A GREAT OVERVIEW OF ISLAMISM AND TERRORISM

An article sent to me courtesy of JB at Riting on the Wall. The author David Zeidan does a nice job of surveying the ideological evolution and flavors of these various Islamist groups and I can say I learned about some more obscure figures known mostly to Middle Eastern area specialists and counter-terrorism experts.

On the other hand, to use a Marxist phrase, I’m still of a position that for all the religiousity of their ideological roots that in the ” last analysis ” these Islamists are political totalitarians with operational/structural similarities to the secular movements of the 20th century, especially fascism though in tactical terms resemblences to Communist organizations can be seen as well. The cross-over point between religious and political zeal would seem to my mind to be the point where the Islamist leaves behind the phase of ” separation ” Zeidan discusses to an actively violent political program of Jihad. At this point the secular aspects of Jihad – military, political and terrorist- overshadow all other religious values and Quranic considerations. Power becomes the determining factor, what advances the cause, not what is the Islamic thing to do.

Update: HNN is running an article on the same topic