Islam and Terrorism (2 page)
Wahhabi Movement
Summary
14
The Founding Father of Modern Jihad
Visiting America—and Hating It!
Qutb’s Key Beliefs
Profile of a Jihad Group
“Defeated” Muslims
Words Backed by Action
15
The Philosophers of Jihad
Dr. Salah Serea: The Egyptian Islamic Liberation Movement
Shokri Moustafa
Moustafa’s Defense
The Execution and the Book
16
Recruiting for Holy War
Recruiting at My University
Spiritual Leadership
17
Inspired by Iran
Reaction at the University
Iran Exports Its Revolution
Iraq Strikes Iran
18
Treachery Between Terrorists
A Move to Join the Two Groups
Terrorizing Fellow Muslims
Al-Jihad Is Born
The Philosophy of al-Jihad
The Next Step
19
Al-Jihad Prepares and Attacks
Terrorizing the Christian Minority
President Sadat Assassinated
20
Justice Loses, Quran Wins
21
Jihad Bleeds Out of Egypt
Libya
Tunisia
Algeria
Sudan
Summary
22
New Strategy: Attack the West
Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman Comes to America
1993 World Trade Center Attack
Obstacles to Worldwide Revolution
America as a Special Target
Osama bin Laden
The al Qaeda Organization
The Future of the Muslim World
23
Responding to Radicals in the Muslim World
Can Violence Stop Violence?
Rethinking Foreign Policy
24
Challenging the Philosophy Behind ISIS
How Should We Deal With the Threat in Our Countries?
Appendix A
References to Muhammad
References to the Quran
English Translations of the Quran
Reading Arabic Names
The Geography of the Muslim World
Appendix B
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Books Published in Arabic
Books Published in English
Recommended Reading
PREFACE
I
N THIS SECOND
edition of
Islam and Terrorism
I want to bring you, my dear readers, answers to the primary questions people are asking today about violence in the name of Islam: “Where does this violence come from?” and “What has inspired this global movement of angry men and women to leave everything behind and take up arms—fighting, killing, destroying in the name of Allah?”
This edition will help you to understand the historical and the current roots that are contributing to this chaos our world is controlled by. In the end you will find ideas for the most important questions: What is the solution? Is there any solution at all? Is there any hope for peace to be established in the Middle East? With the pages of this book I try to provide the dimension of understanding that is difficult to find in the world of secular and politically correct media.
In this book I will introduce you to teachings that are widely taught throughout the Islamic world because these are the teachings from Al-Azhar University, the most influential university in the Muslim world. In order to grasp the position and influence of Al-Azhar, we can say that for Muslims it is what the Vatican is for Catholics. It can be considered the brain/educational center of Islam. So the teaching presented in this book is the Islamic teaching according to the world’s leading Islamic scholars.
M
Y
S
TORY
You may wonder how I can be so confident that I understand the mind-set of the radical Muslim. The reason is that with my background, I could have become one of those radicals. I grew up in a conservative Muslim household in Egypt. I started memorizing the Quran at the age of five and finished when I was twelve years old. I went on to earn a doctorate degree from the famous Al-Azhar University and was given a teaching position. I had several friends and students in my classes who were active in jihad. Personally I preferred to focus on the peaceful side of Islam, but I was unable to ignore the violent side I saw in the Quran and Islamic history. This inner struggle ultimately led me to question the basis of my faith, for which I was arrested and tortured by the Egyptian secret police.
Another important part of my story is that I am no longer a follower of Islam. This allows me to speak more freely about the teachings of Islam, but it also puts me at risk of punishment from the radicals. I have been stabbed, shot at, and threatened multiple times. I used to even receive death threats in reviews of my book that were posted online.
These issues are a fact of life for me and many others like me who have exercised their freedom of religion and have faced judgment from the Muslim world.
