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Machiavelli and Muslim reform

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, Q & A on Jul 01, 2008

In the last post, I asked you to advise a struggling young Muslim reformer. She’s being threatened by local Islamists as well as by her own family. Whenever she confronts her father, she winds up self-censoring.

Her question: “How do I use my freedom of speech in a manner that will make people understand, especially when they are conservative?”

Of all the advice you’ve sent, two pieces stand out. One comes from a Muslim and the other from a non-Muslim. Both recommend that this young woman be strategic rather than straightforward. Subtle rather than direct. Machiavelli rather than Martin Luther.

Here’s the first advisor:

“Your freedom of speech can only be achieved in certain ways, such as patience… Your father, like any other Muslim father, is stubborn. Nothing wrong with that. However, he should hear you out.

Makes me remember a line in your email, ‘But no matter how conservative they are, I love my family and I want them to love me for what I believe in. I often find myself giving up when I face my father.’ I respect you for this so very much, for I believe that your giving spirit starts from within and you already have it.

Be patient and try explaining it to your dad, portion by portion. When you feel it’s intense, back off. I firmly believe that if you try once, twice and even thrice, you will not fail. Don’t lose sight of your goal.” - Huda

Machiavelli emphasized focus and prudence as much Huda does. Our next advisor echoes this line, and throws in a couple of shrewd tactics:

“I have dealt with Latin American cultures that resemble a few of the values of the Islamic world. Mexico has a concept called ‘Indirecto.’ That means it is usually more effective to communicate an idea in an indirect or roundabout way, especially if it has ramifications that are uncomfortable or offensive. One tactic is to discuss an idea in terms of a third party.

Another tactic is to gently make statements that on the surface seem quite innocent (and in line with the Quran), but in fact have deep implications in the long term, as they percolate and filter through society. An example would be to quote a saying that is popular throughout the Muslim world: “God is beautiful and He loves beauty!” Of itself, this sounds warm and friendly. But, as it is repeated, it slowly focuses their attention on a God who is far different from the one of violent jihad.

To the same end, I would revive concepts such as the ecstatic pleasure of communion with God found in Sufism and the poetry of Rumi, while shying away from overt mention of the Sufi tradition, which is unpopular among some elements of the Islamic world.

Eventually, thoughts like this will prepare the road for ijtihad. It will take some time, but it will certainly come if you are patient and don’t move too rapidly. This will be a protracted campaign of causing people to see the Universe in a new and different but unobtrusive way. There will never be any arguments or bad words, just a change of tone. A change of tone and daily language that is utterly revolutionary without anyone realizing it.” - Steve

When I first reflected on the advice of Steve and Huda, I confess to being intrigued. They show an appreciation of cunning and craft that scares the bejeezus out of most idealists. These methods make us feel dirty. They’re, well, sooo Machiavellian.

In his infamous guide to power, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli writes that “those who have been able to imitate the fox have succeeded the best. But it is necessary to disguise this character well, and to be a great feigner and dissembler, and men are so simple that one who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.”

Admittedly, such words make me shudder. I’m all for foxiness. But I hate hypocrisy.

Alright, then, what if that hypocrisy is effective in pursuing a greater good — like advancing Muslim reform and moral courage?

At this point, Machiavelli would tell a young Muslim reformer to read his book more closely. Although he underscores “caution” and “prudence,” Machiavelli also advises not to get comfortable with that approach: “if it happens that time and circumstances are favorable to one who acts with caution and prudence, he will be successful. But if time and circumstances change, he will be ruined because he does not change his mode of procedure.”

Welcome to the trap for reform-minded Muslims. Most of us have been so timid in an effort to avoid offending that we don’t know how to change our “mode of procedure” when a crisis is at hand.

To get back to the young woman who needs your advice, don’t you think that being threatened by local Islamists – with no support from her own family – qualifies as a crisis?

Does she truly have time on her side, as Steve and Huda suggest?

Should she really remain “patient”?

I say no. In all honesty, I don’t know what Machiavelli would have said. But another brilliant strategist, Martin Luther King Jr., said this to eight of his fellow clergymen when they counseled him to back off, go slow and lower the tension with whites:

“Actually, we who engage in non-violent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out into the open where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up but must be open with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must like be exposed, with all the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience…”

King ended his statement by asking the clergy to forgive him for any “unreasonable impatience.” He then asked God to forgive him for exhibiting patience with anything less than full justice.

Now you know why, when advising young Muslim reformers, I prefer a particular King to The Prince.