Some Thoughts On Islamist Goals
Thinking Things Over | By Jerry E. Clark
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March 2, 2015
The pages of the major newspapers and the contents of many shows on the major TV networks are filled with controversy over the intentions of the Islamic world on all sorts of topics, from economic development to war, from religion to freedom.
What certainly appears to be the case is that this religion, so fundamentally different from Christianity and Judaism, dominates the societies in which it is the majority. The mixing of religion with law in those societies is complete, as opposed to countries like the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany.
Therein lie serious obstacles to long term peace, for adherence to a given religion without respect to a given set of basic human rights often causes rifts that are not surmountable, not logical, and worse, not negotiable.
The notion that via a huge economic development program and/or substantial "jobs" program that the West could materially affect the promotion of terrorism is also misguided and wholly naive. Religious goals supercede all else in the Islamic world, which is evident from the lack of economic progress many currently suffer.
Perhaps the most worrisome of "issues" is the lack of political will obvious amongst most Islamic moderates. For those who just want to practice their religion as opposed to relentlessly proposing its spread (even against the will of others), taking a tough stand is extremely difficult. Like the atmosphere in Germany with Hitler's SS in the 1930s and 1940s, opposing the extremist view of the few can be not just dangerous, but deadly.
So, it's going to take substantial power - in all its forms, from economic to military and political - to deal with the rise of extremist Islamic regimes, many of which appear to be gaining ground in such places as Libya, Syria, Yemen, and beyond. It's going to be a long slog as well. There will be no quick fix in this regard and nobody should allow themselves to become convinced otherwise.
In the meantime, the U.S. should make its policy of opposition to this kind of religious tyranny clear in every respect and in every venue.
It might not be in our long term interests to make a deal with an Islamist tyranny in Iran, especially when it's clear that it views Israel as expendable, indeed espousing its elimination on many occasions.
Making a deal with the "devil" is not a good way to start showing that we're taking religious tyranny seriously and that we're going to take concrete steps to stop it.
While this is the difficult road to follow, it is the correct one. Once Iran gains nuclear weapons and worse, the ability to deliver them with intercontinental ballistic missiles, the whole world will be subjected to a terror unknown before. It's not something any reasonable person wishes to contemplate.
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