The Roots of Religious Extremism Understanding the Salafi Doctrine of Al-Wala wal Bara
Imperial College Press Insurgency and Terrorism Series ISSN: 2335-6847 Series Editor: Rohan Gunaratna (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) Published Vol. 1 Vol. 2 Vol. 3 Vol. 4 Vol. 5 Vol. 6 Vol. 7 Vol. 8 Vol. 9 Countering Extremism: Building Social Resilience through Community Engagement edited by R. Gunaratna, J. Jerard and S. M. Nasir The Father of Jihad: 'Abd Allah Azzam's Jihad Ideas and Implications to National Security by Muhammad Haniff Hassan Explaining Islamist Insurgencies: The Case of al-jammah al-islamiyyah and the Radicalisation of the Poso Conflict, 2000 2007 by Muhammad Tito Karnavian Wars from Within: Understanding and Managing Insurgent Movements by Albrecht Schnabel and Rohan Gunaratna Cultural Security: Evaluating the Power of Culture in International Affairs by Erik Nemeth Whither Southeast Asia Terrorism? by Arabinda Acharya Terrorist Rehabilitation: A New Frontier in Counter-terrorism by Rohan Gunaratna and Mohamed Bin Ali Resilience and Resolve: Communities Against Terrorism by Jolene Jerard and Salim Mohamed Nasir (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) The Roots of Religious Extremism: Understanding the Salafi Doctrine of Al-Wala' Wal Bara' by Mohamed Bin Ali (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
Insurgency & Terrorism Series Volume 9 The Roots of Religious Extremism Understanding the Salafi Doctrine of Al-Wala wal Bara Mohamed Bin Ali Nanyang Technological University, Singapore ICP Imperial College Press
Published by Imperial College Press 57 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9HE Distributed by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Imperial College Press Insurgency and Terrorism Series Vol. 9 THE ROOTS OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM Understanding the Salafi Doctrine of Al-Wala' wal Bara' Copyright 2016 by Imperial College Press All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 978-1-78326-392-9 In-house Editor: Yvonne Tan Typeset by Stallion Press Email: enquiries@stallionpress.com Printed in Singapore.
Contents Acknowledgements About the Author Introduction 1 Background 1 Significance of the Study 13 Objectives of the Study 22 Scope and Limitations of the Study 26 Sources of Research and Methodology 27 The Chapters 35 Chapter 1 Modern Salafism and the Islamic Concept of Al-Wala wal Bara 41 Introduction 41 Part I: Introduction to Modern Salafism 42 Meaning of Salafism 42 History of Salafism 45 Modern Salafism 46 The Salafi Wahhabi Connection 48 Modern Salafism: Realities and Complexities 50 Modern Salafism: Factions and Categories 53 Characteristics of Modern Salafism 60 The Modern Salafi Ideology 63 Components of Modern Salafism 66 Conclusion (for Part I) 70 ix xi v
vi The Roots of Religious Extremism Part II: Introduction to the Concept of WB 71 Definition of Al-Wala wal Bara 71 Historical Emergence of WB in Modern Salafism 74 Significance of WB in Modern Salafism 76 Various Dimensions of WB in Modern Salafism 83 Conclusion (for Part II) 87 Chapter 2 Significance of Surah Al-Mumtahanah and Millat Ibrahim in Salafis Conception of Al-Wala wal Bara 89 Introduction 89 Introduction to Surah Al-Mumtahanah 91 The Story of Hatib Bin Abi Balta ah 95 The Issue of Wala and Salafis Debate on It 97 Defining the Enemies of God and Muslims 102 Wala and Bara from the Examples of Prophet Abraham 107 Parts Four and Five of Surah Al-Mumtahanah 113 WB in Other Parts of the Quran 114 Conclusion 124 Chapter 3 Al-Wala wal Bara in the Salafi Wahhabi Ideology 125 Introduction 125 Wahhabism: Definition, History and Concepts 129 Wahhabism and the Concept of WB 135 WB in Early Days of Wahhabism 138 WB in Twentieth-Century Wahhabism 145 Political Dimension of WB in Twentieth-Century Wahhabism 149 WB in the Saudi Educational System 164 The Exportation of WB Outside Saudi Borders 169 Criticism of Saudi Educational System and Its Concept of WB 170 Conclusion 172
Contents vii Chapter 4 Analyzing the Spectrum of Al-Wala wal Bara in Modern Salafism 175 Introduction 175 WB: What Do All Salafis Agree and Disagree on? 178 Issue 1 Kufr and Kuffar: To Hate or Not to Hate? 179 Issue 2 Ruling with Other Than What God Has Revealed and Relations with Non-Muslim Countries 189 Issue 3 Aiding Non-Muslims Against Muslims 195 Issue 4 Accepting Gifts from Kuffar and Congratulating Them on Their Festivals 206 Conclusion 210 Chapter 5 Analyzing the Writings of Purists, Politicos and Jihadi Salafis on Al-Wala wal Bara 213 Introduction 213 Contemporary Salafi Factions: The Purists, Politicos and Jihadis 215 Salih Bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan 220 Ayman Al-Zawahiri 226 Abdul Rahman Abdul Khaliq 231 Muhammad Saeed Al-Qahtani 236 Observations and Analysis 243 Conclusion 254 Chapter 6 Conclusion 257 Appendix A 269 Appendix B 273 Appendix C 277 Bibliography 283
