Now What?

David Koeller September 2005

The Spread of Islam

The Ottoman Empire

European Modernization

In the 19th century Europe saw: Industrial Revolution Growth of Nation-State Expansion of Liberal political

institutions Increasing reliance on science and

technology

Muslim Countries attempt to respond

19th Century Ottoman Reforms

Sultan Selim III (1789-1807) Reforms the army to make it more like

those of Europe Introduces new weapons and tactics Army is trained by Europeans Defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Acre

(1799) Janissary revolt in 1807 ends reforms

19th Century Ottoman Reforms

Mahmud II (1808-39) Begins reforms in 1826: Emphasizes artillery Changes government to be more

bureaucratic and organized Creates some local legislatures Centralizes administration

19th Century Ottoman Reforms

Abdulmecid I (1839-61) and the Tanzimat Reforms It adopted the Western philosophy that a

state was to o do for its people what the people wanted or needed and could not do for themselves....

Tanzimat Reforms

Reform of Tax system (ended tax farming)

New Commercial Code based on a French model

Judicial reforms 1846: First meeting of a parliament

Young Turks

Wanted constitution and democratic government

Come to power in a 1909 Revolution

Islam and Democracy

Umma—the community of believers Ulema—there are no clerics in Islam However: law comes from God

Ottoman Empire and War Goals

•The Ottoman Empire was one of two areas that had not been claimed by one Great Power or another.

•The fate of the Ottoman Empire was one of the •important concerns during the war.

The Fourteen Points

XII. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.

British Commitments

The Sykes-Picot agreement Divided the Ottoman Empire between

Britain and France Hussein ibn Ali, Emir of the Hejaz:

would be made Caliph Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, Emir of the Nejd:

would be king of an Arab national-state Balfour Agreement

November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, . . .

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may Prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour

Treaty of Sevres

The Arabic speaking portions of the Ottoman Empire were to be divided between France and Britain. Palestine and Mesopotamia to

Britain. Syria and Lebanon to France

Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf coast would be under British influenced monarchs.

Treaty of Sevres

Turkey under Attaturk

British occupy Turkey Greece invades Turkey to “liberate”

Greek city-states Mustafa Kemal regroups Turkish army

and begins war against occupying forces

Kemal [Attaturk] tries to establish a secular state on a European model

Covenant of the League of NationsARTICLE 22. [Mandates]To those colonies and territories which as a

consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilisation and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant.

Covenant of the League of NationsThe best method of giving practical effect to this

principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations who by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances.

Covenant of the League of Nations

Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory.

Mandates inArabia

Iraq (Mesopotamia) An ethnically and culturally diverse

region. Tribal groups: Kurds and Bedouin Arabs, both Sunni and Shi’ite Nestorian (Assyrian) Christians Jews

No sense of national identity. For local leadership, the British had to rely

on former officers of the Ottoman army.

Ba’thism

Socialist. Pan-Arabic. Third-world Republicanism.

Pan-Arabism

A response to the problems of modernization.

Looks to the unification of all Arabs into a single national state.

The “United Arab Republic:” Egypt, Syria and Iraq.

1956 Nasser Nationalizes Suez Canal

Canal Company was owned by British and French stockholders.

Britain, France and Israel join in a war to take back the canal and to overthrow Nasser.

US and Soviet Union intervene. Egypt pays reparations for the canal.

1967: Six-Day War

Israel in 1967

1973: Yom Kippur War

Egypt and Syria attack Israel to recover lost territory.

Peace with Egypt

1977: Pres. Sadat visits Jerusalem 1979: Camp David Agreement Why?

Humiliation of war with Israel Cost of war Possibility of aid from US

Abandons other Arab nations

The Islamist Alternative

After Yom Kippur War, Egypt looses its leadership position.

Secular nationalism and the Ba’th party are discredited.

New emphasis on Islamic identity, not Arab identity.

Theorists

Sayyid Qutb—Egypt Mawlana Mawdudi—Pakistan Ruhollah Khomeini—Iran

Wahabbi

Mohammed Ibn Abd al-Wahab(1703-1791)

return to the basic Islam of the seventh century, that is, to a purely Arabic Islam

He formed an alliance with Mohammed Ibn Saud

This led to forming Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Wahabism

With Yom Kippur War, Saudi Arabia becomes very wealthy.

This money is used in part to support its brand of Islam around the world.

Both mosques and schools are subsidized.

