The Trojan horse in modern Islam [Archives:2003/663/Opinion]

archive
August 28 2003

Any enlightened Moslem, following up on current events in the world at large, in general, and in the Moslem World in particular, is bound to take note of the systematic increase in violent attacks carried out by individuals or groups purportedly tied to fundamental “Islamic” activists. With the exception of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York and the US Pentagon (Department of Defense) in Washington D.C., the investigation of which needs to be completed and fully made public, most of these attacks have taken place in Moslem countries or countries with significantly large Moslem minorities. Accordingly one would view these attacks as being self defeating and their tolls are largely innocent civilians. Very seldom do they target any military or strategic objective that would serve the cause of Islam. In fact, there are many attacks, which actually are targeted against Moslems, some of which become publicly known and others may not reach the public domain. On the other hand many of these attacks are supposedly meant to be tied to a genuine struggle for liberation or for the defense of Islamic interests or causes, not to mention a continuation of the defense of Islam “against the continued Western Crusade” against Islam. Notwithstanding the genuine causes behind some of these issues (Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq and Kashmir, just to name a few), these attacks, in general, have been out of tune with Islam and out of context with the causes they purportedly claim to uphold. Moreover, many of the attacks have been launched against Moslem faithful carrying out their prayers or Islamic studies in Mosques or traditional Moslem institutes on a continuing basis in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan and more recently even in Yemen. These states are renowned for their strong Moslem presence in every facet of their society and therefore one is at a loss in finding out why these so called “Moslem activists” would want to disrupt the peace of these faithful as they are carrying out their rites of worship or their Islamic scholastic endeavors.
Many Moslems are ready to suggest that these activists are the product of a systematic effort promoted by clandestine operations promoted by certain Western interests and their Moslem henchmen, who claim to be Islamic reformists. These activities go back to the days when the British Empire was in its burgeoning stages. This observer has come across books that go back some eighty years, which detail the activities of these self proclaimed reformists in Islam and warn of the eminent threat to the Moslem nation posed by these groups. Mind you, this was when such heretical movements were still confined to the Northern Arabian deserts where they originated from and were just beginning their encroachment in the rest of the hinterland of the Arabian Peninsula.
As time progressed and this radical deviation from generally accepted Moslem advocacy was able to obtain generous funding from the petrodollars generated by the rich oil basin the movement and its tribal allies was sitting on, this movement was able to expand internationally thanks to the efforts of some of the institutions it set up specifically for this purpose. Under the guise of teaching Moslem children the Koran and the “original religious dictates of the Prophet Mohammed (PAUH) and his followers, Koranic schools and “scholastic institutes” were set up in Moslem countries and even in non-Moslem countries. These well funded institutes went on to recruit mainly very young children, who were scientifically reared in becoming unquestionable loyalists to the new radical movement. The institutes were to be found in mostly remote and discreet locations, where there was no chance of widespread public awareness of their spreading venom corrupting Moslem societies everywhere. In the meantime, traditional Moslem institutions throughout the Moslem World were being marginalized by the very political regimes that held sway in most of the Moslem World, with prodding by the financiers behind these movements or for political reasons that turned out to be unwarranted. This gave this radical rendition of Islam a free vacuum in which to grow and spread like a cancer. Moreover, this movement was even allowed to set up paramilitary training camps in many countries, with the political establishment closing its eyes to such operations, for political, economic or financial reasons. Whatever the case, these radical movements (all of which originate from the same point of origin) have become so embedded in Islamic societies and even outside the Moslem World that they were able to become more aggressive and less discreet, as they sought to monopolize all religious activity in the Moslem countries where they have established a firm foothold. Accordingly, by the turn of the Century, they began to forcefully take over Moslem Mosques and sanctuaries, driving out the traditional overseers of these Mosques or institutes.
The point to be made here is that this radical movement has become a serious threat to the Moslem World and to Moslem populations everywhere, especially those Moslems, who insist on sticking to the tolerance, true piety and humility that Islam calls for, as well as the mercy that Islam has been well known for 1500 years, before this movement even had any semblance of a presence in its midst. Therefore, Moslems must now to really begin to shoulder the responsibility of bringing these dubious fanatics back into the mainstream of the faithful Moslems and to control them from carrying out ungodly acts against Moslems and non-Moslems alike. Otherwise, we as a nation are in for some dangerous tidings in the future with thousands of innocent Moslems and non Moslems needlessly being slaughtered just to quench the blood thirst of the advocates of this demonic sect. This will also be more of service to the interests of the enemies of Islam than these enemies could ever dream of achieving by themselves.
——
[archive-e:663-v:13-y:2003-d:2003-08-28-p:opinion]