By Javid Hassan
In a major development that should be of interest to India, an expert committee set up by the Saudi government is vetting a draft law to punish those who threaten the national security of other countries.
The new law, which also deals with organized crimes and terrorism-related offences, will carry the maximum sentence of capital punishment for the convict, according to the Saudi media, which have quoted Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, as saying. He described such crimes as “haraba,” a Qur’anic term meaning “sowing corruption and chaos on earth.”
Since both India and Saudi Arabia have been victims of terrorism, now is the time to share information on how they could combat this menace in their mutual interest. There are two broad areas of cooperation from India’s point of view. One is a Saudi proposal mooted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for establishing an international centre on combating terrorism
The other one is the launch of an institute for training imams and khatibs (those who lead prayers in mosques or deliver sermons before the start of Friday prayers). Both these developments are significant, since there many poorly educated preachers who misinterpret Islamic teachings, emphasizing certain aspects and playing down others. They represent a growing trend that has seen preachers well versed in their own field but woefully lacking even basic knowledge of science.
On the issue of combating terrorism, King Abdullah had proposed the setting up of an international center during a major conference three years ago. The proposal met with a lukewarm response despite attempts to take it forward. Subsequent events since 9/11 have warranted the need for reviving this initiative with all the seriousness that it deserves.
The leaders of both countries, together with their experts, could work out the modalities of fine-tuning the proposal from the conceptual to the operational stage. The starting point of the exercise should be to arrive at a global definition of terrorism and the root cause of this phenomenon that has cost the international community trillions of dollars in cumulative damage with no end in sight.
What is important is to identify the various terrorist outfits, their modus operandi and how they indoctrinate the recruits. This is where the Saudi government’s strategy seeks to prevent extremist ideas from infecting immature minds. To this end, the government has drawn up a plan that will bring together religious scholars and social scientists on a common platform to explain the true teachings of Islam as a religion of peace and moderation. They will also explore the problem from a socio-economic perspective to get an overall picture.
In the Saudi context, which is equally relevant to India’s, terrorists draft recruits from the unemployed youth who are lured by monetary incentives. In fact, Prince Naif has urged all Saudi universities to fight terrorism at the academic level by conducting research on why and how some young Saudis fell into the trap.
The Interior Ministry recently launched a campaign in Hafr Al-Batin, a conservative stronghold in northeastern Saudi Arabia, where preachers and experts are working towards reforming individuals arrested on terror charges. They counter the influence of extremist teachings by emphasizing the sanctity of life in Islam, its stress on kindness, compassion, accountability for one’s acts of omission and commission on the Day of Judgment, etc.
At another level, imams and Friday preachers in the Kingdom’s mosques are instructed to be careful in their sermons. “A preacher should know that it is his religious duty to speak out against terror and misguided ideologies as he is aware of what the Shariah (Islamic law) says on the matter,” Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Saleh Al-Ashaikh said during an address at the Islamic University of Medina recently.
To this end, a Higher Institute for Imams and Khatibs has been set up at Taiba University, near Jeddah. The institute will graduate preachers who will be skilled not only in modern methods of communication but also moderate in their outlook. It will also strive to erase warped ideas among traditional preachers. Some 55 imams and preachers, besides several members from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (religious police) attended the course.
The need for such educated and moderate Imams could go a long way in weaning the Muslim youth away from the path of extremism. Many of these preachers, even if well-versed in Islamic teachings, lack even elementary knowledge of science. In one of Bangalore’s mosques, a preacher, who was extolling the spiritual and health benefits of zamzam water that pilgrims normally bring with them after performing Haj, explained how rich it is in ‘vitamins’ (sic)..
A nephew of mine, who has just landed a job in the UAE, narrated the case of a Pakistani expatriate working there. The latter, who happens to be his acquaintance, insists that this youth should attend all religious congregations, which should take precedence over everything else, including job. How can Muslims progress with such a mindset?
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