By Sitwat Waqar Bokhari
The nexus of secular fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism represents possibly the most formidable challenges to a sustainable, peaceful cultural ecology of the shrinking global village and requires ever closer global cooperation among all religions and societies to prevent socio-political and cultural divisions amongnations of the world.
These were the concluding unanimousthoughts at a conference organized by the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, an American-based organization made of a global network of affluent individuals, grant-making foundations, and socially responsible corporations.
Held at at El-Hibri Foundation in Washington DC under the title ‘Next Generation Leadership Development Program’ on April 13, 2014, the event drew participants from various parts of the world to discuss the roots, manifestation, consequences, and possible remedies of fundamentalist thought. The objective of the gathering was to look for sources that could help repair the damage that fundamentalism had wrought on human culture. This topic was considered crucial for discussion due to the rise in extremism both in the Muslim and the secular worlds today.
Participants included both Muslims and Christians from countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Qatar, United Kingdom and the United States. Mr. Peter Ochs, from the University of Virginia, USA, Mr. Nick Adams, from Edinburgh University, UK, and Mr. Basit Bilal Koshul, from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan, were among the keynote speakers. The issues discussed included the ‘irreligious roots of religious fundamentalism’ and ‘envisioning a post-fundamentalist future’.
It was quite heartening to see scholars and young leaders from different parts of the globe voice their perspectives on various dimensions of fundamentalism and the shape it might take in the near and distant future. One set of challenges, according to the speakers, was rooted in the form of an aggressive religious fundamentalism that challenged the distinctions between public/private, faith/rationality, and civil/religious domains. Another set of challenges came from the secular fundamentalist thought that set up intractable divides between North/South, economics/ethics, religion/science, growth/sustainability, and human rights/national security.
According to Peter Ochs, on the surface of it, these two fundamentalisms may appear diametrically opposed to each other. However, he stated that, like some thinkers as diverse as Karen Armstrong, Abdul Hakim Murad and Bruce Lawrence, he has reached the conclusion that secular modernity itself created the conditions for the emergence of religious fundamentalism.
As a Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) research fellow, I was asked for my views on secular vs. religious extremism and how we can get past it. During this session, I, referring to the security and radicalization-related research that the CRSS conducted, including the one on challenges of anti-terror legislation, highlighted how countering religious fundamentalism in thought was essential if the menace of terrorism was to be effectively combated in Pakistan.I also feel that,there is certainly a need to moderate what is taught in the mosques and religious schools which brainwashes young minds and inclines them towards religious extremism. On the other hand, therehas also arisen a need for open-mindedness from secular fundamentalists since both religious and secular people have to co-exist in harmony to preserve peace and security globally. Several other participants were of the view thata secular could also become an extremist if he/she refuses to allow other people to hold beliefs that did not coincide with his/her.
Participants with specialization in Theology, Religious Studies and Anthropology analyzed both religious and secular fundamentalism in the light of the views of various philosophers including Karl Marx, Freud and Descartes and explained the rationality behind the fundamentalism that we witness today. It was deduced that, irrespective of religion, religious fundamentalism appeared as did modernity in the world. The day-long session thus explored the roots, manifestations and consequences of fundamentalism from both the personal experiences as well as the academic knowledge of participants.
The conclusion reached was that the nexus of secular fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism was indeed among the most formidable threats to a sustainable cultural ecology of the global village. The main remedy for this issue discussed was that global level cooperation between all religions and sects would have to be created if a post-fundamentalist future without any divides of North/South, economics/ethics, religion/science and human rights/national security was to be envisioned. For this, scholars, thinkers and writers of the 21stcentury need to adopt a more proactive role in changing public perceptions about one another. The dominant discourse must accompany values of peaceful co-existence embedded in globally acknowledged and practiced, inclusive democratic values. Only then can we achieve a truly post-fundamentalist peaceful future free of religious, political and ideological frictions.
Muslim Philanthropists for Meaningful Response to Challenges Facing Muslims
Muslims constitute 23% of the world population and have been significant players in the social sector, developing nonprofits and charitable foundations that distribute financial resources to address human services and social needs.
Muslim philanthropists from around the world gathered at the Global Donors Forum 2014 organized by World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, which I had the pleasure of attending,underscored the need to work out solutionsfor improving the economic, political and social conditions in the Muslim World.
The World Congress was held at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Washington DC, USA from April 13 to April 16. Besides Muslim philanthropists, it also convened public and private sector leaders, social investors, financial services industry executives, and experts from across the world to offer pragmatic insight and constructive response to pressing global and regional challenges, especially those unique to Muslims.
Among the distinguished speakers at the forum were the Princess of Dubai, Shaima Al Zarooni, U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships, Andrew O–Brien, OIC Envoy to the United Nations, Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen, and Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, to name a few.
The eminent speakers presented various ideas and solutions for improving the economic, political and social conditions in the Muslim World. They also offered several practical ways Muslim philanthropists present in the forum could collaborate to realize these goals. The focus of the Global Donors Forum 2014 was to build Muslim philanthropy on the enormous resource base that already exists for the purpose of advancement of social justice, alleviation of poverty, reduction in illiteracy, and addressing other pertinent issues faced by the Muslim. Thus, the forum served as a marketplace for sharing of ideas and knowledge and as a launching pad for high-impact collaborative activities by Muslim philanthropists. Events bringing Muslim leaders together for such constructive reasons at an international level can certainly serve to unite the Muslim World in the 21st century and be the first step in solving the multitude of issues Muslims all over the world are facing today.