False temples and Jesus mosques

We are told in the New Testament that Saint Paul used the Greeks' own monument to an unknown God to preach Christ to them. He spoke of becoming a Jew to the Jews, a Gentile to the Gentiles:

"...so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Methods haven't changed much. Christian evangelists the world over are motivated by Jesus' final instructions to his disciples:

"All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:18-20)

This is the origin of the Great Commission- a divine duty to save as many people as possible from disbelief. It is serious business, demanding careful planning, formidable logistics and most of all, money. The whole salvation project runs like a mini-World Bank, in fact.

Where do these resources go to? What is being set up? How does the Great Commission manifest itself in the lives of ordinary heathens like us?

It's dangerous to stereotype, of course. Different denominations go about the Great Commission differently- the most gregarious being modern-day Charismatic and Episcopalian churches. While most of them are headquartered in the United States, they tap into an extensive network that spans the globe.

Outreach programs are tailored to confront different nationalities and religious groups, with the most elaborate aimed toward the two other monotheistic faiths, Judaism and Islam.

Rabbi Tovi Singer, for example, remarks on the growth of false synagogues whose sacred trappings are deliberately yet deceptively familiar.

No Sunday services take place here; this congregation meets only on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. You will never see a cross or an altar; there is an Aaron Hakodesh (holy ark) with a star of David adorning its velvet cover, and a Bimah (stage for prayer services) in the center of the sanctuary.

The majority of the men who worship here wear kipot, and their tzitzit hang down the sides of their pants. This congregation's rabbi, among many other functions, reads from the Torah and makes Kiddush every Shabbat. Most of the women are modestly dressed. Joyous shouts of "Shabbat Shalom" and "Baruch Hashem" can be heard as young couples greet each other. The sanctuary pulsates to a modern Israeli musical beat.

If this sounds like a description of a traditional Jewish house of worship, think again. The above is actually a description of any one of the hundreds of Messianic "synagogues" which flourish throughout the world. Confused? Many are.

Such congregations are designed to appear Jewish, but they are actually fundamentalist Christian churches which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure the most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks. Messianic "rabbis," many of whom are Jewish by birth, are committed to bringing the Jewish people to know Jesus. Their agenda is to make Christianity more palatable to the uneducated Jew, and to the astonishment and horror of the Jewish community, their marketing ploys are proving to be successful...

Messianic congregations will never be listed in the Yellow Pages under churches. They are always listed with the synagogues. Additionally, the Messianic movement has created a remarkable tool for Jewish evangelism called a "communications card." This card carefully guides evangelicals on how to talk to a Jew in a manner that will not alienate them as potential converts. A two-column card which is usually wallet-sized for easy transport and access reads:

* Don't say Jesus Christ; Do say Messiah Yeshua,
* Don't say convert; do say Messianic, completed, fulfilled Jew.
* Don't say Christian; do say Bible believer, etc.

In essence, the Messianic movement's fundamental approach seeks to blur the distinctions between Judaism and Christianity in order to lure Jews who would otherwise resist a straightforward Christian message.

One such Messianic group- the catchily-named Jews for Jesus- recently launched a legal blitz against Google Inc, saying a Web log hosted through the Internet search leader's Blogspot service directly infringes its trademark.

The offending blog is conveniently parked at http://jewsforjesus.blogspot.com. A cursory reading will reveal why members of the actual JfJ aren't too happy with it.

Then there is the other set of monotheists- Muslims- who present a whole new range of problems. In most Muslim countries, after all, blatant preaching is frowned upon if not completely banned. Some fundamentalist states even recommend death for Muslims who choose to desert Islam.

Naturally, evangelists tread carefully where Muslims are concerned. Ingenuity and daring must take the place of plain-old preaching.

Enter Jesus Mosques.

From ubiquitous domes and minarets, down to the sparsely-decorated prayer halls; Jesus Mosques are tucked into nondescript corners of Muslim cities. Mission Frontiers proudly describe the worshippers who attend services in these special mosques:

They leave their shoes at the door, and ritually wash their hands, feet and heads. They kneel on mats in unison and bow their heads to the ground. They recite chants in Arabic, pray five times a day, and worship on Friday, not Sunday.

These Muslims look and sound like other Muslims the world over. Except they worship the God of the Bible, believe Jesus is the Messiah and only source of salvation, and follow Him. When they pray, they face Jerusalem, not Mecca.

No stone is left unturned in the quest to save as many souls as possible from hellfire. The salvation project therefore works closely with developed nations to be the first on the scene whenever a natural catastrophe happens anywhere in the world. Some are confident enough not to hide their motives, believing that the groundswell of gratitude would erase any questions about their tactics.

Thus, a few days after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the Indonesian province of Aceh, a Virginia-based missionary group immediately declared that they would be air-lifting 300 'tsunami orphans' from the city to Jakarta, where they would then be placed in Christian foster homes.

