Religion and Politics

This past week SpiegelOnline published an interview with Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist, who drew a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005 (the simplistic one with the bomb placed on his head). The interview was based around the new development in the saga that the prosecutor general in Jordan has issued a subpoena against Westergaard. In the interview, he says again that the cartoon “was not aimed at Islam as a whole but aimed at the terrorists, who use part of Islam as their spiritual ammunition. You could also say that the terrorists have taken the Prophet as their hostage.” The artist says that many people did not understand his intentions, but at the same time, it also was not in the interests of other groups (politicians and governments mostly) to admit that they did in fact understand the cartoon. Westergaard is 73 years old and now lives under police protection. An earlier article in SpiegelOnline looks more in depth at how his life has changed since his “cartoon would turn into a symbol of the struggle over European values of tolerance and freedom of the press.” Westergaard’s intentions (as spelled out in another interview) were more apparent when he took legal action against Geert Wilders for using his drawing in an anti-Qur’an movie. He said, “Wilders has an overly generalized perception of Muslims as potential terrorists” and that he did not want his cartoon taken out of its original context that aimed at fanatic terrorists.

The past few days have seen terrible acts of violence (terrorism) in Iraq, Turkey, and India – and threats in China. On Saturday, according to news reports, 17 explosions went off one after another in Ahmedabad, India – with two further blasts at hospitals. 49 people were killed. The attacks were probably “attempts to provoke violence between Hindus and Muslims,” and the NYT also reminds readers that the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington has concluded that from January 2004 to January 2007 India had a death toll of 3,674 to acts of terrorism – second only to Iraq. Questions have been raised about the involvement of the “Students’ Islamic Movement of India” and the Indian Mujahedeen that warned about the attacks in advance. On Sunday evening in Istanbul, 17 people were killed in two bomb blasts. Der Spiegel reports that the bombings could play a part in the decision of the Constitutional Court in Ankara, which has met to “deliberate the case seeking to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).” The article also points out that “even though a majority of the judges are opposed to the AKP, they will not want to see the country descend into chaos.” Yesterday, three female suicide bombers killed 32 people in Baghdad. They were all Shiite pilgrims. Ethnic violence also erupted in Kirkuk between Kurds and Turkmens. In total, 61 people were killed and “by the end of the day, the riot and violence by Kurds against Turkmens had become one of the most severe ethnic skirmishes in Kirkuk since the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.” Now, the world community is wondering about the Beijing Olympics and what significance videotaped messages from the Turkistan Islamic Party have for the security of the Games. News reports have conveyed the terrorist message that the group intends to target the most important points of the Olympics and Chinese central cities. Meanwhile, Amnesty International’s spokesman has said that “the human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the run-up to its hosting of the Olympic Games” and the reports say that Beijing is getting rid of political critics and “underground Christian organizers.” China has denied that bombings on July 21 were terrorist attacks. Even more discouraging, attacks in Afghanistan are up by 50% in the first half of 2008.

Good day everyone, I am Patrick Frost, the FPA blogger for Central Asia, and Karin has been kind enough to let me do a post on this site from time to time. Please feel free to send me comments, critiques, and questions at patfrost1@gmail.com or just post them on this site.

Today, I would like to talk about a book I read about six months ago that challenged the way I saw the West’s political society based on secularization, other societies, civilizations, and political systems throughout the world, especially in Muslim dominated lands, and the current ‘war on terror.’ It is Mark Lilla’s, professor of the Humanities at Columbia University, The Stillborn God; Religion, Politics, and the Modern West. At its most basic, it is a philosophical history of Europe/US advancement from a society ruled by political theology to one ruled by secularization. But the book is about much more, in fact it is a warning against complacency of this type of political/societal system in the West.

Here is Lilla’s dramatic message;
‘Intellectual complacency, nursed by implicit faith in the inevitability of secularization, has blinded us to the persistence of political theology and its manifest power to shape human life at any moment.’

Lilla warns us in the West to not feel so safe and cozy with our secular system, for he argues that we are the ‘exception’, not the rest of the world, and that we are in fact still living in an ‘experiment.’ These are strong words and statements, but they are important for all to ponder. This is a pertinent book because it is based on a question not often asked; ‘Why don’t we understand the ‘enduring attraction of political theology?’ Instead of ‘why don’t they understand our (and copy) our political system and way of life?’

Lilla strongly believes that the argument over politics and religion will not end, and in fact ‘could not end,’ because it concerns the enduring question that all societies must answer and face, whether ‘to order their political affairs in light of a divine revelation, or to make their way alone.’

