Violence In the Name of God

Violence In The Name of God

Shaykh Waleed Basyouni

Introduction: The Sensitive Nature of This Topic

Today, I will talk about a kind of sensitive topic a little bit, but I believe it's one of the important topics that we should feel free to address and to talk about it openly, which is talking about violence in the name of God, or if you want to say it, talking about terrorism, talking about extremism, and I'll be very frank and honest from the beginning. I'm here not to talk about any, generally, just to talk generally about the violence, which is take name on earth by name of God or by name of any religion.

I'm not just here to talk about very general talk or talking about all kind of terrorist exist out there in the world, and there are so many of them. As you all see or you hear, inshallah, today, that terrorism has nothing to do with a particular, it's not only related to a particular religion or a particular race or a particular country. Terrorism is something that exists in every religion and every community and every, it could exist in every community and every religion and every race or ethnic group. So it's not only exist in the Muslims or the non-Muslims or the Christians or the Jews or in America or overseas or in Afghanistan or in Iraq.

Specific Focus: Sunni Muslim Extremism

No, it could exist in every country, actually. That's why I'm not going to be talking about terrorism in general and extremism in general. I will be very specific from the beginning, and I want you to understand this because it's a key point to my speech today. I'm only going to talk about terrorism, which is, or act of violence, which is done by the hand of Sunni Muslims, of Sunni Muslims. So I'm not even talking about the extreme groups among the Shia or the terrorist group among the Shia or the extremist among the Shia or the Druze or the Alawis or any group like that.

I'm only concentrating about those, yes, there are minority, yes, they are not the mainstream Muslims at all. There are small portion of the Sunni Muslim group who have taken that route, the route of extremism. And as for us, as Ahlus Sunnah, we call those people who goes to that direction innovators. Even we don't give them the title Sunni in a term which it means the people who follow the Sunnah.

No, we always refer to them through the history of Islam as Al-Khawarij or the innovators or the people of, they used to call them the people of the sword, Ahlus Saif. And the ulama was very worried about this group to the extent you will see commonly said by the early Muslim generation, so and so person have came up with a lot of innovations. But whenever he start calling people to the sword, to carry weapons, to start transfer if that person will be transfer from just a theologian or a person who promote maybe innovations and wrong ideas and he start carrying weapons to support this idea and he start carrying

arms and recruiting people to bring violence and disturbing to the community, they said whenever he said that, that the moment we have no more tolerance to those people.

Defining Terrorism from an Islamic Perspective

Also, I'm not going to talk about the definition of terrorism and how we define it. I'm sure you all know about all the debates about how exactly we define terrorism because that's not what I'm interested in today, to spend the whole lecture about what is the best definition and how much accurate this is and is this fit every group who carry, for example, arm or weapon for liberation or for their, we call them freedom fighters, is this terrorism apply to them? How can we find a perfect definition? I'm not going to go through that.

For me, for me, terrorism, act of violence, which is illegal, which is basically it's not legal or it's not halal by the rules of Islam. Anybody transgress or anybody cross the limit of the Sharia or carry any act of violence, which is considered in Islamic law, it is a forbidden act, those people we call them, the people who spread corruption in earth, the people who are transgressor, zalimin or attaghin.

"And do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors." (Quran 2:190)

Allah also said: "And do not desire corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters." (Quran 28:77)

And corruption here in this earth, in this verse means, corruption here in this verse means that those who will spread disturbing, will not allow law to be in order in cities, they will take the life of innocent people, they will destroy urban areas and attacking basically the communities and taking their, destroying their wealth and their civilization, if you want to say that, or destroying their cities and their governments. If it's done un-Islamically, if it's done un-Islamically or been done to an innocent people.

The Concept of Extremism (Al-Ghuloo) in Islam

Also in Islam, Allah used another word, which is an interesting word, it's a word called al-ghuloo, extremism. Allah said:

"O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion" (Quran 4:171)

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) told his ummah, the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him):

(Sunan An-Nasa'i 3057)

"Beware of extremism" (Sunan An-Nasa'i 3057)

(Sahih Muslim 2670)

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Those who are extreme have perished," three times. (Sahih Muslim 2670)

And Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: al-mutanatta'oon are the extreme one, the one who will cross the line, who will do what is not lawful in shariah. So basically I'm talking about the extreme group, about those who will break the law of Islam, those who will attack and kill innocent people, and those who will not hesitate also to bring disturbance to the communities, to the communities. Regardless if it was done against Muslims or against non-Muslims as well.

