by NoOneImportant » Wed May 14, 2014 8:47 pm
Excellent points and questions. But from the radicals point of view the problem is more basic than the ascent or descent of Islam. The issue, from the Islamic radicals point of view, revolves more basically around their very survival within Islam. In that regard the prime question for the radicalized becomes: who is their ultimate enemy?
Those outside of Islam, non-Muslims, see the issue as one of an unwillingness of Muslims to condemn on a moral, and ethical basis the monstrous actions of the radical Islamic.
In actuality this vision of the problem/issue lacks a clear understanding of the totalitarian mind. From outside of Islam it is a common mis-conception that the issue seems to be one of an abject lack of ethics and morality within the community of Islam. While this might be the case, that conception is difficult to assess. To explain, once terror is adopted as the prime means of promoting any agenda within any ideology, a clear understanding of: just exactly who the is enemy, is necessary. The presumption, outside of Islam, is that it appears that the ultimate enemy for Islamic radicals would be infidels; but is that really the case? Or is the primary, and ultimate enemy to the committed terrorist Islamic radical, the "moderate" Muslim. In the radical's mind moderate Muslims must be terrorized, and silenced first; for it is the moderate Muslim who jeopardized the terrorist's power base most acutely. Once the moral high ground is lost to Islamic radicals, within Islam they have no extended platform left from which to operate; in jeopardizing their moral position they lose any moral imperative, as such they jeopardize their financial base, they jeopardize moderate Muslim cooperation, and suffer a public relations catastrophe. As such then the ultimate enemy is thus the "moderate" Muslim, and he must be silenced first, and he must be silenced ruthlessly, and he must be silenced absolutely. Only after silencing "moderates" is the radical free to pursue his next objective - the imposition of his ideology upon the infidel.
The kidnapping of the Nigerian girls makes perfect sense from an Islamic radical point of view. The message is: simply terror, no one is safe.
From the moderate Muslims perspective he, on the one hand, feels no jeopardy for remaining silent in the context of living in either an Islamic country, or in a Western Democracy. He does, however, feel acute fear, both within Islamic countries, and from the radicalized Islamic community in the Western Democracies should he choose to speak out against radical Islam, as radical Islam is never portrayed within the Islamic community as radical, only justified by repression. The condition might be analogous to that of the American citizenry when confronted by the pervasive KKK in late 19th, and 20th century America. In short the problem is not an easy one to solve. It was solved in America by mobilizing, over an extended period of time, public opinion against the KKK. The problem within Islam is, however, different and much more difficult to solve; as people will do for God what they would never do for themselves. In confronting the Islamic radicals within Islam there is a misplaced perception of betraying an allegiance to Islam, and thus to Allah; an allegiance, and perception that was never the case when dealing with the KKK.
Excellent points and questions. But from the radicals point of view the problem is more basic than the ascent or descent of Islam. The issue, from the Islamic radicals point of view, revolves more basically around their very survival within Islam. In that regard the prime question for the radicalized becomes: who is their ultimate enemy?
Those outside of Islam, non-Muslims, see the issue as one of an unwillingness of Muslims to condemn on a moral, and ethical basis the monstrous actions of the radical Islamic.
In actuality this vision of the problem/issue lacks a clear understanding of the totalitarian mind. From outside of Islam it is a common mis-conception that the issue seems to be one of an abject lack of ethics and morality within the community of Islam. While this might be the case, that conception is difficult to assess. To explain, once terror is adopted as the prime means of promoting any agenda within any ideology, a clear understanding of: just exactly who the is enemy, is necessary. The presumption, outside of Islam, is that it appears that the ultimate enemy for Islamic radicals would be infidels; but is that really the case? Or is the primary, and ultimate enemy to the committed terrorist Islamic radical, the "moderate" Muslim. In the radical's mind moderate Muslims must be terrorized, and silenced first; for it is the moderate Muslim who jeopardized the terrorist's power base most acutely. Once the moral high ground is lost to Islamic radicals, within Islam they have no extended platform left from which to operate; in jeopardizing their moral position they lose any moral imperative, as such they jeopardize their financial base, they jeopardize moderate Muslim cooperation, and suffer a public relations catastrophe. As such then the ultimate enemy is thus the "moderate" Muslim, and he must be silenced first, and he must be silenced ruthlessly, and he must be silenced absolutely. Only after silencing "moderates" is the radical free to pursue his next objective - the imposition of his ideology upon the infidel.
The kidnapping of the Nigerian girls makes perfect sense from an Islamic radical point of view. The message is: simply terror, no one is safe.
From the moderate Muslims perspective he, on the one hand, feels no jeopardy for remaining silent in the context of living in either an Islamic country, or in a Western Democracy. He does, however, feel acute fear, both within Islamic countries, and from the radicalized Islamic community in the Western Democracies should he choose to speak out against radical Islam, as radical Islam is never portrayed within the Islamic community as radical, only justified by repression. The condition might be analogous to that of the American citizenry when confronted by the pervasive KKK in late 19th, and 20th century America. In short the problem is not an easy one to solve. It was solved in America by mobilizing, over an extended period of time, public opinion against the KKK. The problem within Islam is, however, different and much more difficult to solve; as people will do for God what they would never do for themselves. In confronting the Islamic radicals within Islam there is a misplaced perception of betraying an allegiance to Islam, and thus to Allah; an allegiance, and perception that was never the case when dealing with the KKK.