Islam's Internal Struggle

While the US and the coalition of the willing (yes, I do like that phrase) continues to fight terrorism and tyranny in Afghanistan and Iraq, while our diplomats apply pressure for reform in Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, Islam continues to fight its own internal war. The line between the warped view of the supposed fundamentalists (who twist the teachings of Islam to suit their calls for war and destruction) and more liberal believers has never been quite so dramatic.

That internal struggle is far from confined to the Middle East, though. While bombs and plots are being discovered seemingly every week through Western Europe, Islamic communities in the UK are starting to speak out against those of their faith that support terrorism.

One article in the Telegraph highlights the calls coming from Muslim leaders in the UK.

Britain's most prominent Muslim leader last night demanded a crackdown on "rogue" Islamic preachers, blaming them for brainwashing young men with sermons promoting holy war against the West.

Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, was backed by the families of some of the eight men arrested in Tuesday's anti-terrorism raids in south-east England.

This is precisely the kind of action needed from Muslim leaders throughout the West to make the point that not all Muslims are devoted to violence and destruction for political gain. The seeming silence from Islamic communities when there is an attack like that seen in Madrid stands in a harsh contrast to the image of jubilation seen after the 9/11 attacks. When the West is shown pictures of Muslims celebrating the death of Westerners, then local communities need to be louder and stronger in their denunciation of horrors committed in Islam's name.

Talking about it isn't good enough, though. Those leaders also need to show a willingness to help authorities ferret out the "rogue" Imams and their followers. Silence and weak replies only helps to convince the world that Muslims support the acts of terrorists, even if only by their unwillingness to help combat those terrorists.

I truly do not believe that the majority of Muslims are supportive of terrorism. If they were, then the bloodshed would truly be awesome, and the pillars of Western society would truly be shaking. Most Muslims are concerned with the same thing that most everyone else is concerned with: living a good life, being a decent person, and making sure that their children have advantages and possibilities that they did not.

But, faced with the questions about Islam and the clash of cultures, many Muslim community leaders have busied themselves with defensive posturing and cries of victimization when they should first have concerned themselves with joining the fight against the criminals and terrorists in their own mosques. The best way to inoculate their communities against the questioning eyes of non-Muslims is to actively weed out those who would make war on the West.

Posted by zombyboy at April 5, 2004 03:03 PM | TrackBack