However, I want to make it very clear that Muslims are not my enemies, and this book does not want to talk bad about Muslims in any way. My family in Egypt and all my friends I had to leave behind when I left Islam are still Muslims. I still love them, despite all that I have gone through, and my heart is crying out for all those sincere people who are working hard during all their lives
trying to do good, hoping that at the end of their lives Allah might admit them to Paradise. My heart cries out for them because I know about the sufferings that the teachings of Islam can cause. And most Muslims are born into this religion. It was not their choice. I grew up as one of them, memorizing the Quran as a child and studying Islam for many years. I know about the sufferings, the discrimination, and the lack of freedom that the teaching of Islam are causing—not only to non-Muslims but first of all to the Muslims themselves.
When you read about the very challenging teachings of Islam that bring so much pain and violence to this world, please keep in mind that I am not trying to make Muslims look bad. What I am trying to do is to help them and others see what motivates an Islamic radical. I am a free person, and today I am living in a free country. I can ask the hard questions about Islam, but the Muslim people I left behind cannot question their beliefs.
I want you to see this very, very important distinction: Islam is the religion. Muslims are people who are following the teachings of Islam according to many different interpretations. Muslims are also the ones suffering most from Islamic radicalism. Radical Muslims who are committed to live, die, and kill for jihad are the minority. By far the greatest majority of Muslims wish to live peaceful lives, to enjoy their family life, and they work hard to provide a good future to their children.
If you have Muslim friends, neighbors, or acquaintances, please be kind to them and treat them with respect. They are probably nice people living in a peaceful way and not wanting to cause trouble for you or anybody else. Do not treat them as your enemies. The best thing you can do is to enjoy your friendship and learn about their culture.
If you ever discuss religion with someone else, please keep a good attitude and be very sensitive. You don’t want to hurt their religious feelings. It is normal that every person wants to defend his faith. It is very helpful to always keep in mind that above all we are all brothers and sisters in humanity—we are all searching for the truth.
SECTION I
HOW THE ARAB SPRING TURNED TO AN ISIS WINTER
I
N THIS CHAPTER
I will explain how the hope of the Arab Spring resulted in a new level of Islamic extremism as radicals took advantage of a vacuum in leadership to gain new ground for their cause.
During the whole year of 2011 one major topic dominated the world media: the so-called Arab Spring. A revolution crying out for freedom and democracy was spreading over the whole Middle East like a bush fire. Dictator regimes, which had been in power for decades, were overthrown in just a few days.
On December 18, 2010, in Tunisia a young Tunisian man in an economically desperate situation committed suicide by setting fire on himself. This was the first spark that later created a big fire that covered the whole region of the Middle East, including Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrein.
As a result of this revolution:
• The Tunisian president Ben Ali fled his country, and his government was overthrown.
• Egyptian president Mubarak resigned and was put in jail and on trial along with his two sons and six top officials of his regime.
• The Libyan dictator Qaddafi was killed after a civil war with foreign military intervention, and his regime was overthrown.
• The president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was kicked out of his position and the power was handed over to a national unity government.
• In the kingdom of Bahrain a civil uprising took place that forced the king to do some government changes. However, the changes didn’t stop the uprising.
• In Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, and Algeria protestors forced the governments to make constitutional reforms and governmental changes.
• In Syria the corrupted dictator president refused to leave his position and continued killing his own people. Consequently a civil war started which would keep burning for years.
In the same way a huge forest fire caused by just one little match, the overwhelming fire of the revolution in the Arab world was caused by one individual incident.
A fire, however, only will spread that much if the land is very dry. The region of the Arab world was exactly like a dry forest in a very hot summer. It was dried out by the heat of corruption, dictatorship, and economical distress. The region was heated by the misery, torture, and all the unjust trials against innocent people that were done by the corrupt dictator regimes. People were suffering from
the lack of freedom and justice. The abuse of basic human rights by the secret services and the corrupt, vicious police departments had heated up the moods. The Arab region of the world was so dry, heated, and ready to get burned that the smallest spark could light a huge fire.
