Learning to Live With Radical Islam

We don't have to accept the stoning of criminals. But it's time to stop treating all Islamists as potential terrorists.

War zones across the globe sprouted like mushroom. Islamic militant fighters waged fierce battles against local troops and in some place, International troops from the US and Europe.

The militants are bad people and this is bad news. But the more difficult question is, what should we—the outside world—do about it? That we are utterly opposed to such people, and their ideas and practices, is obvious. But how exactly should we oppose them?

Reports from Nigeria to Bosnia to Indonesia show that Islamic fundamentalists are finding support within their communities for their agenda, which usually involves the introduction of some form of Sharia—Islamic law—reflecting a puritanical interpretation of Islam. No music, no liquor, no smoking, no female emancipation.

The groups that advocate these policies are ugly, reactionary forces that will stunt their countries and bring dishonor to their religion. But not all these Islamists advocate global jihad, host terrorists or launch operations against the outside world—in fact, most do not. Consider, for example, the most difficult example, the Taliban.

The Taliban have done all kinds of terrible things in Afghanistan. But so far, no Afghan Taliban has participated at any significant level in a global terrorist attack over the past 10 years—including 9/11. There are certainly elements of the Taliban that are closely associated with Al Qaeda. But the Taliban is large, and many factions have little connection to Osama bin Laden. Most Taliban want Islamic rule locally, not violent jihad globally.

Dysfunctional rule meant that the government lost credibility. Some people grew nostalgic for the simple, if sometimes brutal, justice of the old Sharia courts. such if the secularists produce chaos and corruption, people settle for order.

Further reading below.

Radical Islam vs. Islam by David Forte

Islamic radicals hijacked airplanes to attack and undermine the West. They killed thousands of innocents without a single moral qualm. But their enmity is not just directed against us. They also mean to hijack Islam itself and to destroy 13 centuries of Islamic civilization. We are not in a war between two civilizations. We are fighting an enemy of two civilizations.

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The New York Times - Why Radical Islam Just Won’t Die

Extremist movements have been growing bigger and wilder for more than three decades now, during that period, America has tried pretty much everything from a policy point of view.

Every one of those policies has left the Muslim people worse off than before, even if nowadays, from beneath the rubble, the devastated survivors can at least ruminate about a better future — though there is doubt that many of them are in any mood to do so.

The entire sequence of events may suggest that America is uniquely destined to do the wrong thing. All too likely! But it may also suggest that America is not the fulcrum of the universe, and extremist ideologies have prospered because of their own ability to adapt and survive — their strength, in a word.

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Overview of Radical Islam

What is Radical Islam/Islamism?

While the vast majority of the world’s one billion Muslims adhere to more peaceful forms of Islam, radical Islamists advocate a society based on the Koran and Hadith (traditions of the words and deeds of Muhammad) that reject centuries of innovation and interpretation. They argue that foreign and secular influences are distorting and poisoning Muslim societies and press for a return to their perception of an Islam’s earliest era. Jihad (“holy war”) and Dawa (proselytizing) are the means to achieve this end.

What do Islamists Want?

Islamists emphasize the necessity of applying parts of Sharia, or Islamic law, to modern society. They also promote the idea of pan-Islamic political unity, and the elimination of any Western influences in the Muslim world. For many Islamists the final aim is the restoration of the Caliphate, a unitary Muslim state ruled by a single authority, the Caliph, which existed at one time in Saudi Arabia, Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Istanbul until its abolition by the Turks in 1924. A restored Caliphate would then spread Islam to the whole world and subordinate all nations, including the West to its authority. Islamism is currently one of the most powerful ideological forces for Muslims across the world. However, it is not a monolithic phenomenon. It consists of many movements and trends that although related in some aspects (such as anti-Western sentiments) differ on the ways and means by which to pursue their visions. This means that various types of threats can emanate from Islamism, not least of which is terrorism.