IIUM JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND CIVILISATIONAL STUDIES

(E-ISSN: 2637-112X)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Hazizan Md Noon, International Islamic University Malaysia

EDITOR
Elmira Akhmetova, International Islamic University Malaysia

BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR

Kaoutar Guediri, International Islamic University Malaysia

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Alwi Al Atas, International Islamic University Malaysia
Norliza Saleh, International Islamic University Malaysia

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Adibah Binti Abdul Rahim, International Islamic University Malaysia
Arshad Islam, International Islamic University Malaysia
Bacem Dziri, University of Osnabruck, Germany
Fauziah Fathil, International Islamic University Malaysia
Hafiz bin Zakariya, University Terengganu Malaysia
Hakan Gulerce, Harran University, Turkey
Osman Yapar, Oman
Rahimah Embong, UniSZA, Malaysia
Rohaiza Rokis, International Islamic University Malaysia
Sharifah Syahirah Binti Shikh, Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA, Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

Abdullahil Ahsan, Istanbul Sehir University, Turkey
Ahmed Alibasic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Alfiya Yusupova, Kazan Federal University, Russia
Alparslan Acikgenc, University of Ibn Haldun, Turkey
Fadzli Adam, UniSZA, Malaysia
Syed Farid Alatas, Singapore National University, Singapore
Fatimah Ulfat, Germany
Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudan
Ednan Aslan, University of Vienna, Austria
James Piscatori, Australian National University, Australia
Jorgen Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Mohammed Hashim Kamali, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia
Muhammad Abdul Quayum, International Islamic University Malaysia
Samim Akgonul, Strasbourg University, France

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE
Comments and suggestions to: [email protected]; [email protected]
Online journal: http://journals.iium.edu.my/irkh/index.php/ijrcs
 CONTENTS

Editorial 83
Hazizan Md. Noon

Articles
Concept Of Civilisation And Sustainable Development: A Maqasidic 88
Orientation
Abdelaziz Berghout and Ouahiba Saoudi

The Reconstruction of Ibn Khaldun’s Grand Design of History- 113

making: The Underlying Metaphysical Cause
Naseeb Ahmed Siddiqui

Peacebuilding in Communities: Experiences of a Muslim Female 136

Social Worker in Cultivating Interfaith Awareness in Australia
Amnah Khalid Rashid and Ishtiaq Hossain

Educational Policy and Educators’ Academic Integrity 155

Bukuri Zejno

Global Agenda and the Politics of Double Standard: War Against 172
Terrorism or War of Terrorism?
Babayo Sule, Muhammad Aminu Yahaya and Usman Sambo

Viewpoint
Re-Thinking the Age of Adolescence - An Islamic Perspective 206
Claudia Seise

Book Review
Edited by Nurcholish Madjid, Treasures of Islamic Intellectuals 214
Makmor bin Tumin
Editorial

We thank God for being able to publish the third issue of IJRCS in
time. In this issue, we, as usual, blend the ideas and thoughts of a group
of authors with diverse interests and specialisations in order to present
an Issue of five articles, one Viewpoint and one Book Review to our
readers. Despite the variety, it is possible to work out a kind of link that
relates one article to the others in a certain way. My task is partly to
establish albeit broadly this relative coherence.
At the broadest level, one may notice that the two vocations or
niches of our Journal namely ‘religion’ and ‘civilisation’ are maintained.
It is quite obvious that each of the published articles contains in one
form or another one or both of these niches with varying degrees of
incorporation. For instance, while Berghout and Saoudi’s writing is
directly related to both civilisation and religion elements, Zejno’s
“Educational Policy and Educators’ Academic Integrity” is of a broader
relevance to them.
Looking at the themes and issues addressed by the authors, we are
of the opinion that the order of this Issue’s articles can be arranged as
per published sequence that we believe reflects certain logical flow.
With regard to the published works, the following remarks are hoped to
be helpful in introducing each of them.
Dwight D. Eisenhower is quoted to have said, “Civilisation owes to
the Islamic world some of its most important tools and achievements…
the Muslim genius has added much to the culture of all peoples.” In
this context, Abdelaziz Berghout and Ouahiba Saoudi’s article entitled
“Concept of Civilisation and Sustainable Development: A Maqasidic
Orientation” explicitly elaborates the concept of civilisation and links it
to the two contemporary concerns namely sustainable development and
maqāṣid al-shāri’ah. In their paper, the writers stress that the nature of
Islam posits that “civilisation is an integrated and multi-faceted social
phenomenon involving, intellectual, social, socio-economic, cultural,
spiritual, moral, material and other aspects” and, for this reason, the
84 IIUM JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND CIVILISATIONAL STUDIES (IJECS)

Islamic concept of civilisation should be viewed in connection with

all other social phenomena. As a result, the study of civilisation from
an Islamic perspective should promote an integrated approach or
framework. Since civilisation in Islam is both holistic and balanced,
an analysis of the current effort at achieving Sustainable Development
Goals from the Maqasid framework is relevant.
Perhaps a more specific exploration into the thinkers’ views on
civilisation is needed to provide more insights into the concept of
civilisation and/or any other related concepts such as the concept of
‘history’ which is instrumental in the development of civilisation.
In this context, Siddiqui’s “The Re-construction of Ibn Khaldun’s
Grand Design of History-Making: The Underlying Metaphysical
Cause” serves this purpose. Siddiqui claims that “Ibn Khaldun, in his
attempt to construct the scientific causal narration of history, became a
reductionist by concluding once ambiguous phenomena of how `history
becomes’ to two interconnected causes - ijtima’ and ‘asabiyyah.”
Having established this point, the writer attempts to do two things:
first is to expose the Grand design of history-making by connecting Ibn
Khaldun’s different dimensions as part of a comprehensive theory, and
second is to reconstruct the Grand design of history by eliminating the
identified logical problem. The writer claims that the ‘final cause’ of
history i.e. the active and dynamic concept of time cannot be reduced
further and is said to be defensible scientifically and philosophically.
The macroscopic discourse on civilisation and religion is normally
seen to take place mainly at the theoretical and conceptual level
as reflected, for example, in the writing of Berghout and Saoudi. Its
manifestation at the microscopic or practical level, however, can be
found in the actual societal programmes and activities. “Peace Building
in Communities: Experiences of a Muslim Female Social Worker in
Cultivating Inter-Faith Awareness in Australia” by Amnah Khalid
Rashid & Ishtiaq Hossain represents the latter case. Setting their paper’s
background in the United Nations’ (UN) debate and expanded definition
of peace-building as well as the UN Resolution 1325 which was to
be implemented through National Action Plan by the signatories, the
writers looked into the community level peace-building mechanism that
took place in multicultural societies. The discussion on the mechanism
to build social cohesion through inter-faith dialogue, awareness and
EDITORIAL 85

education was based on Australian case. More specifically, the paper

elucidates a Muslim woman’s experience in building peace in her
community. The case refers to the works of Dr. Nora Amath and her
organisation, namely Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights of
All Humanity (AMARAH), and the study looked at the approaches and
strategies employed by AMARAH “to build trust between Muslims
and non- Muslims in inter-faith dialogue towards building peace and
tolerance among the communities in Brisbane.”
It used to be said that “Every civilisation depends upon the quality
of the individuals it produces” (Frank Herbert). This I believe applies
in almost all human activities the one of which concerns the quality of
education and knowledge. Along this line, Bukuri Zejno provides an
insight from her study of “Educational Policy and Educators’ Academic
Integrity” which aims at looking into a number of aspects within the
educational system that are found to stimulate plagiarism and academic
dishonesty among the educators and academic professionals. The paper
tries “to dig into the roots of that problem and investigate what are the
potential causes of it.”
Standing at the opposite end of civilisation and religion which
promote progress and peace is what might be attributed generally
to ‘negativity’ in its various forms. This can be affiliated to such
terms as underdevelopment, chaos, backwardness, wars and even one
of the most popular terms in the conventional study of civilisation
namely barbarism. The article by Babayo Sule, Muhammad Aminu
Yahaya and Usman Sambo entitled “Global Agenda and the Politics
of Double Standard: War against Terrorism or War of Terrorism?”
inclines towards an analysis of this negativity particularly in the
21st century. This theoretical paper looks at the “double standard
in the fight against terrorism where the world dominant powers
that shouldered the war against terrorism and have identified the
phenomenon as a threat to the global peace are also found in the act of
committing atrocities globally equivalent to the terrorists’ activities
or even worst.” The paper suggests that the meaning of terrorism has
been given according to the perception and manipulative views of
the international media and globalists to subsequently justify their
double standard actions.
86 IIUM JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND CIVILISATIONAL STUDIES (IJECS)

In her Viewpoint, Claudia Seise discusses the age of adolescence

from an Islamic perspective under the title “Thinking the Age of
Adolescence: An Islamic Perspective.” She argues that “from the Islamic
worldview’s perspective, there does not exist a split-liminality between
physical maturity on the one side and mental and emotional maturity
on the other side as can be found in our contemporary societies.” She
illustrates this by taking example of teaching prayer and explains how
one should teach his/her children to become holistically mature.
For the Book Review section, Makmor bin Tumin provides us with a
review of Nurcholish Madjid’s work “Treasures of Islamic Intellectuals.”
Madjid, an Indonesian scholar, has assembled works of some Muslim
thinkers of different periods such as that of Al-Kindi, al-Ashaari, al-
Farabi, Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali, Ibn Rusyd, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Khaldun,
al-Afghani and Muhammad ‘Abduh. Apart from providing a lengthy
introduction to the book, Madjid also discussed the principles of Islam
and the development of Islamic thought particularly in jurisprudence
after the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by highlighting the
importance of the practice of ijtihad or Islamic rationalism thereafter.
Since I am going to reach retirement age before the publication
of next issue, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all for
their various forms of assistance and contribution to this Journal. In
particular, thanks are due to the University and my Faculty for having
trust in me to manage and oversee the publication of this Journal from
its inception. My mandatory appreciation and thanks certainly go to all
members of the Editorial Board especially our very hardworking and
dedicated Editor, Dr. Elmira Akhmetova and very cooperative team
members including Assistant Editors, Dr Alwi Alatas and Sr. Norliza
Saleh, and Book Review Editor Dr Kaoutar Guediri. Thanks are also
extended to all contributors and readers as well as those who are not
mentioned here. I seek your indulgence for any shortcomings that might
have happened during my time. I wish the new Editorial Team good
luck and success in their future undertakings.
I would like to end my words by sharing a saying attributed to
Franklin D. Roosevelt which reads, “if civilisation is to survive, we must
cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples,
of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” Having been
EDITORIAL 87

oriented in social science disciplines, I believe that the spirit of this

kind of thought deserves to be shared and fully pondered. The world
might have advanced to an unprecedented state of achievements
through advancement of knowledge, science and technology which are
supposed to make human life and existence on this earth better. Looking
at what is happening in the world today, however, a question may be
raised as to whether the world is moving towards the right direction to
guarantee peace, happiness and security, which are very much expected
and cherished by all humans in all civilisations. Are we at all having a
civilisation right now?

Hazizan Md. Noon

Editor-in-Chief
December 2019
IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 88-112.
Copyright © IIUM Press

Concept of Civilisation and Sustainable

Development: A Maqasidic Orientation

Abdelaziz Berghout1 and Ouahiba Saoudi2

Abstract: This paper discusses the concept of “civilisation” and “civilisational

sustainable development” with special reference to maqasid and values system
in Islam. Islam, in its very nature, posits that civilisation is an integrated
and a multi-faceted social phenomenon involving intellectual, social, socio-
economic, cultural, spiritual, moral, material, and other aspects. The concept
of “civilisation” refers and links to several other social phenomena, such as
development, progress, human association, umran, tamadun, maqasid, and
values. Hence, studying civilisation from an Islamic perspective demands an
integrated approach or rather, a civilisational framework or model. This paper
addresses the following points: the concept of civilisation and civilisational
development from an Islamic perspective, mapping the civilisational model
for a balanced civilisation and development, maqasid framework, sustainable
development goals, and reviving the civilisational vision of Islam as a pre-
condition for civilisational development. This paper explains the leading role
of the Islamic view of civilisation in the progress of society. Furthermore,
it highlights the urgency of a contemporary understanding of Islam that
envisions it as a project for a civilisation of creativity, balance, justice, peace,
and progress. Additionally, this paper follows textual analysis and library
research to discuss the main aspects that make the general framework of
civilisation from an Islamic perspective; a topic of more merit and interest
to the Islamic world and its development, today. The findings show the need
for an integrated Islamic model of civilisation and development. The main

1
Abdelaziz Berghout is from Department of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary
Studies, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences,
International Islamic University Malaysia, 50728, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He can be reached at [email protected].
2
Ouahiba Saoudi is from Department of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary
Studies, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences,
International Islamic University Malaysia, 50728, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 89
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

peculiarities of civilisation in the Islamic perspective are value-loaded,

balanced, comprehensiveness, maqasidic, and flexible. Additionally, it has
been clearly established that, inter alia, human factors, values, maqasid,
sustainable development goals, modern know-how, technological means,
managerial capabilities, and governance are essential elements in the Islamic
model of civilisation.

Keywords: Civilisation, Civilisational Development, Sustainable

Development Goals, Maqasid Framework.

Introduction
This article addresses the questions of civilisation and sustainable
development from an Islamic perspective. To provide a comprehensive
framework for such a study, one has to first analyse the concept of
civilisation and development, and articulate the concept of civilisational
development. In general terms, the ultimate goal of any human society is
to undergo the process of civilisation and reach certain levels of human
association and advancement in accordance to its own vision of life
and social aspiration. Therefore, one may say, at the first preliminary
theorisation, that civilisation is the result of balanced transformation
of society towards high degrees of development. However, for this
transformation to occur, there is always a need to have a sound,
comprehensive, and balanced model of civilisation. Without such a
model or paradigm, the society will not be able to undergo a systematic
transformation resulting in civilisation and development. Many human
societies in the past and recent times have undergone the process of
transformation through adopting different models of development and
civilisation.
Muslim society is also another clear case of civilisational
development. Indeed, similar to many other religions, Islam has
provided a vision for civilisation. By its very nature, the Islamic view of
development and civilisation is integrative, value-laden, balanced, and
comprehensive. Furthermore, the civilisational vision of Islam stresses
the urgency of a balanced eco-system and integrative environment of
development.
90 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

Textual analysis and library research are utilised to discuss the main
aspects that make the general framework of civilisation from an Islamic
perspective. Furthermore, some classical and selected contemporary
Islamic works on the questions of civilisation and development would
be referred to, in order to scrutinise the main principles of civilisation.
The significance of this study stems from the nature of the topic. It
is one of the most pressing issues of a more merit and interest to the
Islamic world and its development today. The work shows the need for
an integrated Islamic model of civilisation. As a process, civilisation
from the Islamic perspective requires more than worldview and a
system of values. It also needs the implementation and transformation
means, tools, and know-hows similar to any other civilisation.
This article is subdivided into the following sections: the concept of
civilisation and civilisational development from an Islamic perspective,
mapping the civilisational model for balanced development and
reviving the civilisational vision of Islam, and civilisational education
as a pre-condition for the renewal of the ummah.

General Exposition of the Concept of Civilisation: An Integrative

Approach
In order to provide a clear analysis of the concept of civilisational
development from an Islamic perspective, it is important to define both
the meanings of civilisation3 and its development.

1. The Concept of Civilisation: General Definition

In certain Arabic literatures, the term “civilisation” is used to mean
“presence viz.-a viz. Absence, sedentary viz.-a viz. Bedouin” (Al-
Afriqi, 1311). Al-Bustani, one of the prominent experts of Arabic

3
It is worth noting that there are different utilisations of the term “civilisation”
in the Muslim world. The Arabs have coined the following integral terms for
civilisation, viz., human association, urbanisation which means progress or
development. The Persians have coined two terms for civilisation, namely,
urbanisation and human association (Byle, 1949). The Malays of Malaysia
and Indonesia unanimously use the word urbanisation to indicate the
meaning of civilisation (Beg, 1980).
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 91
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

language, defined civilisation as “an infinitive means staying in a city

and opposite of Bedouin, also the inhabitant of the cities and villages”
(Al-Bustani, 1970). Moreover, the term “civilisation” was literally
used in the Western tradition to mean, “civilisation is derived from the
Latin word civites, which means a city, and Civis, which means the
inhabitant of a city. Or Civilis, which means civility or what, is related
to the inhabitant of a city. Or used to mean a citizen” (Weiner, 1973, p.
613). It is obvious that one important aspect of civilisation is living in
cities or creating cities that transform into big civilisational entities and
communities. Emphatically put,
whatever else their function, cites were places where
upper classes of early civilisations lived…they were the
main location of high-level political and administrative
activities, specialised craft production, marketing, long-
distance trade, higher education, artistic and cultural
achievements, conspicuous display, court life, and
religious rituals (Trigger, 2003, p. 121).

In a broad sense, the term “civilisation” connotes sophisticated and

advanced forms of human association in which people share a common
life and work together to achieve certain levels of advancement
in different aspects of life, such as the moral and material aspects.
Indeed, the other important aspect of civilisation is human cooperation
and interaction. When a human group reaches this level of inter-
dependability on each other at the individual, group, and societal
levels, civilisation becomes more ingrained into the society’s fabric
and culture. In other words, as interdependence of people increases
with the increasing division of labour, everyone becomes increasingly
dependent on everyone else” (Powell, 2011).
The term “civilisation” is also used to denote “a land or house
inhabited, peopled, well peopled, well stocked with people and the
like; in a flourishing state; in a state contrary to desolate or waste or
ruined; a land colonised, cultivated or well cultivated; a house in a
state of repair” (Lane, 1968, p. 2155). Here, the concept of civilisation
shows the importance of the state of stabilising or settling in a place,
land, or house, which indicates that “stability” is demanded in the
civilising process as it provides the basic foundations of a civilisation.
Furthermore, the state of development and flourish is another indicator
92 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

of the state of civilisation of a society. In another definition, civilisation

denotes “a building, a structure, an edifice; or perhaps the act of building”
(Lane, 1968, p. 2156). The latter adds another important aspect related
to the civilising process. It conceives civilisation as an act of building
which requires a vision and plan for action and construction. In other
words, civilisation can be a process of constructing a state of progress
and stability in the human life (Berghout & Saoudi, 2018).
To sum up, the term “civilisation,” in its literal meaning, has
various connotations. The most relevant definitions to our analysis
are stabilising in a land, constructing a state of development, and
presence vis-à-vis absence and staying in a city. Even though all these
aspects are important in the concept of civilisation from an Islamic
perspective, it is equally important to complement our study with a
more scientific meaning of civilisation. In this context, civilisation
should be approached as a process or a project to achieve certain levels
of moral and material balance and development. Hence, borrowing
some technical definitions of civilisation would assist in discerning its
in-depth meaning as process and project (Berghout & Saoudi, 2018).

2. The Concept of Civilisation: The Social Phenomenon

The term “civilisation”, in its technical definition, has various
meanings depending on the background, vision, approach, and social
context. For instance, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and
historians used to define civilisation in different ways in respect to their
area of specialisation. In a broad sense, the term “civilisation” means,
as Ibn Khaldun4 puts it, “the necessary character of human social
organisation.” In this context, the term underlines the social dimension
of the civilising process which stresses the human characters and
qualities. In other words, civilisation is a state of human development
and organisation, which reflects a certain kind of personality and
human gathering that function as a systematic body to achieve certain
objectives.

4
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) was born in Tunisia. He is considered to be the
pioneer in introducing the science of human association from an Islamic
perspective.
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 93
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

In a different context, Taylor (1988) provides one of the most

comprehensive definition of civilisation saying it is a “degree of fairly
advanced culture, in which the arts and sciences, as well as political life
are well developed, provides an additional perspective” (p. 117). On an
another note, Jary and Jary (1991) argued that civilisation is,
a well-established, complex society. Crucial characteristics
of a civilisation would include the emergence of towns
and cities; an increasingly specialised division of
labor; and the development of trade, manufacture, and
commerce, and centers of local and national political and
legal administration, systems of communication, literacy,
and an elite culture of artistic and religious expression.

Accordingly, it is obvious that that the notion of civilisation has

to do more with human accomplishments in various aspects of life.
Furthermore, it has social, psychological, and cultural dimensions.

3. The Concept of Civilisation: An Islamic Perspective

To further elucidate on the Islamic view of civilisation, one may refer to
the seminal works of Malik Bennabi (d. 1973), who made civilisation
as one of the major themes of his thought and contribution to the
world of Islam. His usage of the concept of civilisation was dynamic
and contextual. He articulated in different contexts and perspectives,
leaving an expanded dynamic understanding of what civilisation stands
for. In all his usages, Bennabi (1993) underscored the importance
of the functional and practical aspect of civilisation. He stressed the
dynamic role of civilisation as a social action that enables the society
to become a witness over other nations and advance in all aspects
of human association. By his account, civilisation cannot progress
harmoniously unless it stands on two important poles; that of the moral
aspects and that of the material aspects. He argues that, like many other
scholars, civilisation demands the equilibrium between the spiritual
and the material, and finality and causality. Furthermore, he noted
that civilisation cannot be defined or studied from one perspective; it
is a multifaceted phenomenon in which several factors and elements
play an interconnected function. This forms the complex concept of
civilisation (Bariun, 1993). In other words, civilisation consists of
94 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

integral parts that function to form the whole of the integrated shape
and system.
On another aspect, Bennabi (1992) stresses the intellectual and
psychological aspects of civilisation. In this context, civilisation
functions as a process; civilisation helps the individual to annihilate the
primitive features and negative elements within themselves, causing
improvements in their personal and social context. Put in psychological
terms, civilisation provides a psychological and mental force that re-
organises the human capabilities as well as the human vital energy
directing it to respond to the needs of social development. Furthermore,
civilisation is in its essence “an idea....and a project for a systematic
work. It is aspiring towards activating the social capacities in order to
face the crucial problems of a society” (Bennabi, 1986, p. 116).
Taken together, all these definitions help determine the necessary
elements needed in the civilising process. From the first definition,
one could see that civilisation needs the balance between the moral
and material aspects. From the second definition, civilisation requires
organisation and planning. It is a process. Moreover, the third
definition explains the essence of civilisation as an idea and a project
for accomplishing certain missions in a given time and space. In
substantive terms, civilisation could be analysed from various angles.
It consists of several integral dimensions that vary based on the point
of focus, ranging from literal, socio-cultural, socio-economic, spiritual,
to civilisational.

4. The Concept of Civilisation: Social and Intellectual Aspects

It is equally important to highlight the functional aspect of civilisation
in which the social and intellectual dimensions are relevant. At the
social level of analysis, civilisation is “the total result of the moral
and material conditions which grant a given society the possibility to
offer each one of its members, in every stage of his existence from
childhood till afterlife, with necessary social assistance requested
for his growth in this stage or in the other” (Bennabi, 1991, p. 43).
Accordingly, and as made very clear in this definition, civilisation in
its true sense, is a social dynamic force which plays an important role
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 95
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

in developing the individual and society as well. It is a high state of

development resulting in providing the necessary needs of life for the
society.
This societal aspect of civilisation is important in the Islamic
perspective. It is society that generates civilisation and assists the
individual to play their role in history as a transformation agent. It is
society that provides the real context and aspiration for individuals to
embark on a civilising process and developmental activities. Indeed,
it constitutes the progressive milieu that helps the individual to carry
out their responsibilities in the form of a mission. Islam advocates
a civilisation where balance is maintained between the spiritual and
material, as well as the individual and societal forces. Indeed,
the relation between the individual and society has been
regulated in such a manner that neither the personality
of the individual suffers any diminution or corrosion…
nor is he allowed to exceed his bounds to such an extent
as to become harmful to the community…In Islam, the
purpose of an individual’s life is the same as that of
the life of the community, namely, the execution and
enforcement of Divine law and the acquisition of God’s
pleasure (Bennabi, 1991).

The social dimension of civilisation represented in the strong social

relations network is important in the civilising process. In this aspect
of civilisation, man learns how to live within a group and acquires
the essential elements of living in society, forming with others the
social relations network. This network is crucial in any civilisational
development (Bennabi, 1985). In addition to this social aspect of
civilisation, the intellectual dimension is also important. Ideas are
important to spark and guide the civilisation process. Bennabi (1988)
argues that civilisation is,
The product of a substantial idea, which inspires to a pre-
civilised society the vital drive that, penetrates it onto
the historical movement. Thus, the society constructs its
intellectual system in conformity with the original pattern
of its civilisation. It is rooted in an original cultural
ambiance, which will decide all its characteristics viz.
a-viz. other cultures and civilisations (p. 41).
96 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

The above passage shows the significance of ideas in formulating

a civilisation. In general terms, creative ideas help make a vision of
civilisation, develop a civilisational project, and shape the intellectual
characteristics of society. Indeed, ideas are the premier factors, which
drive society into the threshold of history; they assist it to accomplish
its mission and to carry out its responsibilities in a given historical
moment. Moreover, ideas enable the members of the society to play
their roles on the civilising process (Bennabi, 1988). On the basis of the
above analysis, civilisation appears to be a complex phenomenon with
multi-dimensions which require an integrative approach in dealing
with it. Therefore, for a better understanding and articulation of the
civilisation process, we need to reconcile its integral parts in order
to constitute its entire dynamic structure of what we call civilisation.

The Notion of Civilisational Development: The Islamic Perspective

Having outlined a general framework for the definition of civilisation,
the study now provides a definition of civilisational development as
the central focus of the present work. In general terms, civilisational
development is a result of collective and systematic human endeavours
aspiring towards building a civilisation in its multi-dimensional
meaning. The latter includes many aspects, such as intellectual,
moral, spiritual, social, economic, technological, ethical, material, and
cultural advancements. All this development happens according to the
worldview of the society and its social context. Thus, civilisational
development does not happen haphazardly or occurs in a vacuum;
rather, it is a process that demands scientific orientation. It is a process
that has a goal and an end. That is to say, ‘development’ has as its
goal a fuller and/or greater and/or better situation attained through the
expansion or attainment of defined possibilities” (Machowski, 2003,
as cited in Skowroński, 2008). As a process, development involves,
among other things, having vision, mission, objectives, strategies,
plans, approaches, and activities geared towards achieving progress at
all levels. In more specific terms,
sustainable development conceptualises the different
elements of civilisation in a holistic manner. It takes
in the management of natural, economic and human
resources, spatial planning, institutional solutions, the
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 97
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

moral dimension, the shaping of awareness and the

choice of a defined life model (Piontek, 1999, p. 120).

Islam, as a comprehensive way of life, offers an integrated model

and framework for civilisational development. It provides a balanced
developmental model that is value-laden and comprehensive (Berghout,
2013). Like most advanced models of development today, Islam
addresses the question of development from an integrated perspective,
stressing on the importance of balance between the martial and spiritual
aspects of civilisation. In this model, the approach to development and
civilisation is holistic and balanced. It is holistic and comprehensive
in the sense that aspects, such as socio-political, economic, religious,
cultural, educational, scientific, technological, and civilisational are
interconnected and dealt with comprehensively. Additionally, while
it stresses the comprehensiveness of the developmental model, it also
regards the balance between spiritual and material forces as essential
character of real development.
Furthermore, the civilisational model that Islam advocates
establishes and further advances the importance of both human and
religious elements in the pursuit of development. In other words,
“it points to the need for the spiritual development of humankind,
and for an exchange of the goals of development from the material
centred to the non-materialistic” (Skowroński, 2008, p. 120). By doing
so, this model posits that issues like civilisational vision, religion,
ethics, culture, spirituality, technology, and education are central to
development. As a matter of fact, the Islamic civilisation, in its glorious
moments, was a real manifestation of aspirations and projections of
Islam as a balanced civilisational developmental model calling for
spiritual, material, technological, scientific, economic, social, cultural,
educational, artistic, and aesthetical progress.

