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Radicalized Muslims, Conflict with the West and True Islam

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Radicalized Muslims, Conflict with the West and True Islam
Radicalized Muslims, Conflict with the West and True Islam
Jamil Elbanna
LED6851
Professor Doyle
California Miramar University

Introduction:

Terrorism and violence in association with a slice of the Muslims of today have become an increasingly visible phenomenon. It is a quandary that – on one hand - has left much of the western world affected with fear, anger, resentment, distrust and trillions of dollars of expenditure on a perpetual war on what appears to be an elusive terror (Stein, 2011, Amandeo, 2013). One the other hand, the same practice of violence, has also left a scar on the majority of the followers of the true Islamic faith and the correct teachings of the Quran. These majority followers of Islam, including their religious leaders and Imams, have been viewed by the west as too silent and lacking in initiative to “stand up” for their “misguided” brethren, and in extreme reactionary cases, they have been viewed as “sleepers” (Christopher, 2013)

The effort of this case study will attempt to discuss certain aspects of this “conflict” and provide several components that are essential to understanding the history and the emergence of Islamic terrorism as well as an effort to dispel common misconceptions about true Islam and the true teachings of the Quran. A cause-and-effect analysis of some of the major historical events and turning points will be provided as a means of objectively understanding the path leading to today’s end result. In addition, an analysis of a collection of Quranic verses that are frequently abused and misused by both terrorists as well as parties that seek to misrepresent Islam will be offered to better understand the context and correct application of such verses. Maximum effort will be applied to cover this topic with honest objectivity, and with the intent to balance the inevitable defensive posture. Finally, a review will be made of several examples of thought-leading efforts within the Islamic world, that are diligently seeking to guide the Islamic practice and jurisprudence through a renaissance and a re-examination of its expression and application in the 21 century.