In an appeal for funds on its website, the group blithely revealed:

"Normally, Banda Aceh is closed to foreigners and closed to the gospel. But, because of this catastrophe, our partners there are earning the right to be heard and providing entrance for the gospel...These children are homeless, destitute, traumatized, orphaned, with nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat. If we can place them in a Christian children's home, their faith in Christ could become the foothold to reach the Aceh people."

The modern age demands modern methods of propagation. Christianity all over the world is facing challenges from three fronts- secularism (in the West), Islam (in Africa) and its own internal schisms. With exponentially more money and human resources at hand, the Great Commission is brought to a whole new level. At the very least, it seeks to unify and focus the church toward common goals.

The good that some missionary groups have done is beyond reproach. However, and this is the key point, Jesus neither hid his religion nor instructed his followers to use deception to spread his teachings. Why should we expect anything less from those who revere him as God Incarnate?

If in future you are unsure about the religious identity of a stranger who begins to talk to you about religion, ask him directly if he is a believer in Jesus.

His answer, or non-answer, will prove instructive.

Plotting Islamism's success

Islamism is really quite an obscure noun. It means different things to different people, so a definition must be had. Essentially, it refers to a set of political ideologies derived from an intensely selective reading of Islam. Daniel Pipes (a man Muslims find fashionable to hate) describes it as a movement that:

...turns the bits and pieces within Islam that deal with politics, economics, and military affairs into a sustained and systematic program. As the leader of the Muslim Brethren put it some years ago, "the Muslims are not socialist nor capitalist; they are Muslims." I find it very telling that he compares Muslims to socialists and capitalists and not to Christians or Jews. He is saying, we are not this "-ism," we are that "-ism." Islamism offers a way of approaching and controlling state power. It openly relies on state power for coercive purposes.

Like Zionism, Islamism is unabashed nationalism, but with a religious twist. Both are modern projects, shaped in response to what is seen as the debilitating encroachment of European ideals.

Ironically, however, these religious -isms share many features with the ideologies they purport to resist. Zionism's conceptualization of a divine right to the land of Israel, rooted in Biblical stories that the Jews are the "Chosen People", is virtually indistinguishable from the Aryan myth that Nazis used to justify their ethnic-cleansing of Jews.

Both ideologies are articulated at the expense of a minority people. In Zionism's case, it is the Arabs who have lived in Palestine for generations. 

The main victims of Islamism's vociferous development are aspects of what was once considered to be holy tradition. The Islamist agenda claims strong links to scripture, but rejects traditional interpretations of it, some of which they refute as being outmoded and even superstitious.

Peter Berger rightly argues that heresy becomes the common condition once the plausibility structure of traditional beliefs like Mawlid (celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday) and Tassawuf (Islamic spiritualism) are called into question and individual choice replaces the unqualified acceptance of communal authority.

On a practical level, such a reversal of priorities has an important fallout. Power over the hearts and minds of Muslims shifts from the ulema (religious scholars) to the Islamist's own turf; there to be massaged into whatever political message is needed.

In the book, Fundamentalism- The Search for Meaning, Malise Ruthven ably explores the strategies that Islamists employ to achieve a society based on what they perceive as divine law. He identifies three of them.

Dawa
The emphasis on dawa (evangelicalism) and social organization- or what Malise Ruthven calls 'Islamization from below'- demands deep pockets and an elaborate infrastructure. Bernard Lewis offers this mischievous analogy:

"Imagine that the Ku Klux Klan gets total control of the state of Texas. And the Ku Klux Klan has at its disposal all the oil rigs in Texas. And they use this money to set up a well-endowed network of colleges and schools throughout Christendom, peddling their peculiar brand of Christianity. You would then have an approximate equivalent of what has happened in the modern Muslim world."

The dawa of certain groups infiltrates key Islamic institutions worldwide, even in countries that host minority Muslim populations. Great care is taken to recruit madrasas, orphanages and mosques to the Islamist cause. The overall ideology is contextualized against any grievances that the local Muslim populace holds, thus making its more extravagant demands, like forcing women into full chador, more palatable.

The evangelizer's aims are to foster distinctiveness and create an identity that would be indispensable in future propaganda. That is why such groups, after taking root in a country, always claim to speak for the benefit of all the Muslims who live in the region; even though that is seldom the case.

Saudi Arabia's support for mosque-building projects all over the world, for example, does not come without an ideological price being paid. Mostly, the surest sign of Islamist evangelism is the appearance of non-traditional books on Islam in mosques and especially Islamic propagation centers, who specialize in nurturing new or potential converts to Islam.

The last is important because it represents a growing industry in the Islamist's world. John Lindh Walker, who had been converted by the Tablighi Jemmaat group, is an American who had been indoctrinated enough to take up arms on the side of the extremist Taliban.

Another revealing example may be seen in the backgrounds of a number of Turks arrested on suspicion of complicity in terrorist activities.

Every single one of them was born and educated in Germany, not one in Turkey. The Germans do not supervise the religious education of minority groups, while the Turks keeps a watchful eye on these matters. The situation clearly favors those with the fewest scruples, the strongest convictions and the most money.

