Thursday, July 14, 2005
Al Qaeda's Fantasy Ideology
Captain's Quarters has an excellent post comparing Al Qaeda's ideology to that of Naziims and Mussolini's fascism as a "fantansy ideology. It is most thought provoking and shows once again the power of the internet to bring important information to readers. Everyone should read the post.
I would like to react to the post in a small way. The concept of "fantasy ideology" provides an interesting insight into Jihadist and Islamist self-understanding. They seem to look to some idealized "Golden Age" of Islam in the the 7th or so century when Moslems had conquered a great empire.
While Mussolini created a fantasy empire by invading Ethiopia for non-economic reasons, Hitler created a more traditional empire based on a fantasy ideology.
It seems to me that Jihadists do not kill as some sort of "death cult" but in a real effort to destabilize countries they deem enemies to Islam. We may view their efforts as Quixotic or even less realistic, an ant attacking an elephant. This leads to a conclusion that the attacks are merely a "death cult."
My view (I claim no expertise at all) has always been that September 11 was an attempt to get American troops withdrawn from Saudi Arabia as the first step in overthrowing the House of Saud and putting Usama bin Ladin in power there.
"Each of these grand targets was chosen for its symbolic value to Moslems around the world, making them believe that the ummah was just about to be restored with Allah's direct divine help. So long as there was little response from the West but surprise and shock, it would seem like an unbroken line of great 'victories' for the jihad."
Along this line, revolutionaries in Judah reinacted the crossing of the Jordon River to recreate Joshua's original crossing that led to the original conquest of the Land. The concept was that the very act of crossing the river would lead to heavenly assistance that would overthrow the Roman army.
This may not help, but may give some insight into the symbolic attacks. The attacks may embolden and create new Jihadists that will join in the destruction of the West.
Palestinian terrorists have said that Israel's weakness is that Israelis love life too much. Jihadists undoubtedly believe this about all Western countries. Thus, Jihadists think that they have learned the achilles heel of the West.
Of course, the withdrawal of Spain encourages this belief. This provides the basis for Jihadists to persuade their young recruits that they are on the winning side of history and their suicide bombings will ultimately destroy the infidel West and reinstitute the Islamic Empire.
This suggests that the image of "war" rather than "blood feud" may be the better understanding. The tactics employed obviously would not involve massive invasions, but debilitating bombings.
If Jihadists ever get possession of WMD, the truth of the war image will be clear. At that point destabilization of entire countries may occur quickly. It is hard to imagine what might occur in such a situation.
I would like to react to the post in a small way. The concept of "fantasy ideology" provides an interesting insight into Jihadist and Islamist self-understanding. They seem to look to some idealized "Golden Age" of Islam in the the 7th or so century when Moslems had conquered a great empire.
While Mussolini created a fantasy empire by invading Ethiopia for non-economic reasons, Hitler created a more traditional empire based on a fantasy ideology.
It seems to me that Jihadists do not kill as some sort of "death cult" but in a real effort to destabilize countries they deem enemies to Islam. We may view their efforts as Quixotic or even less realistic, an ant attacking an elephant. This leads to a conclusion that the attacks are merely a "death cult."
My view (I claim no expertise at all) has always been that September 11 was an attempt to get American troops withdrawn from Saudi Arabia as the first step in overthrowing the House of Saud and putting Usama bin Ladin in power there.
"Each of these grand targets was chosen for its symbolic value to Moslems around the world, making them believe that the ummah was just about to be restored with Allah's direct divine help. So long as there was little response from the West but surprise and shock, it would seem like an unbroken line of great 'victories' for the jihad."
Along this line, revolutionaries in Judah reinacted the crossing of the Jordon River to recreate Joshua's original crossing that led to the original conquest of the Land. The concept was that the very act of crossing the river would lead to heavenly assistance that would overthrow the Roman army.
This may not help, but may give some insight into the symbolic attacks. The attacks may embolden and create new Jihadists that will join in the destruction of the West.
Palestinian terrorists have said that Israel's weakness is that Israelis love life too much. Jihadists undoubtedly believe this about all Western countries. Thus, Jihadists think that they have learned the achilles heel of the West.
Of course, the withdrawal of Spain encourages this belief. This provides the basis for Jihadists to persuade their young recruits that they are on the winning side of history and their suicide bombings will ultimately destroy the infidel West and reinstitute the Islamic Empire.
This suggests that the image of "war" rather than "blood feud" may be the better understanding. The tactics employed obviously would not involve massive invasions, but debilitating bombings.
If Jihadists ever get possession of WMD, the truth of the war image will be clear. At that point destabilization of entire countries may occur quickly. It is hard to imagine what might occur in such a situation.
# posted by Thomas A. Becket : 8:44 PM