The Sanctity of Human Life

Because all human, their life is sacred, and their life is protected, and their blood should be saved, not to be spilled or to kill. And we will come inshallah to talk more about this issue specifically.

Before I go even deeper to my topic today, I always hear this question, Shaykh, why do you talk about such things which is not popular? I lived all my life, I've been Muslim a lot, the only terrorist I have seen what Fox News bring on their news, or what I see in the media, in the mainstream media, or even the media in general, all they talk about the Muslim extreme and the extremism among Islam, and even people say, not all Muslims are extremists or terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.

Why Address This Minority Issue?

Things like that. They said, Shaykh, are you influenced by these ideas? Why would you waste your time and waste our time to talk about such topic? If they are minority, why we are bothering ourselves with? Why we are talking about them?

I'll tell you the truth, yes, they are minority. Yes, they are a small portion of the Muslim community in general, and anywhere in the world. They don't represent the mainstream Muslim. They don't represent the mainstream scholars in Islam. They don't represent most of the Muslims in anywhere in this world. They don't represent any mainstream dawah group or movement in the Islamic world, in the past or in the present. But they exist.

The whole point is, if you agree with me that they exist, and they have influence, and their message coming across through internet, through books, through tapes, and also it is one of the tricks of the devil to mislead so many young people and young brothers and sisters as well.

The Growing Influence and Danger

And we have seen in the recent days increasing in number in this area, not only in the militant group, but also to those who have kind of support emotionally to such group. And maybe you will find that there are so many people might agree with the terrorist group's ideologies and ideas, and what is the calling for, even if they disagree with them in how to represent or how to, for example, to, they don't agree with them in the way that they carry their ideas out through violence.

But even this area, that you agree with them, agree with them in their ideas and their ideologies, some of it can be very dangerous because this is the first step to be an extremist. This is taking the first step to go to that route and the person, if he enters, God forbid, there is no stop, there is no break. It's like going down hell. So that's why I think awareness, it's very important.

The Importance of Prevention

Taking caution is very important. Educating the Muslims about this is a very important issue. Especially I'm saying in these modern days, and I mean by modern days, these few years back, we have seen increasing in numbers and the message been sent heavily towards the Muslims everywhere in the world to support or at least to be sympathetic with the terrorist group, whatever name they might take, or extreme ideas and views.

I don't believe that small portion means nothing. Sometimes when people said, oh, I'm fine with 90%. You know, what's 10% in front of 99% or 90%? Even 99% sometimes is not good enough.

The 99.9% Analogy

Sometimes I'm not a perfect, trying to make everybody here perfect, but I mean don't ever underestimate small number. Small number can have a great impact or great effect. I just would like to ask you a question.

What do you think of 99.9? Does that sound very good number to you? If I said to you, I will do this job, I will do 99.9%. Is that good? Yes, it is sounds good, but I'll tell you that if it's 99.9% is good enough, then 12 newborns in America will be giving to their own parents daily. If 99.9% is good enough, that's what it will lead to. 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes will be shipped each year.

If 99.9% is good enough, 2 million documents will be lost in the IRS every year. Oh, that's good. If it's 99.9% will be good enough, it will be 18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled every day. 2.5 million books will be shipped with the wrong covers. Two planes in Chicago-O'Hara airport will be unsafe. They will make unsafe landing every day in Chicago-O'Hara airport.

If 99.9% is good enough, 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written to the wrong person every year in this country. If 99.9% is good enough, 880,000 credit cards in circulation will be turned out to have incorrect cardholder information or the wrong magnet strip on it. It will not be given to the right persons as well.

If 99.9% is good enough, you will have 5.5 million cases of soft drink produced will be flat. Wow. 99.9% if it's good enough, do you know that 291 peacemaker operations will be performed incorrectly? 99.9% if it's good enough, you will have 3,056 copies of tomorrow's Wall Street Journal will be missing one of their sections.