1. Islamic View of Civilisational Development

In today’s age of globalisation and technological advancement, more
than any time before, the question of balanced development becomes
of more interest and merit, particularly to the developing world. The
world of Islam, like others, engages in the process of development
aspiring towards achieving progress at all levels. As such, what is
98 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

needed for the civilisational development, in general, is a clear vision

and model of development that suits the traditions of respective people
and nations as well as responding to their present and future aspirations.
In a global perspective, civilisational development is a complex
process. As such,
any process of global sustainable development must
perforce entail fundamental changes in the attitudes and
behaviour manifested by human beings – as compared with
those characteristics of the industrial and technological
era. Having at its disposal ever greater technical and
technological possibilities and ever greater speeds
with which information can be transferred and people
moved about, humankind needs to make the necessary
psychological and moral adjustments to such a state of
affairs. From the point of view of its axiological and
ethical content, sustainable development entails a moral
obligation towards other forms of life (i.e. nature) and
other human beings, be these living now or yet to be born.
Sustainable development requires ethical maturity and
a fundamental enlargement of the intellectual potential
of the global society, as well as further appropriate
development of science and technology” (Skowron´ski,
2008, p. 123).

Ethical and intellectual maturity is crucial, particularly in a

situation of imbalance, such as in the movement of today’s present
human civilisation, whereby the martial, technical, and technological
aspects suppress and befall the ethical, spiritual, and moral aspects of
life. Hence, an Islamic perspective of civilisation becomes of more
merit and benefit not only to the Muslim world but also to the entire
humanity.
Any study of Islam as a way of life would eventually lead to
the discovery of a well-articulated set of civilisational values and
principles. Islam advocates a set of values, such as trustworthiness,
integrity, work as a form of worship, excellence, justice, fairness,
brotherhood, mercy, respect, cooperation, consultation, quality, piety,
sincerity, caring, sharing, moderation, etc. As a matter of fact, it is
these values that make the Islamic model of development distinctive
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 99
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

from others. With these values in the very core of Islam, development
becomes more human and value-loaded, paving the way for a friendlier
and integrated model.
In fact, it is those values that made it possible for Muslims to
build a balanced Islamic civilisation that lasted for long centuries and
bridged the world of old civilisations with those that came after Islam.
It was able to nurture quality people and culture for civilisational
development. The human models that the Islamic civilisation nurtured
echoed the real civilisational values of Islam that have been referred to
earlier.
Indeed, throughout the course of Islamic history, except in periods
of the decline of the Islamic civilisation, the Muslim world has learnt
the lesson that whenever Muslims undermined these civilisational5
values, their understanding and practice of Islam reflected deficiency
and disequilibrium. Therefore, it is always vital to stress those
values, particularly those addressing the question of civilisation and
development from an Islamic perspective. Hence, it is insufficient,
from an Islamic perspective, to consider development only from
material, physical, technological, and scientific aspects but also from
ethical, moral, intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and civilisational aspects.
Therefore, the core feature of the Islamic vision of development lies
in this balance and equilibrium without which the whole process of
development becomes futile.
This idea of balance in the developmental modal of Islam has been
the focus of the Qur’an and the practice of the Prophet (PBUH) and
those who followed his guided path. Thus, we find Muslim scholars,
ever since the times of Ibn Khaldun in his celebrated initiative of
the science of human association, calling for the revival of Islamic
civilisation and the civilisational dimension of Islam stressing the
above-mentioned values of development. In modern times, too, the

5
The term “civilisational” is used in this study to mean an integral,
comprehensive, realistic, universal, balanced, and a creative kind of
understanding of Islam. Consequently, when one attaches the adjective
“civilisational” to the expression “Islam”, it indicates that Islam is presumably
considered as a civilising religion with the power to build a civilised human
social construction and culture.
100 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

contributions of thinkers, such as Malik Bennabi, bear witness to the

need for revivification of the civilisational values of Islam.
Moreover, there are numerous Muslim scholars6 who have
contributed to the development of more comprehensive views of the
civilisational model of Islam, stressing the need to project it as an all-
encompassing way of life and as a civilisational model for balanced
development. Even though some of these works have not used the term
“civilisational development,” or the civilisational vision of Islam, they
still reflect the civilisational aspects and values of Islam.
Having said that, it is so far clear that the question of development
from an Islamic perspective requires not only a better understanding
of the core values of Islam but also possessing capabilities to manage
it systematically in real situations; that is to say, one has to have the
capabilities, skills, and expertise for the management of the development
process. Accordingly, there is a need to envisage a mapping of the
developmental model so as to see its requirements and demands. In the
process of building a civilisation based on sustainable development,
the important tasks include:

6
You may refer to: Seyyid Qutab, This Religion of Islam (Egypt: Al-Manar
Press, 1967); Seyyid Qutab, The Characteristics of the Islamic Concept
(Delhi: Hindustan, 1984); Abul A‘la Mawdudi, Towards Understanding
Islam, Translated and edited by Khurshid Ahmad (Pakistan: The Islamic
Foundation A.S. Noordeen, 1979); Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction
of Religious Thought in Islam, First Edition, Edited and annotated by Saeed
Sheikh (Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986); Muhammad Iqbal, The
Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, First Edition, Edited and
annotated by Saeed Sheikh (Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986); Abul
al Hasan Ali Nadawi, Islam and the World, 2nd Edition, Translated by M.
Asif Kidwa’i (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1973); Malik Bennabi, The
Question of Ideas in the Muslim World, Translated, annoted with a Forward
by: Mohamed El-Tahir El-Mesawi (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust,
2003); Muhammad Baqir Al-Sadr, Our Philosophy, Translated by Shams C.
Inati, Forwarded by Nasr Sayyid Husayn (London: The Muhammadi Trust,
1989); Mutahhari. Ayatullah Murtaza, Fundamentals of Islamic Thought:
God, Man and the Universe, Translated by Hamid Algar (Berkeley: Mizan
Press, 1985); Mutahhari. Ayatullah Murtaza, The Human Being in the
Qur’an (Tehran: Islamic Propagation Organisation, 1983); Abdul Hameed
Siddiqi and Muhammad Saeed Siddiqi in their work ‘The Islamic Concept of
Religion and Its Revival’, First Edition (Lahore: Kazi Publications, 1980).
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 101
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

1. promotion of humanity’s individual and collective information

and knowledge;
2. the linking of the eco-social utility of the work institutions and
organisations do with the level of income obtained as a result
of that work;
3. the mastering of the skills involved in long-term forecasting, as
well as the faithful valuation of work and the consequences of
other changes in our surroundings;
4. the establishment of flexible bases (including as regards
information) that may head off threats to eco-socially suitable
management;
5. the mastering of the skills to recognise the situation regarding
quality of life on the basis of ecological knowledge and
6. the mastering of the skills to steer processes of change in
humankind’s natural environment.
From the above passage, it is obvious that priority is given to
technical skills, and the financial, physical, scientific, and social
aspects of the civilisational development process. The moral, spiritual,
religious, and other intangible cementing elements are not visible.
Hence, the next section shows how Islam projects a development that
is based on a balance between the martial and spiritual demands of
development.

2. Mapping the Civilisational Development Model of Islam

The above section has thus far shown that the Islamic developmental
model stands for balance and calls for the amelioration of all new means
and technologies without undermining the roots and main principles
of the religion and tradition. Moreover, the Islamic model stresses the
following aspects and elements:
a. An integrated, balanced, and all-encompassing civilisational
vision, whereby civilisational aspirations play a crucial role;
b. the dynamic role of human capital in development;
102 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

c. cementing the function of values and ethical norms in the

orientation of development;
d. the significance of education, knowledge, capacity-building,
and learning as a pre-condition for any development process;
e. the importance of the culture of creativity in creating the
psycho-social environment required in any civilisational
development;
f. a moderate and balanced method of approaching and solving
problems of development;
g. a strategic and systematic knowledge of development
management;
h. the capability to measure and monitor progress, impact, and
outcomes of the developmental policies and plans;
i. possessing the know-how and technological means and tools;
j. considering the local, regional, international, and global
environment in managing development; and lastly,
k. developing a flexible set of policies, regulations, and guidelines
that facilitates and creates the entire environment for
development to take place and achieve its strategic objectives.

Furthermore, the civilisational model takes Islam as its main guiding

framework while opening the horizon to benefit from other sources
of human civilisational expertise and achievements. The illustration
below maps the main aspects of the Islamic model of civilisational
balanced development:
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 103
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

Figure 1: Mapping of the Islamic view of civilisational development

What is important to be stressed from the above illustration is

that Islam creates the spirit of inclusive developmental approach,
whereby its noble teachings guide the entire processes of development.
The latter are guided by the civilisational values of Islam, such as
equality, justice, righteousness, freedom, tolerance, forgiveness,
humanity, brotherhood, cooperation, solidarity, love, trustworthiness,
progress, good governance, time management, etc. More than that,
Islam considers all sincere efforts and activities which fall within the
ambit of establishing a balanced civilisation as a form of worship and
obedience to God.
Having outlined the various aspects of the civilisational model
of development, stressing the role of Islam as a guiding source of
enlightenment, the next section highlights the main principles and
foundations of the Islamic worldview. These guiding principles are
essential in any developing process that is in accordance with Islam
and its teachings (Berghout & Saoudi, 2018).

3. Civilisation and the Need for Applied Virtues

In the process of building a civilisation, applied virtues and noble
values function as guiding principles and educative norms that
annihilate the non-acceptable characteristics and negative elements
104 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

within the human personality, leading to improvements on character,

lifestyle, behaviour, cultural expressions, and human relations at large.
This, in turn, contributes directly to the development of society through
the refined character and efficiency of individuals at all levels. Indeed,
applied virtues and noble values teach us the art of living together
with other races, people, cultures, and religions. Furthermore, we
should be mindful of the importance of religion as one of the main
sources of ethics and virtues, especially in the Islamic worldview and
religion. Indeed, the history of Islamic civilisation has provided an
applied example of how religious ethics and virtues mould the entire
personality, society, and civilisation. In general terms, religious values
assist us as a group to acquire the essential elements of living in society
and forming with others the social relations network.
To go one step further, one may claim that the real objective of
reviving Islamic civilisation is to create the societal environment and
integrated culture in which high qualities of human personality are
moulded and translated into activities resulting in improvements on our
political, social, economic, educational, cultural, scientific, moral, and
technological endeavours. In religion, there are many noble values that
each and every individual need to understand, internalise, and practice.
For instance, virtues and noble values, such as sincerity, respect, the
spirit of neighbourliness, trustworthiness, valuing time, simplicity,
caring, patience, the spirit of cooperation, helpfulness, forgiveness,
gratitude and affection, loyalty, and sense of community make the
core edifice of any human association. Here, each and every one of us,
the ordinary people and leaders, by the very virtue of being a Muslim
must ask themselves, how much of these virtues and noble values is
practiced in our daily life.
As a general statement, the researchers may safely claim that the
practice of these virtues and values constitute the core edifice of reviving
Islamic civilisation. In line with this, one may elucidate that virtues
and noble values play a role on reviving Islamic civilisation through,
firstly, good personality development. Here, the Islamic values and
virtues contribute to the development of intellectual, spiritual, social,
moral, and leadership aspects, Secondly, the Islamic virtues and values
encourages to develop social relations and cultural cohesiveness, and
thirdly, help spread aesthetics, arts, and a balanced lifestyle, resulting
in a more dynamic and integrated society.
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 105
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

Applied Virtues: Winning the Battle of Heart and Souls

Another important role of applied virtues is to help form a new culture
of relations that is based on respect and understanding. In other words,
the virtue of winning the battle of souls and hearts first. It is a call not
for physical, material, and geographical expansion but primarily a call
for the conquering of hearts and souls. Indeed, what befalls the current
human civilisation is not the lack of technology, sciences, innovation,
and advancement but mainly the shortage of applied virtues and noble
values in action.
Islam, as a religion and way of life, offers an integrated model and
framework for civilisational development. In fact, it is the reservoir of
virtues and noble values of Islam which made it possible for Muslims
to build a balanced Islamic civilisation that lasted for long centuries
and contributed immensely to world civilisations. Today, the Islamic
world needs to revive its wealth of virtues and values so as to put it
at work as one of the main factors of development. In this respect,
the researchers believe that the Malay world with its unique position
and model of balanced civilisational development can play a pivotal
role in the reviving of Islamic civilisation. The researchers believe that
institutions of education and learning, institutions of cultural and social
development, and the religious institutions ought to play a greater
role in making applied virtues and noble values as the deriving and
balancing force behind all endeavours of civilisational development.
In this respect, it should be clear that applied virtues and noble values
shall not be a subject matter of a theoretical science or subject to be
taught in confined classrooms, but it must be a subject of personality,
character empowerment, and refinement in the real world situation
making an impact on people, relations, culture, development, and the
reviving of Islamic civilisation.

Civilisation and the Concept of Sustainable Development Goals

On another note, it seems worth mentioning the new concept of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mooted by the United
Nations. As we discuss the concept of civilisation and development,
it is important to refer to these SDGs in order to link them to the
civilising process. In this context, one may mention the 17 Sustainable
106 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

Development Goals (SDGs) which are introduced and adopted by

all 193 United Nations Member States. The main aims of the SDGs
revolve around eradicating poverty, obtaining prosperity, and protecting
the environment and planet. It comes under the 2030 Agenda for the
transformation and saving of our world, namely, The 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development. The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) is entrusted with the task of leading the drive to
achieve the SDGs by the year 2030. The 17 SDGs are:
1) No Poverty, 2) Zero Hunger, 3) Good Health and
Well-being, 4) Quality Education, 5) Gender Equality,
6) Clean Water and Sanitation, 7) Affordable and Clean
Energy, 8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, 9)
Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 10) Reducing
Inequality, 11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12)
Responsible Consumption and Production, 13) Climate
Action, 14) Life Below Water, 15) Life on Land, 16)
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, 17) Partnerships
for the Goals (UN, 2015).

Scrutinising the 17 SDGs shows their importance and applicability

to the civilising process. All these goals are part and parcel of the
civilisation. In fact, any contemporary civilisation must, by the very
nature of human basic needs, address these SDGs. In other words, any
human society endeavouring to build a civilisation should take these
SDGs as indicators of moving towards the higher levels of civilisation.
The next illustration reflects all 17 SDGs.

Source: United Nations web site

CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 107
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

Given the importance of fulfilling these SDGs in the process of

building a civilisation and developing society, we need to see them in the
light of the Islamic worldview and maqasid. It is moderately clear that
the SDGs have not put strong emphasis on the dynamic role of ethics,
values, virtues, cultural norms, and religion on the civilising process
and sustainable development of society. Therefore, the SDGs should
be observed within the framework of the maqasid perspective and
value system. In fact, the maqasid framework does not only address the
17 SDGs but it may include any other human needs and wants as long
as it protects religion, life, intellect, wealth, and progeny. On religion,
spirituality, ethics, and morality, it sets a whole system of protecting
human society and civilisation in its religious, cultural diversity and
richness, family, and people. It considers the value system and ethical
norms as the balancing factor in human sustainable development,
without which, all the SDGs fall apart. Furthermore, it sets a tall stand-
alone value, i.e. of progeny to protect human life, human families and
societies and its values, well-being, roles, and development.
The maqasid framework, also under the protection of wealth,
includes not only monetary values and assets but also the protection of
environment, universe, and all that is surrounding us in the seas, earth,
and skies. On the other hand, and most importantly, the maqasid value
system provides balancing standards on which the SDG can accept
or not accept against the maqasid values. For instance, the goals of
justice, equality, fairness, education, dignity, and respect of humanity
are all defined and protected within the framework of maqasid. Hence,
adopting the maqasid values system will open more horizon for the
study of civilisation and sustainable development goals within a value-
based framework.

Civilisational Development: The Urgency of Reviving the

Civilisational Vision of Islam
There is no doubt that Islam provides a comprehensive and value-laden
framework for civilisation development. However, the long centuries
of the decline of Islamic civilisation and its creativity has led to some
sort of confusion over its dynamism in our contemporary context.
Indeed, the culture of inertia that resulted from the decline crippled
Muslims and hindered their contemporary civilisational role and as
108 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

a major contributor to world civilisation. Therefore, there is a need

to revive the civilisational vision of Islam that paves the way for the
culture of creativity and innovation (Berghout & Saoudi, 2018).
Certainly, those Muslims wanting to revive back the dynamism
of Islamic civilisation need to address the misconception about the
role of Islam in civilisational development. At this juncture, one has
to stress that Islam is not the cause of inertia, as being portrayed by
some quarters, but it has always been the source of enlightenment and
guidance to those who approach it properly.
Indeed, Islam has never been an obstacle on the way of dynamic,
balanced, and comprehensive progress of nations and people. On the
contrary, it was a major contributor to the development of human
civilisation. Islam strongly advocates technological (Berghout, 2010),
scientific, cultural, economic, and civilisational progress and calls
for a balanced development in all spheres. It propagates the common
human values, such as protection of life, intellect, property, freedom,
justice, peace, mercy, balance, integrity, and security. In line with
this, as a guiding framework for balanced civilisational development,
Islam stresses, among other things, the need to strive for balanced
civilisational progress and development. Allah declares:
But seek, with the wealth which Allah has bestowed on
thee, the Home of the Hereafter, nor forget thy portion
in this world: But do thou good as Allah has been good
to thee, and seek not occasions for mischief in the land
(Al-Qur’an 28: 77).

Therefore, for the Islamic civilisational model to bear its fruits and
contribute to balanced civilisation and development, Muslims should
play their role in understanding and implementing it at both individual
and collective levels. Hence, the question of reviving the civilisational
vision of Islam is relevant and need to be addressed accordingly. For
the civilisational model of development to achieve its goals, Muslims
need to rediscover and apply the civilisational vision of Islam. By
civilisational vision, this study refers to the integral, comprehensive,
and well organised frame of reference which allows for effective study,
analysis, interpretation, and generation of ideas and solutions related to
the problems of development, based on the teachings of Islam. It should
CONCEPT OF CIVILISATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 109
A MAQASIDIC ORIENTATION

be clear that empowering the Muslims with the civilisational vision of

Islam means possessing the ability to deal with problems, situations,
and civilisational phenomena from a more systematic, integral,
comprehensive, and balanced way. It is the ability to see things from
different facets and use integrated approaches in addressing issues and
problems of development (Berghout & Saoudi, 2018).
Certainly, the civilisational vision “maintains that each one of the
exclusionary approaches, or paradigms, used in the study of the human
condition presents a mere facet of the complex reality” (Rajaee, 2000,
p. 44). Therefore, to have a complete picture of any given phenomenon,
one has to consider all its facets and aspects (Berghout, 2005), otherwise,
it is impossible for a one-sided or segmented approach to provide us
with a comprehensive view of any social phenomenon. Hence, as we
go through the experiences of many Muslims today, we observe the
tendency of this one-sided mind-set, claiming hold of the truth while
undermining the rest of the views and aspects. This tendency creates
a culture of exclusiveness towards others and overlooks vital factors
which affect the civilisational development of the Muslim ummah.
Therefore, the absence of civilisational vision in many practices leads
to the segmentation of our practices and decisions in real life situations
(Rajaee, 2000).
Put more emphatically, the civilisational vision “requires an
ecological perspective- a sense of the whole, along with the sensitivity
to how things relate to one another. That seems to be missing as we
approach the twenty-first century” (Gaddis, 1999; as cited in Rajaee,
2000). This missing element in our practical culture creates many
problems when it comes to our understanding and implementation
of the teachings of Islam. Therefore, empowering people with the
civilisational vision of Islam becomes imperative. Indeed, undermining
the very many factors and aspects that constitute the core of the
civilisational vision of Islam may end up in fatal consequences to the
entire ummah.
It is so far clear that reviving the civilisational vision is an important
step towards realising development. Muslims should be able to revive
and implement the civilisational vision of Islam in guiding the processes
of development. The civilisational model of development should be
holistic, systematic, balanced, and practical. Taken together, these
110 ABDELAZIZ BERGHOUT AND OUAHIBA SAOUDI

characteristics reflect a vision that is more realistic and developmental

in nature. This is why the approach of Islam to development covers all
aspects of human and social life, stressing on creating civilisational
value and progress for the entire mankind. Additionally, its main
aspects are values-driven, educational, humanistic, and cultural. Taken
together, these aspects show the importance of the civilisational vision
and its role in reviving the dynamic role of Islam and its contributions
to the development of the Islamic world and mankind at large.

Conclusion
Though the paper is concise, it managed to put forward some ideas
on the integrated concept of civilisation and sustainable development.
It has also advanced the idea of linking the civilising process and
sustainable development to the framework of maqasid and the value
system of Islam. Civilisation, seen in the light of maqasid, has great
objectives and goals, and addresses the real issues and problems of
humanity and civilisation. It has the balancing power of values, ethics,
and applied virtues.
The maqasidic framework makes it possible to build communities
and civilisations with values and ethics in the core of their vision, goals,
and aspirations, making it possible to see a human civilisation of virtue,
development, responsibility, fairness, justice, honour, respect, equality,
and balance. Therefore, it is highly recommended that researchers and
institutions specialising on civilisational and sustainable development
studies to embark on in-depth research on areas, such as maqasid
and sustainable development goals, applied virtues and the civilising
process, the five values of maqasid and sustainable development goals,
approaches to balancing civilisation and sustainable development,
education and sustainable development, culture and sustainable
development, and religion and sustainable development.

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IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 113-135.
Copyright © IIUM Press

The Reconstruction of Ibn Khaldun’s Grand

Design of History-making: The Underlying
Metaphysical Cause

Naseeb Ahmed Siddiqui1

Abstract: In his attempt to construct the scientific causal narration of history,

Ibn Khaldun became a reductionist by concluding that the once ambiguous
phenomena of how “history becomes” is the result of two interconnected
causes: ijtima’ and ‘asabiyyah. Firstly, this article tries to expose the Grand
Design of History-making by connecting Ibn Khaldun’s different dimensions
as part of one comprehensive theory. However, there is a logical problem in
Ibn Khaldun’s proposal of causal narration of interdependency between causes,
which is impossible to solve scientifically and philosophically. Hence, this
article attempts to reconstruct the Grand Design of history by eliminating that
logical problem. It has been reduced to a proposed final cause that cannot be
reduced further. This final cause is an active and dynamic concept of Time,
which has been proposed and defended scientifically and philosophically by
engaging in different branches of natural, philosophical and cognitive sciences,
hence validating the claim and its complete cycle. It might be a new approach to
justify History-making with a scientific concept of Time, though it does not rule
out the possibility of such arguments. Therefore, it is intended to open a new
possibility to view the formation of history and civilisation by the omnipresent
phenomenon of time and its role, which is inherently metaphysical and goes
against the modern concept of History-making.

Keywords: Ibn Khaldun, ijtima’, ‘asabiyyah, the role of Time in History-

making, Grand Design of history, Problems in Ibn Khaldun’s theory.

1
Naseeb Ahmed Siddiqui, Ontario Tech University, 2000 Simcoe Street North
Oshawa, Ontario L1G 0C5, Canada. He can be reached at siddiquinaseeb@
gmail.com.
114 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

Introduction
Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khaldun al-
Hadrami of Tunis . . . an Arabic genius who achieved in
a single “acquiescence” of less than four years’ length,
out of a fifty-four years’ span of adult working life, a
life-work in the shape of a piece of literature which can
bear comparison with the work of Thucydides or the
work of a Machiavelli for both breadth and profundity
of vision as well as for sheer intellectual power . . . in
the Prolegomena (Muqaddamah) to his Universal History
he has conceived and formulated a philosophy of history
which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has
ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place
(Toynbee, 1955, pp. 321-322).

The historical thought process of the West was framed to free

itself from non-historical constituents in order to build an autonomous,
obvious, and vindicated worldview. Furthermore, this worldview
struggled to obviate transcendental ingredients from the analysis of
history, which is nothing but a conflict of History against the philosophy
of history (White, 1959). Therefore, the Western worldview rejects the
amalgamation of values given by history and, instead, it argues for a
much higher ideal goal that can be achieved by calling upon the actions
of the society. Western philosophers tried to balance the outcome of
such narratives by being neither optimistic nor pessimistic but by
intentionally providing ample space for human errors in this process
to accomplish that ideal. Nonetheless, this idea burdened Man with the
responsibility of his own fate without turning to anyone else, a complete
isolation from metaphysical arguments (Mommsen, 1951; White,
1959). This most challenging abstraction of the idea of history, which
is based on some fundamental pre-occupied notions, was understood
as a humanitarian disaster that is visible in the form of omnipresence
dilution of Man, society, and nature.
The absolute absence of metaphysical ingredients from history
constructs a secular outlook of history and Man. However, Ibn Khaldun’s
idea of history challenges this modern outlook, especially in his book,
Muqaddimah, which is considered as one of the greatest works ever
produced (Toynbee, 1955). For Ibn Khaldun, Man occupies a central
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 115
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE

role but he did not burden him to lead the torch of History-making
without any external force. Nevertheless, it has been argued that Ibn
Khaldun did not attempt to include the Man in the construction of his
History-making because, on one side, there was a God he could not know
and, on the other side, there was an anthropic idea of society he does not
care about. Due to these competing forces, Ibn Khaldun was compelled
to unravel abstract mechanisms in the historical materials to support his
version of History-making (Busch, 1968; White, 1959). This juncture
where Ibn Khaldun was denied access to Islamic ingredients while
constructing his abstract mechanisms is the point of inquiry. It is in this
historical context and debate that Ibn Khaldun will be analysed. Before
that, a cursory review of the related work is necessary to appreciate the
methodology of this article.
Wali al-Din ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khaldun al-
Tunisi al-Hadrami (732-808 A.H./1332-1406 A.D.) was born in Tunis
on 1 Ramadan (according to the Muslim calendar). His education was
in traditional sciences as per the cultural norms then, but due to his
gifted capabilities, he held several key positions throughout Islamic
empires. He lived during the fragmentation and cultural dissolution of
the Arab Muslim world. A recent biographical study on Ibn Khaldun by
Allen James Fromherz has cleared shadows from his personal as well as
political and sociological life, which was previously vaguely available
in the literature (Karamustafa, 2011). Ibn Khaldun is widely acclaimed
for his unorthodox methodology and bold claims in his unmatched
works. Being in a North African environment that saw tremendous
change during his lifetime, Ibn Khaldun has provided fundamental
constituents for his understanding of the rise and fall of empires
(Albertini, 2019; Fudge, 2019). Considering the different aspects of his
encyclopedic literary work, he has been extensively studied even in a
modern scientific context (Gamarra, 2015). The notion of encyclopedic
is a negative proclivity as it proposes an unsystematic amalgamation of
different fields narrating a theory of History-making. A theory that is
very much differentiated internally cannot justify a possible reduction
in one another. The methodology employed so far, which is the selection
of one part of a comprehensive theory by Ibn Khaldun, remains the
main deviation from the original methodology he employed to state
the mechanical chain (Dusuki, 2006; Kalpakian, 2008). The core point
reveals that various aspects of Ibn Khaldun’s comprehensive theory or
116 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

social sciences, such as sociology, anthropology, economics and the

like (Boruch, 1984; Dusuki, 2008), are delinked from each other, which
ultimately result in an unintentional denial of the mega-project Ibn
Khaldun tried to propose. Such individuality came into existence not in
vain but due to the compartmentalised approach to study human progress
as part of the decentralised philosophy of sciences without unity. As a
result, even after a dedicated study by Baali (2005), who analysed 300
books of Ibn Khaldun, there is no consensus on whether Ibn Khaldun
was a sociologist, economist, political philosopher, political scientist or
anthropologist (Baali, 2005; Dhaouadi, 1990). One possible answer that
a proponent can give is that he was all of them. Nevertheless, that claim
will not solve the problem of the undifferentiated and differentiated
character of Ibn Khaldun’s new science.
This brings about another question: what if Ibn Khaldun became
all of them for the sake of developing a Grand Design — a new science
that is able to amalgamate all these individual fields? These individual
fields are not a character to link only with Ibn Khaldun as a person. On
the contrary, each of them represents one of the necessary attributes of
human progress. In developing this new science to better understand
human progress, Ibn Khaldun was sometimes a historian and sometimes
an economist. On a broader scale, by being an expert in each field, he
was trying to build his notion of understanding the human race. That is
why Ibn Khaldun’s new science has no parallel in time. He cannot be
compared with any other individual, except by only one of his expertise.
The compared individuals can only represent and understand one
attribute of human progress, according to their expertise. One can check
this claim by analysing various individuals that have been compared
to Ibn Khaldun; they do not show any unity in understanding human
progress (Mohammad, 1988). Plato’s idea of an ideal human society
neither represents the actuality of human progress nor highlights the
mechanistic chain of why a society behaves the way it does. Hence, in
his description of a just city, Plato puts forth that a just society is one in
which “justice is doing one’s own work, and not meddling with what is
not your own” (Plato, 433 a-b).
This premise is perfect for an ideal society that unfortunately does
not exist; hence, the conclusion of a just society in the realist world is
impossible. On the other hand, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s call for natural
accretion of human development was not at all near to the truth (Halsted,
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 117
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE

1969). Similarly, Ibn Khaldun diverted away from such ideation about
human progress. His methodology was scientific and based on the
mechanistic chain in greater detail. He was not a proponent of saving
the phenomena concept (Duhem, 1985) but a man of causal explanation,
which is a contemporary issue. However, his causal narration in its micro
detail falls into clear ambiguities that somehow built a foundation that
cannot be considered as a final explanation. There must be a single final
cause behind the science of ‘umran, or History-making. This article
proposes the final and ultimate cause lacking from Ibn Khaldun’s new
science of ‘umran. This final cause is inherently metaphysical, which
counters the modern view of historical thought process that is devoid of
transcendental ingredients. First, the conceptual framework of ‘umran
will be discussed in some length, followed by the exposition of the final
cause. However, this inquiry is philosophical in its core.

