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When I was an Islamist
21.12.2006
By Ali Kurdistani, Sulaimaniyah |
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A
former member of a Kurdish Islamist party reflects
on his ‘defection’.
December 21, 2006
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region (Iraq) , --
From the 1960s til the end of the 1980s, the
communists enjoyed a great deal of influence across
Iraq. The youth were entranced by Marxism and did
not care much for the Islamic path. Especially in
the Kurdish areas, the Islamists were unable to do
much recruiting and their activities remained
limited there, until the fall of the Soviet Union.
During the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein re-ignited
religious fervor across the country. And by the
early 1990s, the goal of the Islamic Movement Party
was the eventualan before establishment of an
Islamic government in the Kurdistan Region. In 1993,
they fought against the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK), describing this as a war between good and
evil.
Their main source of backing came from Iran. From
1992 -2000, the Islamist groups and organizations in
Kurdistan had a huge impact on Kurdish society,
gaining a large following among the youth. There
were many reasons for this, but chiefly, the
internal war between the PUK and Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP). The civil war disappointed
the Kurdish populace, who found an alternative
leadership in the Islamists.
The dire economic situation in the Kurdistan Region,
due to the sanctions, was another factor, which
fuelled the strength of the Islamist parties. The
under-developed education system was another
important factor, which allowed for the Islamist
parties to gain a greater foothold. In 1996, I
became a member of the Islamic Union Party in the
Mosque. The move was not so drastic, as I hailed
from a religious family, and I had always been
serious about religion since childhood. The Islamic
Union Party were able to convince me that becoming a
member was a religious duty. Five years later, in
2001, I felt different and left the party.
The Islamic organizations in Kurdistan used many
ways to recruit people. They approached students and
distributed books and leaflets. They also employed
their homes as bases to organize meetings and
Islamic lessons. Their power began to diminish in
2000. First of all, it ought to be made clear that
their rise to power had nothing to do with their
political agenda; it was simply a consequence of the
failure of the other secular and nationalist parties
to provide better services to the people. After the
peace accord between the PUK and KDP in 1998 in
Washington DC, both parties woke up to the reality
of the rise of Islamists in their midst.
In the late 1990s, in Kurdistan, satellite TV and
the Internet opened the doors to a whole new world.
For the first time, young Kurds were exposed to
Western culture. Moreover, through contact with
those youngsters who had fled to Europe illegally
and tasted new experiences there, Kurds here
realized there is another way of life than the
Islamic agenda.
Similarly, new ideas were borne among young
Islamists especially after reading books on Islamic
thought, written by modern thinkers such as Mohammed
Arkon, Nasir Hamid Abu Zaid, Muhammad Shahrur, etc.
These books influenced young Islamists and basically
changed their views about political Islam, and
eventually led them to abandon the Islamic
organizations and parties.
As for myself, I abandonned political Islam after
reading about Western culture and philosophy. I
realized there is a modern world in the West, where
people are enjoying life. So, why should I have to
wait til the next world to enjoy mine?
soma-digest com
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