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Posted Online on Saturday, 26 August 2006
17:15 IST
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 Muslim 'terrorism' vs Jewish 'terrorism' vs Christian 'terrorism'
By
Ghulam Muhammed
The
Milli Gazette Online
26
August 2006
The words 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' are the new terms in vogue to describe one of the oldest forms of human interaction, dating back to Cain and Able. Humans, like other species in nature with some degree of insecurity and instinct for self-preservation and survival are endowed with manifest or inherent defensive mechanisms that employ full array of faculties from brainpower to muscle-power and their various material or mental extensions in more modernized forms. Give the entire credit to Bush and his neo-con cohorts that have allotted an exclusive slot to Muslim forms of reactions, [be that defensive or offensive as the best form of defense category,] and categorized it as 'Islamic terrorism'. Their powerful clout in Western media, gave them full support to demonize Muslims and Islam as the ultimate menace, the devil incarnate and the greatest danger to humankind. The irony is that the more intense their propaganda against Muslims and Islam, the more cohesion seems to have been made available to Muslims. It is that old 'circling the wagon' syndrome at the first sign of danger.
Much that Bush propagandists demonize Muslims and later even Islam, there is no escape from mature reflection on the reality behind the created myth of Muslim demonology and its comparison with the other religion denominated demonologies like Jewish and Christian kind. It may be noted that as long as the clash was between capitalists and communists, religion had taken a backseat. After the capitalist world seems to had toppled communism from its centralized outpost in Soviet Union, the warmongers had to find another peg to hang their armor. They switched back to old tried and trusted war games over religion as it gave them
ready-made fodder to clean-up their rusting gun barrels.
The 90-year old British born Jewish scholar is brought out from woodworks and dusted out for new insights in the modern manifestations of the old religion that has dogged Jews and Christians for over 14 centuries. Intellectual and historical material gathered against Islam and Muslims are chockfull. All they need is some pop slogans like the Bush's new term --- 'Islamic fascism' to get the troops marching. 'Islamic terrorism' would be the first and more potent derogatory slogan to have come out from the Neo-con mint. It is now a fair race between Islamic terrorism and Islamic fascism.
Muslim intellectuals will have their work cut out by comparing the three different categories of terrorism that are now at each other's throats and how ideological or religious 'terrorism' differs from the 'state terrorism' that used to be termed 'war' and 'invasion' in the days, when the two super powers had carved out their own distinct areas of influence and would judiciously guard their own turf, be that spatial, material or intellectual.
The pattern of wars and terrorism has not changed in some of its essential step-by-step gradualism. In the past hand to hand combat confrontations, teams of propagandists were sent out from both sides to eulogize their braves and denigrate the other side before the battle royale began. The same pattern is now manifest in media wars before the actual combat and bloodletting. Apparently Muslim world is not only unprepared to take on the West in bloodletting combat, but is woefully negligent in joining the intellectual battle that usually precedes actual combat. As a matter of fact, Islam has most effective and potent intellectual armory to beat the media war. In sheer logic and common sense, it has a distinct edge over the other religious orders. And that shows up without any grand effort from the Muslims themselves. Some organized effort among the believers is the need of the
hour.
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