Updated 7/17/08 for better organization/readability and detail on sources and concluding implications.
WHY THIS MATTERS. The present war of ideas underlying the global jihad against the West relates to all of us, and therefore we must take it very seriously. This is the point I attempted to make in my first post in this series of thoughts. As we get closer to the November Presidential vote, it is even more important to think through this conflict.
Having had several discussions on this subject with friends and associates, I am encouraged to see that many people genuinely understand that this really is a conflict about ideas. But most don’t seem clear enough on the underlying ideas to have a well-informed view on how American officials and citizens should best to respond.
This is an important discussion with multi-generational implications. In this and subsequent posts, I want to try to get inside the logic of some underlying ideas that are driving this conflict, and then suggest some direction for further study and discussion.
No one should doubt that we are in a true war about certain conflicting ideas. This was expressed so clearly and destructively on 9/11. Islamic radicals attacked us for many reasons. I surely don’t know them all. But from my study, I believe it is accurate to say that this global jihad stems from a global vision of personal and societal life rooted in certain ideas about man, God, and government.
I’ll explore the global vision in the next post. For now, I’d like to first look at the idea of global jihad.
WHAT IDEAS ARE DRIVING GLOBAL JIHAD? From what I understand, the common idea of jihad by most Muslims is about personal self-purification to the will of Allah through obedience to the Koran, chiefly expressed through practicing the five pillars of Islam.
Radical Islam*, or Islamism, says jihad goes beyond this. Jihad is still the submission of the will to Allah. But if people do not submit by personal choice, then it must occur through forced subjection or by the death of unbelievers (infidels), even on a global scale.
In this vision, Allah is not pleased when Muslims allow infidels, expressed chiefly in Western politics and economics, to flourish in the earth. The West’s flourishing, in fact, is a form of judgment against Islam, and a call for a radical response if the course of things is to be reversed and Allah’s blessing to be regained.
This is the basic justification for a broader purification–a global jihad–to take place. The argument gains significant force when one lacks productive direction in a nation with many job options for expressing one’s God-given talents. A charismatic leader blaming the West on one’s plight may be enough to win over enough eager converts to a radical view and martyrdom.
9/11, in this view, is an offering to Allah by those faithful to this vision. It is a prayer for blessing and a step of purification. By remove more infidels like me and you from the earth, the hope is that Allah will mercifully grant that the global Islamist vision can be increasingly established on the earth.
TAKING A STEP BACK. There is an expansive, diabolical logic to all this, if you know what I mean. Consider the dangerous position of becoming convinced that one’s only meaningful options for a productive life are between 1) eternal security through martyrdom; or 2) ongoing earthly conflict towards the establishment of the global vision.
When the facts suggest that only a desperate hope exists for the global vision of Islam to be implemented in the earth, what would you choose? I would probably opt for martyrdom. Eternity is a long time.
I also don’t want to oversimplify the choice one might face when presented with the claims of Islamism. I am certainly not endorsing suicidal terrorism. My goal is to take one step back to gain needed perspective, so that we can move forward toward a more humble consideration of the subject, particularly for effective communication with our fellow citizens and others who are Muslim. Before making any arguments against global jihad, I think it is important to understand in at least some small way the kinds of choices one would face if one does not believe there are other real options.
While we take for granted that there are almost always many options in any choice we have in America, if we want to engage the war of ideas from a citizen level, I suggest we should first become effective at what I call “contextual dexterity.” This is a self-discipline enabling one to see a situation from multiple assumptions and perspectives, in order to make a proper determination on how to act in a complex situation.
INSIGHTS & IMPLICATIONS. This all points us back to the importance of the individual conscience. Freedom of dissent and religious choice are not operating values throughout much of the Muslim world, as best I can tell. This means the individual conscience is suppressed, making it hard to see what we see so clearly–that suicide bombings like 9/11 are absolutely wrong.
What do you think?
I’d like to know whether most Muslims agree with the radical vision. I have not heard that many Muslims in America denouncing that vision in favor of pluralistic, religious freedom in a liberal democracy. I wonder if that is because many moderate Muslims have not been given the outlet to speak on this, or if they are afraid for their lives to speak out, or if they really agree with the radical vision–though perhaps disagreeing with terrorism as the right path to get there.
For American citizens, I think it is critical to know where leading Muslim citizens in America stand in this war of ideas. If anyone can point out any good resources, I’d appreciate it. With an understanding of the primary groups and their perspectives on the present war of ideas, I think we stand a much better chance of driving towards a fruitful outcome.
I believe it will take a combined top-down and bottom-up approach if we hope for the most enduring resolutions in this war of ideas. People like us have as much stake in the outcome as any government leader, and our Muslim friends who can turn the tide are normal people like us. Policy changes will not solve a war of ideas. The consciences of all stakeholders need to be much more awake to the choices and implications before us. From there we can chart a more productive course than the current ideological back-and-forth that seems to be driving the present war of ideas.
We all need to get this right.
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*A primary resource for my understanding of the radical jihadi perspective is Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. I strongly encourage others to read this important resource., and I welcome any counterarguments to the facts and ideas provided in the book.Posted in Election, War of Ideas, Worldview | Tagged 9/11, al qaeda, Islam, religion | 6 Comments »

