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  • Is it Islamic Terrorism or merely Terrorism?

    Resistance, terror & faith



    By Irfan Husain


    AS terrorism — usually of the Muslim variety — continues to dominate the international agenda in one form or another, it might be a useful exercise to examine the different strands that constitute the phenomenon.

    Ever since 9/11 turned the world on its head, it has become acceptable to lump all resistance movements involving Muslims into the convenient but inaccurate holdall called ‘Islamic terrorism’. Thus, whether Chechens are resisting Russian occupation of their territory, or Palestinians are fighting for their land, the common western perception now is that they are all loosely connected to the global jihad.

    At the apex of this imaginary network is Osama bin Laden who is seen to be coordinating and directing sundry acts of terror against the West and its allies. In this worldview, a vast Islamic conspiracy exists to impose its values and beliefs on the rest of the world, and to this end, it is sending waves of suicide bombers to destroy and damage western interests across the globe.

    However, a little analytical rigour would reveal the absurdity of this interpretation of recent events. When Al Qaeda expressed its support of Hamas after its electoral victory, it was told by the Palestinian leadership to back off in no uncertain terms. Muslim separatists in the Philippines conduct their struggle without their co-religionists in the rest of the world being aware of what they are fighting for.

    The reality is that several underground asymmetrical battles are being waged by Muslims for specific, local causes. The only factor linking these struggles is a common faith. But this does not mean they share some global pan-Islamic vision. A Kashmiri Muslim engaged in a fight for independence has more in common with a Hindu pundit in Srinagar than with a fellow Muslim in Chechnya.

    When Basque terrorists belonging to ETA, the separatist movement that has been fighting a long and deadly battle for independence from Madrid, strike civilian targets, they are not accused of being part of a Christian movement together with the IRA. Although fighters in both organisations are Catholics, this does not automatically mean that they, or indeed, Peru’s Shining Path guerrillas, are part of some evil papist conspiracy.

    Similarly, the only thing the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka’s LTTE separatists have in common with India’s Naxalites is their Hindu belief. But this shared faith in no way puts the two groups on the same side. They both have their own agendas and their own methods. Both would resent the label of ‘terrorists’, and insist that they are fighting for just causes.

    Having made this rather self-evident point, let me return to the pressing question of differentiating between ‘Islamic’ terrorism and ‘Muslim’ terrorism. In my book, the former refers to violence aimed at creating a vague, utopian world based on a fuzzy vision of a distant tribal past.

    This involves resurrecting the caliphate, adopting the laws and way of life that might have existed 14 centuries ago, and imposing these archaic values on the rest of the world. This search for a ‘perfect’ world involves destroying the existing dominant power structure so it can be replaced with the ‘pure’ Islamic model.

    In this sense the movement is more nihilistic than idealistic. Adherents of movements like Al Qaeda fall into this category. But clearly, organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah do not.

    Other Muslim reformist movements, inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, seek to impose Islamic values, often by force, on their own societies. And while they are connected spiritually to the larger Muslim ummah, their primary aim is to obtain political power in their own countries. They use a combination of political manoeuvring, violence and moral posturing to achieve their ends. But most of their energies are devoted to local goals. Many so- called terrorist organisations are doing nothing more than trying to overthrow dysfunctional governments and venal leaders. In the absence of any political space to effect change, they have been driven underground.

    We would not have been discussing these issues had it not been for the sudden flood of petrodollars that poured into Saudi coffers after the oil price rise of 1974. Over the years, much of this unearned wealth has translated into support for the most repressive Muslim governments, and the most violent Muslim groups. By exporting their brand of Wahabi/Salafi Islam across the world, the Saudis have unwittingly set the stage for the current confrontation that threatens them most. This is an exclusionary vision of the faith in which anybody not following a narrow and literal interpretation of Islam is not only beyond the pale, but is, by extension, deserving of death.

    It is this strand of Islamic fundamentalism that has caused so much havoc around the world. Not only has public and private Saudi largesse funded Muslim dictators, Islamic political parties and ruthless terrorists, it has paid for the establishment of thousands of madressahs across the Muslim world. These incubators of extremism have proved to be fertile recruiting grounds for Muslim militias. This is the version of the faith that has infected young men from Lahore to London.