In order to properly comprehend the process by which Islamic terrorism has emerged, one must first examine the historical path that took Islam from its infancy in Mecca, through its expansion towards its Golden Age, through its decline due to internal and external factors, and finally, through its radicalization process which arguably has emerged from a) within Islam (due to various failures and shortcomings of its followers as well as due to a reactionary mechanism) and b) an external imposition that would eventually further trigger such extremism and radicalization. It is hereby argued that the cause of today’s radicalized Islam is due to the following factors and/or stages.
1. Resentment as a result of the decline and reversal of Islam’s Golden Age due to internal and external factors, all of which gave impetus to the reversal of conditions of the Western World hence emerging out of the dark ages and through its Renascence which ultimately caused a growing gap in economic and political might between the Islamic world and the Western world.
2. The process of Islam turning inwards on itself and seizing to modernize itself or to respond to the growing gap of Western World’s modernization. As the Western World advanced, Islamic practice further became adamant to resist and even deplore the “ways” of the West, as in the adorations of materialism and expressions of sexual freedom for instance.
3. Decades of recent colonization followed by establishment of dictatorial regimes that are “backed” by the West (US and UK for example) coupled with the establishment of the state of Israel as a foreign and western-supported entity within the heart of the Islamic world.
Historical Synopsis, Early Stage:
The year was 610, outside Arabia; Rome had fallen over a century earlier, collapsing the Roman Empire in Western Europe and ushering in the Dark Ages of the West. Consequently, the west was known in this period for its intellectual and economic regression. (Hubert, 1969)
When Prophet Muhammad received the first Quranic revelation at the age of 40 and began to preach Islam in Mecca, the social condition of the Arab society was nothing short of grim (Armstrong, 2002). Practices of human degradation were common such as women viewed as chattel, treatment of slaves was extreme and harsh and young females were buried alive in preference for males. Tribes were constantly fighting each other for vendettas and counter vendettas, and idol worship had prevailed.
Prophet Muhammad’s primary message was the abolishment of idol-worship and all forms of social injustice.
Economically on the other hand, Mecca was a rich financial center of its time and derived significant wealth from the pilgrimage business to the idols in Kaaba. The Kaaba is a cube structure understood to have been built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael, the forefather of Prophet Muhammad.
Within 23 years, Prophet Muhammad transcended the early challenge of secretly preaching Islam to his friends and family, and enduring persecution and harm by the Meccans and various tribes, to returning to Mecca with 12000 followers of Islam. The Prophet issued a general amnesty for all the Meccans, with few exceptions for war crimes. The Kaaba was consequently cleansed of all its idols.
He had resisted to comply with requests by his followers to fight back the Meccans for continued persecution and provocation, but Muhammad eventually received and declared the revelations of the Quran:
"Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because they have been wronged -truly Allah has the power to come to their support- those who were expelled from their homes without any right, merely for saying, 'Our Lord is Allah '..." (Quran, 22:39-40)"
During his life, Muhammad gave many injunctions to his forces and adopted practices regarding the conduct of war. The most important of these were summarized by Muhammad 's companion and first Caliph, Abu Bakr, the ten rules for the Muslim army: (Enein)
“O people! I charge you with ten rules; learn them well! Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy 's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.
Prophet Muhammad had engaged in a handful of military encounters and it’s argued that none of them were for reasons other than defensive measure including one instance of a preemptive strike against imminent danger and another an attempted preemptive strike against perceived threat, which never materialized( SIDDIQI, 1963). Through Quranic revelations, Muhammad was commanded by God :
There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, right has become distinct from wrong… (Quran 2:257)
Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation and argue with them in a way that is best. Surely, thy Lord knows best who has strayed from His way; and He also knows those who are rightly guided.(Quran 16:126)
Though there are conflicting opinions regarding the non-offensive nature of Prophet Muhammad’s as a military leader, it is argued that the primary objective of Muhammad’s military struggles was to end all forms of idol worship and all forms of social injustice in Arabia. It is argued that only when other factions colluded with the Meccans, such as the Jewish tribes (and Christian tribes in some instances), that only then, is when they became a party in the conflict. This is supported by the many Quranic passages that recognize them as the people of prior revealed scriptures from the same God. (Asad, 1974). The Qur’an clearly stated that his mission was to convey the message of Islam but thereafter it was down to the people to accept or reject this message and this choice was without any coercion of punishment since they were accountable for this decision to God and not to man.
The Qur’an states, But if they turn away (from listening to you oh Muhammad), we have not sent thee as an enforcer over them. Thy duty is only to convey the Message.... (Quran 42:49)
In the recorded sayings Muhammad, he said, “The biggest of Al-Kaba 'ir (the great sins) are (1) to join others as partners in worship with Allah, (2) to murder a human being, (3) to be undutiful to one 's parents (4) and to give a false witness.’ (Ref. Bukhari, Vol. 9, Bk. 83, No. 10)
Muhammad died in the year 633 leaving behind a single biological heir, his daughter. He had accomplished the uniting of the majority of Arabia under Islam. Islam is defined as the total submission to the will of God and only God
Historical Synopsis, 7th – 13th Century:
After the death of the Prophet, no instructions were available on how the political leadership was to transition. The institution of the caliphate (Khilapha) was created. In its early days, the first caliphate resembled elements of direct democracy (shura).
The democratic nature of the Khilapha did not last for long. Most notable is the father-son succession when Yazid was handed the Khilapha from 680-683. What took place during this critical period is what is starting to be referred to – by modern revisionist Islamic scholars – as a dark chapter in Islamic history; among many dysfunctions, a form of monarchy was to replace the tradition of democracy (Shura). There was civil war, conflicts with Bysantium, expansion into Egypt, Syria and Iraq.
In 680 a dynastic system was born which was modeled after the imperial systems of the Near East. The first Islamic dynasty ruled for a century and during its time the Arab armies conquered all of North Africa and Spain, and most of Turkey. They also overwhelmed the Persian Empire and reached what is now southern Pakistan. They were stopped at the gates of Constantinople in the Balkans, and in Western Europe at the battle of Tours by the Franks about a hundred miles south of Paris.
The Muslims ruled Spain for almost 800 years from 709 to 1614. This era will be known as the Islamic Golden Age, and the virtues of this era weren’t limited to Muslims, but they have arguably encompassed the other faiths and the rest of the world.
The largest Muslim population in the world is to be found in Indonesia, which accepted Islam through early dialogue with Muslim merchant, not armies. The second largest Muslim population belongs to India which is not even a Muslim country having a Hindu majority.
Islam continued to spread, despite an alarming amount of in-fighting and assassinations of its Caliphs and leaders by one another. One of the most important factors is that Islam is and was experienced by the conquered people to be an egalitarian system of tolerance and liberation. The overpowered people of Byzantine and Persian empires, and later the people of the Indian subcontinent were accustomed to being subjugated by the rulers, particularly those who belonged to other sects or casts. In a sudden juxtaposition, they found much more liberty under the Islamic egalitarian system. (Marlow, 2002)

