Chapter
6: Genealogy of Islamic terrorism
6-5(48) Monotheism sharply distinguishes ally and enemy
President George W. Bush
dared into the Iraq War, and labeled Hussein's regime to be part of the axes of
evil along with Iran and North Korea. He said that all the countries in the
world had to clarify their own position to belong either on the US side or the
terror’s side. And he shouted that “Show the Flag!”. There was no alternative to
allow ambiguity. For President Bush it was a confrontation between justice and injustice.
In religious meaning, it was a confrontation between God and the Devil. Needless
to say, the United States was justice and an agent of God, and Iraq was
injustice and an agent of the Devil. Monotheistic Christianity often uses its
own logic to distinguish ally or enemy.
However, monotheistic
Islam also had the same logic. For Islamic countries justice was in their side.
They justified themselves that they were the agents of Allah. They claimed that
the United States and other Western Christian countries were injustice, and Western
people were the agents of the Devil. The Satanic Verses incident in 1988 was a
good example. A British writer Sir Salman Rashdie wrote a novel “The Satanic
Verses” which was the lifetime story of Prophet Muhammad. Muslims accused the author
that the novel insulted Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah
Khomeini, ordered death sentence for not only the author but also its publisher
and foreign translators. Japanese translator who was an associate professor of
the Tsukuba University was killed by unknown somebody.
Such fanatic
reactions are inherent to monotheism. Buddhism, polytheism like ancient Greek and
Shintoism in Japan initiate that justice or injustice and God or the Devil are
coexisting in one’s own minds. Although there is a struggle between the enemy
and the ally in the world, it is not a confrontation of justice and injustice
and a fight between the agents of God and Devil.
In a monotheistic way
of thinking which distinguish ally or enemy by means of justice or injustice
and God (Allah) or the Devil, there would be three cases to classify the ally
or the enemy. One is a confrontation with a different religion (pagan
confrontation), the second one is a confrontation with the difference of sects (sectarian
confrontation), and the third one is the confrontation with the orthodox
faction and the heretical faction in the same sect (heretical confrontation). Terrorism
would take place in each confrontation.
Three phases of confrontation of Islam mean; (1) the pagan
confrontation between Islam vs Christianity and/or Judaism, (2) sectarian
confrontation between Shiite vs Suuni, and (3) heretical confrontation between
modern secularism vs fundamentalism (Sarafism).
The example of pagan
confrontations were the wars between Israel and the Arab countries, or
terrorist attacks against the United States by Al Qaeda such as September 911 attacks
and other terrorist attacks in various places of the world. The Afghan war against
the USSR could also deemed to be a kind of pagan confrontation as monotheism
versus atheism. Iran-Iraq War was a typical sectarian confrontation between Shiite
vs. Sunni.
The heretical
confrontation within the same sects is the confrontation between modern Islamic
secularism and Islamic fundamentalism (Sarafism). This has a little bit
complicated problem because each side insists that they themselves are orthodox
and condemned opponents as heretic or apostates. They assert that they are the followers
of the correct teachings of Prophet Muhammad. They insist their own legitimacy.
They never compromise at all.
Medieval Christian
society also had heretical confrontation i.e. confrontation between Catholic vs
Protestant. But Christian society overcame the confrontation and coexists with
no violation to others nowadays. Why Islam cannot overcome this confrontation?
In case of Islam, fundamentalism, so-called Sarafism asks
believers to return to the spirit of early era of Prophet Muhammad.
Fundamentalists are not trying to adopt the doctrine and organization to modern
society.
Why such an anachronism is justified? The answer
might be found in the fact that the origin of Islam. Islam was born in the 14th
century when the world trade system had already been well established. Fundamentalists
preach that they can return to those days of seven centuries ago. Christianity
also has fundamentalism. The name of fundamentalism was originally mentioned in
official bulletin of the Evangelical. But Christianity started two thousand
years ago when it was the era of agricultural society and serfdom, Therefore, it
is impossible to return to that era and to copy everything in life. It is
possible only to follow the wisdom of Christ. On the other hand, Islamic
fundamentalists seriously think about to return to the way of life in good old
day.
Fundamentalists are impatient
to realize their ideal life. As a result, they are disliked not only by their enemy
but also by the ordinary citizens. They force citizens to obey them once they hold
the power. Those who do not obey them are eliminated by force as heretic or
apostate. Fundamentalists recruit radical youth who was sympathized or inspired
by their faith. They bring up him as a terrorist and a suicide bomber. When he
performed his job, he was set up as a martyr. The ordinary citizens who are
unable to oppose against fundamentalism endure and wait for the storm to pass.
The Iraq War started
in a completely different circumstance and ended in different result. Mass
destruction weapons that the United States considered as the reason of Iraq War
were not found. And the evidence of the relationship between Hussein
administration and Al Qaeda was also not found. In the Gulf War in 1991, it was
a justification to liberate Kuwait. In the Iraq War in 2003, however, the
United States could not find answer how to justify the war.
The US insisted that the democracy was established after
Iraq War as the result of the collapse of Hussein regime. But after the
collapse of the Hussein regime Pandora's box was opened in Iraq. Three years
later, Saddam Hussein was executed after a public trial, but Iraq still
continues a political struggle in which Sunni and Shiites turned the tables. The
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or al-Sham) (abbreviated ISIS) took the
advantage of the circumstance. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Quraishi proclaimed
himself as Calif of Islamic State (IS) and tyrannized the region.
Following the
British and French imperialism the United States brought about a big problem in
the Middle East. The history will judge that whether US is right or wrong. Let’s
remind that it took hundreds of years to settle Christian medieval argument of
heresy for Protestant. It will take considerable length of time to judge the
correctness of the current event in the Middle East Islamic world.
Taking into
consideration that it took less than 100 years after World War II, the
confrontation of pagan, sectarian and heresy in Islamic world is too short to have
finale. Both the United States and the IS dream to realize their own justice
and to establish the kingdom of God or Allah/ They are too hasty to settle.
For the time being
there will be no choice but to watch the situation even It may sound very
irresponsible. In ancient poetry saying; The arrogant ruler is not forever. It
is only a nap dream at spring night.
(To be continued
----)
By Areha Kazuya
E-mail: areha_kazuya@jcom.home.ne.jp
Home Page:
OCIN INITIATIVE
No comments:
Post a Comment