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Acknowledgements In recognizing the many people whose help, support and encouragement have been invaluable to me in producing this book, I would like to start by thanking Professor Robert Gleave, Professor of Arabic Studies, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter for his insight, knowledge and guidance. I also thank Dr Suha Taji-Farouki, Lecturer in Modern Islam, and Dr Omar Ashour, Lecturer in the Politics of the Modern Arab World, both at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter for their guidance. I would also like to thank Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed, Professor of Anthropology of Religion, King s College London, and Dr Joas Wagemakers, Assistant Professor in the Department of Islam and Arabic at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands for commenting on my research proposal and providing me with invaluable advice and insights. I am also grateful to Professor Karim Douglas Crow, Principal Research Fellow at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, Malaysia who commented on my initial research proposal, provided his insights and advised me the appropriate translation of WB for my research. I also thank Professor Tim Niblock, Professor of Arab Gulf Studies at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter for his advice, great insights and kind assistance. I wish to record my deep appreciation to Professor Rohan Gunaratna, Professor of Security Studies and Head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore for his guidance, support and mentoring throughout my career as a researcher. ix
x The Roots of Religious Extremism I have been encouraged throughout my research journey by many friends and colleagues who have supported, motivated and rendered their assistance to me. I would like to express my appreciation to Mr Benny Lim, Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister s Office, Ministry of National Development and National Security Intelligence Coordination, Singapore; Mr Pang Kin Keong, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Singapore; Mr Loh Ngai Seng, Director, Internal Security Department, Singapore; and Ambassador Dr Barry Desker, former Dean of RSIS, NTU, Singapore. I also thank my friends from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore, admin staff of RSIS and my colleagues at ICPVTR and Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme (SRP) for their kind assistance and friendship. I would also like to express my appreciation to members of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), Singapore, especially to Ustaz Ali Bin Haji Mohamed and Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi Bin Hassan. I also thank the members and congregation of Khadijah Mosque Management Board, Singapore. A special mention must go to my family members for their untiring support, encouragement and prayers. In particular, I thank my father, Ali Bin Haji Mohamed; my late mother, Dahliah Binte Ahmad; my mother-in-law, Zainab Binte Abdul Samad; my siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins. I specially dedicate this book in memory of my mother who left this world in September 2013. She had been the key pillar for my success and achievements. Special thanks goes to my wife, Shalawati Binte Mamat, and my two sons, Ali Bin Mohamed and Alawy Bin Mohamed, for their love, patience and encouragement. Finally, a big thank you to Chris Yaw, Yvonne Tan and the rest of the team from World Scientific Publishing and Imperial College Press for their assistance, editing, thoughts and guidance. Mohamed Bin Ali Singapore
About the Author Ustaz Dr Mohamed Bin Ali is Assistant Professor at the Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme (SRP), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His areas of research include Islamic jurisprudence, Islamist ideology, religious extremism, interreligious relations and rehabilitation of Muslim extremists. Well-versed in Arabic language and Islamic knowledge, Dr Mohamed obtained his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Islamic Jurisprudence from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt in 2002; a Master of Science (MSc) in International Relations at RSIS, NTU in 2007; and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom in 2013. Prior to that, he studied Islam and Arabic language at Aljunied Islamic School in Singapore from 1990 1995. Dr Mohamed also graduated with a Specialist Diploma in Counselling Psychology from the Academy of Certified Counselors, Singapore in 2006. Since 2003, Dr Mohamed has been involved in the rehabilitation programme of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) detainees in Singapore. He is the Vice-Chairman and a counselor of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), a group of voluntary Muslim clerics who provide religious counselling to the JI detainees. Dr Mohamed has made numerous presentations locally and abroad, conducted courses and published widely on Islamic issues and issues of religious extremism and terrorist rehabilitation. He has also conducted field trips in many countries including Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, xi
xii The Roots of Religious Extremism Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. Dr Mohamed is also actively involved in community-related works. Currently, he is a member of the Syariah Appeal Board of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) and a member of the Khadijah Mosque Management Board. Dr Mohamed is a former President of the Singaporean Students Welfare Assembly in Cairo, former member of the Council for Asian Terrorism Research, and counselor at the Singapore Prison Department. He has also delivered lectures and sermons in many mosques in Singapore.