The Islamic Golden Age:
Muslims during this period were influenced by the Qur 'anic and Hadith injunctions such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr" that stressed the value of knowledge.
The Islamic Golden Age is traditionally dated from the mid-7th century to the mid-13th century at which Muslim rulers established one of the largest empires in history.
During this period, artists, engineers, scholars, poets, philosophers, geographers and traders in the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, the arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, sciences, sociology, and technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding inventions and innovations of their own.
Also at that time the Muslim world became a major intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education.
In Baghdad they established the "House of Wisdom", where scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, sought to gather and translate the world 's knowledge into Arabic in the Translation Movement.
Many classic works of antiquity that would otherwise have been forgotten were translated into Arabic and later in turn translated Hebrew and Latin. Knowledge was synthesized from works originating in ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, China, India, Persia, Ancient Egypt, North Africa, Ancient Greece and Byzantine civilizations.
Rival Muslim dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centers with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad.
The Islamic empire was the first "truly universal civilization," which brought together for the first time "peoples as diverse as the Chinese, the Indians, the people of the Middle East and North Africa, black Africans, and white Europeans."
The scope of this case study does not permit for a fair portrayal of the extent of achievements of the Islamic world at its peak, in areas such as Islamic ethics, building of institutions, Economy, Accounting, physics, chemistry, medicine, the Arts, Agriculture, industrial growth, Urbanization, Peer Review, Astronomy, Architecture, Music and Philosophy.

