Bolshevism in a Headdress

FrontPageMagazine ^ | 3/21/05 | Mustafa Akyol

[tiamat]

Good article.
Thanks.

[milemark]

T.R.O.P.

[Valin]

If you liked this I'd recomend the latest issue of "The American Enterprise. Unfortunatly most of the article are not available in the net.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Ahhh, so they are terrorists because they are sore losers? It all comes clearly to me now...

[jb6]

T.R.O.C(orpses)

[tiamat]

Thank you

[Billthedrill]

Fascinating. Insensate hatred of the status quo is a characteristic of the young whether they are its beneficiaries or not. So is utopianism. So is a need for romantic self-identification. It is these that characterize a political radical whether he or she be Bolshevik, Anarchist, Nazi, or in this case a weird amalgam of fascism and violent and militant Muslim.

Most people grow out of it before they hurt someone. Some people do not. Some end up so fond of it that they cannot imagine life without it. These ideology addicts are pretty easy to identify - if the question "what have you ever built?" is answered by "the System has to be destroyed first," then it's definitive.

What is most fascinating about communist rhetoric is the timeless nature of its resentment and the ingenuity with which it finds fault with all aspects of a current self-defined "system." It is a sad, stunted creativity and a total waste of energy, but it is so satisfying on a visceral level that it has the habituating properties of a powerful drug. It will be with us long after its parent ideology has faded into the obscurity of failure, and it is no surprise that other radicals find it so congenial.

[Paradox]

So anti-western liberalism, born in the west, is somewhat responsible for Islamic Radicalism.

This does not surprise me.

[agere_contra]

Blimey Bill. Good post.

[Valin]

That's one way of looking at it. Remember how this started (modern terrorism), it started with a question, 'why are we so far behind the west?'. The problem is not the question, the problem is the answer so many came up with. This movement originally (See Muslim Brotherhood) was against the rulers of the arab world, when that didn't work out (they were killed or co-opted) they turned on us.

[struwwelpeter]

Wow... now this is some very tasty food for thought. If there are many Moslems with the author's point of view, then there is hope.

[brownsfan]

This is the most well thought out, and well written article I've read on Islam to date. In some ways the author confirms my belief that the major difference between Christianity and Islam is that Christians have grown, and evolved, where Islamists are saddled with a belief system that doesn't fit our time.
I have read postings here claiming the Koran is a violent document and a blueprint for terror. And yet, I know the Bible has it's own violent passages, and puzzling content. We, Christians, have grown enough that we can look past some of the literal interpretations, and focus on the good. Unlike those who, in more primative times, used the Bible to justify things such as witch hunts and the Crusades.
Sadly, the biggest thing missing in this article is a solution.

[Valin]

Most people grow out of it before they hurt someone. Some people do not.

A buddy of mine who used to hang out here (Powderhorn) (we were hippies together) said "1975 a lot of us stepped through the curtain and left the peter pan lifestyle behind." Today we see on the left so many who didn't, who insist on prefection in their politics.

[Valin]

I believe there are. I also believe there are a great many who are sitting on the fence waiting to see who has the "Strong Horse".IM(not so)HO 9-11 was the high point of Islamism (or whatever name you want to give the terrorist).

[marron]

I've noticed the parallels and connections between militant islamism and marxism. It seems counter-intuitive, but only if you see islamism as primarily a religious movement. It isn't, its a revolutionary movement, and it is more anti-western than it is religious.

[GarySpFc]

It may shock most of you to learn the author is a leader in the Intelligent Design community.

[brownsfan]

"To spew hatred, promote violence, and shield yourself behind self-righteousness is to fuel evil at its ugliest."

Please, allow me to respond to your condescending, self righteous attack with my gut level reaction: You are full of crap!

Whew, now I feel better. Getting that out of the way, do you really think an attack accomplishes anything other than to put the victim on the defensive, (never mind that you're wrong)?
If you really wanted to make a point, other than to say that Christians are evil, you would have tried to engage me in debate, rather than attack. I see you just registered today, so I'd venture to guess you are either Islamist, or a frustrated hippie type loser liberal.
Either way, my response is: At no point did I claim religious superiority for Christians. Much the opposite. I drew the parallel between the Koran and the Bible. What I did claim is that Christians have evolved more than Islamists.
I know of no Christian churches that recruit the young to wear bomb vests. I can't recall any Christian clergy urging us to kill Islamists, or claiming Jews are the sons of monkeys and pigs.
But, I waste keystokes on you. Your mind is made up. You are an example of what is wrong in the world today. You see what you want to see, and go on the attack. If people truely had open minds, and would exchange ideas, some of this senseless killing could be avoided. I'll say a prayer tonight for God to open the eyes and minds of you and your ilk. And if, in His wisdom He doesn't, I have no aversion to protecting myself.

[Hegemony Cricket]

Interesting article, BTW - thanks for posting. I guess my hope is that if there really is a core of "peaceful" islam, as this writer seems to be, that they will rise up and begin to vigorously police their own.....