THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 213, November 3, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE PERILS OF ISLAMIC OBSCURANTISM
By Dr. Babu Suseelan
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM, INTERNATIONAL CRISES, & THE GLOBAL JIHAD AGAINST CIVILIZATION: ISLAMIST
JIHADISM AS A MAJOR THREAT TO WORLD PEACE & THE EXISTING WORLD ORDER -- ISLAMISTS AS PRISONERS OF THEIR
OWN NARROW & PAROCHIAL WORLDVIEW -- INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM & CRISES GENERATED & DRIVEN BY ISLAM'S
TWISTED INTERPRETATION OF REALITY, ITS DISTORTED CONCEPTUALIZATION OF EVENTS & ISSUES, & THE MECHANISTIC
PROBLEM-SOLVING MODEL FOLLOWED BY MUSLIMS -- THE NEED FOR A REFORMATION OF ISLAM & AN END TO ITS
NARROW, RIGID, & CLOSED SYSTEM OF BELIEFS -- THE ANALYSIS OF AN EX-MUSLIM
FULL STORY:
About a year ago, I was attending a conference in London. One evening, as I lay in my bed, my attention was focused on a
solitary fly on the window of my room. The fly was located on an upper pane of glass. The window itself was slightly raised
at the bottom edge. At first, as if by deliberation, the fly moved time and time again around the periphery of the section to
which it had become attached. Then it would crawl diagnonally, fly in desperation, only to crash against the deceptive
transparency. It again moved monotonously back and forth horizontally across the full surface of the windowpane. Random
movements followed. Punctured again by furious flight, ending always in near disaster. For whole minutes, as it stunned
into stupor, the fly would remain motionless. Energy restored finally, it would commence its futile motions again. It crashed
again like a firecracker out of control, careening crazily around the ceiling.
This fly, I said to myself, is a prisoner of his frame of reference, or probably, his lack of a frame of reference. If flight into
freedom was his object, if indeed any objective existed at all, then there was an obvious avenue of escape. An adequate
passage was readily accessible at the bottom of the window. Driven by instinct alone, bereft of reason, caught up in a
meaningless space, behavior could only be blind, and it could end only in frustration, fury, and futility.
This episode has specific application and relevance to contemporary Islamic behavior, e.g., the recent cartoon crisis, the
Iranian nuclear crisis, Islamic terrorism, and the violence and terror perpetrated by Hamas and Hizbullah in the Middle East
and Jihad terrorists in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, other parts of the world. It may well
be that Muslim fundamentalists are caught up in the limitations of their own frame of reference. It is conceivable that Jihad
Muslims are squandering resources in wealth, manpower and human energy, doing so in a misguided quest for conquest,
power, and influence. If Muslims want to succeed in determing new directions and new dimensions, and if they want to
influence the world and restore the glory of Islam, they urgently need to reexamine their policies and priorities.
THE BURDEN OF ISLAMIC JIHAD
War, terrorism, violence, and hostility in the Islamic world have existed in one form or another since Muhammad converted
the Middle East into a Muslim world. But today's Jihadi terrorism, homicide bombings, arson attacks, nuclear threats, and
the use of high-tech weapons for muderous attacks on innocent civilians have far reaching economic, political, and social
implications. Regardless of how much blood is spilled in the Middle East by Jihad terrorists and the relentless Jihad
terrorism in Israel, Lebanon, Iraq,, Pakistan, India and elsewhere, Muslims are not able to dramatically change the world. The
Jihad terrorism and continued violence in Europe, the Middle East, and India has created unprecedented disruption of
social life, as well as political and economic crises. The economic costs of Jihad terrorism in the United States, Israel, India,
and Denmark continues. Prices for fuel, food, and other consumer goods are soaring in several countries. The United
States and many European countries are faced with the burden of paying millions of dollars for airport and flight security.
With thousands of persons killed or injured because of terrorism, many families suffer from the loss of family members, and
many people are afraid to travel.
Islamic hatred of the rule of law, constitutionalism, democracy, pluralism, religious tolerance, coexistence, and freedom
of expression still continues unabated. The battle between free thinking and the rigid, closed, dogmatic ideology of Islam
is by no means decided, but the outcome of the battle will determine whether Muslims will embrace freedom, constitutional
democracy, pluralism, coexistence, progress and tolerance, or succumb to non-compromising Islamic fundamentalism,
conflict, and relentless war against the civilized world. Social policy experts and intellectuals have predicted that the
magnitude and impact of Islamic rage, hostility, and violence will further destabilize the entire world. Muslim hatred and
determination to wipe out democratic Israel and non-believers everywhere make the situation more complex.
History demonstrates that, whenever a Muslim nation arms itself to the teeth, it attacks a neighboring country. Or the
political regime of that nation turns the weapons against ethnic and religious minorities within its own borders, doing
all this in the name of fundamentalist Islam.
THE PERILS OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM
Each of the Islamic countries from Algeria to Yemen has either a dynastic ruler or military dictatorship. Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Iran, Muscat and Oran, Bahrain, Sudan,
and Libya have had varied experiences with tyranny, brutality, and persecution of minorities. Every Islamic country in
the world is officially Islamic, and non-believers in that country have no religious freedom. In most Islamic nation-states,
citizens are barred from the political process. Freedom of expression, political assembly, open debate, and religious
freedom are nowhere to be seen in Islamic countries. Any Muslim country has no bill of rights and no modern impartial
judiciary.