Exposing the Grand Design of ‘Umran

In order to understand the new science of the Grand Design of history
of Ibn Khaldun, one has to delve into the pure definitions of taʾrīkh and
‘umran because that is the ultimate goal of Ibn Khaldun. taʾrīkh means
“history” and ‘umran means “construction” (Arnason & Stauth, 2004).
Construction means the construction of history, not mere civilisation
or culture. That is why this concept can be reduced to the study of any
civilisation or culture as a tool but cannot be reduced to the subjective
origination in a specific civilisation. As explained below, it is a universal
tool that is not specific.
In Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun defines taʾrīkh as a “chain of reports
(information)” of human affairs. Logically, history is made of human
affairs, which define its structure. It is natural that reports can be true
and false; this enables the possibility that any report can be disputed for
its true and false premises. Reserving this method of true and false, Ibn
Khaldun defined the criteria, that is, “untruth naturally afflicts historical
information” (Ibn Khaldūn, 1967, Book 1, Kitab al-Ibar). This then
poses the issue of how authenticity is determined in something by
nature. Firstly, Ibn Khaldun proposed the answer in the form of
partisanship, prejudice and flaw in narrators, all of which are subjective
and individually initiated by something internal to it. Secondly, he
figured out the astonishing factor that belongs to the “very nature of the
118 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

various conditions arising in the civilisation” (Ibn Khaldūn, 1967, Book

1, Kitab al-Ibar). He explained that if one knows the nature of events
along with the circumstances and requirements of existence, then one
can distinguish between truths and falsehoods. Based on this logic, Ibn
Khaldun put forth his grand aim of the new science of ‘umran:
The normative method for distinguishing right from
wrong in historical information on the grounds of
(inherent) possibility or absurdity is to investigate human
social organisation, which is identical with civilisation.
We must distinguish the conditions that attach themselves
to the essence of civilisation as required by its very nature;
the things that are accidental (to civilisation) and cannot
be counted on; and the things that cannot possibly attach
themselves to it (Ibn Khaldun, 1967, p. 38).

For Ibn Khaldun, the truth of history lies in the core of human social
organisation, which he distinguished from civilisation. In the very
nature of civilisation, there is a process and progress inherently caused
by the conditions. This process and progress preceding the conditions
is the problem of the statement. This begs the question, what does he
mean by conditions?
Whatever the conditions are in Ibn Khaldun’s theory, they certainly
affect civilisation. Conditions can be explained by following the
mechanistic view of the causal relation. History is made by humans as
an individual existence but forms an identity that has no physical form
and structure to be conditioned. This non-physical structure of history
at every moment changes through some “conditions (states)” linked
with each other. These active conditions are actually building history.
In a more precise manner, through the transition from one condition
to another, history is coming into being. Ibn Khaldun, in this context,
proposed the concept of ‘umran. It is challenging to describe the
existence of ‘umran in terms of physical, non-physical or metaphysical
identity but it does have a form until the cause is known. The moment
one thinks of the cause, the form of ‘umran loses its identity.
It is known that ‘‘umran exists but no one can change its origin.
This concept comes into sharp contradiction with natural philosophy,
which, as stated by Aristotle, propagates that, “form is the ultimate
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 119
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE

principle of change.”2 In the natural world, form does not diminish by

thinking of the causes but this is not the case in ‘umran. Nature works as
part of a design to achieve its ultimate form, the perfect state. However,
the following concerns arise: Where does ‘umran stand at this horizon?
Does the process of history or world construction have any perfect form
of underlying condition or state? Could there be something like a perfect
state at which history construction can end?
History or world construction that is preceded by its conditions
cannot be the final cause. The conditions itself must come into existence
by something else. However, for Ibn Khaldun (1967), the final causes
of ‘umran in the making of history presents “as a mixture of elements,
ijtima’ and ‘asabiyyah are the same for a being.” Ijtima‘ here means
assembly or gathering, whereas `asabiyyah means solidarity or group
feelings; both of them are the underlying factors giving conditions to
‘umran. For Ibn Khaldun, Ijtima‘ Insani (social cohesion) is necessary
for humans, without which they cannot survive. He explained that it is
human nature to have a desire for food, for which they need power and
resources. Resources cannot be materialised single-handedly, which
naturally creates the need for fellow humans to cultivate that desire.
Forced by the natural human desire given by God, individuals came
into contact with other fellow individuals to form ijtima‘ (assembly).
Ibn Khaldun similarly presented ‘asabiyyah as being necessary, hence
equally placing it with ijtima‘. He argued that without ‘asabiyyah, there
is no mission; a kingdom cannot come into existence. However, as per
the premises of Ibn Khaldun, ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah are a mixture of
a being made of elements. Hence, the Grand Design of Ibn Khaldun,
which is his new science ‘umran, comes into existence through two
natural phenomena in humans: ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah. In his causal
explanation, Ibn Khaldun became a reductionist by proposing only two
things at the core of his new science. Just as an event is composed of
cause and effect, Ibn Khaldun prescribed ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah as each
other’s cause and effect but without affecting their own individuality.
The reaction of these two creates the existence of ‘umran — the ultimate
explanation of human progress.
Therefore, the history or world construction is a product of humans
by their default proclivity for ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah. Each one has its

2
De Anima 416a9-13.
120 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

own individuality that is different in characteristics. Here lies the main

problem with Ibn Khaldun: is it the inclination towards solidarity that
forms the assembly or is it the assembly that prompts the existence of
solidarity? The kind of premises that Ibn Khaldun proposed belongs to
the unavoidable human nature, that is, man by nature is political, history
differs for people by means of getting existence. The point that must be
noted is that by informing his premises for the conclusion of History-
making, Ibn Khaldun looked into different perspectives of ijtima‘ and
‘asabiyyah and their associations. Thus, it described the psychological,
economic, political, geographical, anthropological, sociological, and
religious aspects of history initiated by humans. These and some other
related factors that Ibn Khaldun uncovered while exposing the History-
making are not random but a very regular part of history. The exciting
thing that comes into existence through this new science is the very
regularity in the History-making. This methodology can be used as a
tool to study any particular civilisation. For argument, Ibn Khaldun
explained two forms of human organisation, namely Badawa (rural
society) and Hadara (urban society) (Ibn Khaldūn, 1967).
According to Ibn Khaldun, Badawa life is based on strong
‘asabiyyah forming ijtima‘. People live together for the necessity of
life without thinking about any extension in the means of production.
By the time the production of means becomes overly demanded,
luxury and power dominate the society and it becomes Hadara, a
human organisation lacking solidarity. It remains a form of assembly
without any soul of ‘asabiyyah to complete that human organisation.
Ibn Khaldun, by undertaking such an extraordinary task, reduced the
once unknown phenomenon of History-making into material variables.
It is perplexing to know that a non-physical structure can be explained
through a mechanistic causal chain. This is what the Grand Design of
History-making.

The Problem of History-making

However exciting the explanation of Ibn Khaldun may be, the individual
concepts of ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah are ambiguous. He proposed that
both ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah are dharura (necessity). However, if both
are dharura, what is the cause of this? It does not apply to humans
as they are by nature causing both of them simultaneously. It will be
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 121
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE

a forceful decree on the free will whereby humans have no choice

but to behave in certain ways. Adopting the view of nature, which is
considered by Ibn Khaldun to be God-given, does not solve the problem
at this junction. It poses two major objections: firstly, it will not explain
how the God-given attributes function or how God himself became part
of humans and; secondly, it will claim that because it is God-given, He
knows what humans are going to do as He instilled in them the very
attribute. This simply means that humans are bound by the very attribute
God has given them, which result in control over every action they do,
be it right or wrong. So, humans can blame God for their misdeeds by
such an argument. It should be known that there is a major difference
between fate and determinism. Fate has one unavoidable outcome,
whereas determinism proclaims to contain micro details of events as
part of massive chains of causes and effects (Bobzien, 2001; Broadie,
2001; Long & Sedley, 1987). Hence, it seems incoherent to state that
by nature, humans must adopt ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah, forming the so-
called lazy argument. The lazy argument claims that for any event, if
it is unavoidable it will happen, otherwise the opposite will happen
(Marko, 2011).
Ibn Khaldun seems to follow this line of premises because if humans
have something, then it must be delivered, regardless of human concerns.
Humans are not immaterial mechanical causes linked to infinity. On the
contrary, they are able to form their own causes based on the effects of
being an intellectual species. The difference lies between something that
is caused by humans and something that has caused humans to act in a
particular way. Ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah are caused by humans but there
is no negation that something has caused humans to produce ijtima‘ and
‘asabiyyah. That something must be an identity existing in the world,
for which Ibn Khaldun composed his two premises. That something can
also be justified as a final cause, terminating all possibilities of further
investigation on the causal chain.
There is no denial that cause and effect can be simultaneous, as
philosophers have maintained this view. However, it is also impossible
to label any of them, ijtima‘ or ‘asabiyyah as a cause of others. Based on
Aristotle’s definition of priority in the physical universe, there are only
five ways it occurs: (a) what belongs to priority in time. For example,
Plato is prior to Aristotle; (b) what belongs to the being whose sequence
cannot be reversed. For example, Unity is prior to two: its existence does
122 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

not depend on two but two depends on one. A father exists than prior to
the son but the opposite is not possible; (c) what belongs to priority in
science and oratory. For example, a word is prior to a sentence; (d) what
belongs to natural priority because of the love and respect of someone;
and (e) Fifth, a prior cause is necessary for the existence. For example,
to say “man is” is correct but not because it is the cause of the existence
of the “man”. Rather, it is “man’s” existence that decides the correctness
of that statement. Hence, it is a real cause, not the statement. Man’s
existence is prior to its declaration (Aristotle, 1984).
In order to ascribe priority either to ijtima‘ or ‘asabiyyah, one
has to assume the precedence of one in time. However, following the
methodology of Ibn Khaldun, it is impossible to claim the priority of
one before the other in time, without which cause cannot produce its
effect. This simply entails that neither ijtima‘ nor ‘asabiyyah can be the
other’s cause. Moreover, if it is assumed that ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah
are simultaneous, being each other’s cause and effect without priority
in time than a major objection will come to Ibn Khaldun. It will return
to the medieval debate of the world’s pre-eternity that was solely based
on the argument that cause and effect are simultaneous and the priority
of cause lies in essence and rank, not in time. This premise ultimately
proposed that the world is eternal and God is the creator or is prior
to creation in terms of essence and rank but not in time — God and
the world are eternal. This is against the scientific facts and even Al-
Ghazzali attacked this concept in his masterpiece, Tahafut al-Falasifah
(Ghazzali & Marmura, 2000; Moad, 2015).
Similarly, it is a self-evident problem that ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah
are caused by each other. If the principle is taken for granted that two
individual identities could be each other’s cause and effect, and then by
all means there will be no dispute in the claim of science that natural law
is governed without any preceding cause, as Stephen Hawkings said:
To ask what was happened before the universe began is
like asking for a point on the earth at 91 degrees north
latitude. We are on the inside of the great sphere of space
and time, and while we can see to the boundaries, there
is nothing beyond to see if only because there is nothing
beyond. One should just say: the Universe is (Hawkings
& Mlodinow, 2010).
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 123
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE

This is not just an ordinary claim; it is in fact a direct denial of God

from the natural world. The confusion Hawking’s statement made — one
that is common in the scientific community —is in the formulation of the
question of creation. It does not make sense to convert a logical question
into a smart question by saying “there is nothing beyond” because from
the beginning, science has struggled to find the answer to the logical
question of why the universe came into existence, not “the universe
is”. For that very question, every domain of the physical universe must
be studied with great care, which is still ongoing but completely based
on available data. Now, when it comes to the initial point of creation,
with no data in hand to hypothesise something, it is propagated that
one should simply believe “the universe is” without further asking by
what means. It is a sheer contradiction to the methodology of science
and also absurd to the human reason, which always seeks satisfaction
to the fullest extent. What sort of analogy can be made when science
demands no questioning because it has no data to provide an answer
With the same line of argument, it would be an injustice to Ibn Khaldun
if the logical absurdity of ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah is taken for granted
in its current understanding. The aim of science must be to reduce the
chain of causality to an ultimate cause, after which it cannot be reduced
further. For the new science of the Grand Design of History-making,
this article aims to reduce the logical problem to an ultimate and final
cause — Time.

The Final Cause of the Grand Design

There are two different perspectives on how the cognitive parts of
humans came to be as they are. The first perspective supports the idea
that the human brain is a product of natural selection. It proposes that
certain physical features and behaviours were acquired by organisms
for survival; those that survived pass on these traits to their offspring.
The traits of an organism produced by natural selection are called
adaptation (Cosmides, 1989). The second perspective claims that
the brain is the product of a very complex process and its different
cognitive capacities are the outcome of the problem-solving methods
that occurred during environmental evolution. This process of human
cognition is called evolutionary psychology (Barkow, Cosmides,
& Tooby, 1995). Additionally, adaptive behaviour and knowledge
124 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

occurred through social learning, which distinguishes human cognitive

capacities and range (Cosmides, 1989). From such a long process of
natural accretion of cognitive capacities, it must be asked where ijtima‘
and ‘asabiyyah would situate.
The article proposes a new approach to understand the process of
History-making. Birth, growth, and death are the most beautiful truths
of this universe. The explosion of the dwarf planet at Chandrasekhar
limit (Chandrasekhar, 1931), the formation of new stars and the
chain of populated species on earth are three phenomena that have no
exceptions. Although distinct qualitatively, they are not unlinked. On
the fundamental level, each step is connected by a single cause and
identity, which is Time. Ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah are a part of cognitive
qualities and, hence, must belong to one of the processes. As per
the new proposal, whether or not one considers natural selection or
evolutional psychology with social learning as a major part, one thing
remains the same and omnipresent in all the processes and that is Time.
Before attempting to expose how time can become the ultimate cause,
it is important to first explain time itself.
Time directly corresponds to the relation between various existences
in the universe. It provides set patterns of events for each existence.
Celestial clocks are only a symbol, having no real contribution in
those set patterns. On the contrary, it is time that is solely responsible
for those activities. The companion of Alexander, Androsrhens noted
that plants raise and lower their leaves with a set pattern for night
and day. The same finding was reported by Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de
Mairan, an 18th-century French philosopher, when he analysed leaf
movements in a dark room. He noted that even in the dark room, the
leaves rised as they would during the day and fall as they would during
the night (Klarsfeld, 2013). Similarly, Swedish botanist, Carolus
Linnaeus, reported that different species have a different set pattern
and they do not deviate from that pattern based on a pre-determined
time. He noted that different species opened their flowers at a different
time of day and he could tell the time by observing the flowers in
his own gardens; this is now known as circadian rhythm (Kyriacou,
2002). The same set pattern was noted in insects, mostly in terms of
hormone production. Certain important hormones responsible for
insect moulting, such as prothoracicotropic, ecdysteroids, and juvenile
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 125
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE`

hormones, are the foundation of the circadian system and central to

the timekeeping of insects pattern (Saunders, 2002). The moment any
white dwarf reaches 1.4 times the mass of the sun, it explodes and
gives birth to a supernova, and that limit before explosion is called
Chandrasekhar limit (Chandrasekhar, 1931). All the planets follow a
set pattern of time, which none can deviate from. These planets are all
different, ultimately resulting in different velocities and mass in space.
There is a different span of life for different creatures living in the
same environment, which is so-called the space-time continuum. The
life span of a common house mouse is four years; it is 38 years for
cats, 42 years for polar bears, 62 years for horses, and 86 years for
Asian elephants. Similarly, the mean life span of the W boson particle
is 10-25 seconds but for the moun and anti-moun particles, it is 2.2x10-6
seconds. In 1961, Robert Dicke, a physicist, proposed that our universe
must be at least 10 billion years old, hence humans are at least that old
as well. However, the universe cannot be older than 10 billion years
or else, in the near future, the fuel of stars would have been used and
one requires hot stars for the sustainment of life. Even this assumption
is not as close to the real predicted value of 13.7 billion years as per
the Big Bang theory but the point is that it is classified with the exact
working of time (Hawkings & Mlodinow, 2010).
If it is true that such extraordinary phenomena are happening all
around, then it must be asked what is making so many differences in
the life span of different beings. When one mentions life span, it means
that each and every event happening to various categories of species
takes place but with different time, as each species live their respective
full phase of events of life. Such bizarre nature that differentiates
events and the experiences of time among individual species cannot
be due to space-time, be it flat or curved. Since all are living according
to the modern view in a space-time that is common to all, then how
can the same space-time classify events of individual existence? Such
phenomena are far from the prediction of space-time. In space-time,
only space is playing the role; —it is flat where there is less mass and
curved where there is high mass—but time is only following one path
(vertical) inside the light cone (Halliday, 2014). If only space defined
the world line of individual existence and Man have control over space,
why does not he make uniformity within existences? The limit is set
by nature and humans can play with self-made existence; for that, they
126 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

can set both space and time as per their will but that is not possible with
natural individual existences, even for space.
Time can be understood from historical changes in the nature of
space and history. There were numerous changes in history, including
earth for example. According to the Milankovitch theory, there were ice
and warm ages that repeated their pattern every 41,000 years (Weart,
2008). This huge pattern resulted in a drastic shift in the earth’s ecology
and ecosystem, replacing green places with dry lands and rivers with
deserts. One example is the ongoing research on the Arabian Peninsula,
which states that the area was supposedly green before. Apart from
scientific proofs on this green Arabia, it is interesting to find a prophecy
in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that Arabia will
become green again (Al-Bukhari, 1997, Book-5, Hadees-2208).
Similarly, from a historical point of view, civilisations came into
existence at a certain point in time, developed, and met their end.
Amazingly, for this to happen, there were changes in every domain of
the earth and nature. Humans discovered things on earth that existed
since the beginning but did not touch them as it seems these things
were waiting for their true owner. Everything changed then, from how
one sees the world to how one acts towards fellow human beings and
nature. Such changes were not accidental but came into existence
through a process of change in nature and society (René, 1996). All
domains of human life and nature adjusted themselves to make it
happen. One can find plenty of evidence in the Babylonian civilisation,
Greek civilisation, Roman civilisation, Islamic civilisation, the British
Empire and others. One can now ask the following questions: were
all these changes initiated by space? Can such thinking be a rational
argument to satisfy another rational being? If space has nothing in its
own nature to initiate something without another cause, then what is
there that is responsible for such strange modification everywhere in the
universe? There is no other option except Time itself that is creating,
changing, and relating new existences.
The active and dynamic role of Time can be sensed from one simple
example, which is how time changes the whole space-time continuum
for individual events. It is very simple to calculate the distance covered
by a vehicle by increasing and decreasing its speed but both of them are
related to space, which ultimately tells how much time it will take to
reach a specific distance. Until now, time is considered as a paralysed
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 127
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE`

dimension of a space-time continuum. Now, when time is fixed, the

speed will then change with distance accordingly. The point is that
both speed and distance are part of space and by keeping time fixed,
one is changing both the speed and distance, not just the speed. The
unit of speed is meter per second and distance is taken in meters. Both
are related to space travel and depend on time to make sense or else
speed with only meter unit is nothing but distance. On the contrary,
time’s unit is second, hour, and the like. It does not depend on any
other unit to make sense of its individuality and existence yet it shapes
others. In the physical universe, each and every thing has got a certain
limit that cannot be crossed off and these limits are set by the so-called
immutable laws. For example, the motion of celestial objects is fixed,
so any change is unthinkable and, hence, immutable. On the other
hand, in order to leave the earth’s gravity, there is a minimum escape
velocity (Logsdon, 1998) set by nature due to gravity but that limit can
be surpassed by deciding the time. Space vehicles can be launched by
specifying the time. The problem is not the achievable velocity but the
time itself that sets a limit in which nature will not allow crossing. So
it is not possible to set a minimal time limit that cannot be achieved by
the vehicle. This poses a problem on whether humans are struggling
with space to control time or if time is controlling the space.
Each and every thing has got its destination fixed initially, but
now it can be debated how it happened without delving into whether it
happened or not because birth, growth, and death are the most beautiful
truths of this universe. Death is not ascribed to space, speed or mass;
it has only one cause, which is Time. One can ask whether quantum
or classical physics can determine the precise time for an individual’s
death. The response is that science knows with certainty some of the
particle’s life expectancy (decay). This is the sole junction of the wrong
premise because if science knows the decay rate or particles’ life
expectancy, then why is science unable to predict the life expectancy
of humans, who are composed of the same particles? Why can science
predict some of the natural occurrences without analysing the timeline
of that occurrence? At this junction, the real contribution of time can
be realised and also justified by all means (Siddiqui, 2018; 2019).
Keeping the above role of time in the natural world, the process of Ibn
Khaldun’s science can now be described.
128 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

The Process of Final Cause

The process of a newborn baby can be described in terms of natural
selection, evolutionary psychology, and social learning (Barkow et al.,
1995; Cosmides & Tooby, 1997). A newborn baby in a forest will survive
as per natural selection and he will adapt to the environment of that
particular forest. In this situation, his consciousness about good and bad,
the way he decides his food and living standard and, most importantly,
his approach to learning the purpose of life and nature will dramatically
differ with a newborn baby who grew up in a settled human society. The
consciousness of both babies will differ in every aspect of psychology.
The baby who grew up in the forest would most probably not have any
kind of consciousness about ijtima‘ or ‘asabiyyah. It is possible that
his consciousness about ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah differ in terms of their
qualitative definitions, as described by Ibn Khaldun, such as kinship.
In the absence of any second human, what type of kinship will these
two newborn babies develop through their natural attributes? Each will
simply become adaptive to the conscious mind of the environment and
would even altogether dislike the idea of ‘asabiyyah. One can say Ibn
Khaldun cannot be judged based on a restricted example.
A newborn baby is free of any social heritage. Without understanding,
he first notices elders and their teachings. He tries to recognise people
around him in an unconscious manner without knowing their real
definition. Slowly, after recognising his own power of consciousness,
he learns the meaning of language, people, right and wrong, customs,
and culture, not through natural selection but through evolutionary
psychology and social learning. During this process of transformation
from an unconscious child to a conscious man, he will learn about the
meaning of ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah and how they are linked, along with
reason as to why humans must live together. He will even learn how
people can be gathered in the name of different ideologies, not mere
kinship or blood relation.
The above discussion reveals that, by nature, ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah
are not a part of humans. On the contrary, they have been adopted through
one of the natural methods described above, if one were to justify the
new science of Ibn Khaldun on scientific terms and condition. They are
a part of a process initiated by something else even before the individual
became aware of his own consciousness. Now, whatever method one
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 129
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE`

employs to explain the process of ijtima’ or ‘asabiyyah, there is one

thing that remains constant from birth to death and that is the active role
played by Time.
The first thing that influences a newborn baby is time; without
knowing its real definition, he would already start to flow in time.
Then he notices the environment around him has grown and even if
he does not consider the age of people, he would see that they are
somewhat bigger than him and he can use his senses to update his initial
consciousness. In human society, he sees that people around him are
bigger, older, and dying, and so from the beginning he starts to define
his life in terms of growth. This feeling of growth and death strongly
pushes him to acquire the necessary equipment (qualities) to survive.
For that purpose, according to the environment of any specific place,
he creates consciousness to find ways to grow as much as he can. No
one wants to die simply for the sake of dying. His consciousness would
become stronger through the emotional and rational relations he sees in
society. This is how the consciousness of ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah became
an indispensable part of one’s own belief. These added parts of different
attributes are not forced by nature. On the contrary, they are included
in life by rationalisation, which is based on the continual growth of the
individual.
When it comes to the social learning, the conscious man becomes
firm that growth and death cannot be surpassed but the struggle
to continue that growth is not easy. He would know the process in
advance, that is, the most beautiful truths of nature but he would remain
the same. Here, “sameness” refers to his “I”-ness; he was born as “I”
without consciousness but time forces him to grow. After gaining
consciousness, he is growing but still remains as “I”. With time forcing
him even harder to reach his final growth, he eventually dies when he
achieves his final growth but his “I” still remains the same. The change
was in his process to achieve that known truth (death) through another
known truth (growth) and both of them are forced by the active time. As
an active agent, time is shaping the space-time continuum and providing
the consciousness of growth and death forces the cognitive dimensions
of humans to adapt what is necessary for them.
From the third perspective, which assumes that the man has no
time, what will then be his cognitive capacities? In the absence of time,
130 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

he will, firstly, not recognise the very truth of growth, which will also be
a denial of death. Secondly, following that denial of growth and death, it
is impossible to develop cognitive capacities. This type of situation will
not create the concept of ijtima‘ or ‘asabiyyah. However, this does not
mean that the man will not grow, as time has its own active role to play,
whether or not humans recognise its active role in their timeline. Just as
in animals, there will be growth without consciousness, following a set
pattern of the timeline. Time distinguishes as per the consciousness of
each species: those that are able to change their own domain of timeline
will do so, whereas the rest will merely follow the set pattern.
As argued before, the aim of science must be to reduce causal
narration until the final cause is found, which exists in the world but
cannot be reduced further. The argued final cause and its effects are
well known throughout the universe. It is not “saving the phenomena”
concept (Duhem, 2015) but it does fulfil the requirement of explaining
the process of History-making. No identity like that of aether and
Dalton’s atomic theory is proposed here, which somehow explained and
predicted the phenomena but later on tend to be wrong (Braver, 2007;
Cruse, 2003). Due to the vacuum in the methodology of science to reach
the truth, many leading scholars have abandoned the single methodology,
which has resulted in the emergence of dualism in the method of science
to know the truth. Paul Feyerabend, a contemporary of Thomas Kuhn,
included sacred scriptures in the pluralistic methodology (Mitroff &
Feyerabend, 1976). Triggered by the uncommon claims of physics,
Robert Oppenheimer, Erwin Schrodinger and others have also turned
to Oriental doctrines for the solution of dilemmas brought out by the
scientific theories (Capra, 2010; Schrödinger, 1983). This methodology
even entered a metaphysical discussion, such as the concept of
separability posited to every point of space-time (Maudlin, 2009). The
aforementioned facts of science’s own methodology posit constraints.
As Feyerabend said, “the events, procedures, and results that constitute
the science have no common structure” (Mitroff & Feyerabend, 1976).
Hence, both the physical and cognitive perspectives were seen with
regard to the Grand Design of History-making in order to avoid the
logical absurdity of ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah. It has been argued against
the perspective of modern science that the proposed hypothesis of
active and dynamic time is able to explain the causal narration to all the
processes of History-making. It is strictly a reduction of causal chain
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF IBN KHALDUN’S GRAND DESIGN OF HISTORY- 131
MAKING: THE UNDERLYING METAPHYSICAL CAUSE`

to its final point, after which there is nothing found that can explain the
cause. Taking inspiration from the scientific methodology and science
in general, the Grand Design of History-making by Ibn Khaldun came
to its final restructuring without leaving any vacuum in further causal
reduction whatsoever.
All of the above discussions are attempts to de-construct and
argue against the modern isolation of any metaphysical ingredient in
the construction of History-making. Ibn Khaldun reduced ambiguities
by reducing causes to two inter-related phenomena. By resonating the
idea of Ibn Khaldun, this article further simplified these two causes to
a final cause, which is Time. However, based on the scientific approach
of this article, the final cause, which is inherently Time, establishes
the metaphysical assertion of Ibn Khaldun in History-making. The
ontological being in time (Siddiqui, 2018; 2019) is a direct claim of
God, who says, “I am the time and in My hands are the nights and the
day” (Al-Bukhari, 1997).3

Conclusion
The comprehensive theory initiated by Ibn Khaldun, named the Grand
Design of History-making, is unveiled and shows the necessary elements
that were considered by Ibn Khaldun as a core of his philosophy. It
is revealed that Ibn Khaldun has been studied from several different
perspectives but they have not successfully conveyed his true idea. Once
all these perspectives are amalgamated together, as per his methodology,
it is seen that the de-linked arguments posed by Ibn Khaldun at different
places describe the one single underlying Grand Design of history
–’umran — whose causes have been reduced scientifically to two
individual identities: ijtima’ and ‘asabiyyah. Ibn Khaldun materialised
the causes of an uncommon phenomenon that can be tested. However,
there is a logical absurdity in his reductionist approach, which proposes
combining ijtima‘ and ‘asabiyyah. This article reconstructed the theory

3
Bukhārī, Tafsīr, 45:1, Tawḥīd, p. 35; Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, Alfāẓ, pp. 2, 3; Dārimī,
Adab, p. 169; Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Musnad, II, pp. 238, 272. However, it must
be noted that this does not mean that time is equal to God, neither in the sense
of essence nor in the sense of existence. Time may be taken as an attribute of
God, among others.
132 NASEEB AHMED SIDDIQUI

of ‘umran by proposing a final cause that is able to avoid that absurdity

on the basis of scientific and cognitive methodology. The aim of science
must be to reduce causal chain to a final cause that cannot be reduced
any further. Hence, the final cause of the Grand Design of History-
making is existential Time, an active and dynamic identity possessed by
each existent in this universe but cannot be explained experimentally.
This Time is inherently metaphysical and can reconstruct Ibn Khaldun’s
Islamic Grand Design of History-making against the modern worldview
of historical thought process.

