Chapter
6: Genealogy of Islamic terrorism
6-1(44) The roots of modern Islamic terrorism
According to Oxford English
Dictionary, "terrorism" means " the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against
civilians, in the pursuit of political aims." Terrorism takes place in three fields:
conflict between ethnicity, religion and political field. Ethnic conflict is a
problem of blood, in modern terms, DNA. And the political terrorism is the
problem of ideology. Religious terrorism is the problem of emotion. In other
words, they are respectively based on DNA, brain and heart of individuals.
The independence movement of Kurd in the Middle East
was an ethnic terrorism. Ethnic terrorism is very common throughout the world.
It has to take place in the future because mankind cannot change his ethnicity.
However, after the World War II, the international community based on the
nation states has blocked ethnic conflicts as much as possible.
On the other hand, terrorism by political ideology had
taken place frequently in various places of the world during the Cold War. Che
Guevara (Ernesto Guevara) who was born in Argentina and Fidel Castro and his brother
Raul Castro in Cuba were terrorists of socialist ideology against Cuban dictatorship.
The terrorism based on political ideology could across the manmade border
easily. Therefore, different from the ethnic or religious terrorism,
ideological terrorism has the character to spread all over the world.
Ideological terrorism has almost diminished after the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1990 when liberalism and capitalism kicked socialism and communism off.
It was just the realization of "The End of History and the Last Man"
written by Prof. Francis Fukuyama.
Religious terrorism used to penetrate widely rather
than ethnic terrorism because religion has no ethnic boundaries nor geographical
borders. In the era of imperialism and colonialism of Western Europe, Christian
missionaries had worked as the front-line of invasion to Africa and Latin
America. Although the missionaries itself might not be conscious as the
invaders, they treated the native religions as being inferior to Christianity.
They raised the flag of "God" or "Christ". There were many terroristic
activities by the native religious powers against the invasion of Christianity.
There are three types of religious terrorism; against
different religion, against political ideology and against another sect of the
same religion. For Muslims the different religion means Judaism or Christianity
which are the same monotheism. In logical meanings, "Jehovah" of Judaism,
"God" of Christianity and "Allah" of Islam are the same one
because the supreme existence of monotheism should be only one. Accordingly, Muslims
are taught that Allah, God and Jehovah are exactly the same one. But Judaism
and Christianity recognize each other as Old Testament and New Testament
whereas they never accept Allah is same as God or Jehovah. Thus, the religious
conflicts have been continuing for centuries in the form of Jewish-Christian
versus Islam.
Islam was challenged by communism ideology in 20th
century. Communism is atheism and denies the religion. They reject Allah of supreme
existence. For Muslim, it was exactly the devil’s dogma. Muslim had so much hostility
against communism while the Christians are more generous for communism as they were
brain-washed by liberalism and capitalism through modern history. Once
communism took the power, Muslims resisted by means of terrorism. The Afghan
war in 1980s was exactly typical one.
Sectarian terrorism in the same
religion was the battle for "legitimacy". In history the disruption and
confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites of Islam began just after the Prophet’s
death. Sunnis urged that Quran and hadith were the most important things for
Muslims. On the other hand, the Shiites claimed that the legitimacy should be
on the prophet's genealogy. Shiites were inherited by Persians and Sunnis were
handed down to the Arabs.
After communism lost power in
1990, the sectarian confrontation has taken place as a new stream of terrorism.
In 1989 the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan and
the local Taliban took the power. Then Osama Bin Laden, a leader of Al-Qaeda,
left Afghanistan. The purpose of Osama Bin Laden was to deploy Islamic fundamentalism
in Muslim countries. He thought that the liberalism and democracy of Western
European countries devastated Islam. He visited Muslim countries in the Middle
East and North Africa one after another. He also used the Internet to promote
the Islamic fundamentalism (Sarafism). He agitated the masses by returning to the
Muhammad’s era in the 7th century.
Al-Qaeda was bred in Islamic countries one after
another. Anti-government terrorist organizations in various countries
self-nominated the name of al-Qaeda. They were "Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP)", "Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)”, “Al
Qaeda in Iraq”, “Jemaah Islamiyah” in Indonesia, “Abu Sayyaf Group” in the
Philippines, etc. Furthermore, a lone wolf Muslim terrorist declared himself as
a member of Al Qaeda in his crime statement. The name of Al Qaeda became a
famous brand of Islamic terrorism. People looked on Osama bin Laden as hero of Muslims.
(To be continued
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By Areha Kazuya
E-mail: areha_kazuya@jcom.home.ne.jp
Home Page:
OCIN INITIATIVE
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