The Trouble Within Islam. By Tony Blair. Project Syndicate, June 10, 2013. Also at the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.
Blair:
When I
return to Jerusalem soon, it will be my 100th visit to the Middle East since
leaving office, working to build a Palestinian state. I see first-hand what is
happening in this region.
So I
understand the desire to look at this world and explain it by reference to
local grievances, economic alienation, and, of course, “crazy people.” But can
we really find no common thread, nothing that connects the dots of conflict, no
sense of an ideology driving or at least exacerbating it all?
There
is not a problem with Islam. For those of us who have studied it, there is no
doubt about its true and peaceful nature. There is not a problem with Muslims
in general. Most in Britain are horrified at Rigby’s murder.
But
there is a problem within Islam, and
we have to put it on the table and be honest about it. There are, of course,
Christian extremists and Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu ones. But I am afraid that
the problematic strain within Islam is not the province of a few extremists. It
has at its heart a view of religion – and of the relationship between religion
and politics – that is not compatible with pluralistic, liberal, open-minded
societies. At the extreme end of the spectrum are terrorists, but the worldview
goes deeper and wider than it is comfortable for us to admit. So, by and large,
we don’t admit it.
This
has two effects. First, those who hold extreme views believe that we are weak,
and that gives them strength. Second, those Muslims – and the good news is that
there are many – who know the problem exists, and want to do something about
it, lose heart.
Throughout
the Middle East and beyond, a struggle is playing out. On one side, there are
Islamists and their exclusivist and reactionary worldview. They comprise a
significant minority, loud and well organized. On the other side are the modern
minded, those who hated the old oppression by corrupt dictators and despise the
new oppression by religious fanatics. They are potentially the majority;
unfortunately, they are badly organized.
The
seeds of future fanaticism and terror – possibly even major conflict – are
being sown. Our task is to help sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace. But
clearing the ground for peace is not always peaceful.
The
long and hard conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have made Western powers wary
of foreign intervention. But we should never forget why these conflicts were long and hard: we allowed failed states to
come into being.
Saddam
Hussein was responsible for two major wars, in which hundreds of thousands
died, many by chemical weapons. He killed similar numbers of his own people.
The Taliban grew out of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and turned the
country into a training ground for terror. Once these regimes were removed,
both countries began to struggle against the same forces promoting violence and
terror in the name of religion everywhere.
Not
every engagement need be military, and not every military engagement must
involve troops. But disengaging from this struggle won’t bring us peace.
Neither
will security alone. While revolutionary communism was resisted by resoluteness
on security, it was ultimately defeated by a better idea: freedom. The same can
be done here. The better idea is a modern view of religion and its place in
society and politics – a model based on respect and equality among people of
different faiths. Religion may have a voice in the political system, but it
must not govern it.
We have
to start with children, here and abroad. That is why I established a foundation
whose specific purpose is to educate children of different faiths around the
world to learn about each other and live with each other. We are now in 20
countries, and the programs work. But it is a drop in the ocean compared with
the flood of intolerance taught to so many.
Now,
more than ever, we have to be strong, and we have to be strategic.