    With this background, it was not difficult to sell the idea of a vast, unified Islamic conspiracy against the West in the wake of 9/11. Fanning public fear, Washington soon had the majority of Americans believing that somehow Saddam and Iraq were connected to the suicide bombing of the Twin Towers.

    According to a poll published in the July/August 2006 issue of Foreign Policy, 57 per cent of Americans believe an attack on their country on the scale of the Madrid or London train bombings is likely by the end of this year. Seventy-nine per cent think it likely or certain that there will be a terrorist attack of the magnitude of 9/11 by 2011.

    The same poll reveals that 62 per cent of Americans believe that Saudi Arabia has produced the biggest number of terrorists; 13 per cent think it is the Egyptians; and 11 per cent feel it is the Pakistanis. Thus, a total of 86 per cent consider that the three top Muslim allies America has in its ‘war on terror’ also produce virtually all the terrorists they are fighting.

    After 9/11, a number of countries, eager to jump on the American bandwagon, declared their local problems to have global roots. Thus, freedom fighters in Chechnya, Kashmir and Palestine were immediately lumped together with Al Qaeda. This made it simultaneously easier to deny even their legitimate demands, as well as to get American diplomatic, moral and material aid in suppressing them.

    But while this conflation of different movements might be politically expedient, it represents lazy thinking of a kind that is not conducive to dealing with the problem.
    http://www.dawn.com/weekly/mazdak/mazdak.htm
    It is no doubt a truism Each act of terrorism indulged in by Moslem is country specific.

    And it is also true that there are non Moslem separatist groups operating around the world.

    However, true to form, the writer pathetically wails with the same old tune of blaming everyone else but not themselves!

    What he fails to realise and even if pointed out will continue to fail to realise with pigheaded Islamic blindness is that the non Moslem separatists do not invoke their religion as the moral ground and raison d' etre on which they are waging their movement.

    These movements are also not supported by the remainder of their coreligionist around the world.

    The Islamic separatists invoke their activities in the name of Ummah, the Allah, the Koran, the Hadith and they are supported by every other Moslem around the world with the mentality of a herd or a mob.

    They operate with abject cruelty - behead, ransom, kill in the most brutal way which only aims at terrorising. Thus, are aptly termed as terrorist. Others wage war and not sneak in like moral cowards.

    That is the cardinal difference - the Moslems wage war in the name of Allah, Ummah etc and Allah ho Akhbar, Islam in Danger, while others do it for temporal reasons like sub-nationalist fervour.

    However, as usual the Moslems must claim that they are poor pathetic lambs totally being misunderstood by all.

    Therefore, how can there be any comparison?


    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

    HAKUNA MATATA

  • #2
    what is being faced today worldwide is Islamic Terrorism... in almost every corner of the world... non-Islamic Terrorism does exist but at a very very small scale compared to Islamic Terrorism which has simply overshadowed the non-Islamic terrorists by a HUGE margin... and this is partly due because Islamic-Terrorists have opened up a front against the entire free world...
    Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
    -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

    Comment


    • #3
      Then one we are facing is Pakistani terrorism.
      A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Jay
        Then one we are facing is Pakistani terrorism.
        true... a lot of the radical Islamic mullahs in India are funded by Pak...
        Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
        -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

        Comment


        • #5
          There is proof.And there is evidence. Then where is the doubt?
          Posing right question is far more important than seeking a right answer, therefore I blame the media for most of the ills in this world.

          Comment


          • #6
            Any act of violence somehow finds its way into Islamic society. I guess its true that 99.99% of muslims are not terrorists but 99.99% of terrorists are muslims.
            If at first you don't succeed, call it v1.0!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by ab041937
              Any act of violence somehow finds its way into Islamic society. I guess its true that 99.99% of muslims are not terrorists but 99.99% of terrorists are muslims.