What went wrong? And how did people become extremists and radicalized?
1. Resentment as a result of the decline of Islam’s Golden Age:
a. Internal factors:
a.i. Political mismanagement after the early Caliphs.
a.i.1. In 685 the derailing of the democratic norm which was carried out by the Fifth Caliph when he forced the succession of his inept son Yazid which started the Umayyad dynasty.
a.i.2. Shortly after, Yazid assassinated his rival, Husain the grandson of the Prophet which spawned the largest schism in Islam, the Shia-Sunni divide.
a.i.3. In 750, Abul Abbas with Shia support destroyed ninety years of expanding yet turbulent Umayyad Caliphate, to establish the Abbasid Dynasty. Abbasids killed almost the entire ruling Umayyads and soon ditched their Shia supporters, fortifying a trend towards absolute monarchy.
a.i.4. Continued divisions and fighting within various Islamic dynasties.
a.ii. In the 13th century. The sudden and unanimous “closure” of the gates and paths of ijtihad (the exercise of independent human reasoning to elaborate and explain juristic principles or sharia).
b. External factors:
b.i. Foreign disruption and invading forces such as the seven major Crusades against Muslim territories in the east. The Crusades were criticized by some contemporaries such as Roger Bacon who felt the Crusades were not effective because, "those who survive, together with their children, are more and more embittered against the Christian faith." ... Jacques Le Goff wrote in La Civilisation medieval de l’Occident “Arguably, the only fruit of the Crusades kept by the Christians was the Apricot.” Examples of Crusader destruction included the library of Tripoli with its three million books.
b.ii. 13th century, Mongol invasion and sacking of Bagdad’s knowledge powerhouse: The scientific pursuits that required greater stability throughout the land, declined by the 12th century and came to end in 1258 after the brutal Mongol invasion. Though the Mongol conquers paradoxically accepted Islam within fifty years, their ruling methods were tribal. With the vast destruction of manuscripts and libraries, gradually religious jurists and scholars surrendered to the view that the Islamic knowledge had reached its apogee and therefore, efforts were frozen in the areas of interpretations and intellectual reasoning (Ijtihad).
b.iii. 15th century, Reconquista
b.iii.1. Catholic Kingdoms of northern Spain eventually managed to defeat and conquer the Muslim states of the Iberian Peninsula
b.iii.2. The unexpected nullification of the Treaty of Granada (which provided freedom and tolerance towards the Muslims of Spain) by the Alhambra Decree (which consisted of forced conversion and burning of all Arabic texts)
b.iii.3. Ultimatum of conversion or exile, authorized by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478.
b.iii.4. In 1567, King Philip II finally made the use of the Arabic language illegal, and forbade the Islamic religion, dress, and customs.
b.iii.5. In one incident, troops commanded by Don John of Austria destroyed the town of Galera east of Granada, after slaughtering the entire population.
c. The Western World enters the “Age of Reason” as it emerged out of the dark ages and through its Renascence which ultimately caused a growing gap in economic and political might between the Islamic world and the Western world. Though in the 15th and 16th centuries Europe was still in religious straight-jacket, a push back had now began against the stronghold of the Catholic Church. The freedom of thought gradually gained traction in the 18th century, the ‘Age of Reason’. With this came the unleashing of sciences, leading to better technology and the start of colonial expansion.
d. 19th century European colonial empires: The colonization of the Islamic lands, North Africa, India and Indonesia by Christian Europeans initiated in the 18th century and reached its peak in the late 19th century.
2. The process of Islam turning inwards on itself and seizing to modernize itself or to respond to the growing gap of Western World’s modernization. As the Western World advanced, Muslims further became adamant to resist and even deplore the “ways” of the West, as in the expressions of materialism and sexual freedom for instance. Manifestations of this phenomena are seen in the following examples:
a. Wahabi Islam is primary example of this enormous problem. Wahabi Muslims: “Wahabi Islam is not a separate denomination but a strain of teaching that arose in the 18th century in Saudi Arabia. Wahabiism would probably have remained insignificant, and considered heretical by the mainstream, but for twentieth century oil wealth. Wahabiism adopts a much more hard-line interpretation of the Qur 'an and Hadith, The excesses of the Taliban in Afghanistan originated in Wahabiism, as does the al Quaeda terror campaign against the western world. Wahabi teaching might be found in the mosques of both Shia and Sunni Islam. Wahabi Islam has a hierarchy of Imams and other clerics and an organisation based in Saudi Arabia. This powerbase is strongly associated with the Saudi royal family. Although Wahabi Islam is a very small and later strain of Islam, it has disproportionate influence because of its base in Saudi Arabia which gives it control of vast oil wealth and of Islam 's holy sites. Saudi Wahabiism is exported around the Islamic world by sponsorship of schools, colleges, universities and mosques through which their doctrines are advanced. Saudi wahabis have spent over 100 billion pounds advancing their brand of Islam around the world. They distribute many copies of the Qur 'an, in various languages, heavily subsidised or even free. These are still the “unchanging, incorruptable word of Allah”, but have commentaries inserted advancing their hard line, anti Israel, anti-west, militarist, patriarchal viewpoint”
3. Decades of recent colonization followed by establishment of dictatorial regimes that are “backed” by the West (US and UK for example, coupled with the establishment of the state of Israel as a foreign and western-supported entity within the heart of the Islamic world. Manifestations of this phenomena are seen in the following examples
a. The birth of organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the British colonization which was a response to the prevailing Western “forced” modernization as well as the decay of the condition of the Muslim community especially after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent abolishment of the symbolic caliphate system in 1924.
b. The birth of AlQaeda in the late 1980s during the efforts to find the Russians from Afghanistan was initially supported by the US financially and milterly. However today, according to the Qaeda narrative, “America is an enemy of Islam that supports oppressive military dictators and greedy royal princes who, in turn, rule by repression and secretly partner with Israel”
c. The US State department publishes a list of terrorist organizations that exceed 100 throughout the world. 8 of the 100, for example, operate within Palestinian territories such as Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs ' Brigades. However these groups are primarily motivated by political aspiration to end an illegal occupation of their land.
c.i. Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago, one of the world’s leading terrorism experts, who studied 315 case of suicide bombing that took place between the years 1980 and 2005. He concluded "The data show that there is little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any one of the world 's religions. . . . Rather, what nearly all suicide terrorist attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland". He also states in his report that "the presence of American military forces for combat operations on the homeland territory of the suicide terrorists is stronger than Islamic fundamentalism in predicting whether individuals from that country will become al-Qaeda suicide terrorists". Further, his research indicates that Hezbollah suicide bombers – for instance - in the period 1982-1986 were 71% Communist/Socialist, 21% Islamist and 8% Christian.
What does the Quran have to Say:
Is there anything in the Qur 'an, which encourages the terrorists? The Islamic Networks Group, a non-profit organization, unequivocally states that “Absolutely nothing in the Qur 'an encourages terrorism. On the contrary, the Qur 'an (Islamic Scripture which Muslims believe is the unchanged word of God) and hadith (Prophet Muhammad 's sayings and traditions as recorded by his companions), which are the two primary sources of Islamic law place supremacy on the sacredness of life, security, and peace. Terrorists who base their actions on Islamic law misappropriate Islam, as terrorist anti-abortionists, white supremacists, and certain militia groups misappropriate Christianity”

