Terrorism, Islamism, Salifism, et. al
and the propaganda that supports it
and the propaganda that supports it
"Verbal utterance, the verbal statement of a threat or an intention (especially when it is
uttered repeatedly and exaggeratedly) achieves such importance (In the Arabic culture) that
the question of whether or not it is subsequently carried out becomes of minor significance."
(The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai).
"More than any institution in America today (and the world?) the press (with other media)
defines reality and determines the political agenda. Yet unlike other mediating groups,
which have historically tempered public passions, the (media) today often inflames them. It
sensationalizes, dramatizes, and trivializes news." (The Future of Freedom by Fareed
Zakaria).
"Spectacular terrorism, because of the inevitable worldwide media attention it attracts,
(makes) it possible for extremists to pose as champions of the cause, and perhaps to
regain popular favor by way of television." (Jihad by Gilles Kepel).
"Demonstrations of hatred between young Muslims and Jews are on the rise, and they
become especially acute on the playground the morning after Al Jazeera reports on Israeli
suppression of Palestinians." (The War For Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel).
"Their (Islamic militants) disagreements had nothing to do with religious matters but were
concerned with glory and power! (Jihad by Gilles Kepel)
"Thanks to the rapid development of the media, and especially of television, the more recent
forms of terrorism are aimed not at specific and limited enemy objectives but at world
opinion. Their primary purpose is not to defeat or even to weaken the enemy militarily but to
gain publicity and to inspire fear – a psychological victory." (The Crisis of Islam by Bernard
Lewis).
"As a result of faulty education on campuses and lack of information in the media, the
(justice system) was not able to form a clear idea about the history, evolution, and rapid
pace of the mounting threat (Jihadism)…The academic establishment refused to consider
Jihad’s doctrines as a threat or to report on its abuse of human rights worldwide before it hit
the U.S. mainland and attacked dissenting scholars and blocked their words from reaching
the public and leaders…Eventually, over time, American universities will decide the final
outcome of the war on ideas…For only an educated public can produce a mobilized nation."
(Future Jihad by Walid Phares).
"In the Sunni world, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was shaped and quickened by the
fact that Islam is a highly egalitarian religion. This for most of its history has proved an
empowering call for people who felt powerless. But it also means no Muslim really has the
authority to question whether someone is a 'proper Muslim.' In the Middle Ages there was
an informal understanding that a trained scholarly-clerical community, the ulama, had the
authority to pronounce on such matters. But fundamentalist thinkers, from the Pakistani
Maulana Maududi and (the Egyptian Sayyid) Qutb to their followers, have muscled in on that
territory. They loudly and continuously pronounce judgement as to whether people are 'good
Muslim.' In effect they excommunicate those whose Islam does not match their own. This
process has terrified the Muslim world. Leaders dare not take on the rising tide of
Islamists...I have watched this transformation in India, where I grew up. The rich, colorful,
pluralistic, and easygoing Islam of my youth is turning into a dour, puritanical faith, policed by
petty theocrats and religious commissars...Over the past three decades, the Saudis - mostly
through private trusts - have funded religious schools (madrasas) and centers that spread
Wahhabism (a rigid, desert variant of Islam that is the template for most Islamic
fundamentalists) around the world. In the past thirty years Saudi-funded madrasas have
churned out thousands of half-educated, fanatical Muslims who view the modern world and
non-Muslims with great suspicion. America in this world-view is almost always uniquely
evil." (The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria).
"The changes that had overtaken Islam in the world beyond Iraq had found their way to that
country as well...'The Friday prayer leaders...have become political leaders who speak to the
television cameras rather than men of religion who speak to the worshippers' (quoting Tariq
al-Homayed, writer for Ashaq Al-Awsat). The preachers in Fallujah - like their Shia
counterpart, the leader of the Mahdi Army, Moqtada al-Sadr - had disfigured and bent the
faith to their will and to their needs...Religion here had formerly yielded to tribalism; religious
parties had historically been weaker in their pull than the secular political parties of the left
and pan-Arabists. But now the faith had been summoned." (The Foreigner's Gift by Fouad
Ajami).