Hijra
This order of Islamists opt for a strategy of separation, or hijra, with the aim of building an alternative Islamic society before 'reconquering' the state, thereby emulating Prophet Muhammad, who built the the first Islamic community in Medina before returning in triumph to his native city of Mecca.

Southeast Asian Islamists provide an interesting case study of how the idea of hijra has been forced to change with the times. While the first emigration of Muslims from Mecca had been fraught with hardship and uncertainty, and the medium of transportation had been the humble camel; today's 'emigrants' use commercial jets, speedboats and trains to shuttle to and from Indonesia, South Philippines, South Thailand and Malaysia.

They are nomads plying their volatile brand of religion by taking advantage of sophisticated modes of transportation and relatively open borders.

It is important to understand the Islamist's motivation in the context of the traditional meaning of hijra. During medieval times, emigration usually entailed crossing an imaginary boundary between dar-al-harb (abode of war) and dar-al-salaam (abode of peace). Dar-al-harb was the region where Muslim rights were constantly violated; while dar-al-salaam was the region where Muslims, and more specifically, the Sharia (Islamic law), ruled.

The division of the world into seemingly intractable halves fits nicely into a favorite Islamist complaint- that no single nation on earth, Muslim or non-Muslim, is dar-al-salaam.

Therefore, governments that tolerate any political system that erodes religious authority, such as secularism, are considered to be apostates; eminently slated for overthrow so that it can be replaced by a true abode of peace.

Jihad
This is the strategy that most often makes it to the headlines. Jihadists believe that the government will never relinquish its grip on power voluntarily, and opt for the approach of 'Islamization from above' by means of armed and violent insurgency.

According to Malise Ruthven, the inspiration behind all such movements may seem religiously romantic, utopia, or historical. But the execution tends to rely on an undeclared modernist premise: whereas in pre-modern or pre-colonial times the writ of government in Muslim countries was relatively weak, with the Islamic law administered by the ulema under the authority of the ruler who was himself, in theory, subject to its provisions, the modern Islamists hold the state responsible for the deviation of the Muslim community when it is not Islamic, and consider it the instrument of its salvation when it is.

John Gray, author of the Al-Qaeda and What It Means to be Modern, argues that in the Middle East and the Balkans, Kashmir and Afghanistan and other zones of conflict, it is not only states and their agents who wage war. Central amongst the protagonists are political organizations, irregular militias and Islamist networks that are not controlled by any state.

Muslims are oppressed in a number of areas around the world and so have, whether it is commonly acknowledged or not, a number of legitimate causes and grievances. Professor Vincenzo Oliveti points out in his book, Terror's Source, that Islamists frequently try to hijack these causes even after they have already been settled, thereby gaining broad Islamic popular support, raising their profile and improving their image.

Dangerously, the tactic harms the very people they claim to be helping (to say nothing of the image of these in the West). Thus the Chechen people, after having essentially won the First Chechen War (1991-1995) under Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev, were dragged into another war by Islamist elements (Ibn al-Khattab), whose first act was to liquidate Sufi opposition to them.

Unconventional warfare which targets government personnel and civilian populations has been practiced in Vietnam, Angola, Northern Ireland, Algeria and most especially, Israel. What is new about this kind of warfare is that it has developed in the context of corroded or failed states. In Africa, Bosnia, parts of Pakistan, Haiti, Chechnya, many hundreds of millions of people continue to eke out an existence in conditions of semi-anarchy. A sort of vigilante justice, uncluttered by due process of law, prevails.

The wholesale slaughter that is practiced by al-Qaeda does not find sanction from the Sharia and instead has its breeding ground in the zones of anarchy that emanate from failed states. As capital has gone global, so has crime. John Gray alleges that the irregular armies and political organizations that carry out the new forms of warfare are linked with the global criminal economy. Many terrorist organizations rely for some of their funding on crime, particularly the trade in illegal drugs.

With globalization, they are able to move the funds they acquire from these sources freely around the world. Islamists take full advantage of this freedom to propel the world toward what Professor Samuel Huntington predicts will be an apocalyptic 'clash of civilizations'.

Wang Ziping- Muslim patriot in China

His deep-set eyes were radiant, always shining. In addition, his long silver beard flowed over his chest like a shimmering waterfall. ---Grace Xiaogao, grandaughter.

Whenever the Chinese Emperor passed through Cangzhou, his warriors fell silent, lowered their banners and muffled their marching drums. After all, this was a region of heroes and patriots- those who had shed blood in defense of China. Legends spoke well of Cangzhou, and the warriors paid their respects.

Situated one hundred and eighty kilometers north of the Forbidden City (Beijing), Cangzhou is part of the Hebei province, and is home to the Hui. The Hui are Muslims- descendants of Persians and Arabs who had traveled to and from China during the 10th Century (the Song Dynasty - 960 to 1279 AD), and intermingled with the various Chinese peoples they encountered. Even the earliest Muslims had admired China's greatness. In a well-known hadith (saying), Prophet Muhammad had extolled his companions:

"Seek knowledge, even as far as China."

