by Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana

Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi is dead.

Daesh (ISIS)[1] has lost control of its caliphate in Syria.

But the brutal network is very much alive and is likely looking for revenge. It behooves us to learn the Million-Dollar Lesson. 

Daesh is building cells in many different parts of the world. Back in April, they claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, carried out by its cell there, the National Tawheed Jamaat. The Muslim community had warned the government about this threat, but until the bombs went off, no one took the warnings seriously. This is the Million-Dollar Lesson.

This may be disconcerting, but it is entirely possible that such cells exist in cities and villages in many parts of the world – including in my own neighborhood in the suburbs of Chicago. None of us can assume that what happens in Sri Lanka and in Nigeria does not concern us. We are all caught up in an inescapable global network. What happens somewhere over there can very well happen in our own community as well.

Baghdadi’s aim was not only to build a territorial caliphate, but also a global network of cells. His communications strategy, which included broadcasting video-taped brutal killings, and his vast social media network, allowed him to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. He already had affiliations with Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al Shabab in Somalia and Kenya, but he clearly wanted a larger network of African and South Asian cells to spread his message of hate.

In a June 2019 article, Colin P. Clarke, an Associate Fellow at the International Center for Counter Terrorism in The Hague, wrote of Daesh’s spread:

“Over the course of recent weeks, the Islamic State (IS) announced that it had established a new province in India, the wilayah of Hind, after attacks on security forces in the Kashmir region. IS has also been responsible for an uptick of attacks in Pakistan under the auspices of the wilayah of Pakistan. The attacks in Pakistan, both of which took place in Quetta, were directed against the Pakistani police and another against the Taliban. Until recently, most of the Islamic State’s activity in South Asia has been claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province, its affiliate in Afghanistan.”[2]

OMNIA’s mission is to counter that spread of hate and violence. We do it by launching Interfaith Peacemaker Teams (IPTs). Leaders of different religions and people of faith come together and act powerfully and effectively to address the real questions and struggles that arise from real people on the ground. Rather than spread hate, they spread solidarity; rather than act in violence, they act in harmony. The IPTs know to build power. They know to organize people and to organize money. They get things done.

In Nigeria, Each Village a Peace Village

 “We are now beginning to see results in Nigeria. Seventy one teams are active and fully functional,” says Abare Kallah, our National Coordinator in Nigeria. He is convinced that in the next decade, as the IPTs spread throughout Gombe State, powerful and effective actions of Muslims and Christians together through IPTs will be a part of Nigeria’s social infrastructure and its new normal. “When that happens”, he says, “there will not be space left for Boko Haram to recruit.”

This past week, 50 religious and community leaders came together for the Basic Training. That number included some 20 bright young students from the College of Nursing who plan to launch an IPT in their college. This is the first time a Nigerian educational institution participated in our training. We also held an Advanced Training for 40 leaders specifically chosen for their competence in IPT work, and a Training of Trainers for 40 of OMNIA’s top leaders. These newly trained trainers will conduct Basic Training in their villages, making it possible to create even more IPTs in their communities. Participation in a Team requires Muslims and Christians to build power together, and to work together to address the real questions that arise from real people in their communities.

As in Sri Lanka, participants in Gombe agreed to work towards launching an IPT in every village. They too embraced the slogan, “Each Village a Peace Village.”

In the United States, ACT Now to End Racism

In the United States, OMNIA’s approach to the question of religious extremism is different. Let me explain it this way:

On October 14th -- the day we used to commemorate Columbus -- I was with Dr. Agnes Aboum of Kenya, the moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches. It was the Christian Unity Gathering of the National Council of Churches, USA, meeting under the theme, “ACT NOW to End Racism.” The NCC gave Dr. Aboum its leadership award. In her speech, she mentioned OMNIA. “We speak about religious extremism in the context of many religions,” she said. “We know what Islamic extremism, or even Buddhist extremism looks like. OMNIA Institute has determined that the religious supremacy in the United States is White supremacy, and has understood that as arising from the idea of Christian supremacy,” she said.

 I was also with Archbishop Mark McDonald of the Anglican Church of Canada that day. One of the presidents of the World Council of Churches, the Archbishop is a Native American. He talked about the Doctrine of Discovery.

A Papal Bull (decree), the Doctrine of Discovery was first promulgated in 1452 which granted church approval for Columbus and other explorers and conquistadors to ravage, pillage and murder native populations across the world, in the name of propagating Christianity. It initiated the Colonial period that lasted over 500 years resulting in the genocide of Native American populations, instituting slavery of African people and colonizing large swaths of Africa and Asia. Today, many churches have repudiated that doctrine, said the Archbishop, but they have not acted to dismantle its effects.

Dr. Yvonne Delk, one of OMNIA’s founding mothers, powerful and eloquent as always, spoke about the history of, and lessons learned from the World Council of Churches’ Program to Combat Racism. She moderated that body from 1984 to ‘94, which was one of the most powerful forces for dismantling Apartheid in South Africa. The churches did that, she said, and if we have the will, we can do it again.

Some 300 church leaders representing 38 Christian denominations in the United States gathered at a historical marker representing the first arrival of Africans in the United States 400 years ago. It was in August 1619 that ships carrying 20 African slaves landed in Hampton, Virginia. Over the next two plus centuries 12.5 million Africans were brought as slaves. In a powerful worship service of remembrance and lament, White, Black, Native American, Latino and Latina, and Asian church leaders remembered these ancestors.

Why You Should Be Involved

Let me be clear: it is entirely possible that there is a Daesh cell in your city. In the short term in the United States, revenge attacks are a distinct possibility. Military action can kill a Baghdadi, but it is very hard to identify and take out community-based cells. At that point, governments have very little leverage. This is where religious communities come in. Churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples of all religions, as institutions rooted and grounded in local communities, are the best resource for identifying and addressing extremism. They can and must be mobilized to work together. Interfaith Peacemaker Teams have proven to be a highly effective instrument to do so.

In the United States, however, the threat is not only external, but internal. This is why we want to address White supremacy, which, we think is derived from Christian supremacy. This (heretical) notion has been standard in Christian theology for ages. Its thoughtful explication, and persuasive action will, we expect, impact the preaching and teaching of our churches, seminaries and other institutions. A task force made of theologians and Christian leaders is currently working on it.

These are OMNIA’s answers to the million-dollar question.

I invite you to write or call to let us know about your interest in engaging with Interfaith Peacemaker Teams. I can be reached at shanta@omnialeadership.org.

[1] I call the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), sometimes also called Islamic State (IS), by its Arabic name Daesh to avoid confusion with the religion of Islam. Daesh, I believe, is a group of violent extremists who use Islam to gain legitimacy for their evil deeds and bear no resemblance to the religion of Islam.

[2] Colin P. Clarke, “What Does the Islamic State’s Organisational Restructuring Tell Us?” International Center for Counter Terrorism, June 2019. https://icct.nl/publication/what-does-the-islamic-states-organisational-restructuring-tell-us/