Whether the government of an Islamic country is an autocracy, oligarchy or absolute monarchy, whether it is a military
or Mullah regime, persecution, torture, and executions (including public beheadings), are frequent occurences in that
country. In Saudi Arabia, offenders are beheaded or have a limb amputated on Friday, the day of Islamic prayer. Since the
Islamic Revolution in Iran, thousands of innocent people have been executed without legal proceedings. Two Islamic
courtries, Iraq and Iran, killed more than three million people during the war they fought against each other. Arab Islamic
terrorists have killed hundreds of Jewish men, women, and children in their false hope of destroying Israel.
For the last fifty years, Arab Muslims have made no notable inventions or discoveries in science, medicine and
technology, or in the humanities. Islamic fundamentalists oppress women, and place severe restrictions on art, literature,
and philosophy and allow no discussion of transcental spiritual topics, other than mindless recitation of woodenheaded
Islamic religious dogma. No Islamic nation has taken the path of secularism, rationalism, constitutional democracy,
pluralism, and religious intolerance.
DILEMMAS & DIRECTIONS
It is doubtful whether fundamentalist Muslims can last much longer, without moving away from their extremely narrow
and parochial culture and toward acceptance of the values of pluralism, constitutional democracy, secularism, tolerance,
coexistence, and freedom. Muslims must accept the fact of change and difference. They have to escape from the closed,
dogmatic, and imperialistic ideology of militant Islam and begin to tolerate, accept, and genuinely respect those who
differ from them. Muslims' vision of the world and other religions is fragmented and distorted, and their approach to
problems is misguided. Because of their narrow reductionism and their mechanistic view of the world, Muslims mistrust
the non-Islamic world and rational, open, and constitutional democratic concepts and ideas. The closed paradigm of
fundamentalist Islam and the will to interpret matters in accordance with the rigid, narrow-minded, bigoted, and dogmatic
Islamic worldview is the main reason for the present crisis, including the violence and terrorism that we experience.
A solution to the Islamic crisis can be found. The solution must begin with the identification of the problem. What we
need is a fundamental change in Islamic thought, perception, and values. The gravity and intensity of the crisis created
by Muslims warrants a refocusing of their dualistic, rigid framework. For Muslims, problems are caused by conflict
between infidels and the Islamic faithful. Islamic fundamentalists declare that there is no solution to the Middle East
problem, except through Jihad. According to the Qur'an, Jihad is a war against the non-believers. Sura (1:4)
says:
"... those who disbelieve and hinder [men] from the path
of Allah, their deeds will Allah render astray.... Therefore,
when you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, at
length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, build a
barrier against them, thereafter [is the time for] either generosity
or ransom, until war lays down its burden."
Thus Islam views the world as though it were divided into two opposing camps -- Darus Salam (Muslims) and Darul Harb
(Infidels). Again Sura (8:39) says, "... fight until there remain no more infidels or until they remain submisive only to
Allah."
Many liberals misconceive the reasons for Islamic rage, violence, unrest, brutality, beheadings, arrogance, and terrorism.
What Middle Eastern Mullahs, Iranian Ayatollahs, Iraqi Jihadis, Al-Qa'ida, Hamas, Hizbullah, Muslim mobs burning flags
of constitutional democratic nations, and Muslims kidnapping journalists certainly display are behavior patterns rooted in
Islamic dogmatism. The violence, intolerance, non-compromising attitude, and errors in thinking comprise an inseparable
part of the total Qur'anic message. The violence, terrorism, and hostility will be continued ruthlessly and relentlessly
against non-believers until final victory is assured. The strict adherence to the closed chinking, rigid paradigm, and
dualistic concept of believers and non-believers has had and will continue to have disastrous consequences. The
crises and terrorism we witness in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and other Islamic countries are due to
Islam's interpretation of reality, its distorted conceptualism of events and issues, and the mechanistic problem-solving
model followed by Muslims.
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
In the changing context of modern technology and pluralism, Muslims cannot survive in a closed system. They have to
interpret, analyze, examine, and except the social, political, cultural, scientific, and technological developments taking
place around the world. Islamic society should undergo a planned change and learn to coexist with non-believers and
accept rational and free expression of ideas.
Islamic scholars, thinkers, political leaders, and media persons have an immense opportunity, responsibility, and
obligation to generate new knowledge, ideas, and strategies based upon a rigorous and disciplined assessment of
present crises. Islam needs a reformation, and Muslims must embrace change, the rule of law, constitutionalism,
democracy, pluralism, coexistence, religious tolerance, and freedom of expression. Creative and systemic problem-solving
strategies would reduce the possibility of future crises and future conflict with the civilized world. Introduction of
integral humanism, secularism, and creative thinking can be an instrument of reform and reformation in the Islamic world.
This would encourage Muslims to free themselves from the trap of absolutism, and the shackles of rigid reductionism.
The institutionalization of such broad, eclected knowledge is a prerequisite for world peace and harmony. To face the
future, Muslims must show the discipline indispensable to to the task of building a new order.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. Babu Suseelan is a professor of clinical psychology and the director of a drug and alcohol treatment program in
Pennsylvania. He writes on the subject of Islamic terrorism and its effect on Hindu society. Dr. Suseelan can be contacted
at the following email address: babususeelan@hotmail.com
The foregoing article by Dr. Suseelan was originally published on the Internet website maintained by
Faith Freedom International, a grassroots movement of ex-Muslims,
the goals of which are to (1) unmask Islam and show that it is an imperialistic ideology akin to Nazism, but disguised as a
religion, and (2) help Muslims to leave this pseudo-religion, end the Islamic culture of hate caused by an "us" versus
"them" ethos, and embrace the human race in amity. Members of Faith Freedom International strive for the unity of
Mankind through the elimination of Islam, the most insidious doctrine of hate.
To read the original version of Dr. Suseelan's article,
Click Here.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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