From the Heart of the Syrian Crisis

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From the Heart of the Syrian Crisis From the Heart of the Syrian Crisis A Report on Islamic Discourse Between a Culture of War and the Establishment of a Culture of Peace Research Coordinator Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zeid From the Heart of the Syrian Crisis A Report on Islamic Discourse Between a Culture of War and the Establishment of a Culture of Peace Research Coordinator Sheikh Muhammad Abu Zeid Adyan Foundation March 2015 Note: This report presents the conclusion of a preliminary study aimed at shedding light on the role of Sunni Muslim religious discourse in the Syrian crisis and understanding how to assess this discourse and turn it into a tool to end violence and build peace. As such, the ideas in the report are presented as they were expressed by their holders without modification. The report, therefore, does not represent any official intellectual, religious or political position, nor does it represent the position of the Adyan foundation or its partners towards the subject or the Syrian crisis. The following report is simply designed to be a tool for those seeking to understand the relationship between Islamic religious discourse and violence and is meant to contribute to the building of peace and stability in Syria. It is, therefore, a cognitive resource aimed at promoting the possibilities of peace within the framework of Adyan Foundation’s “Syria Solidarity Project” created to “Build Resilience and Reconciliation through Peace Education”. The original text of the report is in Arabic. © All rights reserved for Adyan Foundation - 2015 Beirut, Lebanon Tel: 961 1 393211 www.adyanvillage.net Produced in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Cover photo: Mido Photography - © Mido Photography | www.mido-photo.com Table of Contents General Introduction ..............................................................................1 Chapter One: The Jihadist Mind in Syria: Between the Past and the Present ................................................................................................4 Introduction ......................................................................................................................5 1. The ancient roots of the Jihadist mind in Syria .........................................................6 a) Two references from the time of the Mamluks .......................................................6 1- Sheikh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah ............................................................................6 2- Ibn Al Nahas Al Dimachki .....................................................................................10 b) A Reference from the Time of the Ottomans ..........................................................11 Imam Ibn Abdin Al Hanaf ........................................................................................12 2. The recent roots of the Jihadi mind in Syria .............................................................14 a) Sheikh Izz-al-din Al Qassam .................................................................................14 b) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Yousef Badr al-Din Al Hasani .......................................15 c) Dr. Mustafa Al Sibai ..............................................................................................16 d) Sheikh Marwan Hadid ..........................................................................................18 e) Sheikh Muhammad Surour Zein Al Abidin .........................................................21 f) Abu Musab Al-Suri ................................................................................................25 3. Syrian Jihadists: experience and lessons learned .....................................................28 a) Syrian Jihadists between Syria and Afghanistan ....................................................28 b) Afghanistan, a step forward .....................................................................................29 c) The perplexing reality: Jihad between Sharia and political considerations ..........31 Chapter Two: Between Evaluating the Jihadi Experience and Directing its Discourse ............................................................................34 Introduction ......................................................................................................................35 1. An inside evaluation of the Jihad experience:Abu Musab Al-Suri .................... 36 2. Jurists of reformation and guidance ...................................................................40 a) Dr. Muhammad Sa’id Al Bouti ..................................................................................41 b) Muhammad Kher Haykal ..........................................................................................43 3. An example of the contemporary evaluation: The Scholar MP Muhammad Habash ...................................................................46 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................50 Chapter Three: Jihad by Non-Violence: Jawdat Sa’id: A Model to Follow ..................................................................54 Introduction ......................................................................................................................55 1. The historical and religious context of Jawdat Sa’id’s thought ...............................56 2. Non-violence, a methodology .....................................................................................59 a) The features of the call to "non-violence" ................................................................59 b) The traits of the call to "non-violence" .....................................................................60 c) Proof of the call to "non-violence" ............................................................................60 • Textual proof ..........................................................................................................61 • Rational proof ........................................................................................................62 3. Between the methodology of non-violence and the legitimacy of Jihad in Islam ...............................................................................................63 a) Legitimate “Jihad” or forbidden “revolt” ..................................................................63 b) “Non-violence” and the misconception of denying Jihad ......................................64 c) Jihad: Definition, timing and goal ............................................................................65 d) Denouncing revolt that is forbidden ........................................................................66 e) Conclusion, "non-violence": the balance of theory and practice ............................68 Chapter Four: Syria in the Spiral of Violence and the Challenges of Religious Discourse ..................................................70 Introduction ......................................................................................................................71 1. The road towards the Syrian Crisis ............................................................................72 a) Bouazizi, the spark that set fire to the Arab Spring revolutions .............................72 b) The Syrian scene and the atmosphere of the waning Arab Spring .......................72 c) The Syrian revolution: From peacefulness to militarization ...................................74 d) The spread of a culture of killing, abuse and destruction.......................................75 2. Syria and the “New Jihadists” ....................................................................................78 a) The reasons underlying the Jihadists’ rapid ascent ................................................78 b) Syria and the challenge of “New Jihadists” ............................................................79 c) The characteristics of a Jihadist personality ..........................................................80 d) Syria in the eyes of Jihadists ...................................................................................83 3. Religious discourse confronted with the results of violence and the challenges of peace-building .........................................................................85 a) Destruction and the post-war culture of violence ...................................................85 b) Islam and the challenges of ending the war ..........................................................86 c) Questions addressed to the religious discourse between war and peace ............87 • Initial and preliminary discussion .............................................................................87 1- What is at the origin of life? Peace or war? .........................................................87 2- The religious discourse between construction and destruction ...............88 3- Jihad and the real Mujahid ..................................................................................89 4- Islam between a culture of pardon and a culture of revenge ............................89 Bibliography .....................................................................................................93 General Introduction So that religious discourse might be part of the solution and not the problem: vision and scope The idea of this project began as a response to the events of the last four years in Syria(1), driven in large part by media accounts about persons being tortured to death and then having their bodies mutilated in
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