terrorism theater

don't know if anyone is out there, but if you are, please read this! From Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post.

Capt.bobdad

Arab Islam and a view of History

Arab Islam and a view of history
Most Arab Muslims think differently than westerners. They have a different view of history, a different interpretation of its meaning. This worldview comes from the historical era of expansion of one of the most imperialistic races in the history of the world- the Arabs.
Islam, for the Arab, is not just a religion or a political structure. It is a vital life force and core identity which gives meaning to an otherwise irrelevant historical entity- Arab tribal feudalism of the 6th C. Out of the fractured and pagan tribes comes a deified book in Arabic, and a glorified human, Mohammed. This deification of the wholly ordinary possed an entire people ( except those already converted to Christianity), and gives a sense of communal honor through history that is the core of Arab Islam today. An unthinkable retreat from this core identify is to stare into the abyss of pre-Islamic meaninglessness.
A central theme to Arab view of history is the sense of a task uncompleted, a goal thwarted by the enemies of God. That goal is world domination. "This religion shall prevail over all others" states the supposedly infallible Koran. The Arab Muslim really believes that he is divinely destined for universal importance.
But this notion will be the ultimate Trojan horse. It is completely impossible, a totally unattainable goal. The reason is simple.
Islam fails as a political system. It cannot deliver justice, freedom or prosperity. It is essentially flawed in its anthropology. It can never gain ascendancy in global affairs, never attain to the place of legitimacy which it demands. Arab Islam is suited only to inspire effort for a cause- never to manage the success of that cause.
So what happens when a people infused with an historic sense of destiny at the core of their worldview collides with the impossibility of global success? One of two things- a fierce resistance to the onslaught of the ideologies arrayed against them, reminiscent of the apocalyptic Jewish Messianic movements opposed to Roman governance. This resistance lead to their destruction, despite repeated attempts at appeasement by the Roman Authorities. The other option: a capitulation to and syncretism with the forces of modernity.
I do not see the latter happening until the former exhausts itself, and that may not happen for many generations.

amir tahari: insight into the background to the current Middle East drama

Amir is always worth reading, but particularly when he discusses the background issues of conflicts in the Muslim world. Here, he shows how Iran is vying with Sunni Islam in an effort to controll the agenda of Radical Islam.

An excerpt:

The present rupture in Lebanon has much to do with who will lead the
fightback against the West. For almost a quarter of a century there has been
intense competition within the Islamist camp over who could claim leadership.
For much of that period Sunni Salafist movements, backed by oil money, were in
the ascendancy. They began to decline after the 9/11 attacks that deprived them
of much of the support they received from Arab governments and charities. In the
past five years Tehran has tried to seize the opportunity to advance its own
leadership claims. The problem, however, is that Iran is a Shia power and thus
regarded by Sunni Salafists as “heretical”. To compensate for that weakness,
Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made the destruction of Israel a
priority for his regime. The war triggered by Hezbollah is in part designed to
show that President Ahmadinejad is not bluffing when he promises to wipe Israel
off the map as the first step towards defeating the “infidel” West.