Study: Radical Concepts of the Kharijites
Saturday 26/January/2019 - 02:29 PM
Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar
There are several concepts and terminology that Islamic organizations use in
carrying out terrorist operations and
those terms of intellectual and ideological environment are important to
the members of these organizations. Some of them are related to the
misinterpretation of the jurisprudential aspects, and some are products of the
moment, because of the successive events that those organizations are going
through. Those terms are:
- Governance:
There are many different definitions of the term "governance", due to the displacement of the word from the field of Sharia to the field of politics, and then to the field of social life, and then to other fields. So, there can not be one specific view but we can look into it as a process of rooting the relationship between the ruler (Allah) and the governed (people).
The word governance came in the Quran and the Sunnah in various senses, and in different pictures and has been mentioned in the Koran more than two hundred times, and there are many references to this term in the Prophetic Sunnah. However, its use in the sense of political power and ruling only appeared in the modern reality. [1]
- Historical background of governance:
The word governance meaning the relationship between God and individuals did not emerge in the birth of the Muslim religion, but it is rooted in history, even if it is not the same concept that it is now known. Governance and Imamate emerged in times previous to the appearance of Islam through two forms linked to religion: heavenly and humanly.
This is clear with our master Abraham, peace be upon him, the father of the prophets, as an example of the governance associated with the heavenly religions. A Quranic verse says, “And when Abraham was tested by His Lord with certain words and he fulfilled them, He said: 'I have appointed you as a leader for the nation.' (Abraham) asked: 'And of my descendants?' 'My covenant,' said He, 'the harmdoers shall not receive it.’”
The verse states that the imamate is given to the just and not to the oppressors, and God selects imams for this function according to the value of justice, which seems to be a prerequisite for the individual to attain the divine covenant. [4]
There are examples of governance associated with non-heavenly religions, such as Pharaonic civilization, Sumerian civilization, and Akkadian civilization. The ruler was the half god or son of God during these civilizations, giving religious legitimacy to his rule.
Governance in Islam:
The concept of governance in Islam emerged through the Kharijites, where they refused to send Ali bin Abi Talib to Abdullah ibn Abbas and prompted him to send Abu Musa al-Ash'ari on the condition that he rules by the Holy Qur'an. But when the result came to Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, the Khawarij refused to obey Ali ibn Abi, saying, "Why did the men rule? There is no ruling except through God. "[5]
This concept began to develop negatively, and was expanded during the Umayyad, Abbasid and Ottoman periods. The term "Emir of the Believers" was used in the sense of authority and governance in the name of God, and this is contrary to the Emir’s position in the early days of Islam. He has the responsibility of the nation, but the Prophet removed from the concept its political significance.
However, some terrorist groups have condemned this concept through their theoreticians. They interpreted it as a way of boycotting society in all its forms and bodies and subjecting to the rule of God alone. [6]
Among these theoreticians is Abu Alaa Al-Mawdudi who believed that governance in Islam is for God alone. The Qur'an clarifies that God alone has no partner, and divine rule is not only religious, but also political and legal. Individuals do not have the right to governance and there is no right of the caliph to work as indicated by his whim, and any group or person claiming total or partial governance of themselves in the land are inflicted with blasphemy. [7]
Sayyid Qutb worked on transferring Al-Mawdudi's experience to the Arab countries, through highlighting the similarity of the idea of governance to that of Al-Mawdudi, a project that the Islamic groups have been influenced by in the areas of war and conflict. [9]
Near enemy and distant enemy:
Bin Laden's death was a defining point in the nature of the enemy targeted by terrorist groups. After al-Qaeda was interested in fighting the distant enemy, represented in the United States and its Western allies, the Islamic State Organization adopted an approach to fight the bear enemy.
This is one of the main points of contention between the two organizations. Although Daesh has emerged from the embrace of al-Qaeda's ideology and is consistent with the organization in basics such as the establishment of the caliphate and the Islamic state as well as the effectuation of the law of God, it differs in some branches like the nature of the target areas. These are organizational and procedural matters.
In the course of its confrontations, Al-Qaeda clung to the idea of the "distant enemy" in order to establish a good mental image among Muslims in the world, especially those who feel persecuted. The organization wanted to be considered the defender of Islam and Muslims in order to create a popular stance in the Arab and Islamic countries. In his leaked documents, bin Laden warned against confronting the "near enemy" because it contributes to the failure of the plan to establish the Islamic Caliphate. [12]
The results of this strategy have emerged in numerous terrorist attacks around the world, including the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York or the so-called "Manhattan Invasion", the bombing of the USS Cole on the Yemeni coast and the bombing of the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
The organization differed with al-Qaeda in this point, where it felt that the actual enemy undermining the establishment of the Islamic state is the "near enemy", described by the organization's theorists as "apostates of the Islamic religion, whether they are individuals or parties or rulers, or they were original infidels have broken the Covenant" [13].
Strategy of the Fourth Authority:
"The media war is more influential than military wars," said Abuhia Al-Masri, highlighting the importance of the role played by the terrorist media affiliated with the Islamic State Organization in a document he unveiled in January 2018 under the title of "The Fourth Authority Strategy". It showed that the media which contributes to destroying the loyalty of citizens to their country and their confidence in the rulers, and spreading despair, fear and panic in the souls, is more important than military operations. [17]
This document shows the nature of the terrorist organizations' viewpoint in general and Daesh in particular for the role of the media. According to their view, it works to destabilize the ties between the components of the state, allowing the terrorist ideology to penetrate and move in the spaces of mistrust and suspicion in the relationship between state institutions and citizens. So, the organization finds for itself a foothold within different countries, and this role is more dangerous than military action.
The Media Center is the media arm of the Islamic State Organization in order to make publicity for itself in Western and Arab countries. The Center seeks to integrate the use of traditional media and modern media in order to achieve its media objectives at home and abroad in a way that allows the organization to prepare for military operations.
Lone Wolves:
With the global war against the organization, and multiple sources of air strikes, whether by America, Russia or NATO, and the failure of the organization to implement its strategy of geographic expansion, the General Command of the organization decided to move to a strategic decision. It changed its target from the close enemy to fight against the distant enemy through lone wolves. This was announced in Dabaq magazine, Issue No. 11, in August 2015, entitled "Just Terrorism." [22]
The "lone wolf" is either a former member of these organizations and has been able to return to his country without revealing his affiliations or one of the believers in a set of terrorist ideas on which a specific terrorist organization depends. The lone wolf follows the organization's media platforms and then prepares and arranges the terrorist operation without returning to any organizational official, making it a difficult task to reveal the reality of his intentions. Also, the adoption of mechanisms such as run over makes it more difficult to detect them, and they can hit a large number of individuals because of the element of surprise.
The organization called on its sympathizers to carry out these operations, through Mohammed al-Adnani, the organization's media spokesman.
It is clear that the organization has relied on the recruitment of these individuals on the Internet mainly through audio recordings or video or through social networking sites, and other methods. The organization has succeeded in attracting many young men and women from European countries to carry out such terrorist attacks
