Game's On . . .
Ok youse guys, yer in for it now. In my deep incapacity of a cold and laryngitis [ach the paaain of not being able to talk - but I'm pretty good with gestures...] I have sat myself down on the chaise-on-the-porch and done a little studyin' to address my ignorance. A good old fashioned game of Connect the Dots, Stupid. And for your edification and enjoyment, I will post my notes below - rough and with commentary - combining some things I already knew with the research I did today. Read on, MacDuff.
Again we run across more of the ever-popular conceptualization of the world as a giant game board, with humans as markers, created for the playing out of the battle between Ohrmazd/Jaweh/God/Allah and Ahriman/Devil/Satan/Westerners with the notion that humans are "given" free will - but only so that they can choose sides within the paradigm of this battle of brothers. Never is it mentioned the possibility to opt out of the whole shebang. But never mind that for now... Wahhabism -- based on the teachings of Mohammad al-Wahhab, who buddied around with Mohammid bin-Saud in the 1750s. The whole point of their relationship - and continuing on over succeeding generations - was the governance of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding areas, and the Arab people: The Sauds in charge of politics and The Wahhabists in charge of, well, damn near everything else. Wahhabism aims to "cleanse" Islam of what its adherents view as innovations, deviances, heresies and idolatries. [actually, everything that has been invented since the death of Mohammed. They even condemn minarets, because none were built in the time of Mohammed. I b'lieve Mercedes' and oil wells weren't around in the time of Mohammed, either -- but I could be wrong.] In his view, by following this theology and practice, a Muslim would return to the original form of Islamic faith that Allah originally had intended all of mankind to follow. Most historians (both Arab and non-Arab), however, hold that Wahhabism is in fact a new form of Islam, containing many changes in both theology and practice. [so much for human iteration of Allah's thoughts...] Wahhabis consider Wahhabism to be the only true form of Islam. They do not regard Shi'as as true Muslims, and are particularly hostile to Sufism . They are hostile to all non-Muslim religions. Most militant Islamist organizations are Wahhabi organizations - for example the militant group Hamas is a Palestinian descendant of the Muslim Brotherhood. The exception is the Shi'a Hizballah organization. Wahhabism is the official practice of Islam in Saudi Arabia ; Saudi Arabia considers it a state crime to convert to any other form of Islam, or to convert to any other religion. A totalitarian religious group is a religious denomination or cult whose members or adherents are not free to think on their own or to leave the group or criticize it. Outsiders [and other sane folk] accuse such groups of controlling the thinking and behavior of its members by regulating their conscious life down to the minutest details without their prior agreement or the possibility of a free choice. Characterized by control of behavior and activities [eating, dressing, rites, social behavior], thought control to banish questions or doubt, control of emotions through guilt and fear[ of god, clergy or sin,] information control [loss of access to independent information, education and other cultures plus forbidding contact with former members.] [Wahhabism is listed along with Scientology, Moonies, and Jehovah's Witnesses...] The government of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, the constitution is the Qur'an, it is governed on the basis of Shari'a and and the state theology is Wahhabism. The explanitory text to the Qpr'an is the Hadith [or Hadith literature] consisting of laws, legends and stories about the founder/prophet Muhammad's way of life, the biography of Muhammad, and sayings where he elaborated on his choices and offers advice. Muhammad had companions/contemporary followers called the ahaba. Until the 1960s, the majority of the population of the area were nomadic, an ancient and harsh way of life. There is no time to do much but see to it that the flock eats and keep up with what is necessary for that day's survival. Tradition and the 'old ways'-- the ones that have worked for literally centuries -- are paramount and innovation, if there were to be found much time for it, is not highly valued. Traditional Muslims believe that the transmission of the Hadith is entirely accurate and without flaw [where have we heardthat before...] which even some Muslims find difficult to reconcile with the Islamic scholars' many differing compilations of same. The whole was handed down orally for at least 100 years after Mohammed's death -- much longer among the nomadic peoples who tend not to schlep around libraries. [no chance for change in the noise to data ratio, there] After which they were written [and edited...] "entirely accurately and without flaw" [you becha] By the sixth century, six collections were accepted as "reliable" by various Muslim groups. There are two other official categories of "reliability" - medium and weak. A major principle of Islam is the belief that all things belong to God and that wealth is only held by human beings in trust.. [socialist? communist? *not* capitalist...] The fundamentalist Islamist movement began in the 20th century after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, dissolution of the Caliphate [ruler of Muslim peoples] and WWI. Some Muslims viewed their religion as being in retreat and felt threatened by the Western ideas and influences. Pan-Arabism has its roots in the anti-Imperialist / nationalist movement of Arab peoples before WWI attempting to rid themselves of French, British and Italian rule. ***see map*** [ThanQ! astonished head] A more formalized pan-Arab