Secular Left Liberal Critique of Islamism: Examining the Work of Paul Berman Terror and Liberalism 2002 Flight of the Intellectuals 2010
Controversial Work establishes a synthesis between Islamism and Fascism: Key Points n n n n Both a reaction to Liberal Secular Enlightenment and its attack against Traditionalism and Religion Both rooted in the irrational mystical side of human beings and the collective need for personal self-transcendence through nihilistic violence and glory Both embrace a culture of death Both are millennial traditions promising global destruction of evil and the construction of a earthly paradise Both embrace a conspiratorial world view of group subjugation and eternal struggle and global violent emancipation Both embrace cult of personality Both reject western values and individual liberty Berman is considered to be a pariah by much of the academic world that sees Islamism as the ideal solution to the problem of radicalism
Critique of Muslim Brotherhood n n n Writings of Sayyid Qutb in Milestones and Shades of the Quran embrace Jihad, purge of Western influence, imposition of Shariah and the pan Islamic caliphate Ultimate end is the construction of Islamic state that fuses earthly and spiritual (Go back to a purer 7 th century Islam freed from Western contamination) Qutb’s concept of hideous schizophrenia central to his analysis of the Muslim predicament under Western Colonialism and Influence. Islam is the solution to this problem. War against the Jahili barbarians (Egypt’s Pan Arabists are like the Polytheists Muhammad fought in the 7 th century) Revolutionary vanguard liberates and unites long oppressed Muslim peoples. Today they are the suicidal warriors of jihad who eagerly anticipate the gates of paradise. Caliphate will wage final war against the decadent far enemy and spread Islam throughout the world
Muslim Brotherhood Islamists: Past and Present: “Hitler put the Jews in their place. It is their divine punishment”. Hassan al Banna Qutb Qaradawi
Nazism and Islamism n n n Hassan al Banna support for the Nazis, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Egyptian Green Shirts Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini : Chief Propagandist for the Nazis during the War Arab Waffen SS Brigade in Bosnia formed by Grand Mufti that engaged in ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Jews and Serbs Grand Mufti hailed as returning hero after war in Muslim World Hassan al Banna was a great supporter of the Mufti of Jerusalem Incorporation of Nazi anti-Semitic Propaghanda in Islamist circles Hamas 1987 Charter and its call for the destruction of the Jews Media rock star and respected Islamic scholar Yusuf al Qawadari repeated calls for jihad and suicide bombing against Zionists Qawadari draws a million people in Tahrir Square after Mubarak’s fall Qawadari is a leading thinker asociated with the “moderate” Muslim Brotherhood. Qatari based Egyptian who has one of the most popular TV shows in the Arab world and believes that the Holocaust is divine punishment for the sins of the Jews.
Movement Nazism Ideal to be Achieved Purified Volk liberated from foreigners Means to by which Ideal is achieved Eternal Enemies Islamism Purified Dar al Islam liberated from foreign influence Lightening War to Jihad against Near the West and East and Far Enemy Jews, Bolsheviks and Westerners Muslim Apostates, Jews and Crusaders
Critique of “Moderate” Islamism n n n Trojan Horse of peaceful evolutionary Islamism is elaborate plot to seize power Islamists double discourse and double face: say one think to the West and another to their followers Islamist charity is an effort to create a parallel state and movement to seize power Hamas 2006 Consolidation of Power 1979 Revolution devours its own children Hezbollah manipulation of democratic rules of the game Italian Fascists in 1922 and the Nazis in 1933 pledged to defend parliamentary democracy: Both believed that they could be absorbed in the democratic system Muslim Brotherhood has clandestine agenda to create a totalitarian state Western Liberals have lost the will to fight, are convulsed by colonial guilt and delude themselves that Islamic radicalism can be best resolved by “moderate Islamism”. They have nothing but contempt for Berman and Muslim liberals like Salman Rushdie and Hisi Ali whose outright rejection of Islamism is considered “racist and offensive. Moderate Islamism paves the way for radicalization and a loss of individual freedom Today’s Turkey ran by moderate Islamists for a decade is less free today and more anti-Western.
Berman’s Critique of Tariq Ramadan n n n Swiss born Tariq Ramadan is grandson of Hassan al Banna whose philosophical musings are hailed as an example of Islamist co-existence with the West and the best antidote to radicalism. Has written many books like Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity Ramadan argues for salafi reformism typing traditional Islam to modern thought and is seen as accepting democracy, individual freedom and women’s rights Berman says like most moderate Islamists he engages in a double discourse to fool gullible Western elites that Islam is capable of reconciling itself with Western liberalism Ramadan for example calls himself an Islamic feminist who sees restriction on women as a celebration of their special place in Islam Berman argues that Ramadan has failed to acknowledge his grandfathers ties to Nazism, violent extremism and Sayyid Qutb His admiration of Yusaf al Qaradawi and his refusal to urge the abolition of honor killings are part of a sinister hidden agenda Berman says Muslims must liberate themselves from the delusion that Islam can be reconciled with Western secular liberalism and that religion should be confined to a private real of society as it is in Judaism and Christianity
Arab Rebellions Today are likely to set the stage for Greater Conflict n n n n Fall of Monarchies and Pan Arabic Dictatorships set the stage for Liberal Democratic and Islamist Rivalry Islamists are advantaged by superior organization and finances Liberals are highly motivated, under financed and highly factionalized Al Qaeda and Iran’s influence will soar in the short and medium term Western intellectual elite, once again , gets it wrong and sells our enemies the rope that they will use to hang us. U. S. influence collapses and actionable intelligence dries up setting the stage for a wave of attacks against the West Obama Administration perpetual confusion, inaction and half measures only exacerbates these tendencies Israel becomes more and more isolated and will develop a Bunker mentality
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