veiled4allah: civil jihad - another form of non-violent struggle

In the midst of a sometimes skeptical¹ article about non-violence movements in the Middle East, Brian Whitaker profiles some Syrians who are engaged in what they call "civil jihad" (as Whitaker says, this is a very good term; the Arabic word "jihad" means "struggle" and can include non-violent action as well as armed struggle).

Whatever people call it, though, it's still liable to freak out the authorities. In the Syrian town of Darya, a small group of citizens got together, influenced by Jawdat Said's ideas of Islamic non-violence. They set up a free library and showed a number of videos (all of them licensed by the authorities) - including one on the life of Gandhi. They also discouraged bribery and smoking, and did some voluntary work to clean up the town. In Syria, as in much of the Arab world, it is easy to see how a bit of unpaid street-cleaning might be interpreted as a subversive message to the government, and quite possibly that is what the people who did it intended.

It's reminiscent of a tale from Morocco about a university graduate who, unable to find a real job, set himself up as a street shoe-shiner. He was duly arrested for political agitation because he kept his degree certificate on show, along with his polish and brushes.

In Darya, the final straw came in May last year when the non-violent activists held a silent march protesting against the invasion of Iraq. A few days later, 22 men were ordered to report to Military Security. Eleven were kept in detention until January this year, and seven more until April.

The remaining four were tried in secret by a Field Military Court and convicted for the bizarre offence of "attempting to establish a religious organisation, involvement in unlicensed social activities and attending unlicensed religious and intellectual classes".

Muhammed Shehada, 26, who has a degree in English and was doing military service, and Mu'atez Murad, 28, a mechanical engineer, were sent to jail for three years. Haythem al-Hamwi, 28, a medical doctor, and Yahya Sharabajee, 26, an accountant, were jailed for four.

The procedures for Field Military Courts, Amnesty International says, fall far short of international standards for fair trials: there is no legal representation and little opportunity for the accused to defend themselves. Decisions are binding, with no right of appeal...

..."They have spent prolonged periods incommunicado," says an Amnesty spokesperson. "Three of the men have been allowed only one visit during 15 months' detention, while one has received no visits at all.

The men are reported to be infested with lice and are allowed to take a cold shower only once or twice a month.

"They have been subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment, including threats and insults; having their fingers crushed; beatings to their face and legs; having cold water thrown over them or their blankets; being forced to stand for long periods during the night; hearing loud screams and beatings of other detainees; sleep deprivation; being stripped naked in front of others; and being prevented from praying, and from growing a beard.

"They have been held in harsh conditions, including being crammed with about 30 others into communal cells of 5m by 5m, or spending prolonged periods in solitary confinement."

Haythem al-Hamwi is said to have been held incommunicado, in solitary confinement, for over six months - allegedly because when the military judge asked him if he would ask for mercy, he replied: "No, I ask for justice."

As Whitaker comments at the end, civil jihad ain't exactly for the faint of heart. When I've posted about Islamic non-violence movements in the past, I've invariably received responses from certain Muslims who think that I'm calling for "surrender" or passivity. Are the Syrian men profiled here passive? Have they surrendered to the force that they oppose? I don't think so! Non-violence is not inaction, it is non-violent action.

¹ Although he does make some rather sweeping claims about the nature of Arab culture, he also points out, "There are certainly some violent passages in the Koran - though before basing a case on that it's worth also considering the vast amount of supposedly righteous smiting and slaying that takes place in the Old Testament." Yeah, I'd like to see the Christians and Jews who bash Islam explain away some of what's in the Bible. Don't be blinded by your own double standards