One of the things the Hui embraced with passion was the Chinese martial arts tradition. The Hui were a hardy and courageous people, surviving long and perilous journeys from Persian and Middle Eastern lands. They quickly took a liking to ancient Chinese Wushu and worked long and hard at excelling in it. Eventually they developed their own unique styles of Wushu.

Before the invention of guns, Wushu was the chief means of combat and self-defense in China. Hui chiefs encouraged their people to study Wushu as a "holy habit" in order to foster discipline and bravery during their struggle for survival in their adopted land. Mosques became not only places of worship and religious education, but also a training ground for Grandmasters to teach eager students the basics of Wushu.

Even today, during the holy days of Lesser Bairam (festival of fast breaking), Korban (feast), and Mawlid an-Nabi (the Prophet's Birthday), the Hui gather in mosques to hold Wushu contests and exhibitions. Cangzhou, in particular was nicknamed Wushu's Nest, for the many Grandmasters who emanated from there.

In the past, many of the Hui joined the Chinese military and had illustrious careers in it, often rising to the rank of General. Also, because of this, the Hui were fanatically loyal to the emperors.

But the relationship between the imperial throne and the Muslim Hui have not always been easy. In the past, the steppes that the Hui lived in were the last and toughest places for Chinese emperors to conquer. The famous Admiral Cheng Ho- who is reputed to have found America centuries before Christopher Columbus- was himself a Hui who had been snatched from his native home and forced to become a eunuch.

Things came to a head in the years following the death of Empress Ci'an in 1881. Many people suspected that poison had been used to displace a woman considered too benevolent for the throne. In the same year that the more assertive Ci'xi ascended the imperial throne, a boy named Ziping was born to the Wang family in Cangzhou.

Like many Hui, Ziping's parents were poor. His father was a formidable pugilist, but was wise enough to know that Wushu would bring no fortune to the young boy. European guns were increasingly making the art obsolete, enticing even the Chinese army into procuring them and training in their use. Elder Wang thus dreamt of the day when his son would leave hardship and work in the Forbidden City as an official.

Ziping was adamant about learning Wushu, however. Wushu was the Hui identity. No Hui worth his salt would dare go through life without the rudiments of the "eighteen fist fighting exercise" and "eight diagram boxing" etched in his mind and body.

Besides Wushu, Hui were also steeped in Sufi teachings. They belonged almost overwhelmingly to the Naqshbandiyya school. Hui life was thus a mixture of pitiless labor, harsh training and deep spirituality. Their astonishing ability in Wushu is hardly an accident.

Amidst traditional lessons in Koran reading, Ziping lifted rocks to build up his strength and dug ditches that got progressively wider as his leaps improved. Fine balance was honed on dangerously narrow stakes that Ziping planted into the ground. Even as he memorized zikir (invocations), his strength and balance increased exponentially. The concentration that Sufism demands became the rock-solid backbone of Wushu's fluid movements.

Cangzhou's climate is mild in the summer and cold in the winter. In winter months, snow is not uncommon. Ziping trained in all the elements, toughening his body. By the time he was fourteen years old, he could already leap more than three meters from a standing position. The precocious boy had all the qualities of a pugilist, but no teacher. His father's stubborn refusal to initiate him must have stung. Searching desperately for companionship, he fell under the sway of a secret society that called themselves "The Righteous and Harmonious Fists". Their stated aim was to overthrow the Ch'ing government and expel all "foreign devils" from China.

Because Ziping lived most of his life in semi-colonialism, he knew firsthand the humiliation that was heaped on the Chinese by Europeans. Austria, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan and Russia all claimed exclusive trading rights to different parts of the China. They "carved up the Chinese melon" into "spheres of influence", claiming that they owned the territory within their spheres.

Empress Ci'xi hated the European presence as much as any member of the secret society did, and plotted to remove them as quickly as possible. She became aware of the "The Righteous and Harmonious Fists", a group that the Europeans casually dismissed as "Boxers" because most of them were Wushu fighters. In a fit of inspiration, she devised a way to use them for her own ends. Through her ministers, she began to woo and finance the Boxers. It wasn't long before a new slogan appeared on the Boxers' banners: "Support the Ch'ing. Destroy the foreigner!"

The Boxers roamed across China, attacking lone European settlements and emptying churches of their congregations and priests. When they closed in on the Forbidden City, where many of the European embassies were located, Empress Ci'xi made a great show of deploying troops, but secretly allowed the Boxers to enter. The Europeans were ready with far more advanced weapons than just 'fists and legs', though. Rifles quickly decimated the invaders. The rebellion collapsed. Empress Ci'xi was forced to outlaw the secret society and imprison all surviving Boxers.

Wang Ziping thus became a fugitive. He fled to South Jinan, where he took refuge in the Large Mosque. As soldiers hunted the remnants of the secret society, Ziping prayed for succor. Events passed him by. In the relative quiet of the mosque's prayer hall, Ziping met a man who was like him, a Boxer on the run. This was Yang Hongxiu, a Grandmaster of Wushu. At last! The one thing his father had refused him was within reach. Excited, Ziping discarded his loyalty to the fallen Boxers and swore allegiance to Yang instead.