Problems for the Constitution

Federation or National Government? Secular State? Islamic State? Role of Women? Oil Revenues

Political Identity

Which comes first? Muslim Iraqi Shi’ite or Sunni Arab or Kurd Family or Tribe

Ethnic Divisions

Sunni Kurds Sunni Arabs Shi’ite Arabs Christians (Assyrians) Turkmen

Problems of Federation:Possible Breakup of the Country

Turkey fears the formation of a Kurdish state

US fears that Shi’ite state could become subordinate to Iran

Sunni Arabs could join with Saudi Arabia

Problems of Federation:Oil Revenues

Oil deposits are located in the Shi’ite region in the South in the Kurdish region in the North

The Sunni region in the center is without oil reserves

De-Ba’athification

Ba’athism Secular and nationalist movement Socialist and pan-Arabic Hussein turned it into a personality cult

Problems of De-Ba’athification

Not all joined the Ba’ath party because they believed in its views

All government officials were Ba’athists

The elite army units were Ba’athist

Problems of De-Ba’athification

Remove too many Ba’athists and you remove people who have the technical expertise needed to run the country

Remove too many Ba’athists and you have a large unemployment problem

Remove too few Ba’athists and you have criminals at large

Problem of US and Imperialism

To many the constitution is already suspect because it appears to be imposed by the US

This perception will be strengthened if: US insists of separation of Mosque and

State US insists on equal rights for women

Robert Pape: Suicide Terrorism

“ . . .[M]odern suicide terrorism is best understood as an extreme strategy for national liberation against democracies with troops that pose an imminent threat to control territory the terrorist view as their homeland.”

Suicide Bombings

Pape finds that suicide terrorism: Is almost always directed against

democracies Is a strategy consciously chosen by a

weak group facing a stronger enemy Has a specific strategic objective Is nationalist, rather than religious Is almost always directed against an

occupying foreign power

Opposition Elements

Iraqi nationalists see US as occupying force

Islamists see US as a crusader state Sunni muslims who would be a

minority in an democratic Iraqi state

What are the US options?

Stay the course How long a commitment? Will the US be perceived as an imperial

power? How will this be perceived by Muslims in

other states?

What are US options?

Pull troops out now Could lead to civil war Civil war could easily expand into

regional war

Points

Islam and Democracy can be compatible

Problem of a post-colonial state remain

Need to allow the Iraqi state to evolve

Islam had been one of the dominant cultures of the world

Muslims regard themselves as the inheritors of the biblical tradition.

Muslims created one of the world’s great civilizations.

While Europeans were in their Dark Age, Islam dominated Eurasia.

The Qur’an

<qur’an> “Recitations”Believed to be literally the

word of God

Teachings

Radical Monotheism<Muslim>: “one who

submits” <umma>: the Community of

all Muslims

Five Pillars of Islam <Shahadah>: “There is no god but Allah

and Mohammad is his prophet” Prayer five times a day. <Zakat>: giving alms to the poor Fasting during Ramadan <Hajj>: if possible, a pilgrimage to Mecca

once in one’s life

Jihad

<jihad> “struggle” Struggle against one’s desires Struggle against society’s

pressures Dar al’islam Dar al harb

Shari’a: Islamic Law

<Shar’ia>: “The path to be followed” Law is regarded as divine Humans must submit to God’s law Law addresses one’s actions Rewards and punishments in the

afterlife

Sources of Shar’ia

Qur’an Sunna from the Had’ith Consensus of opinion <Ijma> Analogy <Qiyas> Personal application of intellect

<Ijtahad>

Jurisprudence

Worship: purification, salah (prayer), zakah (tax), sawm (fasting), Hajj, Jihad.

Finance: trade, interest, purchase, leasing & hiring, debts, gifts, endowments, deposits, hoarding

Jurisprudence

Penal: murder, theft, adultery, slander, robbery, drinking, oaths, coercion.

Family & Personal: marriage, divorce, custody, support, inheritance, freeing of slaves

Ulema: Legal Scholars

They are not a priesthood or clergy They are recognized for their learning

and piety They are not officers of the

government The government can enforce the

rulings of the ulema <fatwa> A legal opinion

Fiqh: Jurisprudence

Four schools of Law Hanafi Maliki Shafi’i Hanbali

Agreement on about 75% of decisions

Sects: Sunni

The majority of Muslims are Sunni

<Sunnah>: “Path” or “way”

Sects: Shi’a

Recognize Mohammad’s son-in-law as legitimate successor

Look to the example of Ali’s son Hussein

Twelver Sect regards 11 “Imams” as successor

Tend to place emphasis on poor and oppressed

Sects: Shi’a

Traditionally regard politics as profane. The ulema (mullahs) therefore have little to do with the government.

Sects: Sufi

Islamic Mysticism “Mystical union” with Allah could be

taken as a claim of divinity Sufi can be Sunnis or Shi’as