So where do Muslim extremists get their textual justifications? Some of the Qur 'anic verses which lay out the purpose and nature of war for a specific purpose such as
a) to stop oppression: "Victims of aggression are given license because they have been done injustice; and God is well able to help them---those evicted from their homes without reason except that they say, "Our Lord is God." For if God did not parry people by means of one another, then monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques wherein the name of God is much recited would surely be demolished. And God will surely defend those who defend God---for God is powerful, almighty." (Qur 'an, Chapter 22:39-40). Note the mention of all houses of worship, which demonstrates Islam 's historical tolerance for other religions.
b) in self-defense: "And fight for the sake of God those who fight you; but do not be brutal or commit aggression, for God does not love brutal aggressors." (Qur 'an, Chapter 2:190.) Note that permission is given to fight in self-defense, but not to transgress.
c) To Achieve Peace: "Now if they incline toward peace, then incline to it, and place your trust in God, for God is the all-hearing, the all-knowing." (Qur 'an, Chapter 8:61).

“Muslim extremists get their textual interpretations by taking verses in the Qur 'an out of their specific-social-historical context, not considering the time, place, and specific circumstances in which these verses were revealed, which out of context are clearly rejected by other parts of the Qur’an. The most commonly quoted verse must be understood in its context – the struggle of the early Muslims against the Makkans who fought and persecuted them first in Makkah, and then after they established a state in Medina, where Muslims fought back for the first time. They cannot be used to justify targeting innocent civilians.”

The verse that is often cited by terrorist groups is as follows: “Kill idolaters wherever you find them, and capture them and blockade them, and watch for them at every lookout.” (Qur 'an, Chapter 9:5) What is interesting to note is that this same verse continues as follows below, but is usually omitted by terrorist organizations: "...But if they repent and practice prayer and give alms, then let them go their way; for God is most forgiving, most merciful. And if one of the polytheists asks you for protection, then protect him, until he hears the word of God: then deliver him to a place safe for him. That is because they are people who do not know." (Qur 'an, Chapter 9:5) “Note that not only are they given a chance to repent, but also that if they ask for asylum, it must be granted. It is impossible to analyze this and other verses except in light of the overall moral thrust of the Qur 'anic message, which refers to general moral imperatives such as mercy, justice, kindness, or goodness. The Qur 'an has a dual nature: one that is specific (particular or transitional) to the occasion, time and place, and another that is universal and permanent in nature, dealing with principles that apply for all times and places. The specific cannot be made to apply universally, while the universal always informs the specific”

Dr. Adnan Ibrahim, an Imam of a major Islamic center in Vienna, he is considered one of the few dozen reformist Islamic Scholars. He said: "The divine religion was intended to push the humanity forward, to cause progressive mutation, to raise the spiritual level of people, and to encourage them to face and resist tyranny. However, evil men under the effect of devilish inspiration employed religion as a device and a kind of tyranny over men that exploits their innocence and credulity, and perpetuates ignorance. They used the distorted forms of religion to justify and give legitimacy to their deeds and actions and their desire in military expansion. This has led to conflicts and wars."

