An in-depth analysis of the contemporary radical discourse clearly shows how a feeling of experiencing a loss of honor or undergoing humiliation is one of the strongest constituents of the state of mind of radicals. It is one of the many things that constiute the subjective condition of the radical mind.
This theme has been a centerpiece of Al-Qaeda discourse since the very beginning with its first articulation in Osama bin Ladens interview published in Al Islah newspaper in September 1996. In this interview, bin Laden openly announced jihad against the Americans, stating that [such] humiliation can only be eliminated through bullets and the shedding of blood and death is better than life in humiliation and shame. This statement has since then become a motto of Al-Qaeda and, by extension, all radical outfits across the world.
There are numerous factors that can be seen to contribute towards a feeling of being disgraced by the Other and such factors are used by radical outfits as examples of the deliberate humiliation of Muslims in the world, including Pakistan. Firstly, is the political dimension. The radical discourse is filled with stories of how the US and its allies have invaded and settled in Muslim territories including Saudi Arabia which carries the greatest symbolic significance for Muslims across the world. The worlds prominent unresolved political issues today include Muslim territories of Palestine and Kashmir. Similarly the military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are cited as examples of the Western powers bringing disgrace to the Muslim world as well as the drone attacks taking place in Pakistan. Economic exploitation of oil and mineral resources in Muslim countries has also been numerously pointed out by Al-Qaeda leaders.
There is also a vast array of socio-religious matters that are seen as cases of the Muslims being humiliated across the world in the radical discourse. The ban on hijab and niqab in France and the ban over constructing minarets of mosques in Switzerland are cited as examples. Lately a technological issue related to body scanning of passengers at various airports in the West has also been added to the above list of concerns. These matters are then collectively conceived as matters bringing a loss of honour for the Muslims in terms of their religious self, this condition having been articulated by Professor Akbar S. Ahmed as radical groups experiencing a feeling of living in a post-honor world.
Contextualising such feelings becomes easy when one goes through the nostalgic literature in not only extremist jihadi publications but also our national curriculum that only narrates a great Muslim past but does not encourage critical thinking about the reasons behind Muslims contemporary state of affairs.
Such subjective feelings of disgrace have become stronger after the blasphemous caricatures of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were published in various newspapers of Europe, including those in Sweden. These actions continue to pain the Muslims across the world, not only the radicals as is clear from the jihadi discourse but moderates and liberals also.
The views expressed by Taimour Abdul Wahab al-Abdaly, a 29 year old Iraqi born Swedish citizen currently suspected of being the suicide bomber involved in the recent Stockholm bombing in December 2010, also make clear how he was undergoing such kind of strong subjective feelings.
Going through Abdalys phone call transcript, one can clearly see that he urges the Muslims to fear Allah, stop your humiliating life and live for the hereafter.. and in a conclusion paragraph he states Muslims are so humiliated here in Sweden and other places in Europe another line clearly articulates this deeper and intense feeling of humiliation; Tell the children that I love them and that their dad couldnt sit back and watch the pigs humiliate our beloved Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] and the Muslims without doing something about it. In such a feeling of experiencing disgrace, Abdaly had planned to kill Lars Vilks for the latters involvement in the blasphemous caricatures issue and one can see this as a central cause for the formers Stockholm bombing scheme. Quite revealingly, the name of the Arabic website that announced the involvement of Abdaly behind the Sweden bombings translates to Islamic Honour or Islams Glory.
Sociology shows us how actions of individuals or groups are deeply related to their subjective definition of a situation, whatever it may be. A socio-psychological enquiry into the extremist mindset behind recent killings of Late Governor Salmaan Taseer and Federal Minister for Minority Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti for their stance, though misrepresented or misinterpreted, on the countrys Blasphemy Law may provide very valuable insights about the radicals overall definition of situation and their future course of action.
It is worth exploring important elements in the thinking of radical groups and individuals and see how there are deep social and psychological currents at work in this radical mindset.
The writer teaches sociology at UCL. He can be reached at [email protected].