Armed with an intense fondness for life outdoors, Ziping traveled all over the countryside, allowing himself to be inspired by the grace and beauty of nature. Sufis are particularly sensitive to the beauty of creation. A verse from the Koran that is particularly beloved by Sufis reads: "Wherever you turn, there is the face of God." They complement this with a well-known hadith of the Prophet: "God is beautiful, and He loves beauty."

Ziping hence studied with great care the movements of the birds and mammals- such as an eagle descending on its prey, a rabbit moving quickly across a prairie, a dog leaping skillfully to put itself out of danger. He absorbed all these characteristics to create a unique style of his own. His strength and reflexes allowed him to be both strong and quick- a deadly combination in Wushu.

A Grandmaster is able to use any implement or tool as a weapon. Improvising is as much an art as it is a necessity in Wushu. Ziping came to be extremely well-versed in all the major weapons. He was particularly adept at qinna, which could lock the joints and muscles of opponents in preparation for a devastating attack; shuaijiao, a bare-handed fighting style incorporating principles of Tai Chi; hard qigong and light body technique.

He was acclaimed as a well-rounded martial artist. At the same time, he was also a specialist in bone trauma. He combined his adept knowledge of qinna with his bone setting skills and invented a system of treatment for sports and Wushu-related injuries in Northern China.

Many stories, some half-true, others mere legend, have been attributed to him, but one that bears repeating is this.

During his medical tenure in Jiaozhou, the Germans were commissioned to build a railroad from there to Jinan. Such expensive projects- to extend and solidify European contol over Chinese land- were the price extracted from Empress Ci'xi after the failed Boxer rebellion.

Ziping's reputation was not unknown to the Germans. Being shrewder than most of their colleagues, they were anxious to put him out of favor. A German military officer arranged for a great mill stone to be placed in front of the railroad station and challenged anyone to raise it. Ziping, who tolerated no humiliation to the Chinese people, was naturally furious. As the Germans expected, Ziping walked right into their trap.

"What happens if I lift it?" he asked.

"Then the stone is yours," the Germans replied in glee.

"What happens if it falls?"

"Then you will pay for it."

Ziping lifted the stone, leaving the Germans aghast. One of those who witnessed the feat was an American who worked as a physical education teacher in a missionary school. He challenged Ziping to a duel. In the handshake that preceded the encounter, the American strongly grasped Ziping's hand and attempted to throw him to the ground. Ziping promptly swept the legs from under him.

I suppose this story appealed to me because of its underdog-triumphs-over-white master theme.

Later in his life, Ziping was appointed the head of the Shaolin Division at the Central Martial Arts Institute. He was also the vice chairman of  the Chinese Wushu Association, the highest Wushu organization in China. He held many other titles and responsibilities, including being an advisor to major hospitals across China. His career is also distinguished by the many duels he fought with foreigners, including Japanese experts in Akido. Always, he wanted to prove the point that the Chinese was not an inferior race.

Ziping as an old man doing a bent press with a lock weight.

Even in his old age, Ziping never lost his great strength and agility. In 1960, when Ziping was the trainer and director of the group of Wushu students that accompanied Prime Minister Zhou Enlai in a visit to Burma, he was told to give a demonstration of his skills. This he did with the heavy Sword of the Black Dragon, with such skill and youthful vigor that nobody thought that he was already 80 years old.

Throughout his life, Ziping exhibited great patriotism and an enthusiasm for martial arts that never waned. His spirit and stamina were indefatigable, and remains a source of inspiration for many Chinese, Muslim and non-Muslim. He died in 1973, after failing, in the end, to defeat a long bout of illness.

Favorite comedians

I can't sit through most American stand-up comedies. Put a microphone into the hands of Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence or even Robin Williams, and obscenitites start spewing from their mouths as fast as their spittle.

They are millionaires plying their trade, however, so clearly, they must be on to something. What that something is I dare not speculate.

But there are comics who stand out for NOT being vulgar. Individuals like Jackie Mason who possess a razor-sharp wit and cracks jokes about Jewish foibles. His thick Jewish accent (liberally peppered with Bronx earthiness) are perfect for mimicing Ariel Sharon's fiery speeches, and Shimon Peres' Stallone-like lisp. Nonetheless, his routines are not entirely devoid of the occasional swear word.

And ignore the astonishing Azhar Usman at your own peril. He's a lawyer who hates his practice and prefers comedy instead. His impersonation of Shaykh Abdul, the Radical Imam had me in tears. He is really, really funny, and I got the sense that he's a really nice guy too.

If these two comedians ever come to your part of the world, don't you dare miss them!

An extraordinary event! Really?

Journalists must have gleefully discarded their thesaurus when describing the latest Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca. Extraordinary is a word you'll most encounter. Why not? Like Bani-s (tribes) of old, 57 Muslim nations gathered in the shade of the Holy Ka'aba to talk shop.