"Inter-Arab conflicts provide a striking illustration of the gap between the ideal and the real in
the Arab mind. The ideal, as laid down in the Koran, is that there can be no war between
Muslims. In principle, the one form of war permissible in Islam is the Jihad, the holy war
which consists of military action for the purpose of defending or expanding the 'House of
Islam.' It is a collective Muslim duty to convert to Islam all unbelievers, except Jews,
Christians and Zoroastrians, who are 'people of the book,' and must merely be made to
submit to the political authority of Islam, and pay the jizya, land tax. Since Islam must, in
theory, constitute a single community, any armed conflict between Muslims is prohibited. In
actuality, inter-Arab warfare was a constant feature in the history of the Arabs, and has
remained an integral part of Arab life to this very day." (The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai).
"We still have no strategy for dealing with the ideology. Indeed for the first few years of the
war on 'terror,' our leaders declined to acknowledge there was an ideology. And, as the
years roll on, groups with terrorist ties are still able to insert their recruiters into America's
military bases, prisons, and pretty much anywhere else they have a yen to go. How come?
What gives the jihad its global reach? It's not difficult to figure out: Wahabism is the most
militant form of Islam, the one followed by all nineteen of the September 11 terrorists and by
Osama bin Laden. The Saudis, whose state religion is Wahabism, export their faith and
affiliated local strains in lavishly endowed schools and mosques all over the world and, as a
result, traditionally moderate Muslim populations from the Balkans to South Asia have been
dramatically radicalized...That kind of operation doesn't come cheap. So who pays for it?...
Oil isn't the principal Saudi export, ideology is - petroleum merely bankrolls it." (America
Alone by Mark Steyn).
"If you are a graduate from the Wahibi madrassas, listen to your Salafi preacher on a weekly
basis, watch American movies at night and al Jazeera during the day, read only jihadi
literature instead of social sciences, you will be convinced that America...is undoubtedly
going down...Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah (ideological mentor of Hezbollah) has
often said in his speeches: America is evil in its essence...Worldwide, a massive cultural
war is waged against the United States...the most radical rhetoric targets the image of
America...Conditioned to hate by media and activist networks, millions march around the
world, (and) embassies, consulates centers, diplomats, and citizens are attacked...Jihadists
want to liberate all Muslim lands from non-Muslim powers...whatever land that came
formerly under the Islamic state is Islamic. Whatever population that is in a position to rule
itself that came to join the Islamic state brings its lands with it...the most important task is to
reestablish the Caliphate." (Future Jihad by Walid Phares).
"The challenges presented by Islamist terrorism are ones that confront us in the very places
where we are confused and irresolute, and force us to see that we have fallen into ways of
thinking and living that we cannot and should not sustain."
(Out of Mortal Threat, an Opportunity (National Review Magazine, May 14, 2007 by Wilfred
M. Mcclay)
"Irshad Manji, the self-proclaimed 'Muslim refusenik'...asked in an interview to assess the
extent to which Islam in Europe could be described as 'extremist,' replied:
'It mostly depends on how you define extremism. If you mean 'literalism,' then it is
more than widespread - it is mainstream. If you mean the overt preaching of violence, then it
percolates on the margins. The key here is to recognize that because literalism is
mainstream in Islam today, the thin minority of Muslims who have any intention of engaging
in terror are nonetheless protected by the vast majority of moderate Muslims who don't know
how to debate and dissent with that proclivity...
I subscribe to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's point that 'Islamic terrorism, both in the Netherlands and
abroad, is able to thrive because it is embedded in a wider circle of fellow Muslims.' This is
a reality that most Western security experts have yet to grasp."
The Death of the Grown-Up by Diana West.
uttered repeatedly and exaggeratedly) achieves such importance (In the Arabic culture) that
the question of whether or not it is subsequently carried out becomes of minor significance."
(The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai).
"More than any institution in America today (and the world?) the press (with other media)
defines reality and determines the political agenda. Yet unlike other mediating groups,
which have historically tempered public passions, the (media) today often inflames them. It
sensationalizes, dramatizes, and trivializes news." (The Future of Freedom by Fareed
Zakaria).
"Spectacular terrorism, because of the inevitable worldwide media attention it attracts,
(makes) it possible for extremists to pose as champions of the cause, and perhaps to
regain popular favor by way of television." (Jihad by Gilles Kepel).
"Demonstrations of hatred between young Muslims and Jews are on the rise, and they
become especially acute on the playground the morning after Al Jazeera reports on Israeli
suppression of Palestinians." (The War For Muslim Minds by Gilles Kepel).