Why This Topic Matters Globally

Anyway, so basically I believe even if there are minority, I believe even if they're not so popular, but still they are a problem we need to deal with. Terrorism and extremism became a global issue. Everybody talk about it.

Every even president want to be elected, he need to show how tough he is against terrorism. And unfortunately, talking only about the Muslim terrorist group, but we know that terrorism is not as I said related to only one religion, one ethnic group or one community. It exists in every community, it exists in every basically it could be exist in every country, it could be exist in every religion and carried by various different kind of people.

Personal Motivation for This Discussion

So as I said again and again, my talk today only to concentrate on one specific group because I'm talking to Muslims, I'm talking to Sunni Muslims, I'm one of the Sunni Muslims, I'm one of the mainstream who care so much about my brothers and sisters that they will be going towards that direction and to be influenced by the ideologies of this extreme group.

I believe as the Muslim jurist said early in the days, It is very good to be safe better than being sorry. It's very important for you to prevent. Prevention is much better than cure. To prevent yourself from being sick, it's much better than having the medicine to cure yourself with later on.

So if we can prevent ourselves, educate ourselves, protect ourselves from these ideologies so if ever I come across somebody who carrying it or while I'm surfing in the internet and I come across any website, promote such things, I got an email talking about things like that, I know how to protect myself. I know that this is not the right people to listen to, they're not the right websites to be visiting and to look at. Not because you're afraid that your IP address will be picked up by the FBI. No, because you want to protect yourself, you want to protect your heart, you want to protect your mind from being among the extreme ones.

The Prophet's Warning About Extremism

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: My intercession in the day of judgment will not be given to two kinds of people. One, the one who recite the Quran and he or she are extreme. Extreme in their view, extreme in their practice, extreme in their judgment basically.

- those who are extreme with the Quran. And the dictators, rulers, and the dictators, rulers.

Academic Background and Historical Perspective

I'm talking about this subject because it's very much related to my specialty. My specialty is in Islamic theology. And we have through the history of Islam, studying the history of the sects, a lot of movement

who carry the same exact idea. And I was very shocked when I was doing my own research that I found this extreme group is still sometimes using the exact same evidence that people used 1,000 years ago.

The exact evidence, the exact verses, the exact hadith that they used 1,000 years ago to promote their false ideas, it's been also reused in modern days by these extreme groups. They are just extend for them.

Personal Witness to Historical Events

Seeing so many incidents happen in the world while I'm growing up, starting from the incident of Al- Haram, Al-Makki, when a group of extremist group, extreme group, take over Mecca and lock the door of Al-Kaaba. We're watching this on TV. We're living in these days, seeing some of the people that they used to come at our masjid, all of a sudden they disappear, and we hear that they are in Mecca, locking the door of Al-Kaaba, hijacking Al-Kaaba, basically the masjid of Mecca, and claiming that they have Al- Mahdi.

And they did not hesitate to kill hundreds of people, hundreds of soldiers, and they will open fire on anyone who oppose them in that time. Not only Mecca, that moment, by the way, took place, it was a plot to be happening in different cities in the same times, in Arabia in that time.

The Afghanistan Experience

Seeing what happened in the jihad in Afghanistan, and how that beautiful concept of Islam, which is helping your Muslim brothers in Afghanistan to free their country, their freedom fighters, as they call them, that jihad that have absolutely attract a lot of young Muslims, a lot of young Muslims. You might, so many of you don't know that, that so many young Muslims used to fly, and to go from New York, from the Muslim country, they will even be giving up free tickets to go to fight there.

But unfortunately, so many of those who we have seen, after they came back, they came back to our communities, to the society, and I witnessed that myself, with some weird ideas after that. There is something happened over there, to so many of them have shifted so many of their ideas, that they came back, and instead of coming back, some of them, the vast majority, alhamdulillah, they don't carry that, but some of them came back with a very weird ideas that we never heard of before.

Some extreme views, so much hate toward the society, toward the community, toward the scholars, toward the governments that they live in, toward the society, toward their families. And I have witnessed tens of stories of people that I have seen how they change, in a very weird way, in a very short time, and start carrying all these extreme views and ideas.