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, recently named (in early July) the Preah Vihear Temple a World Heritage Site. The temple dates back to the early 11^th century AD, is dedicated to Shiva, and is located in Northern Cambodia very close to the border of Thailand. In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded the temple and its land to Cambodia. According to the AP, a Cambodian official claimed last week that about 40 Thai troops crossed into Cambodia’s territory – on account of “dispute over land” near this ancient border temple. Apparently, the dispute between the two neighboring countries worsened after UNESCO declared it a world heritage site. Last month (June 22), Cambodia shut off access to the temple to visitors from Thailand – partly because Thailand was increasing its protests that the world heritage site status would “jeopardize their country’s claims to disputed land adjacent to the site” – specifically 1.8 square miles of land near the temple. Yesterday, the Cambodian Foreign Minister said that there is “an imminent state of war” and a request has been made to the UN Security Council. News reports are saying that more than 4,000 troops have been deployed around the temple since July 15. Foreign ministers of the ASEAN countries are meeting in Singapore this week, and according to the AP article, “Thai-Cambodia Dispute Moves to ASEAN,” the two sides only agreed that their troops would not fire on each other but the military standoff has not actually been resolved. Cambodia will hold a general election on July 27.

pictures from the UNESCO website/Alison Clayson 

Earlier this year, the RAND Corporation issued a study of the threat of “Islamist” insurgencies: “War by other Means - Building Complete and Balanced Capabilities for Counterinsurgency.” The press release for the new study is also a summary of the main idea: “U.S. Lacks the Capability to Counter Insurgency in the Muslim World.” The language in the report is at times categorical, although that is hardly surprising given the sub-topic of the analysis: countering religious hatred and extreme violence. The authors contend that the U.S. will be “battling global-local Islamist insurgency for a long time with, at best, mixed results - if we do not reshape our strategy and acquire a complete and balanced set of capabilities.” (p.348). This requires not focusing on large-scale U.S. military action and not attempting to “wage and win a global religious conflict.” In contrast, the authors seem to be suggesting ‘competition’ for the Muslim populations of countries with inept governments. The crux of the problem (behind terrorism apparently) is “the sentiment and direction of Muslim populations.” (p.350) However, that still sounds like a global religious conflict in disguise. Other areas of the RAND report are more substantive and less ideological - particularly addressing the capabilities, which are required in order to counter global-local insurgency. For example, according to the press release, “the chances of defusing an insurgency are better than 90 percent when caught early.” This contrasts to success rates when the insurgency has had the time and chance to become an uprising.

Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace have published the 2008 Failed States Index. The main goal of the Index is to assess the vulnerability of states to slide towards further violence and chaos. There are twelve indicators of state vulnerability, which can be found here. At the top of the Index (most failed) is Somalia, where the political situation has continually deteriorated (like much of the world) on account of shortages and food riots (it was in third place in 2007). The chaos in Somalia has been directly linked to ongoing battles with the Islamist insurgency. Moreover, as mentioned in this blog several times, Iraq and Israel have been plagued with instability that often results from the role of religion in politics. The Failed States Index 2008 points out, for example, that Iraq’s score has improved (now 5th place; 2nd place in 2007), although “discord among sectarian factions has shown no real improvement.” With respect to Israel, the main force behind its new ranking in the top 60 (most failed states) is its “inability to fully integrate its Arab minority.” The ranking for Israel (now fifty eight) is reported to be based mostly on the political reality of the West Bank. There is also a precarious connection between religion and politics (meaning violence) in Sudan, which is ranked this year as the second most failed state in the world (compared to 1st last year). The full list of country rankings can be found here. The article explaining the Index does not directly address the role of religion as a factor for conflict or an element of instability. Instead, the focus of the 2008 analysis was more on 1) how the U.N’s peacekeeping presence in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Haiti helped improve their rankings; 2) how oil prices have helped provide lifelines to Presidents such as Omar Hassan al-Bashir (Sudan); and 3) how the rapid increase in the cost of essential goods such as flour and rice “can cause chaos.” One main question, therefore, was primarily left out of the analysis on failed states and political hardship.

Many Muslims see Yemen as a sanctuary – a tranquil home of Islam that stays close to tradition. This positive image for the faithful persists despite the conflict that broke out in 2004 between the government and Shi’ite rebels. Young Muslims, who want to study Arabic and religion, in a more authentic environment, often take a journey to Sanaa.  Meanwhile, however, Yemen is a hot spot in the world’s ongoing conflict over the question of clerical rule.  Is clerical rule (particularly in the Muslim world) increasing or decreasing? Is it becoming more or less popular?  We allege in the United States that the number of democratic countries is increasing. On the other hand, constitutional developments in Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly based on religious principles.

Reuters reported this past Monday that Yemeni officials are saying: “the rebels want to return to a form of clerical rule prevalent in the country until the 1960s.” The rebels belong to the Shi’ite branch of Islam, particularly the Zaydi sect. Friday, May 2, 2008, a bomb explosion in northern Yemen killed at least 12 people outside a mosque. And, of course, whenever there is a debate about clerical rule – the question of Iranian influence is always in the background. The Yemeni government “has accused the Houthi rebels of receiving support from Iran.”  While Western media are analyzing the situation from the perspective of the War on Terror and whether Yemen is a safe haven for terrorists (al-Qaeda specifically), IRIN News has reported that the rebel leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is calling for help because of the devastating effects of Yemen’s “stop-go” conflict.