"Their (Islamic militants) disagreements had nothing to do with religious matters but were
concerned with glory and power! (Jihad by Gilles Kepel)
"Thanks to the rapid development of the media, and especially of television, the more recent
forms of terrorism are aimed not at specific and limited enemy objectives but at world
opinion. Their primary purpose is not to defeat or even to weaken the enemy militarily but to
gain publicity and to inspire fear – a psychological victory." (The Crisis of Islam by Bernard
Lewis).
"As a result of faulty education on campuses and lack of information in the media, the
(justice system) was not able to form a clear idea about the history, evolution, and rapid
pace of the mounting threat (Jihadism)…The academic establishment refused to consider
Jihad’s doctrines as a threat or to report on its abuse of human rights worldwide before it hit
the U.S. mainland and attacked dissenting scholars and blocked their words from reaching
the public and leaders…Eventually, over time, American universities will decide the final
outcome of the war on ideas…For only an educated public can produce a mobilized nation."
(Future Jihad by Walid Phares).
"In the Sunni world, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism was shaped and quickened by the
fact that Islam is a highly egalitarian religion. This for most of its history has proved an
empowering call for people who felt powerless. But it also means no Muslim really has the
authority to question whether someone is a 'proper Muslim.' In the Middle Ages there was
an informal understanding that a trained scholarly-clerical community, the ulama, had the
authority to pronounce on such matters. But fundamentalist thinkers, from the Pakistani
Maulana Maududi and (the Egyptian Sayyid) Qutb to their followers, have muscled in on that
territory. They loudly and continuously pronounce judgement as to whether people are 'good
Muslim.' In effect they excommunicate those whose Islam does not match their own. This
process has terrified the Muslim world. Leaders dare not take on the rising tide of
Islamists...I have watched this transformation in India, where I grew up. The rich, colorful,
pluralistic, and easygoing Islam of my youth is turning into a dour, puritanical faith, policed by
petty theocrats and religious commissars...Over the past three decades, the Saudis - mostly
through private trusts - have funded religious schools (madrasas) and centers that spread
Wahhabism (a rigid, desert variant of Islam that is the template for most Islamic
fundamentalists) around the world. In the past thirty years Saudi-funded madrasas have
churned out thousands of half-educated, fanatical Muslims who view the modern world and
non-Muslims with great suspicion. America in this world-view is almost always uniquely
evil." (The Future of Freedom by Fareed Zakaria).
"The changes that had overtaken Islam in the world beyond Iraq had found their way to that
country as well...'The Friday prayer leaders...have become political leaders who speak to the
television cameras rather than men of religion who speak to the worshippers' (quoting Tariq
al-Homayed, writer for Ashaq Al-Awsat). The preachers in Fallujah - like their Shia
counterpart, the leader of the Mahdi Army, Moqtada al-Sadr - had disfigured and bent the
faith to their will and to their needs...Religion here had formerly yielded to tribalism; religious
parties had historically been weaker in their pull than the secular political parties of the left
and pan-Arabists. But now the faith had been summoned." (The Foreigner's Gift by Fouad
Ajami).
"Inter-Arab conflicts provide a striking illustration of the gap between the ideal and the real in
the Arab mind. The ideal, as laid down in the Koran, is that there can be no war between
Muslims. In principle, the one form of war permissible in Islam is the Jihad, the holy war
which consists of military action for the purpose of defending or expanding the 'House of
Islam.' It is a collective Muslim duty to convert to Islam all unbelievers, except Jews,
Christians and Zoroastrians, who are 'people of the book,' and must merely be made to
submit to the political authority of Islam, and pay the jizya, land tax. Since Islam must, in
theory, constitute a single community, any armed conflict between Muslims is prohibited. In
actuality, inter-Arab warfare was a constant feature in the history of the Arabs, and has
remained an integral part of Arab life to this very day." (The Arab Mind by Raphael Patai).
"We still have no strategy for dealing with the ideology. Indeed for the first few years of the
war on 'terror,' our leaders declined to acknowledge there was an ideology. And, as the
years roll on, groups with terrorist ties are still able to insert their recruiters into America's
military bases, prisons, and pretty much anywhere else they have a yen to go. How come?
What gives the jihad its global reach? It's not difficult to figure out: Wahabism is the most
militant form of Islam, the one followed by all nineteen of the September 11 terrorists and by
Osama bin Laden. The Saudis, whose state religion is Wahabism, export their faith and
affiliated local strains in lavishly endowed schools and mosques all over the world and, as a
result, traditionally moderate Muslim populations from the Balkans to South Asia have been
dramatically radicalized...That kind of operation doesn't come cheap. So who pays for it?...