Do any of the leaders remember the six-year ban on the hajj (pilgrimage) by Saud bin Abdul Aziz when his band of fighters conquered Mecca and Medina in the nineteenth century? I doubt it. All water under the bridge.

Or that French paratroopers had been allowed into the Haramain to quash a rebellion against Saud rule in 1979? Again, let old dogs die.

After all, Saudi Arabia did not spare a single cent (small change in the oil-rich kingdom) in preparing for the event. And there's a new Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques at the helm- King Abdullah- the Caliph who's not quite there yet.

I'm joking, of course. Muslims have had no Caliph (leader) since the Ottomans vacated the seat early in the twentieth century. But the OIC determined that there should be some movement on an:

1.Islamic Court of Justice- which for some mysterious reason, has never gained much popularity before this. Conceivably, Muslim criminals like Usama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri will be placed in its docks. The problem, of course, is determining which stream of Islam gets to try whom. Sunni, Shia and Salafist are the main contenders. In an age where each schism lays claim to the mantle of orthodoxy that is embodied in the title Ahle-Sunnah-Waal-Jemmaah, the decision on which group should set the agenda might just shelve this idea for several more centuries.

2. Islamic Fiqh Council- for issuance of authoritative Fiqh (jurisprudence) for the whole Muslim Ummah.

After fighting tooth and nail against George Bush's characterization of the war on terror as being a question of "You're either with us or against us", the OIC, many of whose members have recently been introduced to suicide bombing, finally understands the stakes.

"OIC leaders called for 'combating the preachers of sedition and deviation, who aim to distort the peaceful principles of Islam'.

The spirit that made the Amman Initiative in July 2005 a success was certainly much in evidence here. Aside from ringing calls for "moderation" to be the defining attribute of all Muslims, the OIC recognized the need to "to combat poverty, illiteracy and corruption in the Muslim world".

Unfortunately, constant irritants like Kashmir, Palestine and Iraq received very little attention.

While Jordan, the most recent victim of terrorism, has adopted a hardline stance against terrorism, Qatar, interestingly enough, argued for milder language to be used in the final statement of the OIC summit.  The atrocious logic being: tough wording might be interpreted as yielding to American pressure. By the by, Qatar just allowed a church to be built within its borders. It's the first one.

2005 is certainly an auspicious year. I wonder if Christmas will be allowed in Saudi Arabia next year.

Prophet Muhammad in the US Supreme Court

On the north wall of the US Supreme Court stand eleven historical figures, all of whom had been great law-givers. One of them, incidentally, is Prophet Muhammad.

Because I know how strict Muslims are over effigies, the picture will not be displayed here. But this link is available for those who are interested.

The information sheet printed by the Court's Office of the Curator describes Muhammad thus:

"He is depicted holding the Qur'an. The Qur'an provides the primary source of Islamic Law. Prophet Muhammad's teachings explain and implement Qur'anic principles. The figure above is a well-intentioned attempt by the sculptor, Adolph Weinman, to honor Muhammad and it bears no resemblance to Muhammad. Muslims generally have a strong aversion to sculptured or pictured representations of their Prophet."

Why militants love Islam

Are extremists really using Islam to further their goals? The debate has gone on long enough, both in the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Radical Islam's links with Islam, though tenuous in some parts, are unmistakable in others. Because the religion is not a monolithic block, it would be more helpful to ask: Which version of Islam do extremists use?

Last month, Muhammad bin Abdul Latif provided a name. Al-Salafiyya al-Jihadiyya; which he boldly accused of sharing the same murderous instincts as the Nazis. Al-Salafiyya, or Salafism, is a label many modern-day groups aspire to. They use it to describe themselves as continuing in the footsteps of the first three generations (Al-Salaf Al-Saalih) of Muslims, who epitomized the Golden Age of Islam. Though it often goes unsaid in Western media, extremist movements like the Salafi Group for Da'wa and Fighting (Algeria), Lashkar Jihad (Indonesia) and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh frequently connect themselves with Salafism. For obvious reasons, most ordinary Salafists vehemently reject this association.

It is a mistake, however, to assume that Salafism only exists in one shade. The latter shares many characteristics with the Christian reformation, which gave birth to the Protestant movement. In its attempts to redefine orthodoxy, Protestantism descended into further and deeper schisms.

Though Salafism- in the hands of 'reformers' at least- has always obsessed over imposing uniformity on its adherents, the manner in which it arose means that uniformity can only exist within a particular stream of Salafism. Tariq Ramadan, a French academic, identifies at least three of them. All are implacable enemies of the other.

Nonetheless, Salafism's appeal to militants can be found at the most fundamental level. Salafist groups share a number of 'family resemblances', so-called building blocks that Salafist thinkers build upon to produce workable ideologies. The keystone of Salafism is its rejection of the belief that the Koran and hadith should only be approached through the mediation of juristic Schools. Traditional Islam has four such schools (madhhabs), named after great jurists who had lived from the eighth to tenth century.

