Calling for Muslims across the world to mobilize their communities, co-founder of the Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding and Professor of Islamic Studies Dr. John Esposito spoke to the Georgetown community on the future of Islam and religious extremism Tuesday.
The speech centered around his recently released book, The Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. Esposito said that he was first asked to write a book “explaining how bin Ladens and other extremists come about,” but that there was much more to be said.
Osama bin Laden went “from hero to terrorist,” in his leadership role in the Soviet-Afghan War and later the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Esposito said. This evolution from hero to terrorist is the essence of the evolution “from Holy War to Unholy War,” he said.
The concept of “jihad” is central to Islamic movements in the 20th century, according to Esposito.
“All Muslim defensive as well as offense acts are framed in the name of jihad,” Esposito explained.
Islamic law and the Koran permit militaristic defense of Muslims but not offensive measures, as in terrorism, said Esposito.
He criticized the Bush Administration’s unilateral response to terrorism, referring to Bush’s ultimatum when he said, “you’re either with us or against us” in a speech earlier this year.
A proportional approach has not been the United States’ reaction to terrorism, Esposito said.
“Europeans, Arabs and Muslims all think it is unilateral,” Esposito said.
Muslim communities should mobilize and make change from the bottom up, Esposito suggested. By challenging their governments, the silent majority of Muslims can make the change, he said.
In Esposito’s opinion, the future of Islam should not be a clash of civilizations but a coexistence with the rest of the world.
According to Esposito, pluralism and respecting others’ differences is the key to peace. Violations of civil liberties in the United States could be more harmful in the long run than the possibility of Islamic extremism, he said.
