different myths in the Islamic world that Abu-Nimer sees as obstacles to peace building. One widespread myth in the Middle East is that violence can eliminate conflicts. "What was taken by force can only be returned with force" is an old Arabic saying. Another myth is that nonviolence is not an effective method. Abu-Nimer mentions that one antidote to this myth can be to remind Muslims of the considerable experience the Prophet in waging nonviolent campaigns against his oppressors.

In the last part of the book Abu-Nimer makes a case study of the nonviolence during the first Intifada (uprising) in Palestine. Abu-Nimer shows convincingly that although the Palestinian Intifada is known for its violence it was really dominated by a massive and impressive nonviolent campaign. He is not saying that the Intifada was an islamic movement, because it was foremost a Palestinian struggle, Muslims and Christians side by side. But like the civil rights movement in the USA the religious institutions played a large part. The Palestinians gathered for political meetings in mosques and churches. The loudspeakers in the mosques were used to direct demonstrators or to encourage them in their efforts. Abu-Nimer argues that if it wasn't for their religion they wouldn't have been able to preserve their humanity and their patience. He shows it with the example of an Israeli soldier in Hebron being protected by an Arab family.

..Before the Intifada, a primary symbol in the occupation was the armed guerilla. Now, in place of this symbol of heroic armed aggression stood a symbol of innocent suffering.

In conclusion Abu-Nimer says that Islam can both reinforce violence and nonviolence, and has done both in history. Much like Christianity I would say. Islam has not developed an explicit ideology of nonviolence and Muslims have done little preaching or teaching about nonviolence as a way of life, but the roots and the traditions are all in place creating a fertile ground for nonviolence.

Abu-Nimer's wish is clear with one of his last statements in the book: "Every religion can foster either violence or nonviolence. It is the responsibility of those who follow a particular faith to cull these resources for nonviolence from their religious scriptures."

Review excerpts by Martin Smedjeback for Amazon.com of Mohammed Abu Nimer's book "Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam".