Geopolitics

Radical Islam : Terror is the tool
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Issue Vol. 23.4 Oct-Dec2008 | Date : 13 Nov , 2010

Rise of Radical Islam has placed a Muslim in a deep predicament in the western countries. While he cannot give up his Islamic identity”¦ A reformist Muslim thus, becomes an anathema to Islam. Without reforms, the hard dogmas will continue to rule out the Muslim mind and feed the hatred and animosity on which Radical Islam thrives.

This has caused some to leave the pale of Islam and come out publicly against the contradictions of Islam and its outright rejection of values which are now universal in vast parts of the world. Two such individuals Wafa Sultana of LA, USA, and  Irshad Manjhi of Canada have almost become either a hate figure or an example of revolutionary bold articulation. They are deeply reviled in Muslim circles.

Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Muslim who teaches religion at Oxford, constitutes a different category. He, while retaining the Muslim identity is struggling for a balance between this identity and of the integrated society in which many like him reside. Such people are looking for internal peace but are continually being tormented by the world they have been eager to leave. Their efforts to fashion new avenues of discourses appear quite unwelcome to the people whom they want to address.

This is a problem with which India is well aware. Scriptures lay down that Islam and the Prophet are not open to discussion. Prophet also remains as the most admired individual for a large number of his followers. For such people, no debate can be ever opened up whether Islam should be more inclusive . Essentially, this leads to an uneasy co-existence, though at the surface, a certain smoothness based on a superficial give and take may be prevailed.

As Radical Islam  aided by incentives from across the border and fueled by like-minded activities elsewhere races further, the Indian State seems to be at a loss on  decision. Contrary voices begin to rise in the Government. Division of powers between the Centre and the States are adding to the difficulties by preventing firm policy and action. But time and tide wait for none. There is a perception in some quarters that the nation is sliding towards anarchy. On good authority it can be said that one responsible Muslim voice within the portals of governance, holds the view that India is on its way to a civil war which will be fought on every street including every village and the town.

Today, we are going through hard times.  Day by day increasing level of awareness, expectations and education are making this hardship even more confounded. Solutions cannot be found by putting the problems under the carpet. The problems need to be identified sincerely and dealt with squarely but with prudence, compassion and understanding.

Further polarizations must be prevented as the levels are touching the danger mark. It is unusual to see a Vice Chancellor coming ahead for assisting two of his students legally, who are not charged with a campus or institution related crime but with terror causing deaths. How many times has the VC come forward in the past when his students got the wrong side of the law, and he is not the alone  in distrusting the facts of the terror incident of September 13th in New Delhi. Large segments of population living in the area and some leaders of the community expressed distrust of the police motivation and investigation.

A more stringent anti-terror law or creation of federal investigation agency is not an adequate antidote to the deeply growing depths of mistrust and despair. Terrorism must be combated at the ideological level and the battle must be against hatred and the sustained belief system. The real enemy exists not only physically but is in the metaphysical realm of dogmas that in turn are subjected to misinterpretations.

Radical Islam and terror will continue to feed on each other unless the leaders of the society get down to the business of unraveling  the conditions which make educated minds irrational. There is no moment to be lost to abort the advent of the suicide bomber or the truck bomb.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Anand K Verma

Former Chief of R&AW and author of Reassessing Pakistan.

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3 thoughts on “Radical Islam : Terror is the tool

  1. These kind of articles serve no purpose. I never felt Islam is radical. If you are aiming the al Qaedas and similar stuff, call them terrorists or whatever and kill them at the first instance itself. The faster the better. Why the name Islam ? probably, i was the only muslim in my company whenever I was part of it and commanding them. Never had any time to even think such things. People need to rework on their perceptions.

  2. What is Radical Islam? Is there non-Radical, Secular Islam? Islam is basically a system designed to control all including muslims for political power by a few. Difficult even for Muslims to escape Islamic Radicalism. To expect change is unrealistic when the Islam centre is not in India (and not even Pakistan). The system is water tight.

    • That is a very myopic view. Radicals are plenty in all communities and faith. can’t you discern a trend since the last one month in India, the perpetrators think they are protected ? Let’s wait for the lion to roar. He will certainly, since these trends will hold him back and he has no time and energy to waste; for his aim is to change India from developing to developed in the shortest time.

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