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IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 136-154.
Copyright © IIUM Press

Peacebuilding in Communities: Experiences of

a Muslim Female Social Worker in Cultivating
Interfaith Awareness in Australia

Amnah Khalid Rashid1 and Ishtiaq Hossain2

Abstract: In 2007, following a lengthy debate, the United Nations (UN)

expanded the definition of “peacebuilding” to not only be comprehensive,
but more crucially described as a long-term process involving different
actors and institutions. The UN also encouraged the acceptance of many of
the indigenous approaches and strategies in managing different types of
conflicts. In the expanded definition, women became recognised as a key
factor in peacebuilding. Their participation was encouraged by adopting
the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), which was to be
implemented through National Action Plan by signatories. This paper focuses
on the community-level peacebuilding mechanism in multicultural societies
to build social cohesion through interfaith dialogue, awareness and education
in Australia. Using interview method to relate a Muslim woman’s experience
of building peace at the community level, the paper describes the works of
Dr. Nora Amath and her organisation, Australian Muslim Advocates for the
Rights of All Humanity (AMARAH). The paper analyses the approaches and
strategies used by AMARAH to build trust between Muslims and non-Muslims
through interfaith dialogue towards building peace and tolerance among the
communities in Brisbane, Australia. The remarkable success of community
leaders like her in maintaining openness to communication, respect and
tolerance won her the Australian Peace Woman of the Year Award, 2015.

1
Amnah Khalid Rashid is a Research Manager at the Finterra, Blockchain
Technology Company, Malaysia
2
Ishtiaq Hossain, (corresponding author) is an Associate Professor at the
Department of Political Science, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge
and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia. He can be
contacted at: [email protected]
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Keywords: Peacebuilding, women, Dr. Nora Amath, AMARAH, Australia.

Introduction
“For generations, women have served as peace educators, both in
their families and in their societies. They have proved instrumental in
building bridges rather than walls,” stated the late Kofi Annan, the then-
Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), at the opening session of
the UN Security Council Debate on Women, Peace and Security in New
York on 24 October 2000.
In the post-9/11 era, religious minorities, particularly Muslims, have
often experienced fear and have also become the target of distrust in
multicultural societies. This schism between the majority and minority
groups living in such societies has often resulted in tension between
these two groups and has led to the polarisation of “us” versus “them”
in these societies in general. In Australia, the focus of this dichotomy is
largely over the rights of Muslim women to wear headscarves as well
as issues of their exclusion from and lack of participation in mainstream
Australian society. It would be natural to say that, overall, the Australian
community interpret the cultural diversity among the Muslims as being
permitted by Islam. This misinterpretation has led to the stereotyping
of Muslims, especially Muslim women, by ordinary Australians.
The Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights of All Humanity
(AMARAH) is an organisation based in Brisbane, Queensland. Its
founder, Dr. Nora Amath, is a sociologist whose research focuses
on religion and inter-community relations in Australia. Dr. Nora is
highly active among the Muslim community in Australia. She is also
a consultant to the Australian government on Muslim affairs. She is
one of the foremost Australian Muslim women who has taken up the
difficult task of changing the negative attitudes of ordinary Australians
toward their fellow Muslim Australians. The membership of AMARAH
is not exclusively confined to Muslims. In reality, this is an interfaith
organisation that strives to educate the ordinary public through effective
dialogue between members of different communities in order to help
construct and rebuild broken peace at the community level in Brisbane.
This paper examines the concept of peace building and the approaches
and strategies adopted by AMARAH to achieve it at the community
level. It focuses on the idea of inclusive peace, which emphasises the role
138 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

of women in the long-term process of peace building. This study also

aims to examine the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 (UNSCR
1325) through Australian Action Plan. This paper chronicles the various
initiatives undertaken by AMARAH in the fields of dialogue, education
and awareness campaigns at the grass roots level in order to mitigate
conflict and achieve social cohesion in the peacebuilding process in
Australian society.
According to the 2011 census, 476,000 Australians (representing
2.2 % of the population) stated Islam as their religion (Hassan, 2015).
Even though 40% of these Muslims were born and brought up in the
country, they also comprise the most heterogeneous community, having
originated in 183 countries (Hassan, 2015). A report titled “Australian
Muslims, A Demographic, Social, and Economic Profile of Muslims
in Australia 2015” revealed apparent existing income gap between
Muslim Australians and the Australian population as a whole. Muslims
tend to earn significantly less, both at the household and individual
levels, although the majority of them have at least a Senior Secondary
Certificate of Education (SSCE) or a Master’s degree. They are also
less likely to own or to purchase a house than the average Australian.
A quarter of all Muslim children in Australia live in poverty, compared
with 14% of all non-Muslim Australian children. Muslims have a higher
unemployment rate than the general population and are less likely to be
in the labour market. Elderly Muslims are significantly more likely to
be disabled or in need of assistance with core activities than Australians
in general. However, a survey of personal wellbeing and community
connections reveals that Muslims feel similar levels of wellbeing as
Australians in general, except that Muslims are less likely to feel safe
(Hassan, 2015).
A survey jointly conducted in 2015 by the University of Western
Sydney, Charles Sturt University and the Islamic Sciences and Research
Academy on incidences of racism in Sydney concluded that Muslims
in Australia experience racism three times higher than the national
average (BBC, 2015). The survey found that 57% of respondents
have experienced racism. In spite of the high levels of discrimination,
most Muslims still identified themselves as Australian and felt a sense
of belonging to the country. Perhaps, more importantly, 86% of the
respondents believed that relations between Australian Muslims and
non-Muslims were friendly. Another finding from the same survey
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indicated that the unemployment in Muslim respondents stood at 8.5%,

which is much higher than Sydney’s average of 3.7%. Additionally,
62% of those surveyed had experienced racism in the workplace or
when seeking a job (BBC, 2015). George Brandis, the former Attorney-
General for Australia, acknowledged the problem and warned,
The worst thing we could do is to alienate the Muslim
community. They are our fellow citizens and they are our
necessary partners in combating this menace. Australia
is the most successful multicultural society in the world
and the Muslim community is a very important element of
the Australian society. The fact that a very small minority
of fanatics defy the teachings of the Islamic religion
by engaging in terrorist crime, whether overseas or in
Australia should not reflect upon the Muslim community
(Hurst and Brandis, 2015).

Several Muslim and non-Muslim organisations alike, independent

individual efforts and social corporate bodies such as ACET-Global
have taken up the cause of building peace. Many have taken the task
of coordinating the effort of the Australian government and different
communities, including the Muslim community, to integrate yet
retain their respective cultural and religious identities by organising
workshops, programmes, and community services. Hence, maintaining
a strong national identity requires sustaining and building peace to curb
radicalisation and promote development within the Muslim community
in a diverse Australia.

The Concept of Peacebuilding

Broadly speaking, the concept of peacebuilding refers to a set of values,
relation skills, analytical frameworks and social processes to create
sustainable, just and peaceful communities. The term is not new as the
idea and practices are deeply rooted in all cultures and communities to
prevent, reduce, transform and recover from different forms of tension
and conflict in societies. Moving away from the traditional meaning of
creating peace between two armed groups, the United Nations in 2007
expanded the definition of peacebuilding to encompass women’s role
and declared it as,
140 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing

or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national
capacities at all levelled for conflict management, and to
lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development.
Peacebuilding strategies must be coherent and tailored to the
specific needs of the concerned based on national ownership
and should comprise a carefully prioritised, sequenced, and
relatively narrow set of activities aimed at achieving the
above objectives (Decision of the UN Secretary General,
2007).

In his seminal report entitled An Agenda for Peace, the then-UN

Secretary General Boutros- Boutros Gali pointed out that peace can
be viewed from two perspectives. First, it consists of a wide range of
activities associated with capacity building, reconciliation and societal
transformation. Second, it is understood as an umbrella concept that
encompasses not only long-term transformation early efforts, but also
peacemaking and peacekeeping. In this view, peacebuilding includes
early warning and response efforts, prevention of violence, advocacy
work, civilian and military intervention, humanitarian assistance,
ceasefire agreements and the establishment of peace zones.
Peacebuilding emphasises the fact that it is a long-term process
that occurs after a violent conflict has either diminished or come to a
halt. Therefore, peacebuilding refers to the phase of the peace process
that takes place after peacemaking and peacekeeping. Peacemaking is
the diplomatic effort to end violence between the conflicting parties,
move them towards nonviolent dialogue and eventually reach a peace
agreement. Peacekeeping, on the other hand, is a third-party intervention
(often, but not always done, by military forces) to assist parties in
transitioning from violent conflict to peace by separating the fighting
parties and keeping them apart. These peacekeeping operations not
only provide security, but also facilitate other non-military initiatives
(Maiese, 2003). Long-term peacebuilding techniques are designed to
fill this gap and address the underlying substantive issues that brought
about the conflict in the first place. Various transformation techniques
aim to move parties away from confrontation and violence are used
towards political and economic participation, peaceful relationships and
social harmony (Doyle and Sambinis, 2016). This long-term perspective
is crucial for the prevention of violence and promotion of peace in
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the future. Thinking about the future involves articulating desirable

structural, systemic and relationship goals. These might include
sustainable economic development, self-sufficiency, equitable social
structures that meet human needs and building positive relationships
(Lederach, 1997, p. 7).
The following are the three major dimensions of peacebuilding:
1. The Structural Dimension: This focuses on the social conditions
that foster violent conflict. Many note that stable peace must be
built on social, economic and political foundations that serve the
needs of the populace (Haugerudbratten, 2016). The root causes of
conflict are complex. In many cases, crises arise out of systemic
roots. These root causes of conflicts can be over land distribution,
which could be a result of environmental degradation, and unequal
political representation. Hence, parties must analyse the causes of
conflict before initiating social structural changes.
2. The Relational Dimension: This centres on reconciliation,
forgiveness, trust building and future imagining. According
to Lederach (1997), “it seeks to minimise poorly functioning
communication and maximise mutual understanding” (p. 82). One
of the essential requirements for the transformation of conflicts
is effective communication and negotiation at both the elite
and grassroots levels. Through both high- and community-level
dialogues, parties can increase their awareness of their own role in
the conflict and develop a more accurate perception of both their own
and the other group’s identity (Maiese, 2003). As each group shares
its unique history, traditions, and culture, the parties may come to
understand each other better. International exchange programmes
and problem-solving workshops are two techniques that can help to
change perceptions, build trust, open communication, and increase
empathy.
3. The Personal Dimension: This centres on desired changes at
the individual level. The main argument here is simply that if
individuals are unable to undergo a process of healing, there would
be broader social, political, and economic repercussions (Maiese,
2003). Peacebuilding requires attention to these psychological and
emotional layers of the conflict, “The social fabric, which is mostly
destroyed in a war must be repaired, and trauma must be dealt
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with on the national, community, and individual levels” (van der

Merwe and Vienings, 2001, p. 343). At the national level, parties
can accomplish widespread personal healing through truth and
reconciliation commissions that seek to uncover the truth and deal
with perpetrators. At the community level, parties can pay tribute
to the suffering of the past through various rituals or ceremonies
or even the enactment of memorials to commemorate the pain and
suffering that has been endured. Strong family units, which help
to rebuild community structures and moral environments, are also
crucial.

Peacebuilding Agents
Peacebuilding measures involve all levels of society, which require
a wide variety of agents for effective implementation. These agents
advance peacebuilding efforts by addressing functional and emotional
dimensions in specified target areas, including civil society and legal
institutions (Maiese, 2003). While external agents can facilitate and
support peacebuilding, it must be ultimately driven by internal forces;
it cannot be imposed from the outside. John Paul Lederach’s model
of hierarchical intervention levels explain the various levels at which
peacebuilding efforts occur (Lederach, 1999, p. 37). Visualising
peacebuilding as a pyramid provides a simple way to explain the
people involved at each level: the top elite, the middle-range, and the
grassroots. The top-level elite leadership comprises the key political,
military, and religious leaders in the conflict. They are the primary
representatives of their constituencies and are, therefore, highly visible.
The middle-range leadership has leaders of mid-level NGOs (non-
government organisations) and GOs (government organisations).
They mostly function in leadership positions but are not necessarily
connected with formal government or major opposition movements.
The leadership at the grassroots level is involved in local communities
and usually comprise members of indigenous NGOs carrying out relief
projects, health officials, and refugee camp leaders. These grassroot
leaders represent the masses as they personally witness and experience
the daily struggles of finding food, water, shelter, and safety in violence-
torn areas.
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Community as an Approach to Peacebuilding

Community-based approaches (CBA) seek to empower local community
groups and institutions by giving the community direct control over
investment decisions, project planning, execution and monitoring through
a process that emphasises inclusive participation and management. The
basic premise for demand-led approaches is that local communities are
better suited to identify their shared needs and the actions necessary
to meet them. Taking charge of these processes contributes to a sense
of community ownership, which can contribute to the sustainability of
interventions. Community-based approaches are relevant across many
sectors. They can be applied to individual community-level projects or
as a component of wider national programmes. They can be focused
primarily on achieving development outcomes, such as service delivery
and good governance. Community-based peacebuilding interventions
often seek to: transform relationships; collaborate with a wide range
of actors beyond the development community, including diplomatic
actors and, in some cases, parties to the conflict; and link to broader
peace strategies. A project that aims to achieve development outcomes,
such as service delivery, could be seen as a peacebuilding project if it
seeks to bring together groups across conflict divides to work together
to fulfil the need for services. The following are some possible types of
community-based approaches for peacebuilding:
1. Security Community-based Policing: This approach brings together
the police, civil society and local communities to jointly take
responsibility and develop solutions for local safety and security.
2. Socioeconomic Recovery Community-based Approaches: These
approaches are designed to provide services (particularly health
and education), infrastructure, natural resource and environmental
management, livelihoods and employment generation.
3. Media, Communication and Civic Education Community: This
approach includes radio stations and other forms of media that
broadcast in multiple languages to promote dialogue and debate
on key issues in society. Many also seek to promote reconciliatory
processes and civic education. Community video units are another
form of participatory communication whereby people present their
own ideas on key issues.
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4. Traditional Justice and Reconciliation: Traditional approaches

to justice and reconciliation often focus on the psychosocial and
spiritual dimensions of violent conflicts. They are also often
inclusive, with the aim of reintegrating parties on both sides of
the conflict into the community. This important component is
considered as an integral step in healing community relationships.
5. Heritage and Cultural Preservation: Initiatives designed to preserve
culture in disaster and conflict-affected contexts have included
community forums in order to allow for the articulation of local
needs, quick responses on the ground, and increased social capital.
Communities have also been involved in inventorying their culture,
which has contributed to preservation and a sense of national
identity (Haider, 2009).

Types of Community-Level Institutions

At the core of community-based approaches to peacebuilding is the
representative community institutions, which can serve as a forum for
discussion, decision making and implementation of decisions. Such
institutions act as intermediaries between communities and local and
national authorities as well as between communities and external
development agencies and implementing organisations. These are
explained by Colletta and Cullen (2000) based on their peacebuilding
experiences in Rwanda and Cambodia in the following ways:
1. Association: a group of people, frequently from different kin
groups, who work together for a common purpose and have a visible
identity mainly through sector associations that facilitate self-help,
mutual help, solidarity, and cooperation. They usually have clearly
delineated structures, roles, and rules within which group members
operate.
2. Cooperative: an autonomous voluntary association of people that
work together for mutual economic, social, or cultural benefits
through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
3. Civic association: a type of political organisation whose official
goal is to improve neighbourhoods through volunteer work by its
members.
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4. Community-based Organisation (CBO): an organisation that should

ideally be representative of the community.
5. Village Leadership: an official, traditional, and informal leader at
the local level. Official leaders include the communal chief and the
local government administration. Traditional leaders are usually
individuals who are revered for their religious or spiritual attributes.
Informal leaders enjoy influence over the community due to wealth,
special skills or charisma. Official and traditional leaders play key
roles in local political, social, religious, and welfare activities.
The community-based approach to peacebuilding can be explained
as a grassroots initiative. In this initiative, a variety of actors
such as religious leaders, community leaders, and individuals are
involved. They try to make a difference to community groups that
are struggling for their voices to be heard. They would also try to
uphold the rights of Muslim women living in a Muslim minority
community. To ensure women’s participation in peacebuilding,
the UN Security Council adopted UN Security Council Resolution
1325 (UNSCR 1325) and all signatory countries are expected to
implement the articles and clauses therein through developing
National Action Plans. Australia signed this Resolution in 2012
and is currently encouraging the participation of women under
the country’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security
(2012-2018) and learning by regularly monitoring and giving
awards annually on the progress made.

Australia’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

(2012-2018)
The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) that
was adopted in 2001 on women, peace and security is considered
as a landmark resolution and a great victory for women activists in
lobbying the Security Council and UN member states for its adoption
and implementation. As of January 2016, 55 nations have a National
Action Plan (UNHCR, 2016). However, on its 15th anniversary, many
countries either remain non-signatory, are in process of implementing
the Resolution or are still developing and executing their National
146 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

Action Plans. There is much that still needs to be done in getting women
to be accepted and included in the process of peacebuilding.
The UNSCR 1325 Security Council Resolution 1325 (United Nations,
2016) reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and
resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping,
humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction. It also
stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement
in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.
The Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality established
the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security, which is
chaired by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement
of Women. In 2003, the Taskforce developed an Action Plan on the
implementation of the resolution and contributed to the preparation
of the Secretary-General’s study. In 2009, the Australian government
funded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
(WILPF) in order to understand the national consultations on the
development of a National Action Plan. WILPF Australia collaborated
with other Australian women’s NGOs in working out the details of both
a discussion paper and final report on developing an Australian National
Action Plan (Government of Australia, 2016), and subsequently the
government ratified the Resolution in 2012. The Australian National
Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2012–2018 recognised the
important role of non-government and civil society organisations as a
wealth of expertise in the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and related
resolutions. The Australian government affirms the need for a gender
perspective into all stages of the process of peacebuilding through the
following five main themes:
1. Prevention: It incorporates a gender perspective in conflict
prevention activities and strategies and recognises the role of
women in preventing conflict.
2. Participation: It recognises the important role that women already
play in all aspects of peace and security. It calls for enhancing
women’s meaningful participation, both domestically and overseas,
by striving for more equal representation of women and men
in Australian peace and security institutions, and working with
international partners to empower local women to be involved in
formal peace and security processes in fragile, conflict and post-
conflict settings in which Australia is operating.
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3. Protection: It aims to protect the human rights of women and girls by

working with international partners to ensure their safety, physical
and mental wellbeing, and economic security and equality, with
special consideration for protecting women and girls from gender-
based violence.
4. Relief and Recovery: It calls for ensuring that a gender perspective
is incorporated in all relief and recovery efforts in order to support
the specific needs and recognise the capacity of women and girls.
5. Normative: It attempts to raise awareness about and develop policy
frameworks to progress the Women, Peace and Security agenda. It
also attempts to integrate a gender perspective across government
policies on peace and security (Government of Australia, 2016).

The Australian government plans to see through the following strategies

in order to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda:
1. Integrate a gender perspective into Australia’s policies on peace and
security;

2. Embed the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the Australian

government’s approach to the human resource management of
Australia Defence Force, Australian Federal Police and deployed
personnel;

3. Support civil society organisations to promote equality and increase

women’s participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, conflict
resolution and relief and recovery;

4. Promote Women, Peace and Security implementation internationally;

and

5. Take a coordinated and holistic approach domestically and

internationally to Women, Peace and Security (Government of
Australia, 2016).
148 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

The Experience of Dr. Nora Amath

In 2015, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
(WILPF), an UN-affiliated organisation, named Dr. Nora Amath
as the Peace Woman of the Year in recognition of her work towards
building peace among different community members in Australia.
She has championed the cause of creating awareness among ordinary
Australians about Islam through her community work and activities
of her organisation, the Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights
of All Humanity (AMARAH). A graduate of International Islamic
University Malaysia (IIUM), she went on to win a scholarship to pursue
a Master’s degree at Bond University in Australia and later earned a
PhD from Griffith University. She has authored several articles and a
book entitled The Phenomenology of Community Activism (2015). Her
journey towards community involvement began when she got married
and settled with her family in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She
first became involved in community activities when members of her
friendly neighbourhood in Brisbane would meet for small talks and
casually agreed not to fence their homes so as to allow their children
to play freely. The horrific 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and the
widespread intense media coverage tested the small peace-loving
Muslim community living in Brisbane. With so many terrorist reports
in the media, questions then arose as to whether the residents of this
small community in Brisbane should fence their homes to protect their
children and homes and also if their trust and peace would be broken.
Fortunately, the compassion, understanding and acceptance shared in
the neighbourhood never led to putting up fences. This inspired Nora to
deeply respect her neighbourhood, after which she began building trust,
creating awareness and spreading love by speaking to ordinary people
in her neighbourhood. The post-9/11 period created a tense atmosphere
of wars in Muslim countries and drawing a line on tolerance in a debate
on democratic values was not easy in a multicultural nation such as
Australia.
Dr. Nora Amath spoke at the community level in order to present
Islam in a positive light. The aim of these talks were to dissipate tension
and hostility against Muslims living in Australia. This was certainly
not an easy task, given the general context of anti-Islam sentiments
sweeping through Australia soon after the 9/11 attacks. She faced
numerous problems in convincing members of the Brisbane community
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to begin an interfaith dialogue. She was about to give up her efforts

when, by chance, a Brisbane City Council community development
officer introduced her to Pastor Dave Andrew. Nora’s efforts to build
interfaith dialogue began simply with trying to establish a relationship
on common ground so that respect and trust could be built among
the members of the Brisbane community. This was necessary so that
theologically challenging topics in Christianity and Islam, such as
Jesus and jihad, could be discussed. It is well known that peacebuilding
must be based on the empowerment of people to take a community
development framework as the basis for their work. This was aimed, in
Nora’s own words,

i) [for] creating a safe open space, ii) [for] peace-making

with a culture of acceptance, which extends more than
tolerance; iii) expresses respect for our common humanity,
which enables people to engage one another authentically,
emphatically, and appreciatively; iv) listening to one another
talk about our faith; v) learning from each other to grow in
our faith; not seeking to convert others to our religion, but
all of us seeking to be converted to God, so that we may
love God more wholeheartedly, and love our neighbours
– not only our friends, but also strangers, even enemies
- as ourselves; vi) not judging each other and each other’s
traditions, but encouraging each other to judge our traditions
in the light of our sacred call in the common word to love
God and love our neighbours as ourselves (On-line interview
with Nora Amath, 22 January, 2016).

