Making and unmaking of a terrorist

It is one year since the Garissa University terror attack in which 148 young men and women, both students and security officers, were senselessly killed.

Before that we had witnessed the Westgate attack where hundreds fell victim to terrorists’ bullets. Nigeria has been suffering untold pain in the hands of boko haram.

A few weeks ago there was a similar attack in Brussels and dozens died while others were injured. This narrative of terror attacks is common throughout the world and we have reached a point where we live in fear and distrust of our neighbours and countrymen.

Almost always, terrorist attacks are attributed to Muslims and Islam. But what really leads one to becoming a terrorist? What makes a human being, born and raised in a civilised society, turn against fellow human beings with rifles, grenades, or bombs?

Indeed, why would one choose to be a suicide bomber? Most importantly, since the attackers often claim to be acting in the name of Islam, does Islam advocate violence?

At this time when the world is sagging under the weight of attacks from so-called Muslim extremists, it would be a good idea to read Ed Husain’s autobiography, The Islamist (Penguin, 2007).

This book narrates Husain’s journey into Islamic fundamentalism, describes what he saw in the various fundamentalist groupings, and explains why he left.

Husain is Briton of Asian descent, his parents were born in India and East Pakistan, currently Bangladesh. He was raised as a traditional Muslim and taught to seek spirituality and practice a moderate Muslim ethos.

Born and raised in Britain, Husain was taught, from an early age to cultivate and practice the values of fairness, equality, and kindness for fellow human beings regardless of race or religion.

As a child he went to school and made friends with people of all races and religions and religious tolerance was not even a salient issue because there was never any question of religious tension.

However, in his teenage years, Husain was lured into extremist Islamist teachings and he started doubting the teachings of his parents and spiritual leader.

In fact, he began to believe his parents’ understanding of Islam was wrong. Over a period of about five years, Husain would move between three Islamist factions and rise to become a respected member of those groups.

He, together with other young men and women, was indoctrinated into the ways of Islamists, particularly the belief in the need to establish an Islamic state. For these groups, the world would never be complete until an Islamic State was established.

Moreover, they preached that establishing an Islamic State is an Islamic obligation, just like praying, fasting and giving alms.

Thousands of young people were taught to hate anyone who does not profess Islam, to reject man made laws, to confront the West, and to work towards a global domination through Islam.

The groups, operating in Britain and other parts of the world, taught Islamist fundamentalism and rejected spirituality and true worship of Allah. They were consumed with the desire for jihad and conquest of non-Muslims.

In later years, Husain realised that the lessons he and other young people had been given were erroneous.

After coming into contact with Sufism, he was taught a culture of tolerance, humanity, and love which are really some of the values he had been taught in his parents’  brand of Islam.

The Islamist is an exploration of how young people get brainwashed by extremists who use Islam as a political tool for selfish gain.

YOUNG MEN

Husain’s experience shows how fundamentalists take advantage of their innocence to perpetuate mistaken beliefs about Islam.

Indeed, Husein reveals, these young people are not taught the principles of Islam but are instead used as loose cannons to destabilise the world.

The different Islamist factions, which are fraught with in-fighting, have a high presence in universities since these offer a fertile ground for indoctrination.

Even new converts, who know little about the Koran will be heard preaching the need for Islamic State and global domination.

This would explain why many suicide bombers and other terrorist attackers are often young men; the misguided desire for martyrdom and promise of paradise takes all reason away from them as they seek to rid the world of ‘kafirs’ — non-believers.

Well-educated young men become an attractive group of trainees since they can easily absorb, and disseminate, the highly elitist and political notions.

RELIGION OF LOVE

It is no surprise, therefore, that one of the masterminds of the Garissa University attack was a lawyer in his early twenties.

Islamism teaches them conflict and anger as opposed to peace and respect for humanity. Husain’s story uncovers the often crafty strategies used to recruit and retain members.

This book reveals the difference between Islamism and Islam, which many people do not know. It took Husain a period of staying in Damascus to realise just how far removed Islamism is from Islam.

Sufism taught him that Islam is a religion of love but Islamists preach a distorted view of Islam.

He renounced Islamism and its extremist tendencies and embraced true Islam which teaches people to see others as people and not as Muslims and non-Muslims. The book is therefore a castigation of Islamism while at the same time emphasising the values of true Islam — humility, repentance, kindness, love, peace and hope. The writer is categorical that contrary to what Islamists teach, the Prophet’s form of jihads forbids killings of priests, women, children or non-combatants.

Husain castigates Islamism and is very critical of the kind of Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia, especially, noting that it is discriminative of other races and religions, and women.

He is critical of Islamists who he sees as hypocritical since they claim to be Muslims yet act against the true teachings of the Koran.

Instead, these groups seek political power for their own organisational and ideological purposes.

He notes, sadly, that in Mecca, where true Islam ought to be preached, young people have been taught racism, anti-Christianity and destruction of true Muslim heritage.

The narrative calls for a celebration of humanity as opposed to religious and other differences. This is the kind of love that was shown by the old man who saved dozens of students at Garissa University or the teacher in Mandera who stood up against terrorists who tried to segregate people along religious lines.

The story offers lessons about Islamic fundamentalism which most people — Muslim and non-Muslim — often do not understand.

The book is an eye-opener about the root causes of extremism and a revelation that there exist pockets of extremist groups in all corners of the world. For Husain, the first strategy of fighting terrorism is to “recapture true Islam from Islamists, neutralise radical theologies, and empower pluralist Muslims.”

The writer teaches Literature at the University of Nairobi. jennifer.muchiri@uonbi.ac.ke