Alternative interpretations: Searching for a King

Searching for a King — Muslim Non-Violence & the Future of Islam, Jeffry R. Halverson, Potomac Books; Rs.1,622; 172 pp Whether one likes it or not, and irrespective of the origins and causes, it is a fact that Islam is increasingly being associated with violence worldwide. In this timely book – Searching for a King, Jeffry Halverson, an Islamic Studies scholar and historian of religions, currently teaching at Arizona State University, USA, persuasively argues for a different narrative of Islam, based on a commitment to non-violence. Recent icons of non-violent activism, such as Martin Luther King Jr. (which explains the word ‘King’ in the book’s title) and Mahatma Gandhi, have parallels within the global Muslim community, says Halverson even though they are not as widely known as they should be. Halverson deplores the widespread belief that Islam is intimately connected with violence as a means of resolving grievances. Although this is not a Muslim-specific phenomenon, he admits that a culture of violence is widely prevalent in most Islamic countries and communities to redress socio-political grievances and catalyse socio-economic reforms. But according to him the belief that Islam propounds violence is a “simplistic farce”. “It is a form of false consciousness. The perpetrators of violence are actually enacting the source of their own discontent as an erroneous means to alleviate it.” Halverson refers to the terrible destruction that Muslim societies themselves have experienced as a result of war and atrocities in the name of Islam. For the negative global image of Islam, the author squarely blames the clergy. All religions, he explains, are interpreted by clerics according to their own subjective and contextual needs and interests. There is no uniform interpretation of a religious text, and all interpretations are divergent. Consequently, there always will be contending explanations supporting rival conclusions. This means that just as some might interpret a religious text to advocate violence, others might interpret the same text to propagate the contrary. “Violence is found in the sacred texts of nearly all religions; it simply depends on where one looks,” he says. To amplify his interpretation hypothesis, Halverson cites the diverse ways in which the word ‘jihad’ is differently read by extremists and advocates of Islamic non-violence. While it is popularly interpreted as punitive violence and/or armed conflict against infidels and unbelievers, others define it as an internal struggle to develop the virtues of charity, equality and compassion to counter the radical discourse of jihad, says the author of this thought-provoking polemic. The unique proposition of this book, Searching for a King, is that it demonstrates that the narrative of non-violence is available to Muslims within their own religious traditions and heritage. Halverson presents his case for the compatibility of Islam and non-violence by citing the teachings of five modern Muslim champions of peace from different parts of the world. All of them believe, or believed that passive non-violence is “fully compatible with the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad,” writes Halverson. One of the most remarkable…