One of the first interfaith events that Dr. Nora and AMARAH set up
was a gathering for both Christians and Muslims to come together over
an evening meal during the fasting month of Ramadan. It taught people
from another tradition on what they understood about the role of prayer
and fasting in their spiritual practice. For many, this method of listening
and learning from one another was a radical departure from the usual
way they engaged in interfaith dialogues in which they were expected
to listen to a lecture and correct each other. Sometimes, these meetings
ended disastrously. For example, when Nora and others went to an
Anglican Church in Brisbane to discuss the topic titled “How Christians
and Muslims Can Live In Peace,” they were met with an angry mob
who, with clenched fists wrapped in Australian national flags, called
150 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

for the Aussies to ‘Resist Islam’. On that occasion, all they could do
was to pray for grace to absorb the hostility of the demonstrators and
animosity. At other times, their meetings could only be described as
miraculous, such as when Nora went to a Pentecostal Church to talk
on the same abovementioned topic. There, she and other members of
AMARAH were greeted with a barrage of curious questions about
Islam, which they must have answered to their satisfaction. The Church
goers, especially the pastors, were so moved by Nora’s arguments that
once she finished her talk, the Senior Pastor walked down the aisle to
the front of the church, knelt at Nora’s feet and asked for her forgiveness
for his prejudice.
At the community level, creating harmony and solidarity against
threats and provocations become essential to restoring confidence
among members of the community and this is necessary for long-
term peacebuilding. It is usually the small incidents that, when left
unattended, may grow into distrust, which leads to conflicts within
the community. Such was the case involving three separate incidents
of hijab-wearing women who were taunted, stalked and assaulted in
Logan, Brisbane, in 2007. To create cohesion within the community
and develop confidence to replace distrust, Christian pastors organised a
Christian leaders’ meeting at Kuraby Mosque, also known as Masjid Al
Farooq, to stand publicly in solidarity with the Muslim community. A
group of 20 Christian leaders from various denominations — Anglican,
Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Quakers, Waiters, Churches of Christ,
Salvation Army, the Uniting Church and the Wesleyan Methodist
Church — came from around Logan and South East Queensland where
the attacks on Muslims had occurred. The Muslim community were
relieved and some even wept to hear Christian leaders say that day
that: “We are all people of faith. An attack on any of us because of our
religion is an attack on all of us. All of us have the right to feel safe on
our streets and in our homes. All of us have the right to practice our faith
freely without fear. We appeal to every member of our community: Stop
this harassment, stop these attacks, and stop this climate of suspicion.”
This clear and simple message went viral on media, sending waves of
content and peace.
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Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights of All Humanity

(AMARAH)
In 2006, Dr. Nora Amath set up the organisation, AMARAH, to formalise
and expand on her activities. AMARAH supports and encourages the
positive engagement of Muslims on issues of concern for the whole
of humanity. It is not exclusively for Muslims and, hence, encourages
and welcomes people of different faiths, no faith or orientation. The
organisation focuses on issues of human rights, civil rights, social rights,
environmental responsibility and Islamic awareness, though interfaith
dialogue remains one of its strongest activities. Since AMARAH’s
establishment in 2006, the organisation has developed strong relations
with other diverse religious groups and organisations based on values of
compassion, hospitality and embracing differences. AMARAH has also
been involved in a number of multi-faith cooperatives and participated
in different levels of dialogue initiatives, including dialogue of life,
dialogue of collaboration, dialogue of theological discussion, and the
deeper dialogue of religious experience.
According to Dr. Nora, AMARAH’s approach to interfaith dialogue
is inspired by Chris Marshall who argues that “the best way to initiate
change in the consciousness of mutually hostile groups towards peaceful
coexistence is by the building one-to-one friendships among individuals
of both sides” (On-Line interview with Dr. Nora Amath, 22 January,
2016). It is not about the clergy, leaders or scholars of different religions
attempting to impress one another about their own faith. Rather, it is
about people of faith and no faith simply sitting down with one another,
truly listening to one another’s stories and learning from one another.
The organisation provides the setting for such an interaction by hosting
an annual iftar (breaking of fast) during the month of Ramadan, inviting
their society’s homeless and less fortunate residents to St. Andrew’s
Anglican Church. It has become a sought-after event to meet and make
new friendships from different faiths and backgrounds. AMARAH’s
programme of educating the public and creating awareness about Islam
and other faiths has been exemplary. In 2010, AMARAH undertook
an interfaith project aimed at a discussion on spirituality involving
community issues and different traditions. It also worked on projects
with other organisations to develop inclusive communities, such as the
seven-month project titled “Spirituality, Conversations and Community-
Building” with MISBAH, a Christian organisation. A total of 150
152 AMNAH KHALID RASHID AND ISHTIAQ HOSSAIN

participants from diverse minority religions were invited for reflection

and discussion and, later, a book was launched based on interfaith
reflections and discussions. In all its activities, AMARAH attempts to
create a safe space for people to come together, share their similarities,
embrace diversity and work for the common good.
AMARAH believes that it is important for the organisation to take
a lead in creating respect, understanding and harmonious co-existence
with people of other religions and even with no religion in living in
their area. They are busy developing an exciting project that focuses
on the concept of being responsible for neighbours. The project aims to
create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the different
places of worship around the Kuraby, Eight Mile Plains, Rochedale and
Underwood suburbs of Brisbane. These suburbs are rich in cultural and
religious diversity. The project is in partnership with West End Refugee
Collective, The Waiters’ Union and MISBAH. It has generated a good
deal of interest among others in the areas around Brisbane as well as the
Oasis Centre, the Marion Mosque and the Pilgrim Church in Adelaide.
AMARAH’s Board members and volunteers are highly sought after by
others in the community and are invited frequently to be speakers and
panellists at workshops, seminars, conferences, church gatherings and so
forth. Dr. Nora has been invited to speak at the Brisbane Writers Festival,
the International Unity in Diversity Conference, the Australian and
New Zealand Anabaptist Conference, the Young Christian Leadership
Conference, the Sea of Change Conference, International Community
Development Conference on Community, The International Inter-faith
Asia-Pacific Summit: One Humanity, Many Faiths, and the Asia-Pacific
Symposium on Women, Faith and a Culture of Peace.
Dr. Nora’s dedication to Islam is comprehensive. She explains on the
teachings of Islam and speaks about human rights. She also emphasises
interfaith and inter-community dialogue. She has served on the boards
and committees of various community organisations and institutions,
including the Islamic College of Brisbane Advisory Committee,
Muslim Community Reference Group (a Queensland State Government
initiative), Democrats Youth Steering Committee, Ethnic Community
Council of Queensland Youth Advisory Committee, Believing Women
for a Culture of Peace, Al-Nisa’ Youth Group Inc., the Multicultural
Advisory Council to the Queensland Government and Sakina (a crisis
accommodation shelter for women escaping domestic violence). In
PEACEBUILDING IN COMMUNITIES: EXPERIENCES OF A MUSLIM FEMALE SOCIAL 153
WORKER IN CULTIVATING INTERFAITH AWARENESS IN AUSTRALIA

recognition of her services to the community, she received the prestigious

award of Australian Muslim Woman of the Year in 2006. In both 2007
and 2012, she was awarded the Australia Community Award. In 2015,
she was recognised as the Peace Woman of the Year, awarded by the
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She also worked
as an Electorate Officer for in local elections in Queensland. Having
developed a reputation as a competent and dignified ambassador for
Islam in Australia, she is frequently invited to present on various topics
of Islam, multiculturalism, and human rights.
In conclusion, peacebuilding is unique to each community with its
own sets of conflicts rooted in differences and issues related to culture,
religion, ethnicity, history and progress. Solutions cannot be imposed
externally; they need to be understood and tackled locally so they may
provide valuable learning and practice experiences. Local community
leaders and local organisations have better chances of success in
sustaining, building and maintaining peace, as proven by AMARAH
and Dr. Nora Amath along with Pastor Dave.

References
Amath, N. (2015). The Phenomenology of Community Activism: Muslim
Civil Society Organisations in Australia. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne
University Publications.
BBC. (2015). “Australian Face High Level of Racism”. BBC 30th November
2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34962923 accessed on
20th February 2016.
Boutros-Ghali, B. (1995). An Agenda for Peace. New York: United Nations.
Colletta, N., & Cullen, M. (2000). The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social
Capital and Social Cohesion: Case Studies from Cambodia and Rwanda.
Washington, DC: World Bank.
Decision of the Secretary General. (2007, May). Retrieved January 29,
2016, from United Nations Peace Building Fund: http://www.unpbf.org/
application-guidelines/what-is-peacebuilding/#fn-1937-2
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs. (2012). Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and
Security. Government of Australia.
Doyle, M., & Sambanis, N. (1999). Building Peace: Challenges and Strategies
After Civil War. Washington, DC: The World Bank Group.
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Haider, H. (2009). Governance and Social Development. Birmingham:

Resource Centre, University of Birmingham.
Hassan, R. (2015). Australian Muslims: A Demographic, Social and Economic
Profile of Australian Muslims. Adelaide, South Australia: International
Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding, University of
Adelaide.
Haugerudbraaten, H. (1999). Peacebuilding: Six Dimensions and Two
Concepts. Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies.
Hurst, D., & Brandis, G. (2015, November 16). Alienating Australian Muslims
the Worst Thing We Could Do: Australian Security and Counter Terrorism.
The Guardian.
Lederach, J. P. (1999). Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided
Societies. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press.
Maiese, M. (2003, September). What it Means to Build Lasting Peace.
Retrieved February 20, 2016, from http://www.beyondintractability.org/
essay/peacebuilding
United Nations. (2016). Landmark Resolution on Women and Security.
Retrieved January 30, 2016, from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/
wps/
Van der Merwe, H., & Vienings, T. (2001). Coping with Trauma. In L. Reychler,
& T. Paffenholz (Eds.), Peacebuilding: A Field Guide. Boulder, Colorado:
LynneReinner Publishers, Inc.
IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 155-171.
Copyright © IIUM Press

Educational Policy And Educators’ Academic

Integrity

Bukuri Zejno1

Abstract: Academic integrity is an issue that has received tremendous

attention and continues to be an intense area of research involving all levels
of scholarship, mainly due to the impact of its opposite concept and academic
dishonesty on the reputation of an institution or the members of that institution,
be it students or academicians. However, while most researches deal with
plagiarism by students and other unethical practices, not much is being said
about this phenomenon among staff and academics. In order to find effective
solutions to a problem, it is essential to dig into the roots of that problem and
investigate what are the potential causes of it. Therefore, building on previous
research, this paper uses an analytical approach to look at a number of aspects
within the educational system that are found to stimulate plagiarism and
academic dishonesty among the educators and academic professionals, such as
lack of awareness, pressurizing circumstances, deficiency in the application of
concepts of justice and equality, as well as non-compliance with the underlying
worldview upheld by the educational institution. This paper attempts to give
suggestions about the measurements that need to be taken into consideration
by the educational system and policy makers, in the quest of providing long-
term solutions that can lead to a culture of academic integrity, particularly for
Islamic educational institutions.

Keywords: Academic Integrity, Academic Dishonesty, Educational System,

Islamic Worldview, Knowledge, Professionalism.

1
Bukuri Zejno is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Fundamental and
Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He can
be contacted at: [email protected].
156 BUKURI ZEJNO

Introduction
In recent years, significant concerns have been raised internationally
about the violation of the standards of academic integrity among members
of the academia. Although an extensive amount of research has been
dedicated into looking at the issue from various aspects, incidents of
academic dishonesty and plagiarism among the academicians continue
to obtain substantial media coverage (Martin, 1989; Kanan, 2019), not
to mention those that are swept under the rug for different reasons and
justifications. The most common unethical practices include lifting
whole passages from someone else’s work, claiming ownership to
someone else’s writing, or using power and position to force someone
include one’s name as a main or co-author for a publication, without
having made any considerable contribution to the production of that
publication or research.
While these issues have received immense attention at the present
time, literary ownership was not a known concept until the 16th century,
when writing started to be seen as a trade, profession, and money-
making mechanism. Instead, copying, borrowing, imitating, and
referring to another’s work, were not only not seen as something bad or
unethical, but was promoted, encouraged, and considered as something
to be proud of (Howard, 1995; Hansen, 2003). There are indeed, until
today, cultures and communities, which regard knowledge and writing
as having no ownership and as something that should circulate freely for
the benefit of all mankind. However, a new perception started to take
place with the introduction of the copyright laws (although copyright
and plagiarism are not the same concepts) and, later, with the clear
guidelines on the correct use of sources. In recent years, plagiarism and
academic dishonesty are considered serious offences, which not only
can ruin an academician’s reputation and career but can also have legal
consequences.
Although there is no direct reference in the Shari’ah (Islamic
Jurisprudence) related to intellectual property, its ruling can be derived
by the general principles of ownership laid down on it. However,
differences of opinion exist among the contemporary Muslim scholars
about the acceptability of this concept by the Shari’ah. Several scholars,
particularly from the Hanafi school of thought, are of the opinion that
intellectual property is not a tangible commodity on which the principle
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 157

of ownership can be extended (Malkawi, 2013). They view intellectual

property as something that is not in line with the Islamic principles of
sharing and acquiring knowledge, as it prevents others from gaining
knowledge. On the other hand, other scholars do not think that Shari’ah
extends ownership to tangible objects only. Just as Mufti Muhammad
Taqi Usmani has highlighted, they believe that,
the concept of intellectual property does in no way restrict
the scope of knowledge, because the law of copyright does
not prevent a person from reading a book or from availing of
a new invention for his individual benefit. On the contrary,
the law of copyright prevents a person from the wide
commercial use of an object on the ground that the person
who has invented it by his mental labor is more entitled to
its commercial benefits, and any other person should not be
allowed to reap the monetary fruits of the former’s labor
without his permission. The author of a book who has worked
day and night to write a book is obviously the best person
who deserves its publication for commercial purposes. If
every other person is allowed to publish the book without
the author’s permission, it will certainly violate the rights of
the author, and the law of copyright protects him from such
violation of rights (Usmani, n.d.).

Although information technologies and the Internet have made

plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty tempting and very
easy, it is the same technologies that have, at the same time, made their
detection easy. Many schools and universities all over the world invest
extensively on plagiarism detection services, such as Turnitin, in order
to combat academic dishonesty among students and academicians.
While it is true that these services provide a quick and systematic way
to check on the originality of academic writing (Mulcahy & Goodacre,
2004), there are plenty of contradictions surrounding this practice. Its
opponents argue that plagiarism detection sites and software violate
writers’ intellectual property rights as the papers they submit for
scanning are saved in the databases of the detection companies (Robelen,
2007). Additionally, most of these sites are commercially-oriented and
not only use “the content of others for financial advantage without the
consent of owners of that content” (Townley & Parsell, 2004, p. 273).
The same company that owns Turnitin, for instance, has come up with
WriteCheck, which Murphy (2011) describes that WriteCheck basically
158 BUKURI ZEJNO

gives students the ability to check their written work against the
products’ shared database, allowing students to perfect their plagiarism
enough to avoid Turnitin’s detection upon submission to instructors.
Another controversial issue is the inability of this system to
identify the source material from written materials, while categorising
writings according to percentage copy, which “may allow unacceptable
amounts of plagiarism to pass undetected while flagging problems
with assignments which do not contain plagiarism” (Emerson, Rees, &
MacKay, 2005, p. 22). The opponents also argue that considering every
writer as a potential plagiarist is not any more ethical than the practice
itself. Thus, they suggest the solution should not be found in technology
alone. Instead, emphasis should be put on building personal and
intellectual integrity (Kavanaugh, 2003), and changing the “focus from
technology to community”, as well as “from vice to virtue” (Townley
& Parsell, 2004, p. 276). This could provide more long-lasting and
positive effects.
This paper builds on a previous research, where the author has
identified the factors that influence plagiarism and academic dishonesty,
based on which, suggestions can be made in order to find long-lasting
solutions that can be used to combat and minimise the occurrence of
such practices, especially in an Islamic educational institution of higher
learning. Among other factors in the research, Educational System
emerges as a significantly influential theme, which consists of several
sub-themes. The factors that influence the practice of plagiarism,
identified within the educational system are lack of awareness,
pressurising circumstances, injustice and inequality, and the worldview
(Zejno, 2018). The following section will attempt to indicate the role
that the educational system can play into curbing unethical academic
practices by suggesting solutions to the above factors that stimulate
such practices among the academic community of educators.

Creating Awareness
A great deal of plagiarism happens unintentionally, either because there
is inadequate training on the correct ways of borrowing information from
other sources, or because there are numerous grey areas surrounding the
concept of plagiarism (Price, 2002; Epstein, 2006; Howard & Davies,
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 159

2009; Zejno, 2018). Although one may assume that academicians are
already trained professionals in academic writing, there can be various
hindrances that may complicate the writing experience.
For instance, an academician who has been studying, teaching,
reading, and writing extensively on a particular field or area of study
may find it difficult to draw the line between what he/she may consider
common knowledge and what needs to be credited to a particular source.
The writer may form a way of thinking that merges the language and
phrases read from different sources together, thus making it difficult to
differentiate between one’s own terminology and the borrowed ones.
Disparities among experts in the area of plagiarism as well as among
various educational institutions on a clear definition of what consists of
plagiarism and what type of knowledge can be considered common, sow
confusion and allow for individual interpretations, justifications, and
rationalisations. Nelms (2003) says that “the definition of plagiarism
remains unsettled. Writing handbooks, institutional plagiarism policies,
and teachers have come to no firm consensus on what plagiarism is,
which explains why students remain confused about plagiarism” (p. 3).
Moreover, many educators and academicians are not natives
to the language they write in, and use English, for instance, as their
second language. Therefore, second-language writers, be it students or
academic staff, may face difficulties imposed by language barriers when
it comes to writing academically, which is complex in structure and
requires a high language proficiency (Howard, 1995; Pennycook, 1996;
Pecorari, 2015). In this way, writing becomes a challenging experience,
forcing the writer to rely heavily on other sources, while not having the
intention to cheat or involve in any unethical practice.
Another factor that has been found to influence the way a writer
views information usage and borrowing is culture. Western culture is
more individualistic compared to many non-Western cultures, which
are collectivistic in nature (Bloch, 2008). Cultures, such as the Chinese
or Muslim cultures, have always encouraged and valued some form of
imitation to express respect to and continuation of the path of knowledge
acquisition. The principles and beliefs formed in these cultures can play
a significant role on the writers’ perception of originality, thus casting
more confusion on an already complex issue, such as plagiarism.
160 BUKURI ZEJNO

Taking into consideration all these factors that may lead to

unintentional plagiarism, the educational system needs to, firstly, decide
on the definition that should be adopted, based on the criteria that best
suit the national or institutional philosophy. Subsequently, awareness
campaigns should be organised in every educational institution, whereby
all matters related to plagiarism should be made known to all academic
staff and students as well, through organising workshops. These
workshops should not be only informatory and theoretical in nature,
but should contain writing courses, which offer practical training and
hands-on experiences on the correct and safe ways of using and crediting
information in an appropriate manner that depicts academic integrity.
Such workshops should be made compulsory for every academic
staff upon entry or as a requirement for promotion. Similarly, written
materials or easily accessible web instructions should be made available
to the whole community of scholars by each educational institution.
Looking at this from an Islamic perspective, the educational system
should aim at enhancing and encouraging the development of the
element of expertise in a Muslim’s character, highlighted in various
instances throughout the Islamic traditions. The Holy Qur’an makes
mentions this kind of trait as a qualification for employment in Surah
al-Qasas:
ُ‫ت ا ْستَأْ ِجرْ هُ ۖ إِ َّن َخ ْي َر َم ِن ا ْستَأْ َجرْ تَ ْالقَ ِويُّ ْالَ ِمين‬
ِ َ‫ت إِحْ دَاهُ َما يَا أَب‬
ْ َ‫قَال‬
One of the women said, “O my father, hire him. Indeed, the
best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy”
(Qur’an 28:26).

The strength mentioned here, does not necessarily refer to physical

strength only, but also to the strength of mind and the expertise in which
one carries out a certain task in the best possible way, and the one who
can be trusted with the responsibility. Thus, the workshops organised
for Muslim academicians should be able to link the awareness and
knowledge about the correct ways of using information in academic
writing with the Islamic concept of being qawiyy, i.e., possessing
strength, ability, and proficiency. Placing the trust to the honest and
trustworthy person is supported as well by the following saying of the
Prophet (PBUH):
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 161

‫ي صلى هللا عليه‬ َّ ‫ض َي‬

َّ ِ‫ قَا َل النَّب‬:‫ قَا َل‬،ُ‫للاُ َع ْنه‬ ِ ‫ َر‬،ِّ‫ع َْن ُمو َسى األَ ْش َع ِري‬
َ
.»‫ص ِّدقي ِْن‬ ْ َ ْ ً َ ُ
َ َ‫َازنُ األَ ِمينُ الَّ ِذي يُ َؤدِّي َما أ ِم َر بِ ِه طيِّبَة نَف ُسهُ أ َح ُد ال ُمت‬ ْ :‫وسلم‬
ِ ‫«الخ‬
‫ رقم‬،‫ح‬ ِ ِ‫ار ال َّرج ُِل الصَّال‬ ِ ‫ باب ا ْستِ ْئ َج‬،‫ كتاب اإلجارة‬،‫(صحيح البخاري‬
2260 :‫)الحديث‬
Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (r.a.) reported the Prophet as saying:
“The honest treasurer who gives willingly what he is
ordered to give, is one of the two charitable persons, (the
second being the owner)” (Sahih Bukhari, the Book of
Hiring, Chapter: To Hire a Pious Man, Hadith: 52).

Therefore, highlighting on this kind of personality trait and placing

importance on acquiring the necessary information that will place
someone at the position of expertise in the subject matter should be the
aim of the awareness programs organised by the Islamic educational
institutions, in order to promote a healthy academic culture.

Minimising Pressurising Circumstances

No matter how ethical people may be, if they are put into too much
pressure, they may decide to make choices which they would have
never made in normal circumstances. Carucci says in his article, “Why
Ethical People Make Unethical Choices,”
unfettered goal setting can encourage people to make
compromising choices in order to reach targets, especially
if those targets seem unrealistic. Leaders may be inviting
people to cheat in two ways. They will cut corners on the
way they reach a goal, or they will lie when reporting how
much of the goal they actually achieved (2016).

Therefore, when the requirements assigned in the form of Key

Performance Indicator (KPI) are unrealistic, the academicians will be
forced to compromise their ethical standards, as it will be seen as the
only way for survival. In almost every educational institution, the main
criterion for academic promotion and even renewal of the contract is
research and publications. When this growing demand is combined
with the teaching workload, the large number of students for each
section, the need to make teaching more engaging and interactive for
the Millennial or Gen Z students, the community service, and not to
162 BUKURI ZEJNO

put aside the family responsibilities of the educators and academicians,

it sets a target that is impossible to be reached if one attempts to work
with a high level of professionality, responsibility, and ethicality. For
instance, there are lecturers at IIUM, who need to teach between 250-350
students per semester. Besides dealing with the assessment procedures
for this large number of students, they also need to conduct researches,
attend conferences, publish articles, supervise postgraduate students,
and engage in community service. On top of that, the reduction of funds
for higher education has not only reduced the hiring rate of full-time
and part-time lecturers (Sheith Khidhir, 2017), but it has also made
the funding of research difficult, whereby securing research grants has
become a struggle on its own. It is not surprising if quality time with
family may be missed and the responsibility of the children’s education
be handed to schools alone.
Faced with this situation, the academic staff would have to
compromise on the quality of both, teaching and research. Thus, a level
of dishonesty would become unavoidable in their teaching experiences,
at the expense of their students, as well as in their research ethics and
academic writing, at the expense of their own reputation, or even
the reputation of the institution which they represent or are affiliated
to. On an even higher context, the Muslim academicians would find
themselves in an ethical dilemma, in which they would be forced to
compromise on their religious principles, causing, at the same time, a
spiritual inner strife and conflict. Although the intention here is not to
justify unethical choices, people whose hearts are not at peace, who
live with the fear of losing their job, not getting promoted, or not being
able to provide for their families, not because they are not working hard
enough but because the targets are set too high, might feel pressured
to make choices and decisions that contradict with their moral values
and, in a normal situation, would yield a completely different response.
Furthermore, those whose level of religiosity or God-consciousness
would not allow them to compromise their religious principles even in
the most difficult situation, would put themselves into so much pressure
that it would eventually lead them to deteriorating health.
Organisational leaders and, particularly, educational policy makers
need to understand that it is not always bad people who make unethical
choices, but rather incompetent management and its unrealistic goals
that create the pressure, which leads to such choices and sets the
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 163

organisation and its employees up for failure; at least an ethical one.

Thus, another main step to confront the issue of plagiarism in academic
writing among the educators, would be to set realistic requirements
in terms of performance indicator, which are achievable and less
pressurising. This would include a reduced workload - a moderate
number of teaching credits, as well as a specific number of students for
each section; more flexibility for research and publications, with regards
to the number of publications required, as well as to the indexation
factor of the publications; and providing the staff with a choice to focus
on either teaching or research, based on preference and expertise. This
division and balancing of responsibilities are highlighted in the Holy
Qur’an, when Allah (SWT) says:
‫َو َما َكانَ ْال ُم ْؤ ِمنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا َكافَّةً ۚ فَلَوْ َل نَفَ َر ِمن ُك ِّل فِرْ قَ ٍة ِّم ْنهُ ْم طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا‬
َ‫ِّين َولِيُن ِذرُوا قَوْ َمهُ ْم إِ َذا َر َجعُوا إِلَ ْي ِه ْم لَ َعلَّهُ ْم يَحْ َذرُون‬
ِ ‫فِي الد‬
And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at
once. For there should separate from every division of them
a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion
and warn their people when they return to them that they
might be cautious (Al-Qur’an 9:122).

This verse shows that although going into battle in the cause of Allah
(SWT) is one of the most noble things, not everyone should dedicate
their time and effort to do the same. Different groups can focus on what
they can do best to benefit others and share the responsibilities without
missing out on the rewards, as doing so, would have the same value in
the eyes of Allah (SWT). Moreover, this would allow each group to
focus at their own responsibilities, as well as decrease the amount of
stress and pressure, which would lead to better results and efficiency.

Establishing Justice and Maintaining Equality

Just as the saying “injustice breeds injustice” goes, if the employees
do not feel that there is enough justice and equality - that every staff
receives the same treatment, with equal opportunities offered to all, and
that everyone is equal before the law - it is hard to imagine, let alone
establish, a culture of integrity for any organisation. A vast body of
literature on organisational behaviour has shown a strong relationship
between justice and ethics in an organisation. Carucci says that unethical
164 BUKURI ZEJNO

organisational behaviour is likely to happen “when an organisation’s

processes for measuring employee contributions is perceived as unfair
or unjust” (2019). Ambrose, Seabright, and Schminke (2002) found
injustice to be the main cause of workplace sabotage. Khattak, Khan,
Fatima, and Ali Shah (2018) also concluded that there is a positive
relationship between negative emotions and deviant workplace
behaviour.
There are several areas where educational policies of an institution
can create an environment of distrust and dissatisfaction among the
employees, who feel they are not treated fairly and justly. One of the
instances is when employee performance is not measured in the same
way for all the staff. There are cases where, for indistinct reasons,
certain employees are promoted without fulfilling many of the criteria
necessary for promotion, while others are not being promoted, although
they might have many times surpassed the fulfillment of the criteria.
Other cases may be comprising of marginalisation of certain groups
or minorities within the academic environment. This can refer to the
institution having issues in dealing differently with local and international
staff, whether by assigning lower requirements, or by not imposing any
penalties for non-compliance with the regulations of the institution for
the local staff, in contrast with the international staff. Furthermore,
there can be cases where particular members of the academia are able
to escape consequences or punishment for academic misconduct, i.e.
plagiarism, simply because they are superior or powerful individuals,
or provide, as what Martin (2008) calls, “gift authorship” to other
powerful individuals by including their names as authors or co-authors
without them having made any substantial contribution to the work.
This is done not only to please them, but in the case when they are
caught for plagiarism, they can get away with it or at least minimise
the consequences of their unethical perpetration, because the names of
powerful people are involved in the issue. All these instances may lead
to the academic staff to perceive their work environment as unjust and
will diminish their motivation to work hard and with integrity.
The role of the educational policy makers for every institution is that
they should address all these issues thoroughly, in order to obtain the
trust of its members and create an environment based on justice, which
can have a long-term impact in creating a culture of academic integrity.
Recognition of contributions should not, in any case, be given based on
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 165

any other criteria, such as position, links, or nationality, but based on

merits and integrity. Justice is one of the core concepts in the Islamic
Law (Shari’ah), whereby, as stated by Doi (1998), each human being is
respected “through various social arrangements that are in the common
interests of all members” (p. 8). The rules of the Shari’ah provide equal
treatment to all individuals and each one of them is equal before the law.
He further says that,
Judicial power, according to Shari’ah, must always operate
in conformity with equity, even to the benefit of an enemy
and to the detriment of a relative. Shari’ah does not allow
the slightest modification in the rule of perfect justice, or any
form of arbitrary procedure to replace it. It firmly establishes
the rule of law, eliminating all differences between the high
and the low (Doi, 1998, p. 10).

This stance affirms that since perfect justice without compromise

is granted even to an enemy, there is no question that members of the
same community, who share the same faith and goals, should be treated
with the highest sense of equity and justice, which in turn will produce
a climate of trust and integrity, as well as a sense of belonging and
attachment within that community.

Compliance with the Underlying Worldview and Philosophy

The constant emphasis on the importance of the acquisition of knowledge
and education in the Islamic tradition has contributed immensely to
the flourishing of great, well-grounded scholars during the Islamic
Golden Age and continues to be a factor of motivation on individual
and institutional levels to the present time. The Western educational
system not only fails to provide or gives the wrong set of answers
which contradicts Islam about the fundamental questions related to
the Creator, the Universe, and human existence, but also sets different
standards and goals of knowledge acquisition, which are in accordance
with its ideology and worldview.
Yuce has noted that the world today is a depiction of an educational
system devoid of belief. The tremendous developments in science and
technology as a product of this educational system “have so far done
very little to supply the needs of heart, spirit and sentiments” and led to
166 BUKURI ZEJNO

“deterioration in the human values” (2019). These are the consequences

of a generation who have been brought up to think of the universe as
“a world existing without a Creator, aimlessly, and meaninglessly”,
having “no connection…and not recognising their Creator’s authority...
assuming themselves completely independent and irresponsible and
therefore…liable to crimes and violations of rules and rights” (Yuce,
2019). Individual and societal peace can be made possible only through
the education of moral and spiritual values, or as Al-Attas (1979) has
stated, through a comprehensive and integrated approach, whereby
faith guides the training of all the human faculties and dimensions for a
balanced personality.
Entrusted with such responsibility, in line with the Islamic worldview,
the Muslim educators need to incorporate Islamic ethics and integrity
into the academic curriculum. They should not be simply instructors
or facilitators. Instead, they need to play the role of the Murabbi,
which means to lead by example, be role models for and impress their
students, through their character, so as to guide them to goodness and
help them grow in every aspect of their personality - be it spiritual,
social, or rational - enabling them to successfully play all the roles they
are entrusted with in their life as responsible human beings.
Since the Western educational system does not share the same vision
and principles with the Islamic model of education, simply copying
its goals and standards, and applying them to the Islamic educational
system, would not be functional and lead to contradictions. It would
also be, as Yusof (2009) has stated, a form of “plagiarism” of those
concepts into our system. Many of the standards imposed on our
Islamic educational institutions, such as university ratings, number of
publications, or journal metrics indexed by Scopus based on the impact
per publication, do not portray personalised standards that comply with
our vision of education. Instead, they lay unnecessary pressure on the
Muslim educators, which may prevent them from fulfilling their role
as Murabbi, by not providing them with the platform to put emphasis
on building and developing the balanced personality of their students,
and therefore, disabling them from achieving the very aim of Islamic
education.
Thus, an Islamic educational system should be built on
pillars of standards, principles, values, and means obtained
from the Islamic worldview. Pillars imported from another
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND EDUCATORS’ ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 167

educational system, however established and of good

reputation that system might be, which is based on a different
worldview, would be contradicting and create confusion in
the application of those standards, principles and values. An
institution that claims to hold Islamic principles in its roots,
should abide by those principles by first asking the questions,
what are our intentions, why are we searching for knowledge,
how should we go about searching for that knowledge?
Searching for knowledge should not be to the extent where
one should be pressurised into being unethical just to reach
certain standards set by other institutions, that even though
might be of higher prestige, do not hold the same principles
as an Islamic institution… An Islamic educational system
should be able to instill on the students the kind of self –
consciousness, which would help them acquire knowledge
not only by learning skills but integrate them with a noble
character and moral conduct (Zejno, 2018, pp. 9-10).