              Many of the 99.99% who are themselves not terrorists, do finance the terrorists.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by gilgamesh
                Many of the 99.99% who are themselves not terrorists, do finance the terrorists.
                muslims that finance terrorism??? I would say... 1 out of hundred thousand.... maybe even less...
                Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Tronic
                  muslims that finance terrorism??? I would say... 1 out of hundred thousand.... maybe even less...
                  It doesn't work like that. Most contribute to charities which get channalised for blowing things up. Many people knowingly look the other way, others are simply ignorant fools. Remember, Moslems(esp Arabs) has a tradition and history in moving money secretively. Its a perfect foil for globally networked Islam. They are also experts in Hawala. As regards percentages, who knows?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    http://us.rediff.com/news/2006/aug/31fatwa.htm

                    Muslims divided over insurance fatwa

                    August 31, 2006 17:05 IST
                    Last Updated: August 31, 2006 17:11 IST


                    After raking up several controversies in the recent past over the religious decree, a new fatwa issued by Darul-Uloom Deoband asking Muslims not to go for life insurance has vertically divided the community.

                    The fatwa was issued early this month following a query from one Saleem Chisti, a resident of Lucknow.

                    The majority Sunnis have justified the fatwa calling life insurance as 'Gair munaasib.' However, they do not categorically call it 'haram' (illegal) as suggested by the Islamic seminary. Shias, on the other hand, have rejected the fatwa calling it as 'non issue' for their community that is 'uncalled for' and not binding on them.

                    Hafeez Nomani, a devout Deobandi Sunni Muslim and son of late Maulana Nomani, co-founder of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, has condemned the fatwa. "It (fatwa) is unwarranted and a most regressive step by the Ulemas who seem to have no understanding of the rapid changes taking place around the globe," he said.

                    "Ulemas have a wont to retreat after being offensive on flimsy issues, it is the same story from pasting of photograph on Haj application form to the life insurance," he added.

                    "The Deobandi ulemas must understand that we are a secular polity and they should not issue any edict, which cannot be binding on citizen unless duly legislated by the elected government in our democratic country," he said, adding that the recent fatwa is nothing but an veiled attack on the secular order of India that only underlines the obstinate attitude of the clergy.

                    Earlier, Ulemas had opened front against the government opposing pasting of the photograph on the application for the Haj pilgrimage submitted to the Haj committee, but later they agreed, he said.

                    The Ulemas soon found another issue against the government over the pasting of women's photograph in the Haj application form. Much hue and cry was made but later they accepted this as well and now they have invented the issue of life insurance, he added.

                    AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani said the issue of insurance, including the life insurance, is still under Ulemas' consideration and consensual decision is yet to be reached.

                    Darul Uloom Deoband, one of north India's biggest Muslim seminaries, has issued a fatwa or edict asking Muslims not to go for life insurance as the interest earned through insurance policies is illegal according to the Shariat. Muslims should not go for life insurance policies as 'life' is given by Allah and to insure it or assure it is a crime in the eyes God, the Sunni seminary had said.

                    The fatwa issued by Darul Ifta, the supreme body of Deoband authorised to issue religious decrees, said interest earned on bank deposits and insurance policies are illegal as per the Shariat. "A true Muslim should never ever go for life insurance policies as this is against the wishes of Allah," Maulana Shahid Rehan, an office-bearer of Deoband said from Deoband.



                    UNI

                    For all the liberals on this board, Darul-Uloom Deoband is a premier moslem institution with a lumpen number of people supporting it. It is also the birth place of Al Qaeda

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      http://www.ibnlive.com/news/muslim-g...i/20386-4.html

                      Vande Mataram row: fatwa on Naqvi

                      CNN-IBN
                      Posted Saturday , September 02, 2006 at 10:45
                      Updated Saturday , September 02, 2006 at 12:45 Email Print

                      FACE THE MUSIC: Naqvi had said those who couldn't sing the Song should leave the country.


                      New Delhi: The Vande Mataram controversy seems to have moved beyond ‘to sing or not to sing’ dilemma and has become more of political cacophony.


                      After the BJP-ruled states made compulsory the singing of National Song on September 7, much to the annoyance of Muslim groups, the party is facing the music.


                      The supreme body of Sunnis, the hardliner Darul Uloom of Deoband, has issued a fatwa (religious edict) against BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for his advocacy of the National Song – which they say goes against the tenets of Islam.


