A perverted sense of honor threatens world peace

He points to bin Laden's extensive use of the concept of honor, the depiction of suicide bombing as an honorable act despite the Koran's complete prohibition, and rape being employed to dishonor other groups (by Christian Serbs and Indian Hindus, for example, as well as Muslims in Pakistan.) This is neither Islam nor tribal custom, he says, but moral collapse.

The widespread use in various cultures of a perverted sense of honor suggests we are living in a post-honor world, he argues. In a startling example in the US, Paul Hill, the former Christian minister executed last week for killing an abortion doctor, said in his final interview, "I feel very honored that they are most likely going to kill me for what I did." His followers call him a martyr.

Muslims have long felt humiliated by the failure of the world to take seriously the UN resolutions relating to Palestinians and Kashmiris, and since 9/11, many feel unwelcome in the world community. With Muslim societies in turmoil, the West can help restore a sense of dignity, Ahmed argues, by genuinely listening to Muslims and seeking to understand Islam, rather than clinging to stereotypes and prejudices.

This is the century of Islam, Ahmed says, and the real battle will be between exclusivists and inclusivists - between those who promote a faith-based group loyalty versus those who promote understanding and dialogue. "The world needs to focus on resolving these problems and not on responding to them with increasing force; it has been established in human history that violence simply creates more violence."

Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a specialist in conflict resolution who also teaches at American University, addresses that issue in Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam. Primarily a work for practitioners in the field of peace-building, the book is illuminating for its discussions of Islamic principles of nonviolence and traditional Arab-Muslim methods of conflict resolution, which include forgiveness and reconciliation.

At this time of despair in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, his in-depth exploration of the extensive, organized nonviolent actions during the first Palestinian intifadah is revelatory.

While identifying historical examples of Muslim nonviolent movements, Abu-Nimer underlines the strong obstacles to peace-building in Arab-Muslim societies today, including officials who discourage criticism of political and social institutions and states that co-opt religious leadership, which has spurred the emergence of radical Islamic leaders.

Both these books make clear the primacy of justice as an Islamic ideal, promoted consistently in the Koran. "The Islamic tradition calls for resistance to injustice through activism," says Abu-Nimer. "Peace is the product of order and justice." Taking seriously a burning sense of injustice explored in these works may be an essential element in restoring a righteous sense of honor in today's dangerous world.

• Jane Lampman writes about religion and ethics for the Monitor.

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