Oil isn't the principal Saudi export, ideology is - petroleum merely bankrolls it." (America
Alone by Mark Steyn).
"If you are a graduate from the Wahibi madrassas, listen to your Salafi preacher on a weekly
basis, watch American movies at night and al Jazeera during the day, read only jihadi
literature instead of social sciences, you will be convinced that America...is undoubtedly
going down...Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah (ideological mentor of Hezbollah) has
often said in his speeches: America is evil in its essence...Worldwide, a massive cultural
war is waged against the United States...the most radical rhetoric targets the image of
America...Conditioned to hate by media and activist networks, millions march around the
world, (and) embassies, consulates centers, diplomats, and citizens are attacked...Jihadists
want to liberate all Muslim lands from non-Muslim powers...whatever land that came
formerly under the Islamic state is Islamic. Whatever population that is in a position to rule
itself that came to join the Islamic state brings its lands with it...the most important task is to
reestablish the Caliphate." (Future Jihad by Walid Phares).
"The challenges presented by Islamist terrorism are ones that confront us in the very places
where we are confused and irresolute, and force us to see that we have fallen into ways of
thinking and living that we cannot and should not sustain."
(Out of Mortal Threat, an Opportunity (National Review Magazine, May 14, 2007 by Wilfred
M. Mcclay)
"Irshad Manji, the self-proclaimed 'Muslim refusenik'...asked in an interview to assess the
extent to which Islam in Europe could be described as 'extremist,' replied:
'It mostly depends on how you define extremism. If you mean 'literalism,' then it is
more than widespread - it is mainstream. If you mean the overt preaching of violence, then it
percolates on the margins. The key here is to recognize that because literalism is
mainstream in Islam today, the thin minority of Muslims who have any intention of engaging
in terror are nonetheless protected by the vast majority of moderate Muslims who don't know
how to debate and dissent with that proclivity...
I subscribe to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's point that 'Islamic terrorism, both in the Netherlands and
abroad, is able to thrive because it is embedded in a wider circle of fellow Muslims.' This is
a reality that most Western security experts have yet to grasp."
The Death of the Grown-Up by Diana West.
| QUOTATIONS/EXCERPTS One cannot gain a full understanding of Islamist/Salafist terrorism from a compilation of quotations/excerpts, but it's a place to begin. |
| "A better understanding of the past leads us to a clearer analysis of future trends." Walid Phares. |
| Below is a partial reading list that can assist in understanding the phenomenon we currently are calling Jihadi or Islamist terrorism. Clearly such understanding also begs knowledge of the recent history of the Arabic Middle East and of Islam throughout the world. |
Raphael Patai, The Arab Mind, Hatherleigh Press, 2002
William R. Polk, The Arab World, Harvard University Press, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1980
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, MJF Books, 1991
Elie Kedourie, Politics in the Middle East, Oxford University Press, 1992
David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, Henry Holt and Company, 1989
David Pryce-Jones, The Closed Circle, Harper Perennial, 1991
Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong?, Oxford University Press, 2002
Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam, The Modern Library, 2003
Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, Oxford University Press, 2004
Ahmad Rashid, Jihad, the Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, World Policy Institute, 2002
Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Kadansha International, 1990, 1992
Lutz Kleveman, The New Great Game, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003
Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, Tournament of Shadows, Counterpoint, 1999
Gilles Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, The Belnap Press (Harvard), 2004
Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Trail of Political Islam, The Belnap Press (Harvard), 2004
Fouad Ajami, The Foreigner's Gift, Free Press, 2006
Walid Phares, Jihad, Terrorist Strategies Against the West, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom, W.W. Norton and Company, 2003, 2004
Mark Steyn, America Alone, Regnery Publishing Inc., 2006
Diana West, The Death of the Grown-Up, St. Martin's Press, 2007
William R. Polk, The Arab World, Harvard University Press, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1980
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, MJF Books, 1991
Elie Kedourie, Politics in the Middle East, Oxford University Press, 1992
David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, Henry Holt and Company, 1989
David Pryce-Jones, The Closed Circle, Harper Perennial, 1991
Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong?, Oxford University Press, 2002
Bernard Lewis, The Crisis of Islam, The Modern Library, 2003
Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, Oxford University Press, 2004
Ahmad Rashid, Jihad, the Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, World Policy Institute, 2002
Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Kadansha International, 1990, 1992
Lutz Kleveman, The New Great Game, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003
Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, Tournament of Shadows, Counterpoint, 1999
Gilles Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, The Belnap Press (Harvard), 2004
Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Trail of Political Islam, The Belnap Press (Harvard), 2004
Fouad Ajami, The Foreigner's Gift, Free Press, 2006
Walid Phares, Jihad, Terrorist Strategies Against the West, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005
Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom, W.W. Norton and Company, 2003, 2004
Mark Steyn, America Alone, Regnery Publishing Inc., 2006
Diana West, The Death of the Grown-Up, St. Martin's Press, 2007
TERRORISM
We have created the environment for terrorism through our own myopic self
absorption - terrorism in several guises.
