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Islamophobia and Personal Islamic Jihad on the streets of America

Personal Islamic Jihad on the streets of America

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2007-02-16 17:34. U.S. News

By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director

16 February 2007: For well over a decade, federal officials, politicians, and members of the major media have gone to absurd lengths to avoid disclosing that Islam has been a motivating factor and a major component in numerous murders, murderous sprees and other acts of violence and sabotage by "lone individuals." It is an undeniable fact that there are Muslims ? perhaps not the majority but a significant number ? who advocate personal "jihad" in its most literal sense, citing passages in the Qu?ran and Sunnah. It is also undeniable that Arabic language Islamic religious forums, message boards on the Internet actually encourage Muslims to engage in such activities against the infidels, and especially the "Great Satan" and the Jews.

If you dare mention, however, any possible religious motivation when the perpetrator is a Muslim, you are immediately labeled "Islamophobic," the politically correct buzzword that is applied to anyone who conducts a reasonable examination of the evidence and dares to ask whether the crime was rooted in religious ideology.... ( Article continues at: http://www.homelandsecurityus.com/PersonalIslamicJihad )

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The Truth, Islamophobia, and Individual Radicalization

CHICAGO, IL: On several previous occasions, it has been alleged that ERRI and EmergencyNet News have engaged in Islamophobia or displaying a bias against members of the Muslim religion. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. We have been scrupulous in attempting to present an honest and truthful depiction of "radical Islam" and not to brand the entire religion as violent or evil. Our position has been made clear and is a matter of public record. In part, we said:

"Contrary to popular belief, terrorism isn't just about the color of a person's skin, their religious beliefs, or their political ideology. It's about fanaticism...extremists who take any reasonable belief to an absurd conclusion and then justify abnormal, and often dangerous, behavior in the furtherance of their convoluted beliefs. For example, most members of the Islamic faith aren't fanatics, nor violent, nor uncaring, nor do they resemble any of the other negative connotations that have been attributed to them. The real problem of Islamic Fundamentalism involves only a very small percentage of zealots, who have chosen to undertake violent acts, allegedly in the furtherance of their religion, when in fact, they commit these acts in contradiction of their faith.

Terrorism isn't about power in the conventional sense...rather, it may be about perceived powerlessness. It is a seemingly illogical response by individuals, groups, and even nation-states who feel minimized and relegated to a meaningless or inconsequential position in society. It would appear to be their dysfunctional way of responding to events and circumstances dictated by more conventional, mainstream, or majority events and thinking. It can be described as a small minority "raging against the machine" of organized religion, politics, government, or general societal norms. Terrorism is often spawned in overt repression, a lack of individual freedoms, or in an environment that lacks respect for minority viewpoints and individuals." (1) That said, for the past 20 years (since 1987), we have also always tried to present and explain the truth about terrorism, as best we can ascertain it.

Our two-decade study would suggest that there was a time when Islamic zealots were largely radicalized by the somewhat isolated teachings of local (and militant) Imams and Madrassa schools. Now, they can be radicalized by the internet, audio/video tapes, television, and through the use of other new technologies and methods. Our assessment would suggest that this "morphing of Jihad" is an attempt to make violent Jihad a larger ideology that doesn't require deep religious indoctrination...rather, this newest effort plays on the alienation, frustration and isolationism that might be naturally common to immigrants and others who are moving from a very simple and mostly impoverished society into a very complex, rich, and multicultural one.

Bottom line...we can expect attacks like those described in the report noted above by the Northeast Intelligence Network. It then becomes incumbent on both our media and government to keep us advised of the facts and implications about attacks on our society.

Reference:

Testimony of Clark L. Staten, Executive Director and Senior Analyst, Emergency Response & Research Institute, Chicago, IL , Before the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, February 24, 1998, "Foreign Terrorism in the United States: Five years After the World Trade Center," Can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/senate98.htm