Doing things differently and in accordance with the Islamic

worldview, philosophy, vision, and mission of education, would provide
the Muslim educators with an ummatic sense of belongingness and
empowerment, as well as endow the Islamic educational system with the
opportunity of leading the way, as opposed to following. This practice
of “walking the talk” in every aspect can be the answer to problems
of ethics and provide long-term solutions that can lead to a culture of
academic integrity.

Conclusion
The discussion throughout this paper has attempted to point out that
plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty among the academic
staff may not always be the result of a wicked personality. Instead, they
may be imposed by the weaknesses and flaws within the educational
system and in the institutional administration of policies. In order to
devise possible strategies that can lead to the solution of problems,
it is imperative that a thorough analysis be carried out to define and
explore all the possible aspects of the problem. Thus, building on
previous research, the author has made an effort to suggest a number
of strategies and measurements that educational policy makers can take
168 BUKURI ZEJNO

into consideration for creating a culture of academic integrity, especially

for Islamic educational institutions.
Organising hands-on workshops to create awareness and provide
practical assistance on the correct ways of borrowing and using
information from other sources is one of the strategies that can minimise
the prevalence of unintentional plagiarism. Moreover, minimising
pressurising circumstances and setting realistic targets can also prevent
people from making forced unethical choices simply because they see
it as the only way for survival. Furthermore, fair treatment, justice, and
equality can create an environment of trust that produces, in return,
a culture of integrity. Finally, the academic practices of an institution
should be in line and in accordance with its underlying worldview, so
as to not create confusion and contradictions that would arise by simply
following or copying standards from other institutions that uphold a
completely different set of visions and missions.
It is evident that the role of the educational system and educational
policy is fundamental in providing the right platform for minimising
the occurrence of unethical academic behaviour among the educators
and academic staff. When the strategies devised for dealing with this
influential factor, i.e. the educational system, can be combined with
strategies that deal with other aspects that influence academic dishonesty
and plagiarism, it can create an institutional environment characterised
by and in accordance with the Islamic principles of honesty and
integrity. It is hoped that the suggestions of this paper will be of service
to educational policy makers in dealing with academic dishonesty and
creating a sustainable culture of integrity.

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Copyright © IIUM Press

Global Agenda and the Politics of Double

Standard: War Against Terrorism or War of
Terrorism?

Babayo Sule1, Muhamad Aminu Yahaya2 and Usman Sambo3

Abstract: The resurgence of global terrorism in the 21st century compelled

for the adoption of war against terrorism as one of the major agenda of
globalisation championed by the world powers of the US and her allies. This
paper is a theoretical conceptual analysis of the double standard in the war
against terrorism whereby the world dominant powers that shouldered the war
against terrorism and have identified the phenomenon as a threat to global peace
are also found committing atrocities globally, equivalent to or even worse than
the acts of terrorists. This paper used secondary sources of data collection such
as books, journals, Internet sources, and other documented sources. The data
obtained were presented and discussed using thematic content analysis for
discussions and findings. The paper discovered that terrorism has been specified
and defined differently according to the perceptions and manipulative views of
the international media and globalists whereby an act of committing grievous
crimes and terror attacks from one side of the world is identified and tagged
as terrorism, while the same act from another side of the world, particularly
that of the global powers, is overlooked as a minor crime or posthumously
rebranded in a softer terminology. Thus, the paper recommends that for a
proper war against terrorism to succeed on a global scale, there is a need for
justice, equality and fairness in identifying and dealing with global terrorism.

1
Babayo Sule, (corresponding author) is from Department of Political
Science, Faculty of Humanities Management and Social Sciences, Federal
University Kashere Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria. He can be contacted at:
[email protected].
2
Muhammad Aminu Yahaya, is from Department of Public Administration,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Gombe State University,
Nigeria.
3
Usman Sambo, Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and
Management Sciences, Yobe State University, Nigeria.
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 173
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

There is a need for the world countries to cooperate in dealing with genuine
terrorism, both domestically and internationally, irrespective of the victims and
aggressors for equal treatment and justice.

Keywords: Double Standard, Global Agenda, Globalisation, Politics,

Terrorism, War.

Introduction
The world is undergoing wars of terrorism and wars against terrorism,
which threaten the co-existence of mankind with calamities and
havocs (Al Hageel, 2002, p. 19). Terrorism has been identified as the
manifestation and reaction of grievances from the aggrieved segments
of society and its usage depends on how one perceives the term (Smith,
2012, p. 6). The term “terrorism” is not a new phenomenon at the
global centre stage and did not manifest in the current times. History
has shown that terrorism and violence has predated the current major
world religions. Indeed, it is believed that the word “terror” has been in
use for over 2100 years (Matusitz, 2013). Different dissenting groups,
individuals, and movements were engaged in the act of terror and
terrorism in several parts of the globe at different times due to political
oppression, economic suppression, religious persecution, social
discrimination, cultural emasculation, and many other causal factors
(Norwitz, 2009:2).
Globalisation is a stage in world history in which the entire world
has become unified and disentangled in terms of politics, economy
and communication, with the centralisation of the Western neoliberal
agenda at the centre of the argument (Heywood, 2011, p. 2). The agenda
of globalisation includes the liberalisation of the economy at the global
centre, promotion of liberal democracy, gender equality, eradication
of poverty, war against terrorism, arms control and disarmament,
and environmental safety (Heywood, 2011). Global agenda is being
promoted by the great powers, particularly the US and her allies, after
the demise of their rival, USSR, from the Cold War unconventional
espionage (Friedman, 2000).
This paper is a critical examination of one aspect of the global agenda,
which is the war against terrorism and all its ramifications, particularly
174 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

the double standard, hypocrisy, and conspiracy that are involved in

it. The investigation in this paper is expected to come up with a new
paradigm in the perception, usage, and clear understanding of the term
“terrorism”. The champions of the war against terrorism are the US, her
Western allies, and their followers in other parts of the world, including
Muslim countries that have surrendered to the whims and caprices of
their prejudices and distortions in the identification of what is terror, who
is a terrorist, and what activities constitute as terrorism. Many writers
(Robinson, 2002; Vittori, 2011; Whittaker, 2004) have tried in vain to
justify Islam and Muslims as terrors and perpetrators of terrorism across
the globe. However, there are other scholars (Chomsky, 1989, 2000;
Mamdani, 2000; Flynt, 2004; Mamdani, 2004) who have identified the
proponents of the war against terrorism as the terrors and perpetrators
of terrorism themselves. Thus, this study investigates the phenomenon
of terrorism from the perspectives of its definition and usage, history,
incidences, and nature and level of involvement of the global actors in
terrorism.

Methodology
This conceptual study used a theoretical approach in the explanation
and interpretation of the context of study. A qualitative method was
used in the data collection and analysis. The authors relied on secondary
sources such as existing books, articles, and Internet sources for data
collection. This was because of the nature of the topic is too broad,
complex, conflictual, and complicated for data collection using primary
sources. It was practically impossible to collect primary sources for this
study, except if the topic were narrowed down to the local or national
level and studied a specific group or an event. However, since this study
has widened its scope to the global level, it is more appropriate to use
the available data. However, this does not mean that this study is similar
to previous studies or it has no contribution to knowledge. The authors
have carefully identified an area of study that is not given adequate
attention in its subject matter and dwelt in it as a contribution to the
body of knowledge. The key contribution of this study is a perceptual
deconstruction and re-interpretation of the usage of the terms “terrorism”
and “terror” globally, in addition to exposing the hypocrisy, insincerity,
and double standard in addressing the problem of global terrorism.
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 175
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

The data generated from the secondary sources are discussed,

analysed, and interpreted using the qualitative method, specifically
content analysis, in which the words and information generated from
the secondary sources are explained and interpreted based on the
understanding of the authors and the current existing knowledge on the
area of study. Additionally, the theories used in this study are integrated
in the discussions and findings since this paper is a conceptual theoretical
research study.

The Framework of Analysis

This study adopted four theories from the international relations
perspective, namely Realism, Conspiracy, the Clash of Civilisations and
the Doctrine of Modern Jahiliya. The first theory explains the rationale
behind the formation of a global world and the policing of international
affairs by the US and her allies. The second theory highlights the
hidden agenda behind terrorism and the war against terrorism. The third
espouses the aggressive agendum of the Western scholastic position on
the relationship of civilisations and the last theory interprets how and
why the Muslims found themselves in the current predicament at the
global intersection of civilisations and hegemonic domination.

Realism Theory of International Relations

Realism dominated the discourses of international relations from the
1940s to 1960 as a counterchallenge against Idealism. The theory
emanated from American scholars as a normative approach and a
policy-oriented ideology. However, despite its origin in modern times,
Realism has its philosophical root in the writings of philosophers,
such as Confucius in China, Kautliya in India, Niccolò Machiavelli in
Italy, Thomas Hobbes in England, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
in Germany. All of the above philosophers stressed the relevance of
power in domestic and international politics. The 21st century realist
scholars or proponents include Reinhold Niebuhr, Nicholas J. Spykman,
Frederick L. Schuman, Hans J. Morganthau, George F. Kennan, Arnold
Wolfers, Henry A. Kissinger, Raymond Aron, and Robert Strausz-Hupe
(Dougherty & Pfaltzgraff, 1971, p. 64).
176 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

Realism contends that there is no basic harmony of interests among

the nation-states. This is because nation-states have diverse objectives
that are conflictual in nature, some of which have resulted in a war.
There is a gradation of capabilities of nation-states in an international
conflict and the level of capability determines or influences the outcome
of the clash. The national power, including the military and non-military
components, of a country shapes international relations. Due to the
difficulty in achieving world peace through harmony and cooperation,
other means should be adopted. According to the Realists, this proposed
strategy is the balance of power, which could prevent a nation-state from
attaining international hegemony. Realists also assume that morality is
not applicable to political actions (Dougherty & Pfaltzgraff, 1971, p.
64).
The doctrine of anarchy and power politics advocated by the Realists
have been countered later by the neo-Realist, Kenneth Waltz, who made
a reversal of their postulations and, instead, suggested that despite
national interest, power politics, and capabilities, nation-states still share
similar interests and features in terms of the search for peace, value, and
dignity of mankind (Waltz, 2001, p. 7). To this end, Waltz suggested a
looser version of Realism in which power politics can be minimised
and harmony be introduced to combine the two approaches together
(Donnelly, 2005, p. 35). It should be emphasised that Waltz (2001) did
not dismiss the essence of power in the interactions of nation-states in
modern times. He only suggested for an integrated approach that will
see the lesser use of power where possible as a means of achieving
peace and harmony in the international system.
From the above assumptions, it can be understood that Realism
has shaped the essence of the supremacy and imposition of the global
agenda by the US and her victorious allies from the Cold War after
it secured international hegemony. Realists believe that international
politics is about national interest and a nation-state with superior power
should use it to gain her goals at all cost. The promotion of the global
agenda, particularly the war against terrorism, can be perceived from
the viewpoint of Realism assumptions. Without superior power and
hegemony, the US and her allies could not launch the global war against
terrorism, especially when terrorist activities take place presumably in
far-away countries that might not affect the US and her allies. Indeed,
the occurrence of attacks in US soil and recently in European countries
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 177
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

have been attributed to the exportation of the war against terrorism to

the lands of the aggrieved insurgents, which in turn prompted retaliation
and the expansion of global terrorist networks (Mamdani, 2000; Al
Hageel, 2002). Furthermore, if the identified terrorists possessed an
equal power to that of the champions of the war against terrorism, the
war would not have been operating by now in a conventional manner. It
would have been similar to a Cold War or peaceful negotiation.

Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy theories are subjects of conspiracy themselves. It is an
intellectual discourse with two clear distinctive contradictory views:
those who agree and believe in the conspiracies and those who reject
all the supposed conspiracies. Irrespective of one’s persuasion in the
matter, it cannot be denied that subterranean and clandestine plots,
plans, activities, and global agenda are at stake. Some of them surfaced
long after they have occurred, some were exposed before the D-day,
and others escaped unnoticed. One of these conspiracies that is debated
thoroughly by scholars is the conspiracy of the 9/11 World Trade Centre
attacks and the aftermath, which is the war against terrorism. Many
scholars from all schools of thought and from all parts of the world
have made attempts in presenting compelling evidences to prove that
the 9/11 and many other terror attacks were domestic and inside jobs;
these scholars include Americans such as Noam Chomsky and Larry
Flynt, David Icke, Mahmood Mamdani, and others.
One of the leading writers in conspiracy theory is David Icke. In
his numerous works such as Who Rules the World, The Biggest Secret
(1998), Children of the Matrix (2001), The Reptilians, and many others,
Icke reveals how a secret group of people planned the perfect means of
ruling the world and controlling the global economy and politics. He
emphasised that these groups can kill in whatever manner to achieve
their desire, including sponsoring terrorism or war of terrorism.
Some sets of theories emerged after the 9/11 attacks in the US to
debunk or establish the disconnect between the purported sponsor
of the attack, Osama bin Laden, and to link the terror attack with an
insider job. One of these works is that of Tobias and Foxman (2003),
which highlight a global network of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists
178 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

who blame Jews and Israel for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. North (1986)
believed that there is a conspiracy to create a new world order and that
must be achieved using a planned conspiracy. Allen (1971) stressed the
fact that conspiracies exist at the global level, but none dare call it as
such because they would be ridiculed and all their attempts to establish
facts would be viewed in error by a hidden hand in the attempt to block
the populace from the reality on clandestine plans. Thus, the above
efforts by Allen (1971) was to establish the existence of conspiracies in
contradiction to the champions of anti-conspiracy theorists who deny
any clandestine plan to rule the world or sponsor any evil in an obscured
way.
A more elaborate explanation of conspiracy theories is the one
presented by Dubay (2006) in what he termed as “false flag” conspiracy
theories. He stated that events such as the First World War, the Second
World War, the Pearl Harbour attack, Operation Northwoods, the
Vietnam War, the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9/11 attacks were
all designed internally by some hideous covert individuals who are
determined to steer the world in accordance with their whims and
caprices. All the above submissions are efforts in establishing evidence
towards the existence and activities of conspirators despite numerous
attempts to debunk and disabuse the minds of those who believe in
such events. Other writers have come closer to the establishment of
conspiracy theories but are more vulgar and factual in their approach.
Those who have established a clear connection between terrorism and
anti-terror agents include Chomsky (2000) and Mamdani (2004).

The Clash of Civilisations

The thesis presented by Samuel P. Huntington in 1996 on the “Clash
of Civilisations” set the foundation for intellectual arguments on the
global scale on the conflicting nature of the world order and world
peace. Huntington (1996) argued that the future of world conflicts
would not be based on politics, economy, and military but on the clash
of civilisations, which would cause major threats to world peace and
the only way to ensure peace and avoid war globally is an international
order based on civilisations.
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Huntington (1996) further argued that the world order has been shaped
and guarded by different civilisations periodically from the emergence
of powerful kingdoms in the history of the world. He concluded his
discourse on the notion that the two contemporary major civilisations —
the Eastern and Western civilisations — will seek domination on a global
scale and the clashes between them will lead to war, conflicts, chaos,
and threat to international peace. The Eastern civilisation, specifically
the Arab/Islamic civilisation, challenges Western (American/European)
civilisation on many aspects and in many perspectives. Since the two
major civilisations contradict each other to some extent, there are
tendencies for serious clashes. While Kissinger (2015) agrees with
Huntington’s submission and still sees relevance in it, Nefeily (2009)
dismisses any clash as amoral, uncultured, and a weird assumption that
will never lead to global harmony and cooperation. Instead, he settles
for dialogue of civilisations, which he believes can close the gap and
harmonise the differences.
Based on the above assumptions and postulations, this study
realised that some of the alleged terror attacks on the Western world
that are perceived to have emanated from Eastern terrorists is a clear
manifestation of the predicted clash by Huntington (1996). The Western
world intruded on the Muslim world and generated the foundation
for the crises in modern times with their colonial exploitation. This
argument can be traced back to the Golden Age of Islam (7th century
C.E.) when the spread of Islam affected the West through preaching,
trade merchants, and conquest. Western retaliation through the Crusades
(10th century C.E.) led to the conquest and domination of the East by the
West. The last effort to outwit each other came in the early 19th century
when the West colonised the Eastern world. The economic and political
asymmetrical arrangement fostered by the West aggrieved the Eastern
world. The superior firepower of the West and the weaknesses of the
East currently could not allow for a conventional confrontation. The
organised terror attacks allegedly committed by Easterners on the West
is a reaction against the perceived threats and injustice of the world
order perpetrated by the West. It is the continuation of the clash through
other means, as suggested by Huntington (1996).
180 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

The Doctrine of the Modern Jahili Society

In his famous work, Milestones, Sayyid Qutb (1990), one of the founding
fathers of the Islamic Brotherhood movement in Egypt, established
the fact that contemporary Muslim societies are living in a jahili form
of society, one that is more pronounced than the pre-Islamic Arabian
jahiliyyah. He argued that fornication, adultery, alcoholism, gambling,
usury, divorce, and other forms of sins that were practised during the
jahiliyyah period have re-surfaced among the more formidable and
more advanced Muslim ummah in Muslim societies.
Qutb (1990) emphasised that the contact of the Muslim world with
Western civilisation succeeded in bringing more harm than good.
This was because the Muslim world became emasculated by Western
culture due to embracing Western economy and some Western political
ideas such as Marxism and Darwinism. He further argued that Western
civilisation could not rescue the West itself from social malaise, social
stagnation, and moral corruption, much less other affected civilisations.
In contrast to Huntington’s (1996) view, Qutb (1990) posited
that there will not be any clash of cultures, civilisations, or conflicts
between the East and the West. The West had already started adopting
Eastern values, particularly the Islamic financial system. Qutb (1990)
believed that the solution to the dilemma of the Muslim world is easy,
specific, readily available, and precise; it is none other than reverting
to pure Islamic teachings and Islamic socioeconomic, political, and
cultural settings. Since other civilisations, such as the West, are turning
to Islam for a solution due to the failure of their own civilisations, it
would be more feasible if Muslims were to also refer back to their root,
retrace their footsteps, and reorganise their society based on the pure
principles of Islam. Failure to do so will throw the Muslim ummah and
its civilisation into a jeopardy where dangerous movements, ideas, and
a jahili living style will dominate the Muslim world.
Qutb (1990) was right in his discourse because the failure to adhere
to the strict teachings and pure practice of Islamic principles in the
Muslim society has led to dangerous movements and organisations that
are classified today as terror groups and other related terms. Despite all
the provocations from the West against the Muslim world, an organised
instruction in Islamic teachings and principles may handle the issue
perfectly and in a sublime manner than reacting through violence
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and a clandestine sponsor of global terror network by both misguided

Muslims and external conspirators.

The Theories in Perspective

Glancing through the telescopic view of the above four theories or
frameworks of analysis, one can see that all of them can plausibly explain
the context and focus of this study. For instance, Realism postulates
that international relations and international politics is all about national
goals and national interest and this can be achieved using power and
other available means. The justification of this is Mamdani’s submission
that the Cold War between the US and the USSR from the 1940s to
1980s compelled the US to create modern terrorism. When it comes
to conspiracy theory, even though there are controversies and rebuttals
of the existence of conspiracies by some section of intellectuals, the
compelling volumes of evidence speak otherwise. Even the 9/11 attacks
and other attacks before and since are perceived in this way by many
people. Muslims were used as a scapegoat in an attempt to win a silent
war of civilisation, as postulated by the clash of civilisations theory by
Huntington (1996). This is because the main threat and an obstacle to the
unchallenged ascendency and supremacy of Western hegemony is the
East, specifically the Muslim world, which failed to disappear despite
all the internal and external dominations and challenges. It is applicable
in the context of this study because if Qutb’s (1990) assumptions have
some truth to them, then the Muslim world cannot afford to be in a deep
ocean of sin and jahili life as it faces all sorts of conspiracies against
Islam, including sponsorship of terrorism.
Thus, this theoretical paper uses the above four theories in the analysis
and discussion of the findings thoroughly. The four theories, going by
the above interpretations, are interwoven and disentangled, with each of
them overlapping one another in explanation and the context of analysis
and interpretation.

Literature Review
In this section, an attempt was made in the critical examination and
explanation of the subject matter of study using the available scholastic
182 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

views. The literature is discussed in thematic forms, which consists of

detailed explanations of the global agenda, terrorism, terror, types of
terrorism, forms of terrorism, and a brief overview of global terrorism in
perspective, in addition to a succinct discussion of the term “civilisation”.

Global Agenda and Global Politics

Globalisation is believed to have been the era in which the entire world
transformed into a single global unit with interconnectivity through
digital communication and fast movement of goods and services across
the globe in a rapid manner that was never witnessed in the history
of mankind (Heywood, 2011, p. 6). Globalisation, just as other stages
of world politics and rivalry, came with its own positive and negative
aspects. It is believed that globalisation was ushered in by the agenda of
the “New World Order” (NWO) that is championed by some globalists
who believe that the world economy, politics, culture, and structure
require new settings and new order. The NWO is believed to have been
the sublime arrangement of world powers since more than 100 years
ago to transform the entire world into a single unit with one politics,
one economy and one agenda (Wells, 1940). Kissinger (2015, p. 12)
argued that the NWO is the replica of the Westphalian system adopted
by the Western world for hundreds of years before the modern time,
which is based on a balance of power and checks and balances. In the
history of the world, the Westphalian system of maintaining peace has
been re-emerging in the present time where a unique agenda was put in
place, either advertently or inadvertently, for the peaceful co-existence
of mankind (Kissinger, 2015, p. 22).
In the current era, the global agenda has been identified mainly to
have included the liberalisation of the economy, liberal democracy,
human rights advocacy, arms control and disarmament, gender
sensitivity, environmental control, eradication of poverty and disease,
global security, and war against terrorism (Sule, 2005, p. 67). On closer
scrutiny, one can view that this agenda is purposed with good intention
towards the survival, wellbeing, peaceful co-existence, and progress
of mankind. However, the arguments and different view of this study
demonstrates that the agenda is pursued with double standard, hypocrisy,
and deception. One of the above agenda that is taken as the focus of
this study is the war against terrorism, which has been thoroughly
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investigated in this study to determine how genuine, how decisive, how

successful, and to what extent it is successful. The overall discussions
and analysis of this study is presented in the following pages.

What is Terrorism?
Terrorism is a term that is difficult to define or conceptualise, especially
when one considers its ambiguity in usage and the parties that are
involved. There are different perceptions, understanding, identification,
sentiments, and meanings that are attached to the term across the world.
The main reason for the difficulty in defining terrorism is political
interest because many people perceive the term with vested interest by
identifying or attaching its meaning to selected perpetrators (Nathanson,
2010, p. 25). The word “terrorism” was first coined during the French
Revolution when a group of rebels called the Jacobins adopted the term
to reflect their own actions. It was believed that the Revolution was
carried out under the Reign of Terror, a campaign that claimed between
16,000 and 40,000 lives in the period of a year. In another view, similar
to the above, the term terrorism was first used to refer to Robesier
and his colleagues in the popular committee known as the ‘Appalling
Court’ involving the followers of Jacob Baradai who freely identified
themselves with the terms to refer to their activities (Al Hageel, 2002,
p. 67). The Reign of Terror was thus seen as the consequence of the
French Government. In modern times, terrorism refers to the killing of
innocent people by non-state actors for diverse reasons. This definition
is a clear manifestation of an attempt to conceal the fact that the state
and its actors are engaged in terrorism of different kinds, which renders
the definition as being incomplete, selfish, biased, and hypocritical in
approach.
In a study by Simon (1994), it is found that there are currently more
than 200 definitions of terrorism used by different sections in the world.
The same study also reported that there are 212 discovered definitions
of terrorism across the world. 90 of the total definitions are continuously
used by governments and other related institutions. Terrorism has been
viewed as any actual or threatened attack on innocent defenceless
civilians, and obviously against soldiers, the police and politicians
(Webel & Arnaldi, 2012, p. 11).
184 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

The most challenging issue in defining terrorism is acceptance.

Many scholars (Naik, 2006; Deflem, 2004; Nathanson, 2010; Vittori,
2011; Whittaker, 2004; Chomsky, 1989) saw this difficulty. This is
because the term is applied differently in equal circumstances and on
different individuals and groups, even if the actions are identical in
nature. It may be agreed that any act that threatens the peace, psychology
and wellbeing of unarmed innocent people is an act of terror if it is
perpetrated deliberately to instil fear. It is better to focus more on who is
a terror than what is terrorism for it is an ambiguous and ambivalent term
that is perceived and interpreted by the psychology of the interpreter,
his culture, faith, and history. Terrorism can be perpetrated by a state
against state, state against citizens, citizens against state, citizens against
citizens, military coups, revolution and guerrilla warfare (Merari, 2007).
However, this section will conclude with a well-rounded definition of
terrorism given by Hoffman (1998) and Al Hageel (2002). Hoffman
(1998, p. 6) described terrorism as an act of
Ineluctably political aim and motives, violent or, equally
important, threatens violence, designed to have far-reaching
psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim
or target, conducted by an individual or an organisation
with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell
structure, and perpetrated by a sub-national group or non-
state entity.

Al Hageel (2002) defined terrorism in Arabic language with reference

to “fear and horror”. He further argued that its linguistic definition is
To use violence and threats through different means and
methods such as assassination, mutilation, torture, appal and
violence to secure some political ends and these political
ends could be attempting to spread panic and fear to achieve
political objectives (p. 70).