In Conclusion: The conflict between extremist expressions of faith is not unique to Islam, however in recent decades Islamic extremism has been at the forefront of major concerns throughout the world. From the beginning, Islam came to affirm the true message of prior Abrahamic faiths. It came to restore the worship of the one true God and to provide a comprehensive system of social justice. However, Islam is not a passive faith that calls for turning the other cheek, which seems to be the source of a great deal of misconception, misinterpretations and abuse, for the purpose of fueling and settling political and social disputes. However to stop and maintain that, such, is the only reason for the existence of extremism and terrorism would be dishonest. A number of other significant factors have been identified that serve to explain the human psychological motivation for extremist actions and expressions; Resentment due to the decline and decay of the Islamic Golden Age which has been linked to internal as well as external factors. The formation of reactionary Resentment due to the ensuing gap between the two civilizations (social, technological and economic). Resentment due to western colonization and its unwelcomed influence towards modernity which included certain antithetical values to Islam. Perhaps there are many other factors that can be studied to better understand this subject, however one very important element is to understand the consequence of suspending a critical element of Islamic thought, Ijtihad, which occurred early on in the 13th century by the collective body of Islamic scholars. Ijtihad is the reasoning process by which Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic Sharia for instance, are continuously updated to maintain the appropriate application and interpretation of the Quran and the Hadith in order to exemplify – in all times - the true message of Islam, Peace.
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References: Kimberly Amadeo US Economy Guide, April 17, 2013 http://useconomy.about.com/od/usfederalbudget/f/War_on_Terror_Facts.htm Armstrong, Karen 2002 Islam: A Short History Armstrong, Karen. 2001. “Was it Inevitable,” in Hoge, James and Gideon Rose, Eds, How did this Happen: Terrorism and the New War. New York: Public Affairs. Hubert, Jean, Europe in the Dark Ages, 1969 Huntington, Samuel Tommy Christopher | February 21st, 2013. Fox Hard News Program Broadcasts False Information About Detroit Muslim ‘Sleeper Cells’, http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-hard-news-program-broadcasts-false-information-about-detroit-muslim-sleeper-cells/ Kevin M Lewis, Bernard. 2002. What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Vartan Gregorian, "Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith", Brookings Institution Press, 2003, pg 26–38 Louise Marlow Hierarchy and Egalitarianism in Islamic Thought, Cambridge University Press, May 16, 2002 Kepel, Gilles. 2002. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Abu-Nimer, Mohammad. 1996. “Conflict Resolution in an Islamic Context: Some Conceptual Questions”, Peace & Change. Vol. 21, No. 1. January, pp. 22-40. Salla, Michael. 1997. “Political Islam and the West: A New Cold War or Convergence?” Third World Quarterly. Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 729 742. Mazrui, Ali. 1997. “Islamic and Western Values”, Foreign Affairs. Vol. 76, No. 5, Sept/Oct, pp. 118-132. Morelli, Elizabeth Murray. 2001. “Ressentiment and Rationality.” Paper presented at Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, Massachusetts U.S.A., 10-15, August 1998. Retrieved January 15, 2002 from Internet: Irani, George E Choueiri, Youssef. 1990. Islamic Fundamentalism. Boston: Twayne Publishers. Davidson, Lawrence. 1998. Islamic Fundamentalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Levtzion, Nehemia. 1999. “Aspects of Islamization: Weber’s Observations on Islam Reconsidered.” In Huff, Toby, and Wolfgang, Schluchter, Eds., Max Weber and Islam, New Brunswick, N,J.:Transaction Publishers. Paul, Ron (2005-07-14) Suicide Terrorism, LewRockwell.com ASLAM SIDDIQI