                      Naqvi had condemned the refusal by some Muslim clerics to abide by the directive on compulsory singing of Vande Mataram in schools on September 7.



                      He had said that those who oppose the National Song should "leave the country".



                      "Those who oppose our national song should better leave the country. Their opposition is a reflection of their separatist mindset," Naqvi had said, adding, "Every faith preaches patriotism. Those who are opposing singing of Vande Mataram in the name of Islam are going against the tenets of the faith.”


                      Citing religious reasons, some Muslim leaders have opposed the central directive to all schools to recite the first two stanzas of the National Song to mark the centenary of its adoption.


                      "Reciting Vande Mataram is against the tenets of the Shariat (Islamic law)," Zafaryab Jilani, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), had said.


                      "There are some lines in Vande Mataram which go against our religion," he said.


                      (With inputs from Bhupendra Chaubey)

                      Here's an example why it is Islamic in character.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        "Those who oppose our national song should better leave the country. Their opposition is a reflection of their separatist mindset," Naqvi had said, adding, "Every faith preaches patriotism. Those who are opposing singing of Vande Mataram in the name of Islam are going against the tenets of the faith.”
                        man... I respect this dude for this... here is another view of a true Indian! I wouldn't normally highlight his religion but since the other retards are flagging their religion down the drain, I have to say, don't be fooled guys... those people don't represent the Indian muslims... people like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi do.... ;)

                        btw, if all muslims supported terrorism, this world would be a frikkin warzone... but like ab said, "99.99% of muslims are not terrorists but 99.99% of terrorists are muslims."... ok, its obviously not 99.99% but you get the idea....
                        Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                        -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Daily Times

                          Sunday, September 03, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

                          Bomb rips through ‘devil’s’ music market

                          DARRA ADAMKHEL: A homemade bomb exploded at a music market in NWFP on Saturday, slightly injuring one guard and damaging several shops, officials said. One local administration official, requesting anonymity, confirmed that a bomb exploded at 4:10am and ripped through the Malik Nawab Shah music market in main Darra Adamkhel bazaar, 50 kilometres southwest of Peshawar. Confirming the attack, Shah Zaman Khan, spokesman for the NWFP governor’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat in Peshawar, told Daily Times that “local tribal elders will meet administration people to investigate the blast”. He also confirmed that several shops had been damaged in the blast. The music market was last attacked four months ago when pro-Taliban elements, who believe that business in music is against Islam, renamed it “dozakhi market”, meaning “place of devils”. staff report
                          Pakistan is in the grips of terrorism themselves, because they turn a blind eye to it as is this case.


                          "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                          I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                          HAKUNA MATATA

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Tronic
                            muslims that finance terrorism??? I would say... 1 out of hundred thousand.... maybe even less...
                            Those that pay zakat are financing terrorism since the zakat goes into madrassas and madrassas churn out these horrendous elements that pillage sneakily the world including Pakistan!


                            "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                            I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                            HAKUNA MATATA

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Monday, September 04, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

                              Troops withdraw from N Waziristan

                              MIRANSHAH: Hundreds of army troops withdrew from posts on Sunday in North Waziristan, as an intelligence official said militants and the government were close to unveiling a peace deal.

                              About 250 troops have pulled back from 11 roadblocks in Miranshah, the intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. An unspecified number of troops have also left posts guarding two key government buildings, he said. Military spokesmen did not immediately confirm the withdrawal.

                              Under an agreement widely expected to be unveiled by the government this week, no militant will attack government officials or security forces in the region. In return, troops there “will not carry out operations against them,” a separate intelligence official had said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

                              Sunday’s troop withdrawal came a day after two other intelligence agents in Miranshah said that militants had signed an agreement to ensure “permanent peace” in the region. ap
                              http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...4-9-2006_pg1_3
                              So it means open hunting season for the AQ and Taliban!

                              A great way to be a front line ally of the US in the "War on Terror".

                              No wonder the Canadians want to come over to Pakistan and help them seal the Pak Afghan border!


                              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                              HAKUNA MATATA

                              Comment

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