Post 9/11 Climate

Published on August 8, 2004 By stevendedalus In Politics

In post 9/11 climate it is difficult to espouse a gentle strategy toward Islam. From the Attorney General’s profiling to the “bring it on” challenge the consensus seems that only through “bad cop” imagery and the leviathan of military prowess will the civilized world defends itself from the sinister ilk of Al Qaeda. Yet it is clear that a religious war-environment will not solve the terrorist threat, nor will theological warfare from either side do anything other than add fuel to the fire. Those of the Christian world cannot comprehend the inability of Islam to adjust to the modernity anymore than the Islam world is able to comprehend the marriage of materialism to Christianity. The situation — with license to anachronism — is that of an auto salesman trying to convince St. Francis of Assisi to get behind the wheel of a Lexus.

Al Qaeda is an ideological crime syndicate that appeals to militant rabble and indoctrinated youths who envision glory in the nether world since they have nothing to gain in the material — and often, not even desirous of material things other than explosives and assault weapons. It is a syndicate that exists for an in itself as it has no positive, ultimate objective but to annihilate all things modern — particularly human rights polluting the symbiosis of tribal identity — in order to sustain the barbarity of outdated machismo.

Although war should not be waged in the traditional sense against a nihilistic syndicate, western diplomacy must be initiated among Muslim nations in order to convince them that harboring destructive syndicates will eventuate in the disintegration of their own sovereignty and hope for a viable existence through international cooperation.

In face of this, there is no other strategy, short of a worldwide religious war, than to persuade, or pressure if need be, all nations to put these nihilistic cells to rout for the benefit of earth and Islam itself.

Comments

Daiwa

on Aug 13, 2004

Steve,

I'm sort of with you on this one (go figure), up to a point. At least in the matter of what it will ultimately take for this ideological crime syndicate (a good description for starters, but needs work to better reflect its potential mass lethality) to be reigned in. I agree that it's the mainstream Muslim world (those Muslims who value and revere life, the overwhelming majority) which must step up and not only renounce these thugs, but do whatever it takes to put them out of business. Sadly, that does not appear to be particularly imminent, so I favor the military approach for now. When they grow the balls to get the job done, I'll be all for bringing our troops home.

There is, however, a danger in systematically characterizing these wack-jobs as merely "criminals" - that appelation suggests a level of seriousness of the problem that simply doesn't do it justice.

Cheers,
Daiwa

stevendedalus

on Aug 15, 2004

It's true ideological crime is more dangerous and widepread than the Mafia whose violence is more inbred. Too bad there isn't internal struggles among terrorists wherein they would kill each other off.

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