Breaking from tradition
Salafism has little patience with maddhabs. Right through history, only a rare number of scholars have attempted to eschew the authority of the madhhabs. One of the most famous is the thirteenth-century scholar Ibn Taimiyya, who remains widely acclaimed by all Salafists. He was the first one, after all, to champion Salafism's central tenet, though the name had not yet been coined.

Despite its basic commonalities, Salafism's streams differ bitterly. It is not difficult to see why.

On the one hand, scholars from madhhabs tap into the same primary sources and demand from their scholars the most rigorous personal traits and academic qualifications. Traditionalist voices like that of Malaysia's Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat prefer to guide their students to the crucial issue by reporting matters of debate between Islamic scholars.

Respectful flexibility permeates the discourse of traditional Islam, which in turn motivates its adherents to more intimate study.

On the other hand, Salafism is more concerned with shaping Islam as a retort to either political or secular issues. Because those issues are themselves inconstant and temperamental, Salafism assumes an unstable character. It is unfair, however, to bluntly accuse Salafism of not sharing the same level of care as traditional Muslims in selecting its scholars, but the criteria and even the primary texts used between Salafism's many flavors are as inconsistent as they are selective.

On a wide variety of issues, Salafism produces answers that detract from traditional Islam. This is inevitable. Salafism's confidence is refreshing and speciously relevant in our fast-paced life. Furthermore, Salafist scholars often go out of their way to make Salafist ideas intelligible to the lowliest foot-soldier, but this usually entails reducing Islam to a superficial and ritualistic device.

Easy and ready answers, though, don't necessarily translate into consistent answers. Hence, the deep resentment that stands between different shades of Salafism. America's 'war on terrorism' has thrown up abundant opportunities for Salafist groups to label one another as being deviant and hence responsible for extremism. This, however, is mere politicking whose beginnings should have been anticipated by people familiar with Salafism's basic attributes.

Revolutionary zeal
Salafism's popularity depends heavily on the socio-political climate of countries. It falls flat in certain environments, and thrives in others. Unfortunately, the Middle East belongs firmly to the latter. Israel's existence has allowed Middle Eastern regimes to maintain their grip on power and wealth by redirecting popular rage toward conspiracy theories involving Jews. The continued survival of dictators in the Middle East means that wealth is kept within a tight circle of the elite. Poverty and unemployment are high, and this has allowed a revolutionary, secessionist zeal to color most opposition parties. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a classic example of a corrupt and brutal regime necessitating the birth of groups committed to its overthrow.

Because the ideology of these groups is essentially popularist and revolutionary, governments keep a watchful eye on it. However, it is no coincidence that more terrorists hail from European countries than Muslim ones. While Muslim authorities know precisely what preventive measures to take- closing down suspect madrassas, banning 'jihadist' publications, etc- Western authorities remain blissfully unaware of the distinction between ideological and true Islam. Extremists love the freedom that Western countries offers to them, for such freedoms usually entail blindness.

This blindness is criminal, as Muslim nations are beginning to understand. King Abdullah of Jordan, for example, vowed "relentless war" against those whom he dubbed takfiris. Takfir is the act of accusing a Muslim of unbelief and apostasy. It usually opens the door to execution. King Abdullah has no doubt that the recent bombings in Jordan which killed many Muslims are the work of such takfiris.

But most takfiri leaders had humble beginnings. Like Usama bin Laden, they are not scholars but reactionaries who evolved in opposition to the oppressive policies of their own governments. Such people labor under the tag of social reformer and understand the need for cloaking any socio-political message with an Islamic dress.

Consider the choices that such so-called reformers face.

On one side of the spectrum is traditional Islam, whose interpretations and judgments rest in the hands of scholars. Since traditional scholars hold extremely cautious opinions on ijtihad, or independent reasoning, they might not necessarily condone the changes that a reform movement attempts to impose. Centuries of political maneuvering by sultans through the ingenious use of fatawa (religious edicts) have also made traditional scholars cynical about colluding with any kind of power.

The uncompromising link with history and high scholarship that traditional Islam insists upon is unwieldy. More importantly, traditional Islam does not lend itself to being filtered through the lens of ideology. What emerges, after all, is ideology and not religion. Ideology represents a secession from orthodoxy. Thus, when the Taliban set out to bomb the ancient statues of Buddha in Bamiyan, they did so in direct opposition to Islamic scholars.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Salafism, which gleefully mimics Ibn Taimiyya's disdain for madhhab (and hence, traditional) scholars. The reformer's choice is therefore not a terribly difficult one to make. Much of the Salafism that is exploited by extremists naturally attains separatist and exclusivist overtones. Reform movements, after all, seldom venture beyond the perception that they represent a vanguard against excesses committed by the majority. Syed Qutb was a great exponent of such narcissism.

Civil war
Since Salafism and traditional Islam differs markedly, it is more correct to say that the takfirism is a perversion of Salafism than it is a perversion of Islam. Like traditional Islam, though, Salafism's moderates far outnumber its extremists. This imbalance is built on the inherent goodness of people and has so far prevented exponential growths in al-Salafiyya al-Jihadiyya's ranks.

