Library Articles of Interest

Rotary and Islam - what's the issue?

Egyptian Rotary Small Village Development Project in al-Fayum Governate

In December 2012, there were a series of attacks against polio vaccination teams in northwest Pakistan, an area noted for Taliban activity against the central government in Islamabad, and against the American troop presence in neighboring Afghanistan. As you all know, polio eradication remains Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation's top priority.

Polio is still endemic in only three countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Rotary has had trouble operating in some Muslim areas. In all three cases, the underlying issue with the vaccination efforts are tied to radical Islamists. Several years ago the polio eradication campaign led by Rotary ran into resistance in Muslim regions of Nigeria - there were rumors spread by the Islamists that the vaccine would sterilize children. 

In Pakistan, the Taliban has made public "declarations of war" against the polio eradication campaign. Allegedly, it is to protest the continued attacks on members of their organization by American drone-launched missiles. That may be true, but they also object to the involvement of Rotary International in the effort.

Islam

Islam is the world's second largest religion, behind Christianity, but is growing much faster. There are 1.8 billion Muslims, or about 26 percent of the people on the planet.

What is Islam's problem with Rotary?

Islam's distrust and dislike of Rotary is not new - Islamist literature cites the dissolution of the Caliphate by the Turkish government in 1924 as a key date when "colonialism and its followers, the apostate rulers, then started to openly erect crusader centers, societies, and organizations like Masonic Lodges, Lions and Rotary Clubs." In the 1970s, Egypt's highest religious official issued a fatwa (religious edict) forbidding Muslims to join Rotary clubs.

Probably the most illustrative document on radical Islam and its views on Rotary is the Hamas Covenant of 1988. Hamas is an Arabic word that means "zeal," but is more accurately an acronym of the Arabic words حركة المقاومة الاسلامية (harakat al-muqawamah al-islamiyah), the Islamic Resistance Movement. Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization that governs the Gaza Strip in accordance with a code heavily influenced by by strict Sharia' (Quranic) law.

From the Hamas Covenant of 1988, Article 17, which deals with Muslim women:

" The enemies have realized the importance of her role. They consider that if they are able to direct and bring her up they way they wish, far from Islam, they would have won the battle. That is why you find them giving these attempts constant attention through information campaigns, films, and the school curriculum, using for that purpose their lackeys who are infiltrated through Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others, which are all nothing more than cells of subversion and saboteurs. These organizations have ample resources that enable them to play their role in societies for the purpose of achieving the Zionist targets and to deepen the concepts that would serve the enemy. These organizations operate in the absence of Islam and its estrangement among its people. The Islamic peoples should perform their role in confronting the conspiracies of these saboteurs. The day Islam is in control of guiding the affairs of life, these organizations, hostile to humanity and Islam, will be obliterated."

From the Hamas Covenant of 1988, Article 22, which deals with the Zionist "enemy" (Israel):

"... For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. ... They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there. With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests."

From the Hamas Covenant of 1988, Article 28, which deals with Arab and Muslim states:

"The Zionist invasion is a vicious invasion. It does not refrain from resorting to all methods, using all evil and contemptible ways to achieve its end. It relies greatly in its infiltration and espionage operations on the secret organizations it gave rise to, such as the Freemasons, The Rotary and Lions clubs, and other sabotage groups. All these organizations, whether secret or open, work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions. They aim at undermining societies, destroying values, corrupting consciences, deteriorating character and annihilating Islam. It is behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds so as to facilitate its control and expansion."

Fortunately for Rotary, and of course, the communities that benefit for Rotary service projects, many Muslims have chosen to ignore the al-Azhar fatwa and the Hamas Covenant. Rotary is present in many Muslim countries: Indonesia (the world's most populous Muslim nation Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, the new nation of South Sudan, but probably most telling, the Rotary Club of Ramallah.

Ramallah is the de facto headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, located in the West Bank. That club's very existence is repudiation of the Hamas Covenant's positions on Rotary clubs.

Still, there is virtually no Rotary presence in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Syria or Iraq. In Indonesia, clubs are under attack, where Islamists have called Rotary clubs (we are not alone - they also want to ban Lions clubs) a 'threat' to Islam, calling them a part of the a Zionist conspiracy. The Islamists have gone so far as to offer the Rotarians an ultimatum - quit Rotary or be branded as infidels.

Perhaps it would be useful to read some excerpts from a website that is viewed as fairly typical of Islamic views. Remember that Rotary is often viewed as allied with Freemasonry - whether true or not is immaterial; it is the perception that counts.

"Rotarians aim at the elimination of distinctive cultural and religious features in order to create one environment governed by Rotarian ideas and principles which derive their concepts from international Freemasonry and takes the Centennial Bell as its logo. These clubs constitute a serious threat to Islam and Muslims as they pretend they lead humanitarian work while they are in fact destroying the Islamic spirit and are working within the framework of international Jewish schemes."

"The International Islamic Conference for Islamic organizations, held in Makkah in 1974, issued its eleventh resolution on Rotary Clubs (and others) that:
- Every Muslim must immediately desert such institutions, and Muslim countries should prevent their activities and close their clubs and dens.
- Not to employ any person who belongs to such organizations and boycott him.
- It is prohibited to elect any Muslim who belongs to such organizations to take part in any Islamic work."

We must work hard to overcome these stereotypes, if not for us, but for the children that need not contract polio.