Who is a Terror?
The term “terror” originated from the Latin word terrere, which means
to frighten or tremble. It is a synonym for fear, panic, anxiety, and
discomfort. The word “terror” has been in use for over 2100 years,
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beginning in ancient Rome to symbolise the coming of the Cimbri

killers in 105 B.C. (https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-
binaries/51172_ch_1.pdf). A terror is a politically inclined individual
who uses violence to threaten or expose the lives and properties of
individuals to danger. The act is directed towards individuals, institutions,
countries, and objects. It is an act carried out to gain popularity and
public sympathy using crime as a prime weapon (Al Hageel, 2002, p.
77).
A terror is a person who causes fear or terrorism on his target victim.
This include thieves, rapists, and all antisocial elements of society.
Indeed, a policeman is a terror to the robber since he will panic at the
sight of the policeman (Naik, 2006, p. 2). Nathanson (2010) supported
this view by Naik (2006) that the word “terror” is diametrically opposed,
depending on who carries out the act because while it is seen as an
immoral act, other actions can be viewed as morally justified, just as
in the above example of the policeman. A terror is a sick person who
has the background of a sick culture and mass hatred towards violence
(Kressel, 1996, p. 2). A terror is a deviant with special characteristics,
such as expression of grievances, and a tendency towards aggression,
such as harming an individual, killing, assaults, and other dangerous
motives (Black, 2004, p. 9).
A terror is branded as a destructive dementia, an evil-minded
person who wreaks havoc on innocent civilians (Whittaker, 2004, p.
14). Chomsky (1989) perceived a terror as a product of a culture of
committing crime, irrespective of the perpetrator and the victim. In
another view, Hughes (2002) identified a terror as any person who
organises a clandestine plan to injure any unknown target, be it a political
figure, an institution, a state, or any hated section of society. The ego
and identity of a person determines his tendency towards inflicting harm
on others in society and this is a psychological approach that is used to
identify a behaviour that is terror-motive in nature (Arena & Arrigo,
2007, p. 14).
From the above definitions, it can be summed up that a terror is not
an identity that is related to any religion, race, geography or origin. It is
an act that, if carried out regardless of the political or social affiliation of
the culprits, will inculcate fear and panic on the mind of the target and
it is applicable to all within the context of this study.
186 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

Types of Terrorism
Al Hageel (2002, p. 196) identified four different types of terrorism, as
follows:
1. Terrorism of Colonialism: this is occupation of natives’ lands and
enslaving them using force and violence, which was perpetrated by
Western colonisers. The three centuries of colonial rule witnessed
terrible terrorist incidences by the colonialists on the occupied
nations, which led to the killings of millions of people. These
colonialists included Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Holland,
Belgium, and others.
2. Terrorism exercised by Tyrannical Powers: this is a type of terrorism
carried out by world powers who perpetrated injuries and killings
on their subjects, both domestic and international, due to excessive
use of power, as in the cases of Fascism, Nazism, Communism, and
Capitalism.
3. Terrorism of Settlers: this is an act of terror undertaken by those
who settled and occupied in a native land and displaced, enslaved,
and terrorised the natives with killings, imprisonment and other
dreadful crimes. A good example of this is the Israeli terrorism in
the occupied land of Palestine.
4. Terrorism of Racial Organisation: this is a hate crime that is
committed by one race against another, such as the case of the
Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia, Hindus against Muslims
in India and Kashmir, Russian atrocities in the Chechen Republic,
Buddhist aggression against Muslims in Burma, the aggression of
the Catholic-majority Filipino government towards the minority
Muslims and the recent Chinese government crackdown on Uyghur
Muslims.

Forms of Terrorism
Al Hageel (2002, p. 85) identified four major forms of terrorism, as
follows:
1. Political Terrorism: this includes colonialism, racial discrimination,
aggression of strong states against weaker states, interference in the
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national sovereignty of other countries, foreign occupation, and the

use of violence against a certain section of society or state, which
will result in migration and domination.
2. Economic Terrorism: this consists of exploitative and asymmetric
international trade agreements, exploitation, and domination
of national resources by foreign imperialists and imposition of
detrimental economic policies.
3. Social Terrorism: this includes violation of human rights,
deprivation, starvation, poverty, diseases, illiteracy, and oppression
of a nation by international laws or a section of the nation that is
oppressed by racial discrimination or abuse.
4. Cultural Terrorism: this is the forceful imposition of one culture upon
another and the emasculation of peoples’ cultures and societal norms
through domination and propaganda as well as indoctrination, which
will penetrate the adulterated culture gradually but vehemently and
lead to distortions and social prejudices.

History of Terrorism
This study classifies the history of terrorism into four major periods, as
follows:
1. Ancient Times: the first known record of terrorism in the ancient
world is the one inflicted upon the occupied people of Mosul in
the present-day Iraq by Assurnasirpal II, the King of Assyria
(885-860 B.C.). This was followed by a series of assassination
of Roman kings, beginning with Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Other
Roman emperors who suffered violent deaths include Caligula and
Galba, the latter of whom was killed by German freedom fighters
in 9 C.E (Whittaker, 2004, p. 20; Chaliand & Blin, 2007, p. 10). An
early terrorist group was the Sicarii (67-73 C.E), a fundamentalist
religiously-affiliated sect that fought the Roman occupation of
Palestine and Jerusalem. Another terror group that emerged was
the Assassins (originally called the Hashashins, an Arabic word for
assassination) in the 11th century, a religious resistant movement
against the Saladin (Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi). From the 13th to 19th
centuries, the Thugs of India emerged from among the worshippers
188 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

of the Hindu goddess, Kali, the destroyer. These Thugs strangled

sacrificial victims, robbed them, mutilated them and even buried
them alive, all in the name of offer to the Kali. Their acts were
estimated to have cost 20,000 lives annually.
2. Modern Time: The French Revolution in the 1790s is viewed as
the root of modern terrorism. The perpetrators, who had a political
motive, employed fear and murder to suppress opposition, which
claimed the lives of thousands in the process (Whittaker, 2004, p.
31). The French Revolution coined the idea of modern terror though
the emergence of mass violence and totalitarianism (Chaliand &
Blin, 2007, p. 95). In this era, the French Revolution gave birth to
the word “terrorism” and modern terror in world history.
3. Cold War: it is believed that the Cold War rivalry between the US
and USSR was the decisive factor in producing contemporary global
terrorism. Mamdani (2000) argued that the US created modern
terror through the CIA during the Cold War era with the arming
of the Taliban in Afghanistan to fight USSR. The unused weapons
and strategy after the war were then targeted towards the US and
her allies in the post-Cold War period after a political fallout. Flynt
(2004) supported the above view that the root of modern terrorism
was initiated and financed by the US after equipping the then-
President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, with biological weapons to
destroy Iran and later Afghanistan to fight her enemy, which is the
USSR. Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks were created, financed,
and supported by the US during the Cold War rivalry (Flynt, 2004,
p. 223).
4. The 9/11 and post-9/11 era: terrorism in modern times began to
make headlines in the 1970s and became more pronounced in the
1980s. The main feature that characterised terrorism in this era is
the identification and stigmatisation of one particular group with
the act, which is Muslims and Islam. Terrorism in this era reached
its pinnacle when on 11th September 2001, Al Qaeda was alleged
to have attacked the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in
Washington D.C., US. It is believed from the statistics that about
5000 people were killed, which was more than the death toll by the
terrorist Irish Republican Army in 35 years (https://www.sagepub.
com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/51172_ch_1.pdf). The US
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President, George Bush Jr., declared war against terrorism in 2001

and since then, the terror attacks traced to Muslim groups and Al-
Qaeda intensified in many parts of America, Europe, and other
places in the world. Other dangerous terror groups emerged, such as
ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Al-Shabab in Somalia that has been operating
since 1990s but became formidable in the post-9/11, Mujahideens
in Mali, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, and
AQIM or Al-Qaeda in the North Africa.

Concept and Dimensions of Civilisation

Civilisation is a concept that has been extrapolated by various historians,
scholars, and analysts as well as religious commentators and interpreters.
It simply denotes a culture, process of development, history, heritage,
and positive contributions of a given society, religious group, kingdom,
and empire in the history of the world (Kissinger, 2015). Civilisation,
in Huntington’s view (1996), is a history, culture, and by-product of a
given empire that dominated global politics for several years. He further
argued that it is a subject of debate and clash between the contending
competing civilisations in modern times, particularly with specific
reference to the Eastern (Arabic/Islamic) and Western civilisations.
However, in a contrary view, Nefeily (2009) countered Huntington’s
view that competing civilisations do not require clash or confrontation.
Rather, it is dialogue that is most necessary in the quest towards
achieving global peace, harmony, and security.
Joseph (2012) emphasised that civilisation is a history that is
discovered by archaeological exercises and discoveries that establish
a linkage between the people’s past and the present. Civilisation is
considered as the period or foundation in which humanity learned to
shape its environment through cultivation, metal works, and modern
shelter and continues in its organisation and innovations so that
mankind can be better and organised (Coppens, 2013). Civilisation
is a phenomenon that is shaped by the environment, culture, history,
interactions, and values of a given society, in addition to faith or religion,
as in the case of Islamic civilisation (AlKhateeb, 2014). Civilisation is
viewed as the mirror in which one can view the ancient world and their
historical activities and, in the same way, establish a link with the current
societies and the influences of their activities and relationship (Beard,
190 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

2018). The undertaking conditions of societal policy, interconnectivity,

culture, and businesses are the factors that led to cultural interactions
across the world and among nation-states and civilisations historically
and contemporarily, which is referred to as civilisation (Saran, 2018).
Read and Alexander (2019) predicted and warned sternly that the current
civilisation will collapse because it has a terminal issue of climate
instability. However, Read et al. (2019) postulated that one positive
aspect of this civilisation is that it will sow a seed of its inheritance and
that it will somehow manage and transform itself in the future.
The above scholastic views indicate that civilisation is simply
a process and a set of activities and values that a society, a faith or
an empire provide to the world and is a dominant heritage that is
identifiable and related to that particular society or faith. This is the
reason why Huntington (1996) suggested that the introduction and
innovation of science and technology by the Western world established
it as the best civilisation ever in the history of the world. That is what
Nefeily (2009) disputed Huntington through the identification of the
interpolation of the Islamic culture and civilisation in the Western world
and its permanent contribution to the Age of Renaissance. Either way,
civilisation will continue to flourish from different societies and faith,
provided that the world continues to exist. The desire for political and
economic supremacy internationally will also set different civilisations
against each other, as presented by Huntington (1996) and Kissinger
(2015).

Discussion and Analysis

In this study, efforts were made to establish the connect between the
global champions of the war against terrorism and the root of terror attacks
factually and also to disconnect the stigmatisation that “all terrorists are
Muslims but, not all Muslims are terrorists”, which is a modern maxim
used to shift the entire blame of terrorism on Islam deliberately with
undue course to history and reality. It should be considered that in the
discussion and analysis, this study found that there was a connection
between terrorists and their movement in modern times with the NWO
agents or the champions of the global agenda, including the war against
terrorism. Furthermore, this study made a good attempt in identifying
some direct wars of terrorism perpetrated by the advocates of anti-
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terrorism themselves. It has been established that there are currently

acts of terror that are taking place in the territories of the global fighters
against terrorism that are ignored by the public, shielded by the media,
and protected by the propagandists. This study further disclaimed and
deconstructed the position that Muslims are the actors behind global
terrorism in contemporary times. While not disputing the fact that some
established evidences pointed towards some misguided unscrupulous
Muslims who misinterpreted the concept and applicability of jihad
in theory and practice, thereby making a mockery and evil of Islam
before its enemies in the name of “Holy War”, the true teachings of
Islam debunked their position, as reiterated by several scholars, and
their actions cannot be misinterpreted to refer to the position of Islam
or Muslims across the world. All these are discussed in the following
sections.

Cold War and the Root of Modern Terrorism

One of the arguments that labelled the current war against terrorism as
a double standard is the nature in which modern terrorism was created
by the US and her allies during the Cold War between the US and the
USSR, as supported by abundant evidence. For instance, Flynt (2004)
narrated that,
In a world that gets its news from television, if there’s no
camera around when it happened, it didn’t happen. That’s
one of the reasons why Americans don’t know much about
the rest of the world. The fact that the public wasn’t paying
attention is how, in the 1980s, Reagan and Bush the First
could arm Osama so he could fight Russians in Afghanistan,
and then, when Osama turned those arms against us, Bush II
could express single-minded explanations like ‘these people
hate freedom’. Same with the US arming Saddam against the
Iranians, ignoring him when he used poison gas against the
Kurds, then suddenly deciding that he is the lynch pin on the
axis of evil and we have to take him out (pp. 176-177).

Going by the above view, one can establish that if the root of
modern terrorism emanated from Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda
network, then the US is the direct sponsor of modern terrorism in our
contemporary world. So, what is the US and her allies now fighting if
192 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

not for their double standard and hypocritical deception of the world?
Furthermore, the theories used in this study can be visible here. In the
first place, Realism postulates that national interest and the use of power
to achieve national objectives is the main principle of international
relations. The US and her allies might have armed Osama bin Laden
to fight the USSR and Saddam Hussein to weaken the neighbouring
Iran for national interest. In the second instance, the conspiracy theories
reveal that there are clandestine plans across the globe by some powers
to establish the NWO and to disguise the sponsors of terrorism indirectly
through the arming and financing of Osama by the US. In the third
instance, the clash of civilisations by Huntington (1996) is visible in
the Cold War between the US and USSR, which led to proxy wars and
arming of terror groups that, in turn, created conflicts across the globe.
In the fourth instance, the Doctrine of Jahiliya by Sayyid Qutb (2000)
is applicable in the context of the emergence of Osama bin Laden and
Al Qaeda that were sponsored by the US, and the war between Iraq
and Iran. If the Muslim world adhered to the strict teachings of Islam
universally, there may not be such conspiracies and communal clashes
among the Muslim ummah that would lead to war and allow the enemies
to intervene. In another similar view,
The Reagan administration privatised war in the course of
recruiting, training and organising a global network of Islamic
fighters against the Soviet Union. To take one example, the
University of Nebraska received a $50 million grant from
USAID to produce children’s textbooks. Here is a question
from a 3rd grade Mathematics book, presumably for 9-year-
old: ’One group of Mujahideen attack 50 Russian soldiers.
20 Russians are killed. How many Russians fled?’ The 4th
grade Mathematics book follows with this question: ‘The
speed of a Kalashnikov bullet is 800 metres per second. If a
Russian is at a distance of 3200 metres from a Mujahideen
and that Mujahideen aims at the Russian’s head, how many
seconds will it take for the bullet to strike the Russian in the
forehead? (Mamdani, 2004, p. 16).

The above quotation reveals how the US sponsored the Taliban

government and the headquarters of the so-called Al Qaeda in the
1980s due to Cold War rivalry with the Russians. From a theoretical
perspective, Realism puts forth that international politics is entirely
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 193
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

about national interest and balance of power is achievable through

all capable means that are available. The use of Afghanistan to fight
a proxy war with the USSR was understood along this line. In the
second instance, the conspiratorial move to sponsor Afghanistan and
its educational system to brainwash the Afghans into fighting the US’s
enemy is part of a wider global conspiracy that is unravelling in our
modern time. In the third instance, even though the clash of civilisations
propounded by Huntington (1996) focused on the East and West, it can
also be applied to the clash between capitalism and communism that led
to the creation of modern terrorism. In the fourth instance, Qutb (2000)
believed that the Muslim world is living in a form of jahili that is more
formidable than the pre-Islamic Arabian jahiliyyah and that has led to
the erosion of Islamic values, to the extent that Afghani Muslims would
unknowingly rely on the US for the creation of a future terror group.
The Cold War has been recognised as the pretext for the emergence of
modern terrorism by other scholars, especially because,
During the Cold War years, the standard pretext for terror
and aggression was communism, a highly flexible notion,
as the victims recognised. Against the background of large-
scale aggression and terror, actions that would be considered
major crimes if perpetrated by others are mere footnotes: for
example, the murder of 80 Lebanese in the worst terrorist
atrocity of 1985, at the peak of fury about ‘international
terrorism’, a CIA- initiated car-bombing targeting a Muslim
leader. Or the destruction of half the pharmaceutical supplies
of a poor African country (Sudan) in 1998, with a death toll
that is unknown, and uninvestigated: Washington blocked a
UN inquiry. The bombing was legitimate, the editors of the
New York Times explained, because the US has the right to
use military force against factories and training camps where
terrorist attacks against American targets are being prepared.
The reaction would presumably be different if, say, Islamic
terrorists were to destroy half the pharmaceutical supplies
in the US, Israel or some other favoured states (Chomsky,
2000, p. 10).

The above submission exposed the double standard in the war against
terrorism and justified the theoretical underpinnings of this study in all
their ramifications. The first theory, which is Realism, suggested that
national interest is the dominant theme in international relations that is
194 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

pursued using power and national strength at all cost. The US perpetrated
terror, as evidenced above, and justified its actions in which any such
attacks by unfavoured groups would be tagged as “terrorism”. In the
second theory, the conspiracy of attacking and terrorising a perceived
enemy by the powerful US and her allies is the same way in which terror
groups are sponsored and shielded when they satisfy the interest of the
US. In the third theory, the clash of civilisations is palpable where the
global hegemonic powers of capitalism and communism are engaged in
the clash of economic and political ideas of civilisations, leading to the
sponsor of splinter covert groups. In the fourth theory, the neglect of the
pure principles and teachings of Islam threw the Muslim ummah into
the abyss of doom and retrogression globally, which gave impetus for
the creation of terrorism, stigmatisation, and conspiracy by the enemies
of the Muslim world.

War of Terrorism by Global Hegemonic Powers

The 9/11 attacks set the foundation for the current and renewed
declaration of the war against terrorism on the global scale. However,
from the first declaration of the war against terrorism, a double standard
and hypocrisy of the highest order ensued. For instance, some of the
worst crimes of the late 20th century could have been ended swiftly
by the powers that declare the war against terrorism, but they ignored
the war. A good example is the colonial exploitation and subjugation
in which millions of innocent people were killed, millions more were
exported as slaves, native land resources were plundered, and forced
labour and exploitation were perpetrated by the colonial rule of Britain,
France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Holland, and Belgium across Africa,
Asia, and South America (Chomsky, 2000).
The imperial interests for domination and exploitation of the world
economy compelled them to fight the First World War, which was
believed to have cost approximately 20 million lives, and the Second
World War, which claimed around 40 million lives. More than 400, 000
innocent people died from the atomic bombs dropped by the US in the
two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki alone in the Second
World War. In the same period, the anti-Semitic movement in Germany
under Hitler’s Nazism claimed six million Jews in the process (Naik,
2006). All these havocs that wrecked mankind on a global scale were
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 195
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

unprecedented in the history of the world and were overlooked with

impunity, relegated in a hypocritical and double standard manner.
War on terrorism can take many dimensions, as observed by
Chomsky (2000) above. Many large-scale atrocities in the 20th century
could have been averted if the so-called champions of the war against
terrorism acted proactively. For instance, the Balkan crisis in the former
Yugoslavia where Bosnian Muslims were tortured, murdered, raped,
unsettled, and persecuted by the Serbian Christians and claimed around
350, 000 lives were ignored by the great powers (Chomsky, 2000, p.
34). In East Timor of Indonesia, more than one million corpses were
recorded in the massacre by the Indonesian government, which was
supervised and supported by the US in the process (Chomsky, 2000, p.
52). In Colombia, the US provided military aid worth USD$300 million
to the Colombian government to support the massacre of unarmed
peasants by the paramilitary terrorist group. A report found Washington
D.C. guilty of terrorism in Colombia (Chomsky, 2004, p. 66). Other
atrocities involving the active collaboration or participation of the US
from the 1970s to 1990s include Cuba, Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua,
Vietnam, and Sudan (Chomsky, 2000).
Since the recent declaration of the war against terrorism after the
9/11 attacks, the US has killed more innocent victims than the total
number of those killed by terrorism across the world. A study confirmed
that the US has killed more than 20 million people in 37 victim nations
since the Second World War. It also revealed that the US military forces
were directly responsible for about 10 to 15 million deaths during the
Korean and Vietnam Wars and the two Iraq Wars, including Indochina
(Cambodia and Laos). In the recent wars, it is estimated that the US
killed between nine and 14 million people in Afghanistan, Angola,
Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Guatemala, Indonesia,
Pakistan, and Sudan (www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-
20-million-people-in-37-victimnations-since-world-war-ii/5492051).
The Guardian reported that the Iraq War has claimed more than 1.5
lives from 2001 to 2018; 48 percent of the victims were children and
34 percent were women civilians, both of whom were killed by US
soldiers (www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/19/iraq). In another
separate report, it is estimated that civilian casualties in the US
war in Afghanistan reached 170,000 and the estimated cost of war
reached between USD$31 and USD$60 billion, which invited sharp
196 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

criticisms, both nationally in the US and internationally. In addition,

it is estimated that the death toll in the Syrian proxy war currently
fought between the US and Russia is around 470,000, with more than
3.4 million refugees living in under terrible conditions (ipfs.io/ipfs/
QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/
wiki/casualities_of_the_Syrian_civil_war.html).
The above statistics of the war against terrorism by the US and her
allies indicate that the theories adopted in this study are a plausible
explanation of the context of this study. For example, the first theory,
Realism, stresses that international relations are all about national
interest and power display and this accurately describes how the US is
terrorising weaker countries and identifying any interest that is against
the US as a terrorist attack, even when the scale of their destruction is
higher. In the second theory, the conspiracies of deception and double
standard concerning the direct and indirect sponsorship of wars on a
global scale by the US and other great powers reveal that there is an
ongoing hidden agenda beyond the superficial level. In the third theory,
the clash of civilisations prophesied the emergence of a conflict between
the East and West and that has been the exact current reality of global
politics whereby Eastern countries are targeted for external attacks and
aggression, either directly or by identifying them as terrorist havens.
In the last theory, Qutb (2000) revealed that the neglect of Islamic
teachings in the Muslim world has led to the emergence of a jahili
system that is worse than the former jahiliyyah experience. This has
become the genesis of the decline in relevance of the Muslim ummah
and unless and until they resort to the pure teachings of Islam, their
enemy will continue to win, as witnessed in the attacks in Afghanistan,
Iraq, and Syria.

Double Standard in the Identification of the War against Terrorism

Mamdani (2000, 2004) argued that the stigmatisation and double standard
involved in the war against terrorism is the root cause of its failure. In
the first place, while there are many terror groups in the US, in European
countries, in Asia, and South America and from various religions,
ethnicity, and race, Muslims were singly identified and classified as
terrorists on the global level. According to Mamdani (2000), Muslims
themselves are classified into “good Muslim” and “bad Muslim” and
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 197
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

Islam is categorised into “political Islam” and “fundamentalist Islam”.

All these classifications are tantamount to the choice of the Western
world in determining who is a friend of the US and her allies and who
is her enemy among the Muslims. A Muslim who relinquishes his/her
culture and religious teachings is a friend and a “good Muslim” and
vice versa. Studies reveal the existence of powerful terrorist groups
creating lethal havoc in the US and other parts of the world and from
other religions, apart from Islam, but were neglected and not covered by
the media and propagandists of the war against terrorism.
The Pirates, Vikings and Teutonic Knights were ancient terror groups
that were active for thousands of years and were not identified with any
particular religion; they operated before the resurgence of Islam in the
Arabian Peninsula (Underwood, 2009, p. 17). The Italian Red Brigades
operated between 1964 and 1986 and committed harmful acts of terror
in the country (Smith, 2009, p. 28). The Irish Republican Army has been
in existence for more than 60 years and has been attacking government
buildings, innocent people, and other public places for many decades
in an attempt for political liberation (Hoyt, 2009, p. 59). Valla and
Comcowich (2009, p. 177) argued that domestic terrorism in the US may
be forgotten or overlooked by the media but it is not gone. They further
argued that terrorism in the US soil is as strong as Al Qaeda and their
havoc can match that of Al Qaeda because they are using sophisticated
methods of attacks, including chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction and targeting public buildings and other places of worship.
Maggio (2009, p. 193) further analysed that the Armed Street Gangs in
the US are terrorist groups that are still operating with a potential threat
equal to that of external terrorism. Another terrorist group in operation
in America is the Virginia Paintball Jihad Cell synonymous with the
above groups (Emerson, 2009:205). Another terror group in the US is
a Christian movement called the American Christian Apocalypticism,
which attacks abortion clinics, places of worship, and other public
gathering places in the name of religious extremism (Demy, 2009, p.
229).
In a study conducted by The Independent newspaper that was
released on 23rd June 2017, it was discovered that the majority of those
who attacked the US are not Muslims. The study concluded that most of
the designated terrorist attacks are right-wing extremists, not Muslims.
A joint report by The Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund, a non-profit
198 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

media centre, and the Centre for Investigative Reporting examined

about 201 designated terrorism incidents in the US from 2008 to 2016.
The results revealed that the so-called right-wing extremists attacked
twice more than what was linked to Islamist domestic terrorism. The
report identified only 63 incidents that were linked to Islamic terrorism,
incidences such as the San Bernardino shootings and Boston Marathon,
among others. At the same time, right-wing extremists, often referred
to as white supremacists, were responsible for 115 attacks within the
same period. The report concluded that Donald Trump’s obsession with
radical Islamic terrorism is irrational (Sampathkumar, 2017).
The above selected cited examples prove that terrorism has been
given stigma, certain groups are identified and isolated as terrorists,
while other groups with obvious terror motives are deliberately
ignored for political reasons and the double standard nature of the
NWO. The theories applied in this study are justified. The Realism
theory of international relations emphasises on the use of power and
balance of terror to secure national interest and the champions of the
war against terrorism can go to any extent to advance their national
interest at the expenses of other weaker countries. This gave impetus
for the conspiratorial theory of using or sponsoring violence and terror
abroad, such as in Afghanistan, to justify the attacks later after the
interest is exhausted. In the case of the clash of civilisations between
the East and West, the reaction of the perceived Muslim terrorists has
been justified from the perspective of the terror inflicted on the East
by the West during colonial domination, oppression, subjugation, and
exploitation. If the atrocities of the colonial exploiters have not been
identified as terrorism, then the identity of the terrorists is enshrouded in
double standard and hypocrisy. Lastly, based on Sayyid Qutb’s (2000)
the Doctrine of Jahiliya, the Muslims found themselves in the dilemma
of stigmatisation and terrorism due to abandoning the pure teachings
and principles of Islam, which previously succeeded in upholding the
image and dignity of Muslims globally during the Golden Age of Islam.
Abandoning the Islamic values relegated Muslim societies into the
current malaise of identity, political relevance, economic prosperity,
and even peace and security in their respective countries.
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 199
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

Media and Global Conspiracy in the War against Terrorism

Media propaganda is a contributory factor in the war against terrorism
by the US and her allies. According to Chossudovsky (2005), “the
propaganda apparatus feeds disinformation into the news chain
deliberately.” Their main objective is to fabricate an enemy by making
terror warnings appear genuine and presenting terror groups as “enemies
of America.” The campaign for the war against terrorism then becomes a
media consensus. Despite being independent of the military intelligence
apparatus, the corporate media becomes an instrument of manipulation
in the global totalitarian system (Chossudovsky, 2005).
The champions of the war against terrorism are the direct or indirect
owners of the corporate media and big media houses across the globe.
Their strategy of suppressing the presentation of the truth and realities
of the war against terrorism or even the term “terrorism” itself, is to
terminate at will any journalist who reported them or to deter journalists
from presenting the truth. Another method is to sanction and block
media outlets from showing or presenting facts as they are. This was
how the US media was blocked from a genuine reporting of the 9/11
attacks (Baldwin, 2018).
The above view was earlier critically espoused by Schechter (2003)
when he opined that a merger occurred between the Western media and
the Pentagon, upon which the media was trained for war propaganda.
In his view, the military-media merger succeeded in producing the
war against terrorism on a global scale and it prepared the audience
to accept what was presented. On the eve of the US war against Iraq,
the United Nations and its inspectors were discredited by a massive
onslaught and a campaign of calumny from the media in the US. From
March 2003 to 24th March 2003, 15 bungled stories were presented by
the media, suggesting that Iraq was defeated and Saddam was killed. A
diversionary story was also created about journalists being the targets
of the enemy. This created public sympathy and mass gullibility in
accepting news from the media as a sacred truth. The looting of Baghdad
was deliberately ignored by the media and, instead, journalists being
murdered became the central story. Indeed, the television coverage of
the Iraq War was a deception and a media conspiracy that presented
half-truths and half-lies to the viewers (Schechter, 2003).
200 BABAYO SULE, MUHAMMAD AMINU YAHAYA AN D USMAN SAMBO

The terror conspiracy is promoted and advanced on a global scale

through the terror deception by the Western/US media, which decides
who is a terror and who is not based on the ideology of the champions
of the war against terrorism (Marrs, 2012). Mamdani (2005) supported
the above view that political Islam was projected in the West under the
guise of the war against terrorism to select “our guys and the despise”.
The media is found to be supporting the war against terrorism through
the well-chosen eloquent language of persuasion. For instance, on the
eve of the Iraq War, MSNBC, NBC and Fox News had pre-prepared
answers that were tagged as “Operation Iraqi Freedom” (Goodman &
Goodman, 2004). Similarly, during the Iraq War, the BBC, a British
media outlet, was found to have covered stories of Iraqi looting instead
of projecting the plights of the journalists’ abuse (Schechter, 2003).
Keith (1997) opined that the Western media is the mind-controlled
assassin of our time. The power of misinformation is an old poison
in a new bottle, which continues unabated through media lies, myths,
and deceptions (Foxman, 2007). The Iraq War is a specific case of how
the media failed US citizens and the world at large due to the special
watchdogs for the suppression of dissent, concentration on bias, and
introduction of sceptic test to prevent a balanced coverage (Dadge,
2006). In the Nigerian experience of terrorism, the media, especially
in the southern part of the country, and international media outlets that
are covering the terrorist events emphasise on describing the attacks as
being perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. This is even when many non-
Muslims and Southerners were caught or apprehended several times in
the process of instilling terror in mosques, churches, and other places,
as observed by Isaiah (2011).

