Blair and the Islamic spectrum

A JOURNEY
By Tony Blair
Hutchinson. 718 pages. £25.00
ISBN 978-0-09-192555-0

The publishing event of September was the launch of the memoirs of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

The book, titled A Journey, is mainly Mr. Blair’s first-hand account of his years in office. Of course, for many of us the defining events of his time as Prime Minister were the terror attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent Iraq War. These featured prominently in the BBC2 interview which he gave to Andrew Marr, broadcast on the day of the book’s publication.

The former Prime Minister’s understanding of the ongoing situation since 9/11 makes serious reading.

September 11

‘It was, in a very real sense, a declaration of war… Up until then, the activities of this type of extremism had been growing… Until September 11, the splashes of colour on different parts of the canvas did not appear to the eye as a single picture. After it, the clarity was plain, vivid and defining… We knew that so far as we were concerned we had not provoked such an outrage… We were at war. We could not ignore it. But how should we deal with it?’

Mr. Blair first heard of the attacks as he was about to address the TUC in Brighton. He had to pull out of delivering his speech to return to London. But he says that within 40 minutes of the news of the first attack he had a great clarity concerning the situation and this still continues with him. ‘Immediately I saw that, though it was a war, because of its nature it would have to be described and fought differently. It was, in a profound sense, a battle that was ideological, the mores and modus vivendi of religious fanaticism versus those of an enlightened, secular system of government that in the West, at least, incorporated belief in liberty, equality and democracy. It was also a battle about modernisation, a clash not so much between civilizations, but rather one about the force and consequence of globalisation.’

In his book he then goes on to give a brief history of Christianity and the history of the rise of Islam. But then he goes on: ‘It was precisely here that I made a mistake… As at September 11 2001, I accepted what most accepted: this act was perpetrated by a small group of fanatics wholly unrepresentative of Islam who could and should be crushed… What I know now does not make me any less committed to the fight we began on the day of the event itself. On the contrary, it is even more clear to me that the battle has to be fought with every means at our disposal and fought until it is won.’

Nature of the battle

What is it that Mr. Blair understands now that he did not understand then? He explains how he has come to understand the spectrum of Muslim people. At the far end of the spectrum are the extremists who advocate terror in pursuit of Islamic dominance. ‘It is true they are few in number, but their sympathisers reach far further along the spectrum than we think. While many do not agree with terrorism, they “understand” why it is happening.’

There are others who condemn terrorism but then dangerously align themselves with bits of the terrorists’ worldview. They label the US as anti-Islam. ‘They see the invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq as invasions of Muslim nations because they were Muslim nations.’

We then move further across the spectrum. ‘Then you have, of course, a large number, probably the majority, who condemn the terrorists and their worldview. But — and here is the second point — even this group have not yet confidently found their way to articulating a thoroughly reformed and modernising view of Islam. In other words, it is true they find the terrorism repugnant and they wish to be in alliance with the Western nations against it, but this does not yet translate into an alternative narrative for Islam that makes sense of its history and provides a coherent vision of its future….’

The former Prime Minister concludes as follows: ‘All this means that the battle is not, I’m afraid, one between a small, unrepresentative group of extremists and the rest of us. Or at least, it is not only that. It is also a fundamental struggle for the mind, heart and soul of Islam. In that struggle we are necessary participants, both because we came under attack and also because those who must lead Islam to change need our support… Such struggles don’t last an electoral cycle; they last a generation.’

In the interview with Andrew Marr, the ex-Prime Minister went on to speak in this context of the need of the West to do anything necessary to stop Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. Does the West have the resolve to defend its freedoms? It is a sobering thought to realise that we shall find out in the next few years.