Global Conflicts and Their Impact

We have seen the Gulf War, and how it's one and two, and how it also helped or raised that tone of this extreme group and movement to justify some of their violence actions. Also the war that is taking place

today, took place in Bosnia, took place in Somalia, it took place in Sudan, with the movement that happened in Sudan, and how this impact also some of those groups that they loved for a while in such area, and how it became another shelter for another group who, instead of going to Afghanistan, started going to Sudan and coming back to us with some views and some ideas, and even it was reached the peak in Afghanistan lately, and now in Iraq.

You see it growing every, basically, in Algeria, and the movement that what happened in Algeria. All these incidents that happened, some of you might have seen, have loved, have watched carefully, or you even heard about it now in the news. All these incidents that happened around me and the people my age and older, we saw how this impact and shape all these extreme views through the last 30 years, at least 30 years, or 20 years.

Key Facts About Terrorism and Extremism

Anyway, and I believe that I will share some of the points that I think it will help to give type of protection to us against such views and ideas. I will talk about several areas, and I will just pick some points in each area.

First, I would like to say that terrorism and extreme, some facts about terrorism.

Fact One: Beyond the Limits of Sharia

One, terrorism or extreme views, and extreme, it means when you go beyond the limit of the Sharia. Beyond the limit of the Sharia. The Kuffar, or the non-Muslim general, they cannot draw the line where to stop. They use common sense, which is fine in some area, but for us as Muslims, we use something beside what we call common sense, because the word common sense is very hard to define as well, as you might agree with me. The word common sense, yes, you can bring one, two, three examples, but to define what is common sense, it's also something we might not agree with. We might not all agree with.

For us as Muslims, we know that the Sharia have given us limits, borders. We cannot cross that. So when you cross it, you became a transgressor. You became an extreme. You became a person who commit an act of bid'ah, or innovations, or a sin. So terrorism is something haram, forbidden in Islam.

Historical Opposition to Al-Khawarij

You see how the Muslims talk so strongly against the Khawarij. The most clear sects in the history of Islam represent the extreme views. Who openly said that they allowed themselves to kill innocent people, and righteous people such as Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

To the extent, one of them said, when I remember the killer of Ali:

"When I remember the one who killed Ali, I would assume that in the Day of Judgment, he will be the best human. He will reward the higher place in Paradise."

The killers of Ali. That's how we think of him. That he is the most righteous, the best believer ever exist after Muhammad (peace be upon him). They killed Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). And they think that when they carry weapons against Uthman, they were changing the evil. They were making amr bil ma'ruf wa ni'anil munkar.

Those group, that's how they look at themselves. What the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) said about them. How they treated them. They thought of them as Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said. And the rest of the sahaba and the companions and the successors and the ulama, until the modern days, they have issued hundreds and tons of fatwas. And brought so many books against such views and such extreme idea.

Modern Scholarly Opposition

Just to give you an example from modern days, more than 30 years ago. Because they always hear in the news, all Muslim scholars, they don't denounce terrorism enough. That's a myth. That's a myth. The wahhabis or the salafi or the group, all these people, they are ally with the terrorist, they don't denounce them. That's absolutely false. And that's how the people who have special interest, they come in the middle to use this incident to promote their special interest or hate against certain group or against the Muslim in general.

More than 30 years ago, my shaykh, shaykh bin Baz (may Allah have mercy on him), have issued a fatwa about hijacking airplanes. More than 30 years ago, not after 9-11, that's 30 years ago, they have issued a fatwa. It is forbidden to carry any act of violence against Muslim or non-Muslims by hijacking airplanes or kidnapping citizen or individuals, blowing urban areas like buses or like trains or like airplanes or buildings.

And this fatwa came out also in Egypt from the 80s against the jama'a al-islamiyya and against the extreme group, the jihadis, also known as the jihadis group at that time, at that time, or takfir wal hijrah.

Distinguishing Islam from Muslims' Actions

We have to differentiate between two things. Islam do not promote terrorism. Islam is not a religion of extreme. It's not a religion of terrorism. But we might have some Muslims who are extremists. We might have a Muslim who is, who happen to be an extremist or happen to be a terrorist person. Yes, they exist and you should not feel offended by saying that or hearing that.

