The unseen war in Islam

We’ve come a long way from early, clumsy attempts to identify the perpetrators of terrorism. Even George Bush appeared dazed and unsure when he famously quipped: "Islam is peace". That was in 2001, a few days after fifteen Saudi Arabian terrorists flew three planes into American landmarks. George Bush wanted to assure the American public that the ‘war against terrorism’ was not a ‘war against Islam’. Unfortunately, some of the Muslim representatives he had chosen to grace the important event had, pre-9/11, expressed keen support for terrorist groups like Hamas.

As Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel, rightly laments:

"…not all Muslims are terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims."

Muslims like Abdel Rahman know that the situation is not as simple as some policy-makers tell us. While neo-conservatives in Washington agitate for reforms to be implemented in the Middle East- by force, if necessary- extremists draw up plans to attack other parts of the world. Against all expectations, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have not led to a decline in terrorism. More and more, the victims are Muslims themselves.

The cynical might say: It’s about time. After all, there’s no better way to wake a slumbering giant than to light a fire under his feet. Muslims are beginning to understand that the problem arises directly from their ranks. Not from Islam itself, but from those who pervert the religion and cloak it in the rhetoric of religion.

Modern ideological forms of Islam, which saw a blossoming in the 18th century, are recent innovations that are completely different in form, content and above all, ethical behavior than orthodox Islam. Indeed, the two have so little in common and agree on so little that many Muslims who are aware of these differences have, for a long time, been predicting that sooner or later, as ideological Islam grows in strength, ideologues would wage war on traditional Muslims.

That moment seems to have arrived.

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