The actions of modern-day extremists are not new and did not arise from a vacuum. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States correctly identifies today's violence as being "...byproducts of an Arab civil war...", but incorrectly assumes that it had only begun 40 years ago. In fact, its origins stretch back to more than a thousand years, to the time when early Muslims had had to confront the Kharajites (seceders), a sect that labeled the larger ummah (Muslim community) as apostates.

In truth, while the Kharajites had been emphatically destroyed as a sect, its ideology remains appealing to modern groups who desire to distinguish themselves as being a 'saved' remnant operating in a sick, corrupt majority. It appeals to the baser instincts of man and is overtly hostile to pluralism.

Modern-day extremists not only carve up the world into Muslim and non-Muslim halves, they also divide the Muslim world into what they perceive to be true and false believers. As far as they are concerned, the deaths of apostates is a religious duty.

Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran

Good films unveil niggling paradoxes in society. In Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran's case, it is the public's perception of Sufism and Islam. While Sufism has generally received a good rep in the West, Islam has- since 9-11- been steadily going down the drain. In the Western mind, Sufism and Islam are two entirely separate entities. It is a sign of the Muslim world's intellectual and spiritual poverty that most modern Muslims mimic this idea.

This French film opens on a troubled Jewish boy, Moise. He lives with his father in a dingy apartment that faces a seedy street. Prostitutes dolled up in garish clothes ply their trade there. Abandoned by a mother he cannot remember, Moise yearns for his father's love, but receives nothing. In its place are endless tirades on the evils of careless spending. They live day by day, barely staving off poverty. In a fit of inspiration, Moise breaks his piggy bank open one day and takes out the money. He attempts to buy love from the prostitutes, but discovers that the high of sexual intercourse is fleeting, and addictive. He returns again and again to the prostitutes. The carnal act is an impermanent thing.

Then one day, the apartment runs out of groceries, and his father sends Moise out to the nearby convenience store. Tempted by the array of foods on the shelves, Moise pockets some of them. He feels guilty, and glancing furtively at the shop's owner, thinks to himself, "I don't care, he's an Arab."

To his surprise, the owner replies with a wry, "I'm not an Arab, Momo. I'm a Muslim."

The owner, wonderfully played by Omar Sharif, is none other than Monsieur Ibrahim, a committed Sufi who always keeps a very old, very tattered Koran beside him. A stunned Moise goes on to ask: "So why does Dad say, 'Go to the Arab's'?"

"Arab means open from 8 am till midnight," Monsieur Ibrahim retorts.

The film subtly plays up some of the miracles that have traditionally been attributed to Sufis. Omar Sharif shines as the dotty old man who befriends the lonely Moise. Without trying, he slips into the shoes of a father, and not only guides Moise along the road to an understanding of his existence, but also how to deal with life's tribulations with a mere smile.

Many of the film's themes are cliched, but Omar Sharif's charisma is a joy to watch and experience. The interplay between a Jew and a Muslim is tense at first. I watched to see how the film's director would resolve the obvious differences. Midway through, I realized that there was no difference. At one point, Moise echoes my own unease when he firmly says: "I'm a Jew...", to which Monsieur Ibrahim opens his palm wide and remarks: "And this is my hand." Perhaps he wants to convey the notion that one cannot tell a person's Jewish-ness by looking at the hands.

The film contains moments that only traditional Muslims will appreciate. When Moise sets out to learn the Koran, for example, he complains: "I don't understand much." Omar Sharif snorts and replies: "When you want to learn, you don't pick up a book. You talk to someone." This is especially poignant when one considers the number of Muslims who, just by virtue of being well-read, considers himself an authority on religion. Islamic education is anything but going to the public library or surfing the Internet.

In the foreshadow of the film's climax, Monsieur Ibrahim impulsively buys a sports car and invites Moise to take a trip with him. He wants to return to Turkey, his homeland, by road. On the way to his village, they visit mosques and churches. But it is when they are permitted to witness a class of whirling dervishes that the true beauty of the film is revealed.

The film's score is silent as the camera lovingly captures each Sufi disciple twirling in ecstatic trance. The master, black robed and fingering a string of prayer beads, stands in the center, turning around slowly as he studies his white-cloaked students' moves. In rapt wonder, Monsieur Ibrahim explains:

A man's heart is like a caged bird.
When you dance, your heart sings,
and then rises to heaven.
They spin around their hearts.
God is there, in their hearts.
It's like a prayer.
They lose all their bearings,
that burden we call balance.
They become like torches.
They burn in a blazing fire.

Then, as if waking up from his own trance, proclaims: "My head's clear. All my hatred. Let's have some tea."

I won't reveal what happens in the end. That would be spoiling it for you if you choose to watch it. It's an unconventional film with an unconventional theme, especially as it was made in the wake of 9-11, when anti-Muslim feeling is at an all-time high. I highly recommend it; for Omar Sharif's brilliant performance if for nothing else.