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    The unconscionable tragedy that besieged our nation September 11 has shocked Americans. Indeed, images of the carnage that traveled around the world proved how vulnerable the world is to barbaric terrorism. But as that shock turned into anger, a dangerous mix of emotions began to settle across America. Talk-Radio callers queued on the phone to vent their anger after the attacks. "We need to nuke them all!" said one caller. "Throw all foreigners out of the country," declared another. Television news broadcasts brought in so-called experts to discuss the identity of the perpetrators. "All fingers point to the Arabs," alleged one analyst. "We need to keep our eyes on those Muslims," concluded another. These hateful comments were the backdrop to the fear that swept the Arab and Muslim communities here in the United States. Mosques were fire bombed, Muslim women were harassed and some who "looked like they were from that part of the world" were attacked. Regardless of who is ultimately found to be responsible for these terrorist attacks, no ethnic or religious community should be collectively blamed. Blaming ethnicity and religion as the root of this catastrophe only drags countless more innocents into a cycle of hate. Grouping Muslims or Arabs with terrorists is unjust and prejudiced. Even as the unscrupulous criminals behind this tragedy cloak themselves under a veil of religion, we in the civilized world should distinguish between religious beliefs and murderous terrorists. Indeed, all Muslims are utterly and completely disgusted at any acts of violence carried out in the name of their religion. In fact, such violence contradicts the views, teachings and ideals of Islam and Muslims. Islam expressively forbids such acts of violence. Arabs and Muslims are as afraid of this terrorism as are all Americans. The results of terrorism do not distinguish between…

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    “Modern terrorism involves the heartless killing of children throwing stones at tanks, deaths of pregnant women at security roadblocks, suicide bombings carried out in buses and discotheques, the terrorizing of luminous cities at night with bombing sorties, and the incineration of worshippers at mosques.” . Since the attacks on the twin towers on September 11, many people fear Islamic terrorism, but Islamic terrorist organizations did not just begin with the 9/11 attacks. Different terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda and the Moslem Brothers have existed for many years, although some have died out, others still thrive, and some of the organizations spark the beginning of new terrorist regimes. Islamic terrorist organizations have formed…

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    A discussion of religion can branch into any number of topics, over any number of denominations and sects, about its effects on law and politics, and its role within society. However, mention religion today, and one subject arises universally: Danish cartoons. Out of context, this sounds ridiculous, but within a sound framework, the subject broaches religion at every possible entry. Perhaps no event in recent history, excluding 9/11, has provoked such a universal and rapid backlash. Retaliation against the publication of these comics stunned and shocked the world and led to the mass proposition of one question: Why? This line of thought sprung many queries. Why are Muslims so offended? Why did the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten publish the comics in the first place? Why is Islam seemingly out of control? Simple minds propose that Islam just can 't handle a few jibes, and that the religion produces lunatics. However, sift through the misconceptions and the prejudices, and a more complex answer lies within, one that includes surprisingly little Islam and a far greater amount of oppression and subjugation. The heart of these protests lies not within Islam, but in the molding of the ignorant by power and the makings of history.…

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    After reading the article about the origins of a Radical Islam, I don’t necessary think my perspective on the War on Terror concerning the Middle East has changed any. The article has provided me with a brief history and understanding of the Muslim beliefs. It also has definitely given me a better insight on the possible reasons why and where the Muslims Extremists get their beliefs from that leads them to commit these random acts of violence.…

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    The following essay has been prepared in order to illuminate the understanding of many that have questions regarding the facts on Islam and its persuasive strategies to indoctrinate nations and people. Islam is a world religion founded by an Arabic visionary named Muhammad who was born in the city of Mecca. The teachings of Islam have touched the broad spectrum of this planet. When we examine the religions of this decade, one would have to agree that Islam is the second- largest religion in the world today. Many will argue and say that Islam is possibly the largest religion prevalent today. Of course, there are those that would agree and there are those that would disagree according to the growth of this religion. According to the prophecies that are written in the word of God, we know that the word of God will cover the world as the sea. As apologist, it is an opportunity to dialogue and it is an invitation to present the truth in light of the mythical teachings that have seduced billions for decades. The modern thought of today’s apologist is to provide an understanding in order to create an authoritative position, which dispels the untruths that many in this faith have followed for decades.…

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