The Arabs are impotent without oil money and we provide not only the
money to drill for and refine the oil, but we also buy it - in great quantities.
Without that they would revert to being the same wandering nomads they
always were, and we would ignore them. Instead we coddle them, make
excuses for them and pretend they wish to share our values. We
carelessly squander the oil they sell us and they aggressively use the
money we provide to destroy us.
We have also created an environment for minority arrogance, which is
becoming another kind of terrorism. Liberally tolerating everything they
blather, and castigating ourselves for not doing so sooner, we encourage
them to push what they laughingly refer to as "their own culture."
Multi-culturalism is the first stage of anarchy, and anarchy is the perfect
environment for total immersion into terrorism. ( Consult The Death of
Grown-Ups by Diana West)
Finally we are creating yet another terrorist environment, different but no
less frightening. That is the broader culture of our young who are being
taught to put down everything we stand for - including morality and the work
ethic. This terrorism is readily apparent in the blatant lack of respect for
and indifference to its elders and our institutions, particularly learning,
exhibited by a significant increment of today's youth.
Terrorism is the creed of wanton destruction and unless we wake up and
do something about what we have wrought we are asking to be wantonly
destroyed.
We have created the environment for terrorism through our own myopic self
absorption - terrorism in several guises.
The Arabs are impotent without oil money and we provide not only the
money to drill for and refine the oil, but we also buy it - in great quantities.
Without that they would revert to being the same wandering nomads they
always were, and we would ignore them. Instead we coddle them, make
excuses for them and pretend they wish to share our values. We
carelessly squander the oil they sell us and they aggressively use the
money we provide to destroy us.
We have also created an environment for minority arrogance, which is
becoming another kind of terrorism. Liberally tolerating everything they
blather, and castigating ourselves for not doing so sooner, we encourage
them to push what they laughingly refer to as "their own culture."
Multi-culturalism is the first stage of anarchy, and anarchy is the perfect
environment for total immersion into terrorism. ( Consult The Death of
Grown-Ups by Diana West)
Finally we are creating yet another terrorist environment, different but no
less frightening. That is the broader culture of our young who are being
taught to put down everything we stand for - including morality and the work
ethic. This terrorism is readily apparent in the blatant lack of respect for
and indifference to its elders and our institutions, particularly learning,
exhibited by a significant increment of today's youth.
Terrorism is the creed of wanton destruction and unless we wake up and
do something about what we have wrought we are asking to be wantonly
destroyed.
Note this important distinction: Arab
culture, not Arab. To lump all people
born of a culture together - even
when they are no longer living in that
culture is prejudicial discrimination;
observing the traditions and
tendencies of people living within a
culture is healthy discrimination by
observation.
Arabs of and within their culture
show common proclivities; often
when they leave that culture such
proclivities change. The same can
be said about black "culture," which
many black people rightfully
disparage.
I am of the opinion that both Arab and
black cultures are destructive (for
Arabs and blacks who are of those
cultures), and born of and thrive on
ignorance. This does not keep me
from having a high level of respect for
persons from those cultures who
have learned to eschew them after
having learned how destructive they
are.
culture, not Arab. To lump all people
born of a culture together - even
when they are no longer living in that
culture is prejudicial discrimination;
observing the traditions and
tendencies of people living within a
culture is healthy discrimination by
observation.
Arabs of and within their culture
show common proclivities; often
when they leave that culture such
proclivities change. The same can
be said about black "culture," which
many black people rightfully
disparage.
I am of the opinion that both Arab and
black cultures are destructive (for
Arabs and blacks who are of those
cultures), and born of and thrive on
ignorance. This does not keep me
from having a high level of respect for
persons from those cultures who
have learned to eschew them after
having learned how destructive they
are.