Conclusion
This study concludes that terrorism as a term is not a new concept
or phenomenon in the world but has become more pronounced
since the 9/11 terror attacks. Muslims are stigmatised as terrorists
and are identified with terrorism in the modern era even though the
establishment of the foundation for modern terrorism during the Cold
War was spearheaded by the US and her allies. Domestic terrorism
and other atrocities committed by those who claim to have declared
war against terrorism is worse than actual terrorism itself. The most
GLOBAL AGENDA AND THE POLITICS OF DOUBLE STANDARD: WAR 201
AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

aggravating aspect is the hypocrisy, double standard, and deception that

heralded the war against terrorism, which made the war unsuccessful
and even provoked hostilities by many sections in the world. In order to
successfully eradicate all forms of terrorism, or at least minimise them,
the following measures are suggested:
1. A harmonious and sincere position should be taken on all armed
groups across the world, irrespective of religious, national, racial,
and linguistic affiliation;
2. World powers must desist from their unnecessary external
aggression and the sovereignty of weaker states must be respected;
3. Muslims must resort to the pure teachings of Islam and Islamic
principles in their daily dealings to extricate themselves from the
social malaise of jahili life; and
4. A neutral body or international agency should be established to
independently carry out war against terrorism and keep check of
the hegemonic powers to avoid war and ensure collective global
peace and security.

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Tobias, G.A. & Foxman, A.H. (2003). Unravelling Anti-Semitic 9/11
Conspiracy Theories. New York: Growitz Institute.
Underwood, P.T. (2009). “Pirates, Vikings and Teutonic Knights”. In Norwitz,
J.H. (Ed.) Pirates, Terrorists and Warlords: The History, Influence, and
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Publishing.
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AGAINST TERRORISM OR WAR OF TERRORISM

Valla, E.J. & Comcowich, G. (2009). “Domestic Terrorism: Forgotten but

not Gone”. In Norwitz, J.H. (Ed.) Pirates, Terrorists and Warlords: The
History, Influence, and Future of Armed Groups Around the World, pp.
177-192. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
Vittori, J. (2011). Terrorists Financing and Resourcing. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Waltz, K.N. (2001). Structural Realism After the Cold War. International
Security. 25(1), 5-41.
Webel, C.P. & Arnaldi, J.A. (2012). The Global War on Terrorism: How Ethical
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Well, H.G. (1940). The New World Order. New York: Freedom Press.
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www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-people-in-37-
victim-nations-since-world-war-ii/5492051
IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 206-213.
Copyright © IIUM Press

Viewpoint

Re-Thinking the Age of Adolescence - An Islamic

Perspective

Claudia Seise 1

Abstract: This viewpoint discusses the age of adolescence from an Islamic

perspective. It is argued that from the Islamic perspective, a split liminality does
not exist between physical maturity on the one side and mental and emotional
maturity on the other side, as can be found in our contemporary societies. The
example of teaching prayers serves as an example to illustrate how we should
teach our children to become holistically mature.

Keywords: Islam, adolescence, Islamic worldview, mukallaf, education,

Muslim children

Introduction
I recently attended a talk by Dr. Adian Husaini, alumni of the Institute
of Islamic Thought and Civilisation, International Islamic University
Malaysia (IIUM), and the founder of a pesantren (Islamic boarding
school in Indonesia) called At-Taqwa, in Depok, Indonesia. The talk
was delivered during a program organised by the Indonesian students’
association at IIUM. During this talk, Husaini mentioned that at his
pesantren in Indonesia, they try to prepare their santri (students) as
early as possible to become responsible members of society and of
the Muslim community. According to him, young Muslims should

1
Claudia Seise, Ulu-Ilir-Institute, Indonesia. She can be reached at claudia@
seise.de.
VIEWPOINT 207

be educated to take responsibilities for their actions in line with their

biological ripening. This includes seeking knowledge from an early age,
especially during the years following the entrance to the biological sign
of adulthood. He mentioned critically that young adults are often treated
as children and that this creates a schism inside the young adult. This
in turn leads to unsocial behaviour and social issues, such as teenage
pregnancies. This talk motivated me to reflect more about the issue of
adolescence, especially from an Islamic perspective.
In this short article, I would like to share my thoughts on this
interesting topic. This is a first exploration into this broad topic and
more reading and researching is necessary to arrive at a final conclusion.
However, I publish this short piece with the aim to generate discussion
on the importance of how to educate, train, and treat our young
Muslims. My main questions for discussion are: Does a time period,
such as adolescence, between childhood and adulthood, exist in our
Islamic tradition? How can we improve future generations by following
the principle of teaching prayers to our children explained to us by the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a more general way? Furthermore, can
we improve our Muslim societies and the social dilemmas we are facing,
if we prepare our children in such a way that their biological, mental,
and emotional ripening go hand in hand? I will begin by providing a
short insight of the academic impetus that caused what I refer to as split
liminality. Then, I will shortly discuss what it means to become mukallaf
in Islam, continued with examples from Islamic history. Lastly, I argue
that the example of teaching prayers should become the guideline in
raising Muslim children to become young, responsible, and balanced
adults. This article ends with concluding remarks concerning how we
can put the discussions from this article into practice in our universities.

Split Liminality
Today, children become adults twice: first, as physical adults when they
experience biological ripening, and second, as mental and emotional
adults at a later age. In their laws, most countries in the world place
this mental and emotional adulthood between the ages of 18 and 21
years. With this split liminality, as I refer to it, numerous social issues
arise. The introduction of a new stage of childhood, where the child
is biologically an adult but is still mentally a child can be traced back
208 CLAUDIA SEISE

to the studies by G. Stanley Hall and, more recently, to Elizabeth B.

Hurlock.
The work of the American psychologist, G. Stanley Hall (1844-
1924), has influenced contemporary thought on early adulthood and
adolescence immensely. He was the author of Adolescence (1904) where
he made the claim that mental growth proceeds through evolutionary
stages. It was Hall who introduced the idea of a stage in-between, i.e.
adolescence, where young people are physically grown-up but mentally
and emotionally not stable and cannot be held responsible. Other non-
Muslim authors have also found that the category of adolescence (or early
adulthood) has not been present before the twentieth century (Demos
& Demos, 1969). The idea of an additional category or an in-between
stage, i.e. adolescence, was a response to certain social phenomenon
in society, especially in the family institution that took place in the
United States at the end of the nineteenth century, and was closely
related to industrialisation. It was in 1900 when Hall and his students
made adolescence the focus of psychological studies (Demos & Demos,
1969). With her book, Developmental Psychology: a life-span approach,
Hurlock (1968) added significantly to this focus in psychology. She
explicitly distinguishes adolescence as a developmental stage before
maturity and adulthood. Regarding sexual maturity, Hurlock (1968)
writes that adolescence has a definite and focalised sexuality (p. 455).
This shows that an explicit split is made between sexual maturity and
mental and emotional maturity. However, what happens when we make
this distinction? Essentially, we have sexually active children (because
according to Hurlock, adolescents are more developed children) that
do not understand what they are doing. This is an extremely disturbing
idea. Huseini (2018) also pointed out this problem by arguing, “So, all
criminal offenders, including the most sadistic one, are still referred to
as children because they are below the age of 18 years” (p. 124).
The idea of a physical adulthood that is not in line with the
mental and emotional development is reflected in contemporary law
concerning adulthood, especially when it comes to criminal actions.
In most countries today, teenagers who commit crimes are treated
differently to adults, regardless of how atrocious their crimes might be.
Therefore, the question is, why do ‘teenagers’ behave in such a strange,
unpredictable, and often illogical way? According to Adian Husaini, the
reason is, firstly, because their parents did not prepare them properly
VIEWPOINT 209

for the new phase of adulthood in their life. Secondly, their parents do
not and/or cannot let go of their children and ‘release’ them into their
adult life. They still want to treat their children as children because they
need them to fill their own emotional gap (Winterhoff, 2008). That is
why, in the words of a Muslim friend of mine, parents pamper their
children until they are 30 years old. Children are not prepared mentally
and emotionally for taking responsibility at the age when their bodies
are becoming mature.
A very unfortunate development and reality of the phenomenon of
split liminality that separates the outer (zahir) from the inner (batin)
aspect of a human being in our societies, including Muslim majority
countries, is the rise in premarital relationships and its related social
issues. The splitting of physical maturity and mental and emotional
maturity denotes the secularisation and de-spiritualisation of the
human being. Allah created everything in balance. In Islam, becoming
mukallaf is not a purely physical act but a holistic development of the
child becoming an adult who is now responsible for all of their actions,
thoughts, and feelings, as I will explain in more detail below.

Becoming Mukallaf
According to Islamic rulings and Islamic scholars, a child becomes
responsible for their actions, referred to as mukallaf, when their body
shows the first signs of adulthood. For a boy, that is his first seminal
ejaculation, usually in the form of a wet dream, and for a girl, it is her
first menstruation. As soon as they reach this point in their life, they are
required to perform all the obligations Allah has made compulsory on
the grown-up Muslim; that includes fasting during Ramadan and the
five daily prayers. These young Muslims are now responsible for all of
their actions. They will be rewarded for their good deeds and will earn
sins for their bad deeds. It does not matter how old or young a Muslim
reaches this point in life. He or she is required to perform the obligations
because the physical signs are just an outer manifestation of the ripening
of the whole human being.
This can be easily understood when looking at the example of the
obligatory prayers. The performance of prayers is something that not
only involves the body but the whole being. Ideally, a person should
210 CLAUDIA SEISE

perform their prayers not only through physical movements but should
establish an emotional and mental connection to the Creator. The prayers
involve movements, speech, emotions, as well as a spiritual connection.
We have to ask, why has Allah made prayers compulsory when the first
physical signs of a young Muslim’s adulthood are visible? In his talk,
Adian Husaini argued, and I agree with him, that Allah knew that with
the physical signs, the invisible mental and emotional signs, should also
have been developed to the stage of mukallaf, a person who can take
complete responsibility for their actions. Therefore, the young Muslim
should not only be an adult in their physical signs but should also be
able to be at the stage of mukallaf mentally and emotionally. Adian
Husaini further argued that this in-between stage that we know today
where children have become physically adults but behave like children,
is a stage not known to earlier generations.
Today, we have two artificially separated liminal experiences, as
described above. The first is the liminal experience on the physical level
where young peoples’ bodies are the bodies of adults and demand the
‘food’ of adult bodies. The second is the the mental level, where young
people today have often not reached this level. They act in unexplainable
and often unpredictable ways. It seems that they experience some sort
of dissonance between their bodies and their minds. What causes this
dissonance? I assume that it is most likely the way these young people
have been raised and have not been prepared to become mature in their
mind and emotions. Since we see our young adults as children and we
treat them as children, they will act as children. However, physically,
they are adults. Their bodies produce ‘adult hormones’. Thus, we, as
parents have not equipped our young adults on how to deal with these
changes and that might be the reason why “moodiness […] reaches its
peak during adolescence” (Hurlock, 1968, p. 223).

Examples from Islamic History

When we look to the past and to our Islamic history, we cannot find this
gap between the physical, mental, and emotional development. Many of
our great scholars were very young when they sought sacred knowledge
and became scholars, according to our contemporary standards. In Islam,
to become a scholar, one should not only have obtained the knowledge
of the din but must also show that they inculcated this knowledge in
VIEWPOINT 211

their everyday life and actions. In addition, the scholar must show
exemplary behaviour (akhlaq).
Imam Shafi’i (born 150 H / 767 CE - 204 AH/ 820 AC), for example,
had memorised the Qur’an by the age of seven (or nine). He was given
permission to issue fatwas by the age of fifteen or eighteen. Many of
our classical Islamic scholars were very young when they engaged in
the thorough study of Islam. Imam Al-Buhkari (194 AH/ 810 AD - 256
AH/ 870 AD), for example, travelled to Mekkah at the age of sixteen to
perform Hajj and stayed there for another six years to study. Furthermore,
Imam Bukhari narrates that the Khalifah Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said that
a child becomes an adult at the age of fifteen (Husaini, 2018, p. 125).
These are just a few examples from the rich Islamic history.
Another prime example of the missing gap between the physical,
mental, and emotional development is the mother of the believers and
wife of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Aisha (may Allah be pleased
with her). She was young (among the Islamic scholars, different
opinions exist on her actual age) when she became the wife of Prophet
Muhammad, and a great amount of time was spent as the wife of the
Prophet, in the age of what we refer to as adolescence today. Did the
blessed wife of Prophet Muhammad experience unexplainable mood
swings und illogical emotions? There is no mention about any kind of
these strange behaviours. Despite her young age, Aisha is referred to
as the mother of the believers. She stood by the Prophet (PBUH), and
showed exemplary wise and thoughtful behaviour. Were these Islamic
scholars exceptions?

The Example of Teaching Prayer

As Muslim parents, we have clear guidelines in preparing our children
to enter the stage of early adulthood. Our Prophet (PBUH) explained to
us that we should teach our children to pray at the age of seven and we
should make sure that they are praying regularly at the age of ten (Hadith
Abu Dawud). If we understand prayer as an obligation that combines the
physical (outer) as well as the mental and emotional (inner) aspects, we
can derive a clear guideline concerning how to prepare our children for
early adulthood. By the age of seven, the child should be taught to start
taking responsibilities for their actions, not only with regards to prayer.
212 CLAUDIA SEISE

As prayer combines both the outer as well as inner aspects, we also have
to train the inner world of our children. From the age of seven, we have
to prepare them for becoming mukallaf. At the age of ten, our children
should be prepared to be mukallaf. This means that they also have to
be mentally and emotionally prepared to be responsible. They have to
know the importance of seeking sacred knowledge of the din. They have
to understand how to handle their bodies and emotions responsibly,
the importance of spreading Islam (dakwah), and the responsibility
of caring for the less fortunate. The well-known companion, Anas ibn
Malik, came to the Prophet at the age of ten. His mother brought him
to become the servant of the Prophet and to be trained and educated
under him. At the age of twelve, Anas attended the battle of Badr and
participated in eight invasions, later on. This shows that Anas was
educated emotionally, mentally, and physically to be able to part-take
in these kind of activities, which we would consider inappropriate for
young Muslims today.

Concluding Remarks
Keeping the above discussion in mind, we should reflect on how we
can implement treating the young Muslim adults in our societies.
Should we re-think on how we can teach and treat our adult university
students and take the Islamic worldview as our guideline? It is essential
to understand that our university students are not children anymore,
and we should not treat them as such. They should and can take
responsibilities, and should be able to express their opinions, views,
and arguments. They should be allowed to have different opinions and
write a critical thesis as long as they continue to position their argument
within our Islamic framework and etiquette. We have to engage them
in active and interactive discussions in the classroom; encourage them
to express their opinions and guide them to have fruitful and inspiring
conversations, discussions, and writings.
According to our Islamic understanding as shortly outlined above,
our university students are mukallaf for around five to seven years if
undergraduate students, and much longer, if they are post-graduate
students. In the eyes of Allah, they are responsible for everything they
do and do not do. If Allah sees them as being adults, why should we
treat them differently and impose rules and regulations on them that
VIEWPOINT 213

belittle them to being children? We need to let go of our young adults

and release them in the responsibilities Allah has imposed upon them.
Allah holds our adult students accountable for their prayers and actions
in general and expects them to understand what it means to be mukallaf.
Why do we not do the same?
In conclusion, I have presented first thoughts on how we can re-think
the age of adolescence, keeping our Islamic worldview in mind. Further
research is inevitable and future discussions are welcomed.

References
Demos, J., & Demos, V. (1969). “Adolescence in Historical Perspective.”
Journal of Marriage and Family, 31(4), 632-638. doi:10.2307/349302.
Hurlock, Elizabeth B. (1968). Developmental psychology (3rd ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/
books?id=vlhqAAAAMAAJ. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/
oclc/225954.html.
Husaini, Adian. (2018). Pendidikan Islam: Mewujudkan Generasi Gemilang
Menuju Negara Adidaya 2045. Indonesia: Depok.
Winterhoff, Michael. (2008). Warum unsere Kinder zu Tyrannen werden. Oder:
Die Abschaffung der Kinderheit. Deutschland: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJECS) 2:2 (2019); 214-219.
Copyright © IIUM Press

Book Review

Nurcholish Madjid (Editor) - Treasures of Islamic Intellectuals

(2019, First published in 1988)

by Makmor bin Tumin, Department of Administrative Studies and

Politics, Faculty of Economics and Administrations, Universiti Malaya,
50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected]

Any discourse on contemporary Muslim Intellectualism or philosophy

should begin with looking into the Hellenic influence, especially during
the 2nd Islamic Century under the Abbasid Caliphate, particularly during
the period of al-Makmun. Earlier, Christianity had begun to gather pace,
especially from the works of Augustine. While it is true that it was only
during the Middle Ages, such as in the 12th and 13th century that Europe
began to open its doors for high theological and philosophical debates,
especially through the contribution of Thomas Aquinas and Albertus
Magnus, today’s Europe is different from the Middle East as far as
material civilization is concerned.
What has brought “backwardness” in the Muslim World? Was it
the result of the teachings of Islam itself, or rather the exploitation
of imperial powers? Going beyond such questions of teachings and
exploitation, Nurcholish Madjid brings readers to a rational discourse.
He hypothesizes that the presence of countless Muslim philosophers
in the Islamic world is proof that rationalism has also been part of
the day-to-day life of educated Muslims in the Middle East as well as
Andalusia in Western Islam.
Nurcholish Madjid, an Indonesian scholar, compiled great works by
Muslim thinkers, beginning from as early as 2nd Century Islam through
the works of Al-Kindi, al-Ashaari, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. He further
presented works of the next generation of Muslim thinkers such as al-
BOOK REVIEW 215

Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Khaldun, before going on
to al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh, who are known to be modernist
Muslim thinkers.
Before discussing each work, Nurcholish provides a long
introduction, presenting the principles of Islam and how leaders after
the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) such as ‘Umar al-Khattab made
“brave” decisions when it came to jurisprudence. ‘Umar is considered
as the first to have practiced Ijtihad (interpretation), implying the
importance of rationalism and how it has been practiced by the close
sahabah. Centring on Sunni belief, the author provides a discussion on
the different extremes in Islam such as the Khawarij (those believing in
strict followings of its manifestation in form) and Murji’ah (those who
focus on substance and care little about form) in one opposite extreme,
and the other being those such as the Qadariah (Free Will) and Jabariah
(Predestinarian).
The philosophical dimension of the book begins with the
presentation of one of Al-Kindi’s major work, Fi wahdaniyat Allah wa
tunahiy jism al-‘alam (On the Oneness of God and the Limitation of the
Body of the World). Al-Kindi tackled the actual and potential of things
and how such concept, if carefully understood, could help Muslims to
better understand the idea of God. Aristotle’s work obviously had some
influence on Al-Kindi’s thought, especially on the idea of metaphysics.
While it is true that Quranic teachings are still followed, Neoplatonism
began to make its impact on the Islamic theological (Aqidah) debate,
which had led to the development of Rationalism by the Mu’tazilites.
Al-Kindi made the attempt to both Islamise and Arabicise the Greek’s
debate on the metaphysical world. In the process, he also tried to explain
Islam and God through syllogisms. His move in the philosophical
world opened a door to Neoplatonism. Neoplatonism which was
popularized by Plotinus had influenced not only the realms of theology
and philosophy, but to a great extent, the world of Sufism, especially
non-conventional Tasawwuf through the ideology of The Emination of
Monism or Singularity.
Immediately after discussing Al-Kindi’s idea, Nurcholish brings the
readers’ attention to Abu Hassan Ali Bin Ismail al-Ashaari’s thoughts,
popularly known as Ashaarism. Using rationalism, the latter rejected
the foundational aspects of the Mu’tazilites’ rational thought of which
216 MAKMOR BIN TUMIN

he was once a follower. He managed to defend the Islamic faith which

he believed would be further corrupted by philosophical movements.
However, Al-Ashaari’s approach of rationalism was also challenged
when he was accused of deviating from the tenets of Islam. Using
samples of al-Ashaari’s work, Risalah fi istihsan al-khawd fi ‘ilm al-
kalam (A Treatise on Appropriateness of Inquiry in ‘Ilm al-Kalam),
where he defended his school of thought, popularly known as ‘Ilm al-
Kalam, Nurcholish Madjid tries to show how Al-Ashaari was true to
Islam. Readers might be eager to know the editor’s (Nurcholish) own
view on the thinkers’ thoughts as compiled in this book. This aspect
is lacking and could only be found in very few paragraphs for each
thinker in their introduction. Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina’s works also merit
Nurcholish’ attention. In general, he mentions how the concept of
Nubuwwah, at least at a philosophical level was defended by al-Farabi
when he responded to Plato’s concept of “Philosopher King” with
“Prophet King”. Al-Farabi benefited a lot from translation projects
funded by the Abbasid caliphate and the contribution of Christian
scholars such as Hunayn Ibn Ishak and his son, Ishak Ibn Hunayn,
as well as Yahya Ibn Matta. Al-Farabi’s work on “Ihsha’ al-’Ulum”
(Enumeration of the Sciences) which was selected by Nurcholish
Madjid in his book, opened the door for European and Western people
at large to the point that he was known as ‘the fine flower’. His works
were quoted by Muslim and other scholars such as Maimonides. Al-
Farabi’s work which was compiled by Nurcholish is about the level
of knowledge on Allah, politics and the categories and purposes of
theologians (Mutakallim).
Next, Nurcholish Madjid focuses Ibn Sina’s work, Risalah Fi Ithbat
al-Nubuwwat (Treatise on Proof of Prophetic Inspiration). In his work,
Ibn Sina highlighted the prophets’ knowledge, the Revelation and the
universal intellect of the philosophers, which he believed may have
the power to discover the truth, parallel to the prophets’ knowledge.
Ibn Sina further developed the knowledge on logic (‘Ilm al-Mantik)
which was popularized by Aristotle. It should be noted that while a
majority of traditional Muslims believe that the metaphysical world
(unseen world/’Ilm al-Ghayb) is inconceivable to the human mind,
philosophers such as Ibn Sina, al-Farabi, al-Kindi and to a certain extent,
al-Ashaari, believed that the domain of ‘Ilm al-Ghayb should and must
be explored for those capable of exploring them. Muslim philosophers
BOOK REVIEW 217

use the term active intellect as a tool of accessibility in answering the

question of conceivability of the human mind on ‘Ilm al-Ghayb, which
became the central pillar dividing the so-called traditional Muslims and
philosophical Muslims. This divide continues until today.
Nurcholish also mentions the significance of Greek literature
in the Islamic World, especially Aristotle’s writing. However, the
discussion on how such works have been criticized among jurists and
the Hanbali school was not neglected. Some of the criticisms were on
the value of the Quran, questioning how Greek works were used to
guide human beings to the truth. Al-Ghazali appears to have found the
balance between the two traditions; Quranic and Hellenic. Al-Ghazali,
as portrayed by Nurcholish, developed a heterodox view of Islam,
believing that every dimension of human conceivability should go in
line with Muslim Intellectualism, as the teachings of the Qur’an and
Hadith must not be compromised. Al-Ghazali believed in the power of
intuition over active intellect to connect to other worlds. Al-Ghazali’s
work, Fayasl al-tafriqa (The Criterium of Distinction) was selected
for readers’ attention. In this work, he conceptualised five different
meanings of existence, in which the failure to understand it may create
a huge debate on what is the truth and even invite the problem of
accusing others as infidel.
Al-Ghazali’s work did not stop rationalism to flourish, as Ibn Rushd
went on to underline the concept of double truth, arguing that both
methods (divine revelation and active intellect) could bring man to the
same truth. Nurcholish selected Ibn Rusyd’s Fasl al-Maqal fi ma bayn
al-Hikma wa al-Shariah min Ittisal (On the Harmony of Religions
and Philosophy) as reference. It discusses three hierarchies of the path
of truth; demonstrative, dialectic and rhetoric. He believes that both
philosophy and/or jurisprudence can lead us to the truth. It appears that
it was through Ibn Taymiyyah that the synthesis of Quranic and Hellenic
thought was further developed after al-Ghazali. Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and
Ibn Rushd believed that through active intellect, the human being could
access the metaphysical world. However, Ibn Taymiyyah stressed on
the importance of the Qur’an and Hadith. Nurcholish Madjid says that
if it is lovable through the privilege of Qashaf (Spiritual Experience),
the unseen world is accessible, not through rationality. As described in
Ibn Taymiyyah’s work, Ma’arij al-Wushu” (Stairs of Reaching), the
belief on the power of rationality has gone too far, thinking that Greek
218 MAKMOR BIN TUMIN

thinkers such as Aristotle had explained everything about reality. He

wants Muslims to stick to the authenticity of Islam as expressed in the
Qur’an and Hadith. We have seen so far that the pendulum of rationality
in the Islamic world had swung from Hanbali’s and the jurisprudence
group to the Mu’tazillites, to Ashaarism and then to another direction
with al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. The same pattern can be seen with Al-
Ghazali, Ibn Rusyd, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Ibn Khaldun.
Ibn Khaldun’s On Knowledge and Its Various Types, On Teaching
and Its Methods and Aspects, and on the Various Things Associated
to Them, is later presented by Nurcholish in the book. In his work,
Ibn Khaldun emphasised on the importance of knowledge. In fact,
he considered knowledge had to be shared on a grand scale, just like
industries. This applies to all kinds of knowledge, both religious and
secular. Generally, Ibn Khaldun too did not open doors for human
rationality, unlike al-Farabi, Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd. However, his
method of interpreting history has created a debate, as he seems to reject
stories which cannot be logically proven. It seems that rationalism has
died out at least in the Sunni world, while Iranian philosophers such as
Mulla Sadra began producing works that developed a new trajectory
of philosophy in Islam. Hence, Nurcholish works on reviving the
discussions on modern Muslim thinkers, selecting works of Jamaluddin
al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh. Both al-Afghani‘s Ummah of The
Past and Present, and The Remedy for its Diseases and Muhammad
Abduh’s Muqaddimah: Risalat al-Tauhid (Introduction: The Theology
of Unity), provided a good discussion and medium for the Muslim
ummah to look at the strength of their religion. However, it appears that
both works did not capture the element of modernism which was known
to have been produced by them and was often controversial. Perhaps,
the works were the product of their different age of intellectuality. In
his work, al-Afghani emphasised the importance of holding on to faith,
and Muhammad Abduh tackeld the concept of tawheed, following
the previous method of theologians (dialectic) and the importance to
understand the practices of early Muslims.
Al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh’s works that hint to favour
the West sparked huge debates. Therefore, Nurcholish brought
in the thoughts of Hamid Algar and Maryam Jameelah, critics of
Muslim modernist groups, especially followers of al-Afghani and
Muhammad Abduh. Both Algar and Jameelah were Muslim converts
BOOK REVIEW 219

that emphasised the Quranic practice to be applied in all spheres of

life. Whatever the case, the 10 works of Muslim thinkers compiled and
discussed by Nurcholish in his introduction prove that rationalism has
always been at the centre of traditional Muslim teachings.
What had brought the Muslim world to “backwardness”? Nurcholish
argued that it was not the question of rationalism, but rather lack of
technological capabilities that had brought the Muslim World to a
vicious cycle of “backwardness”. The industrial revolution proved that
Muslim societies were unable to compete against the growing powers
of Western Europe, both economically and militarily. It is true as stated
by Nurcholish that the Sumerian society that had once lived on the
banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers contributed towards better
agricultural technology in irrigation and ploughing systems, benefitting
the Muslim world. But how could irrigation and ploughing compete
with steam engines and machines in industrially dense societies?
One wonders why there was no technological progress between
Mesopotamian civilisation and the Industrial revolution, a question
which was not answered by the author.
Treasures of Islamic Intellectuals is an interesting book that
highlights the importance of rationality while reminding readers to
return to the roots of Islam; the Qur’an and Hadith. Muslim thinkers
should learn from the industrial problem which had led to the rise
of Western power and the gradual demise of the caliphate system in
the Islamic World. This book should be read to appreciate the highly
praised rationalism in the Muslim World.
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