Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Roots of Terrorism
Many commentators suggest that we should be seeking the roots of terrorism in order to fight it effectively. They suggest poverty and the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as the roots of that terror. Of course this ignores the various terrorist attacks prior to the invasions, such as those on the World Trade Center in 1993 and the American Embassies in 1998 as well as the one on Septermber 11.
Faces from the Front points to the teachings of Sayyid Qutb, Muhammed Abduh, Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Abu'l-A'la Mawdudi as providing the foundation for a philosophy of jihad against Western civilization. He provides chilling quotes from their writings that challenge the accepted wisdom of those who see President Bush and PM Blair as the cause of terror rather than the jihadists.
He quotes an Al Qaeda press release as saying, "We want to inform the Ummah [all Muslim believers] that your brothers in the Al Qaida organization will not stop Jihad until the Sharia of Allah is the only source of laws on earth." Al Qaeda does not merely seek the withdrawal of Western forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, but the West's adoption of Islamic Sharia law. As Christopher Hitchens so telling suggests (see prior posting), the veiling of women, the destruction of Jews and the conversion of the West to Islam and its social system.
Apologists for jihadists quickly argue that Islam does not seek forced conversions. However, Qutb contends that the Western system "prevents people from reforming their ideas and beliefs but forces them to obey their erroneous ways and makes them serve human lords instead of the Almighty Lord." Qutb goes further to say that "When Islam strives for peace, its objective is not that superficial peace which requires that only that part of the earth where the followers of Islam are residing remain secure. The peace which Islam desires is that the religion (i.e. the Law of the society) be purified for God, that the obedience of all people be for God alone."
Thus, Qutb's followers seek the conversion of the entire world to Islam, not merely the expulsion of infidels from Iraq and Afghanistan. That conversion can occur only after the destruction of the Western system which prevents the peaceful conversion of the West.
Qutb himself specifically proclaims that "one should always keep in mind that there is no compulsion in religion; that is, once the people are free from the lordship of men, the law governing civil affairs will be purely that of God, while no one will be forced to change his beliefs and accept Islam." Thus, once jihad has destroyed Western governments and society, no one will be compelled to accept Islam.
Qutb wrote these chilling words in 1964, long before the US intervened in Iraq or was even that active in Middle Eastern affairs. Before dismissing the ability of Qutb's words to recruit jihadists in the fight against the West, we should look at the many wars fought in the West over religious issues and the long struggle against the "religion " of Communism.
Faces from the Front points to the teachings of Sayyid Qutb, Muhammed Abduh, Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Abu'l-A'la Mawdudi as providing the foundation for a philosophy of jihad against Western civilization. He provides chilling quotes from their writings that challenge the accepted wisdom of those who see President Bush and PM Blair as the cause of terror rather than the jihadists.
He quotes an Al Qaeda press release as saying, "We want to inform the Ummah [all Muslim believers] that your brothers in the Al Qaida organization will not stop Jihad until the Sharia of Allah is the only source of laws on earth." Al Qaeda does not merely seek the withdrawal of Western forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, but the West's adoption of Islamic Sharia law. As Christopher Hitchens so telling suggests (see prior posting), the veiling of women, the destruction of Jews and the conversion of the West to Islam and its social system.
Apologists for jihadists quickly argue that Islam does not seek forced conversions. However, Qutb contends that the Western system "prevents people from reforming their ideas and beliefs but forces them to obey their erroneous ways and makes them serve human lords instead of the Almighty Lord." Qutb goes further to say that "When Islam strives for peace, its objective is not that superficial peace which requires that only that part of the earth where the followers of Islam are residing remain secure. The peace which Islam desires is that the religion (i.e. the Law of the society) be purified for God, that the obedience of all people be for God alone."
Thus, Qutb's followers seek the conversion of the entire world to Islam, not merely the expulsion of infidels from Iraq and Afghanistan. That conversion can occur only after the destruction of the Western system which prevents the peaceful conversion of the West.
Qutb himself specifically proclaims that "one should always keep in mind that there is no compulsion in religion; that is, once the people are free from the lordship of men, the law governing civil affairs will be purely that of God, while no one will be forced to change his beliefs and accept Islam." Thus, once jihad has destroyed Western governments and society, no one will be compelled to accept Islam.
Qutb wrote these chilling words in 1964, long before the US intervened in Iraq or was even that active in Middle Eastern affairs. Before dismissing the ability of Qutb's words to recruit jihadists in the fight against the West, we should look at the many wars fought in the West over religious issues and the long struggle against the "religion " of Communism.
# posted by Thomas A. Becket : 6:37 AM
