The New York Times this morning reported on radicalization amongst young Muslims living in Europe. The Times and its many sources sought to reinforce the oft-repeated fallacy that Islamism derives from Western policy. In fact, Islamism derives from core teachings in the Koran and the Hadiths. While Islamism may not necessarily be the inevitable result of Islamic teaching and practice, its popularity is fueled by the total failure of Muslim countries to provide their citizens with human rights and basic standards of living.
Hatred and anti-Semitism, which are also derived from core Islamic teachings, are documented by the Times, as in the dismissal by Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammad of members of Parliament who seek his deportation, "There is no case against me but they are Jewish, they have been calling for that for years." He added, “Our Muslim brothers from abroad will come one day and conquer here and then we will live under Islam in dignity.”
The Times article describes an Islamist movement stretching across Europe, using Western free speech and immigration protections as cover behind which to overthrow European pluralism and democracy. The Times article builds on an April 20 report in the Evening Standard about Islamism amongst young Muslims in London. A quote at the beginning of that article sets the tone, "As far as I'm concerned, when they bomb London, the bigger the better," says Abdul Haq… "I know it's going to happen because Sheikh bin Laden said so. Like Bali, like Turkey, like Madrid - I pray for it, I look forward to the day."
Do the militants represent the mainstream, and are they accepted in mosques? The Standard article quotes Muhammad Sulaiman, president of a large mosque, who “…insists that Sayful Islam and his crew are not welcome at the mosque. He cannot prevent them praying there, but he will never give them a platform. "I've told Sayful to bugger off and ejected him many times," he says brusquely.
But Sayful and his friends laugh at the idea that they are local pariahs. "The mosques say one thing to the public, and something else to us. Let's just say that the face you see and the face we see are two different faces," says Abdul Haq. "Believe me," adds Musa, "behind closed doors, there are no moderate Muslims."
Posted by publius at April 26, 2004 07:51 AM