ideology was espoused in the 1940s in Syria by Michel Afleq, a founder of the Ba'ath (Renaissance) Party, combining elements of both socialism and Italian fascism. [Tariq Aziz, Saddam Hussein, Moammar Al Qadhafi and Gamal Abdel Nasser are prominent pan-Arab proponents.] This movement is understandably, in terms of the Islamic world-view, associated with both socialism and fascism. Sociologists would trace this tendency to the need of a nomadic tribe in a hostile environment to place, for survival's sake, the needs of the group above individual needs. This world-view morphs easily into tenets of racial superiority and nationalism. Placing nation above all other concerns becomes [classic, or Italian] fascism. [not the kind of fascism, devoid of meaning, slung around by the Left in reaction to anything they dislike.] The Ba'ath Party [aka: The Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party], also the ruling party in Syria, claims as its main ideological objectives secularism, socialism and pan-Arab unionism as expressed by the party motto; Unity, Freedom, Socialism. [By 'Unity,' pan-Arab unity is understood, and by 'Freedom,' freedom from Western interests.] [but, apparently, not from Western money and products of comfort -- at least for the party leaders...] The party was was officially founded at the first party congress, held in Damascus, April 7, 1947. Ba‘ath is Arabic for 'rebirth'. and 'moral and cultural deterioration' have been consistently emphasized by Ba‘athists and the emphasis on cultural and ideological purity has resulted in party purges. The party is organized in cells of 3-7 men with very little connection between cells, much like the Communist Party cells and other 'revolutionary' organizations. This form makes conceptualizing the party as a whole difficult, at best. Islam depends on revealed "knowledge," and, as only divine guidance can lead men into correct happiness and harmony, democracy, based as it is on human reasoning and desires, must be eschewed. Hassan al Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, said:
[Muslim] lands have been trampled over, and their honor besmirched. [Crusades, etc.] Their adversaries are in charge of their affairs, and the rites of their religion have fallen into abeyance within their own domains, to say nothing of their impotence to broadcast the summons [to embrace Islam]. Hence it has become an individual obligation, which there is no evading, on every Muslim to prepare his equipment, to make up his mind to engage in jihad, and to get ready for it until the opportunity is ripe and God decrees a matter which is sure to be accomplished.
Oddly enough, it still depends upon human knowledge to judge when the opportunity is ripe and interpret what it is that "God has decreed." And apparently the "sure to be accomplished" part is, mm... still rather in question. Begun as a movement to resist the Soviets in Afghanistan, Al-Qaida [aka: The Base, Islamic Army, World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places, Usama Bin Laden Network, Usama Bin Laden Organization, Islamic Salvation Foundation, and The Group for the Preservation of the Holy Sites] Al-Qaida's religious inspiration has its roots in the Wahhabi sect, the creed embraced by the current rulers of Saudi Arabia [where bin Laden was raised.] The ultimate goal of al-Qaida is to establish a Wahhabi Caliphate [rule of Islam] across the entire Islamic world, by working with allied Islamic extremist, fundamentalist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" (ie non-Wahhabi Islamist). It sees western governments (particularly the US Government) as interfering in the affairs of Islamic nations in the interests of western corporations. Osama bin Laden [son of Laden - referring to one of the sons of the original ruler of SA] was born in Riyadh in 1957, 17th of 52 children of Muhammad bin Laden. Construction and engineering family business, degree in civil engineering from King Abdul Aziz University [1979] with studies in business and project administration. Some estimates put the amount he inherited after his father's death at $300 million. He is credited with building roads and other civil projects in the poorest of areas utilizing his own money and company resources. In February 1998 , bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri [of recent notoriety in the Nick Berg murder] of Egyptian Islamic Jihad issued a statement under banner of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders " saying that it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens, either civilian or military, and their allies everywhere. [Crusade=Jihad; what the hell's the difference once the head's blowed off?] [and, lest we forget; Al-Qaida also attempted the bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport during the millennium holiday although the bomber, Ahmed Ressam was caught at the US- Canadian border with bombs in the trunk of his car. ][Also not to be forgotten: Operation Bojinka and the pope assassination plot]
Ok that's enough for now. brain sizzling. emotions yanking. cognitive dissonance meter red-lined. aarrgghhh. Oh, and, credit where it is due: [thanks for the kick in the a$$, John]
Good information!
Posted by The Yell on 05/23/04 at 03:47 PMYeah, good information. Thanks for putting it all together like that. When it creeps up on you day to day the connections aren’t always apparent.
You might also mention that “Islam” means “submission” and so fundamentalism means something different in Islam (the religion of the sword, since Jihad is commanded in the Q’ran, than it does in either Judaism (the religion of the Book) or Christianity (the religion of the love). That factor colors everything that happens in the Middle East.
Posted by on 05/24/04 at 02:12 AMGreat post Clair!
Posted by CoolBlue on 05/24/04 at 04:16 AM
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