I feel offended if somebody said, this religion is a religion of terrorism. But I don't feel offended at all. When I know that there is some Muslim, they are terrorists or they are extreme, I know that there is always be misguided people. There will be always bad people out there.

The Washington Sniper Example

I remember one person asked me, a reporter. She said, or I don't remember now, asked me, what do you feel about, how do you feel when you heard about the sniper in Washington? You remember that sniper who used to kill people? She said, how do you feel now that he is a Muslim? His name is Muhammad.

I said, I feel happy that he was caught. She said, but him being a name is Muhammad. I said, so what? Do you think all Muslims are perfect? Among the Muslims, the gangs and the thugs and the thieves, and among them the doctors and the engineers and the students, they are like any other community. Among them the good and the bad and the ugly.

That's the reality. Yes, our role as a community, we try to eliminate this group and try to fight them as much as we can. And we isolate them, protect ourselves from ideas. But you know what? I believe that this extreme views will exist until the Day of Judgment. It will never end. And this is a point I will mention later insha'Allah.

The Eternal Nature of This Problem

Because it is done and run in the heads by the devil, by the shaitan. It's one of the shaitan's trick that how he mislead people. As long as the shaitan exists, as long as you will have extreme group. That's why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Sahih Muslim 1066)

"Al-Khawarij, those extreme group, will remain in my ummah until the false Messiah appear and they will follow him."

Universal Nature of Extremism

As I said, terrorism is not related to certain country or race or gender or even to any social level. Like for example, people said extremists appear only among poor people. That's not true. You might find an extreme people who are very rich people, have millions of dollars and they turn to be an extremist.

Turn to carry act of violence against others. Yes, it is commonly spread among poor communities, unemployed people. Also among youth, men more than women. But you might find women and you might find rich people and you might find people who have very good jobs. Older people will participate in such things like that.

Historical Example of Female Extremist

For example, one of the great leader, one of the famous leader of the Khawarij, a woman, her name is Layla. And she entered Al-Kufa carrying her sword, killing the Muslim of Al-Kufa. And she called the Adhan, led the Salat, and she was the first woman in the history of Islam to give Khutbah al-Jumu'ah. And after that, Amina would carry or follow her footsteps.

But as a historical fact, at least known for the Muslim, she was the first one to pray Jumu'ah in Masjid Al- Kufa. But I'm not sure if she led the prayer or not. But I'm sure now that she gave the Khutbah. She gave the Khutbah.

Root Causes of Extremism in Muslim World

Why there are so many terrorist group or extreme groups or terrorism became today? We have this problem in the Muslim world. We have beautiful religion. Shaykh, why we have this exist?

Multiple Wars

One, there are so many wars going on in our countries, in the Muslim world. So many wars taking place in this time in the Muslim world. And wars is a very good environment for such group to grow and to exist.

Social Injustice and Dictatorship

Two, there is so much injustice in the Middle East in general. So much social injustice. So much injustice happened to the public by the hand of their rulers. There is a dictatorship taking place in so many of the Muslim's country. And that have create a reaction towards that injustice to fight this injustice by taking sometimes the wrong means.

Rich Islamic Heritage Misused

Also, our Islamic heritage is so rich. So rich and so wide. And that give opportunity for people to take from that heritage, from this culture, from this history, from this materials, can create from it some material to justify their action, to justify their actions of violence, their actions of violence. It's not a new issue. It's not a new group in the Muslim world. As I said, they all exist before.

New Development: Global Targeting

But I think what is very interesting, which is need more study. It is for the first time as far as I know, in the history of Islam, that this violence will be taking this shape against the non-Muslims, against the dhimmi, against the ahlul kitab, the people who live in the Muslim world. Usually, even in the time of the crusaders, even in the time of a war between Muslims, even in modern days when the Afghan war was exist against the Russian, we do not used to hear that people will carry operation against Russia in Moscow, or the Russian in Europe, or places like that.

That shift by declaring war against the whole western world, for example, is something new. And it's something, it's shifting from its original, from what we used to hear before. And I think that part, it's a new thing, and it's a new movement, and new ideas need to be studied more and analyzed more.