Justice and Injustice
American convert to Islam, Siraadj Munir, reflects on terrorism, globalization and poverty through the lens of the Risale-I Nur (The Treatise of Light), a Quranic commentary written in Turkish by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) and a work which has been the inspiration of a movement for the strengthening and renewal of Islam in Turkey and elsewhere from the time it was written to the present day.

Justice is an elusive concept to define. Simply states, justice is proper redress for an offense. But who determines what is "proper" or sufficient retribution? Adding to the difficulty is that legality, morality, and justice do not always coincide. In the wake of recent events, trying to determine what is justice and who may dispense it is not always clear. The adequacy of the definition of "justice" depends totally upon who is giving and who is receiving. Four "Virtues" are emphasized throughout the Risale-I Nur for the improvement of the individual and ultimately, humankind: Impotence, Poverty, Compassion, and Reflection. Impotence means the realization that Man is not the measure of all things, and that he is subject to God. Poverty means the voluntary abstention from the acquisition of worldly goods. Compassion is to put into the action the realization that all human life is related. Reflection is to use the rational capacity that God has placed in every individual to understand the interrelatedness of these concepts . The Four Virtues are like the four legs of a table - they must be of equal size, or else the table lacks stability. An individual in whom one of the Virtues is in unequal measure to the other three can be said to be "imbalanced." In the Material World (Dunya), poverty is often seen as both a cause and effect of injustice.

But how does one define Poverty? ." There are many kinds of "poverty." There is the "poverty" expressed by Muhammad (SAW), that his poverty was his pride. This refers to a lack of attachment to material objects or goods, an attachment to this World, the Dunya. It is ultimately an abstention that is voluntary. This is precisely the kind of poverty referred to in the Four Virtues.

Opposing voluntary poverty is involuntary poverty, which the individual (or segment of society) has no control over his economic status. But within this involuntary poverty, there is an important distinction to be made. It is the Spiritual. One can be economically poor (that is, lacking material wealth), yet spiritually rich. Generations of Mankind have lived at barest of subsistence levels, and they lived out their lives with nobility. Or one can lack spiritual values, or debased values, which creates a "poverty of spirit."

What the Western World does not realize is that the current problem with Global Terrorism cannot be simplistically reduced to the Palestinian Question alone. Granted, Palestinians have used terror against Israeli society, but with, it must be admitted, little success, for intransigence on the part of Israelis has only increased. Rather this phenomenon of Global Terrorism must be seem too as a reaction to the new "globalization" and "global economy," which is seem as dominated by the United States. It may or may not be the case that the United States is the dominant power, for many of the multi-national corporations seeking the spread of the global economy are not actually American. But because a hallmark of President Clinton's administration was the promotion of global business interests, the United States has become the lightening rod for the wrath of those opposing economic Globalization.

Moreover, it is difficult to relate this to the average American (or America's leaders). There is an inability to understand that not all people wish to become like America. Not everyone wants the values promoted by multi-national business and media that other parts of the world consider shallow and materialist. There in an inability to understand that for many people, especially in the Muslim world, the new Globalism represents a form of neo-colonialism, if not an extension of 19th and earth 20th century Colonialism.

Granted, much of the Muslim world is under the control of governments created in the wake of Colonialism and that in many places there has an insidious erosion of traditional Islamic values. But is the solution to substitute these governments with ones that are reactionary and fundamentalist calling themselves "Islamic?" Worse, some reactionary elements are anti-West to the extent of rejecting and banning those scientific advances developed in the West that will ultimately help their own people.

Further exacerbating the problem is that the Globalizers, do not understand that the traditional Muslim value of "fighting in the path of God," was intended to be a defensive action, and that "Radical Islam" sees itself in a defensive war against the inroads of Colonialism or Globalization. Many ordinary Muslims do see the terrorists as defending Islam and its honor, and not, as perverting Islam's essential message.

Globalization will keep them materially poor, as well as further threatens their spiritual values as well. Such an attitude leads to a poverty of spirit. This is a poverty of imagination, a poverty that feeds on ignorance and fear. Worse, this poverty of spirit gains strength when Muslims of economic means encourage terrorism with financial support, failing to see that their path is as unjust as the Globalizers', and perhaps more unjust because it perverts the message of Islam. By bringing terrorism to America's shores, their actions can hardly be defined as defensive. Rather, it gives the misimpression to the West that Islam is bloodthirsty, brutal, and vicious.

Moreover, the defenders of Radical Islam fail to see that the death of innocent civilians is ultimately a blasphemy as well as a profanation of God's Most Beautiful Names. Did the civilians deserved to die because they worked at these places that symbolize America's economic and military might? If so, did the more than 1,000 Muslims, many Pakistanis and Turks, who perished at the World Trade Center deserve to die?

In order to address the grievances, real and imagined, of these Muslims and to address what they sincerely believe is an "injustice," one must understand and address the "poverty." How Islam rises to meet this challenge will very much affect the future of the spread of Islam's message of peace and brotherhood to the West. Granted, the attitudes exhibited by the governments and citizens of the West express such hostility that the challenge appears daunting. But Islam must clean its own house before it knocks on the doors of its neighbors. Knowledge of the Four Virtues of Impotence, Poverty, Compassion, and Reflection must also be spread. And while that is being done, everything must be done to enlist persons of good will in the West who will attempt to make clear how the economic paradigm that has evolved during the 1990s needs to be modified for the 21st Century, how the heritage of Colonialism is still very much with us, and its injustices redressed. Otherwise, the instability will not only continue, but will spread, and it will result in misery, poverty and injustices for all.

Read other articles on Islam by Siraadj Munir here.

Notes
The (The Treatise of Light) is a Qur’anic commentary written in Turkish by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960) and is the inspiration of a movement for the strengthening and renewal of Islam in Turkey and elsewhere from the time it was written to the present day. Three volumes of the Risale-I Nur  (Words, Letters, and Flashes) are available in English.

In the Risale-I Nur, Reflection more often refers to contemplation on the meaning of the text of the Holy Qur’an. This writer admits taking liberties with this word for the purposes of this essay.