Dolchstosslegende* and Jihad: Militant Islam's historical and ideological links with Nazi fascism.
详细信息
文摘
It is not the purpose of this paper to denigrate Muslims or the religion of Islam. After all it was Islam's Golden Age (between 750 and 1250 C.E.) that produced the great gains in science, art, and philosophy that have made our world a better place to live. Though this Golden Age was far from perfect, as Jews, Christians and other religious minorities were obligated to pay a special tax for belonging to a different faith, in most cases civilizations conquered by the Empire of Islam remained administratively and intellectually intact. Christians and Jews were able to coexist in an atmosphere of tolerance, learning from each other and incorporating into their lives the best the other side had to offer. It was during that period that algebra was born. Industries like ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles and woodwork flourished. Medicine was developed as a science based on observation and experiment, rather than on conjecture. Works of Greek philosophers were translated into Arabic and taught in universities. Perhaps one of the reasons for that explosion of thought was because that civilization was multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ethnic. People who made the largest contributions were Muslim Arabs and Persians, Jews and Christians, Hindus and Buddhists. The influences on each other's cultures were immeasurable. It's the period that produced Avicenna, Maimonides and ibn Rashid, just to name few, who greatly contributed to the progress of all humanity.;Unfortunately since then, the great Empire of Islam has experienced quite a decline. From the days when there were as many scientists as there were mullahs to the days when one of the richest countries in the world like Saudi Arabia cannot operate without importing foreign workers from enlightenment and progress to culture that promotes hatred and suicide bombings. Most Muslims today live under dictatorships, ether military or religious. The biggest export of the last SO years coming out of these countries besides oil is religious fundamentalism. Thanks to unlimited amounts of money coming out of the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, jihadist1 movements can be found today around the globe from the Philippines to Chechnya. Some perfect examples are the recently created countries of Central Asia like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. These countries found independence after the disintegration of the Soviet Union more then a decade ago. The people, who for centuries practiced the tolerant version of Islam, were made into fascists almost overnight. The formula was already in place: a country with a poor Muslim population dissatisfied with their current condition and their rulers; a charismatic leader who would take it upon himself to educate his people about benefits of living under shari'a2; and propaganda based on the "teachings" of the Qur'an that uses the Western World (namely the United States and the Jews) as its scapegoats, infidels and Zionists that are responsible for the poor state of being in the Middle East. With enough money, converts are made rather quickly, and given time, these converts, who only recently were engaged in all the sins known to humankind, are now driven by the belief in their divine purpose to change the world.;With very similar components to fascists elsewhere, the results can't help but be similar, leading many countries into prolonged civil wars that have brought nothing but death, poverty, and misery to its populations. This is not the legacy of the great religion of Islam; instead it is the legacy of something quite different - Islamic fascism. In his article, "The Revolt of Islam," Bernard Lewis states: "Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qa'ida followers may not represent Islam, and their statements and their actions directly contradict basic Islamic principles and teachings, but they do arise from within Muslim civilization, just as Hitler and the Nazis arose from within Christian civilization, so they must be seen in their own cultural, religious, and historical context." 3 Besides demonstrating just how Islamic militants do qualify as fascists, the other goal of this paper is to expose the roots of Muslim civilization that have caused the terrorism of Islamic fascism, while maintaining the distinction between that fascism and the religion from which it was spawned.;* This is otherwise known as "the stab in the back theory." German military leaders such as Hindenberg promoted this theory that stated that Germany had not been defeated militarily during WWI. Instead, groups such as the civilian government of the Weimar Republic, the communists, and of course the Jews had plotted and carried out Germany's defeat. When Hitler came to power, this theory became the centerpiece for his fascist ideology and the reason for destroying those who had "betrayed" Germany. 1 Those movements associated with war waged by some Muslim extremists. 2 Islamic law. 3 Bernard Lewis, "The Revolt of Islam: When did the conflict with the West begin, and how could it end?" The New Yorker, November 19th, 2001, p.60.