November
16, 2006: Islamic radicalism gets a lot of publicity. And why not? These thugs
kill lots of people, in spectacular ways, and then boast of doing it in the
name of God. Or that least their version of God, who, they say, commands them
to keep on killing. These guys seek the publicity, and know that their horrific
acts attract the media. But what about all the Moslems who are not fans of
Islamic terrorism? They are the majority, and there are lots of them actively
opposing the fanatics. These backlash incidents rarely make the press. Not
quite violent enough. But in places like Indonesia, Pakistan, the Gulf States,
Africa and Bosnia, the moderates are stopping the radicals. Sometimes with
violence, but more often with words, or using the law and their greater
numbers. The radicals will often cry "religious persecution," or insist that
their opponents are not "true Moslems." These antics have lost a lot of their
impact during the last few years. Mainstream Moslems are getting tired of the
empty rhetoric and bullying.
In
Indonesia, gangs of Islamic radicals on "anti-vice" patrols (to bust up bars
and movie theaters), are increasingly running into groups of cops, or pissed
off citizens, who chase off the radicals (or arrest them.) Indonesian Islamic
radicals have made themselves lots of enemies by denouncing popular religious
leaders. The many followers, of those denounced, make their own threats of
violence. It's getting harder to be hard core.
In
Bosnia, an Arab religious leader, a follower of the very conservative Wahhabi
sect, accused a popular local religious leader of being a communist (that is, a
Moslem leader that was less than truly Islamic during the decades of communist
rule). This caused a major uproar, and the radical cleric felt compelled to
make a public apology. That may not be enough, either. Western nations have
been after Bosnia to crack down on the many radical Moslems who have taken up
residence in Bosnia. There are currently some 1,500 foreign Moslems who have
settled down in Bosnia. Most of these came during the fighting in the 1990s, to
help out. Many married local women, and some were very active with their
Islamic radicalism. As a result of that, over 150 have lost their citizenship
and been sent packing, or to jail, or kept under observation.
The
antics of Islamic radicals, and the responses of moderate Moslems, is becoming
more widely known in the Moslem world. Even if the mass media tends to ignore
these things. As a result, the Islamic radicals are facing a growing threat in
their own "homeland." But this is a cycle that has been playing out for
centuries. Only historians even recognize it, but we will all be able to
observe it this time around.
