Radical Islamism and Al Qaeda

Radical Islamism and Al Qaeda

The Roots of Radical Islamism:

Generally, the roots of radical Islamism can be traced back almost two millennia, to the original conflict between the two principal Muslim sects, those who would later become the Sunni and the Shi 'a Muslim, over the ascendancy of the Third Caliph or the Fourth Caliph, as the true Prophet of Muhammad, respectively (Scheuer, 2004). Over the course of several centuries, various attempts at reconciliation or compromises for the welfare of all Muslims succeeded at easing the conflict, but a third much more radical and violent sect evolved, the Kharajites, who opposed any settlement among mortal men and attacked both Sunni and Shi 'a alike. Much like the Christian Crusaders inspired a nearly a thousand years later by the proclamation of Pope Innocent III that "God will know his own," the Kharajites believed that God would allow the victorious and righteous Muslim to triumph in battle against those whose impure adaptations of belief threatened all of Islam. Specifically, the Kharajites believed that God himself would reveal the identity of the true Prophet in battle to the death between the Sunni and Shi 'a Muslim (Scheuer, 2004).

In modern times, contemporary radical Muslims represented by Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and al Qaeda hold very similar views and consider those Muslims who practice Islam imperfectly to be apostates and subject to the same consequences as non-believers, Jews, and Christians (Scheuer, 2004). They believe that the only form of Islam practiced by faithful Muslims is Shari'a, the particularly strict form of Islam enforced by the Taliban under severe penalties (including summary public beheading) in territories they control in Afghanistan (and now) even in parts of Pakistan.

The Goals and Objectives of al Qaeda:

The most fundamental goals of all Muslim extremists, all of the Palestinians, Iran, certainly of al Qaeda, the Taliban, Osama bin Laden loyalists, and even some Islamic "moderates," is the elimination of the State of Israel, the recapture of all of Jerusalem, and the expulsion of any element of Western military power or authority anywhere in the Middle East (Scheuer, 2004). According to the rhetoric of Osama bin Laden and his followers, the United States is the "Big Satan" and Israel is the "Little Satan" whose only power comes from the decision of American foreign policies that favor Israel and arm that nation at the expense of the rights of Muslims (Scheuer, 2004).

This is understood even in the West where many analysts hold differing views on the specific reasons that militant Islamic radicals have such hatred for the West and for the United States in particular. According to some observers, militant Islam has no interest in the way Westerners live their lives in this part of the world, provided we do not interfere with Middle East affairs through our foreign policy. In that view, Islamic radicals do not hate us because of who (or what) we are, but only what we do in their lands (Scheuer, 2004). Other Western observers believe that view is naive and that while radical Islamists certainly do hate us because of what we do, they also hate us for who we are because the typical Western way of life if offensive to God and to good Muslims regardless of where it occurs in the world. The most important distinction between these two views is that if the latter is accurate, then, the Jihad against the West will not end with the eventual withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq and that radical Muslim extremists are committed to the complete destruction of any society (including ours in particular) that does not practice Shari 'a Islam.

Dealing with al Qaeda Appropriately:

The domestic and worldwide terrorist threat against Western interests is neither a law enforcement problem nor a military problem exclusively. Rather, it is a tremendously complex and multi-dimensional problem that incorporates many elements of criminal activity as wells as many elements of military actions (Dyer, McCoy, Rodriguez, et al., 2007). In that regard, there are major threats such as the escalating hostilities near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border regions and the involvement of state sponsors of terror like Iran that absolutely require military actions to the extent we decide to protect ourselves against those threats.