Jihadists Waging a 'Cosmic War' Like Christian and Jewish Fundamentalists: Reza Aslan

Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionDr. Sami Alrabaa Obviously, radical Islamists have succeeded in recruiting an intellectual propagandist, a young Shiite Iranian-American named Reza Aslan (allegedly "an internationally acclaimed writer"), to promote their Jihadi agenda. In his book, "How to Win a Cosmic War", he urges his readers to understand Jihad as "an ideology that seeks removing social and political deprivation of Muslims across the globe", especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine. He also claims that Jihad is a "social movement".

Aslan states, a deeper "understanding of the social, political, and economic forces that have made global Jihadism such an appealing phenomenon, particularly to Muslim youth" is required.

This is ludicrous, and a travesty of intellectual honesty, at best. Jihadists do not possess any socio-economic program. The only "program" they have is Sharia, a medieval bunch of beliefs and practices that contradict basic human rights. Aslan alleges that Jihadists are fighting the same "cosmic war" with the "Christian fundamentalists" and "Jewish Orthodox"-all of them "zealous" about the purity of their faith. At the end of his book, Aslan concludes that this "war" can never be won, but it can be and must be "managed" properly. The question is who is actually waging this bloody "war"? Have you ever heard or read of a Christian or Jew blowing themselves in crowds of innocent people? Never! It is the Jihadists, who are doing so in the name of their God, Allah. Only Allah orders his Muslim followers in the Koran and Hadith to hate, maim and slay non-Muslims. It is the "prophet" Muhammad, who advocates that the Jihadists will have a straight landing in the Kingdom of Heaven. For details, check out Ali Sina's "Understanding Muhammad", and M.A. Khan's "Islamic Jihad: The Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery." Throughout his book, Aslan tries to justify Jihad, and not explain it. To do so, he points finger at the Dutch Parliament, which is debating a legislation for outlawing the Koran. This is not true. Even if this were true, some Dutch legislators, led by Geert Wilders, want the Koran to be banned because it incites to hatred and violence, which you can find out here:  "Is Islam a Violent Faith?" If you carefully read the Koran, you will find out that this book is replete with hatred, violence, and discrimination against women. It is actually a dangerous book, and a toxic one at that. According to a study by Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, over 80% of Germans, who read the Koran favor banning it like "Mein Kampf" by Hitler. Aslan also claims that Muslims living in the West are "alienated" by the majority in their host countries, and that is why some of them join Jihad. This is not true either. Peaceful liberal Muslims are integrated in the West, and no body shows any hostility toward them. It is only radical Muslims, out of their hostility towards decadent western culture, alienate themselves. Later in the book, Aslan shows his real pro-Jihadist character and affiliation, and urges the West to recognize that "Islamophobia" gets them nowhere. In other words, "leave us alone [for] destroying your un-Islamic societies to replace them with Sharia." Aslan also alleges that "Poll after poll across the Muslim world has revealed overwhelmingly majorities among all classes, ages, and sectors of society condemning al Qaeda's actions." What "polls" is Aslan talking about? On the contrary, polls conducted by serious academic institutions prove the contrary. To add insult to injury, Aslan contradicts himself when he states, Muslims across the world "consider militant groups like al Qaeda to be the only forces in the Muslim world giving voice to their grievances." Aslan is an intolerant Islamist, and has exposed himself in his article, "Depicting Mohammed: Why I'm offended by the Danish cartoons of the prophet." In this piece, he defends fanaticism and opposes religious criticism and freedom of expression like most bigoted Jihadists. Sadly, some Western governments are following Aslan's advice. The European Union issued edict 1605, disbanding criticism of Islam. In Switzerland, a German lady was prosecuted on charges of "racism" for posting articles critical of radical Islam in her website. In Germany, the Christian Democratic Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble meets regularly with Muslim leaders, who are predominantly radical. He and several German politicians across the board want to introduce Islam, as a subject, in school curricula, from an Islamic point of view. When Schäuble meets with Muslim leaders, they tell him that they fully approve the German Constitution, which they accept at face value. Behind their back and in the absence of media, they gloat, "The fool and his ilk believe us." Muslim centers, branded as "cultural", are everywhere in Germany. They teach youngsters hatred and violence. Check out "The Radical Muslims of Germany" and "A Deoband Madrassa in the Heart of Germany". Also Mr. Obama will not achieve anything with his appeasement policy toward Islamists, particularly in the Middle East. Hamas and Hizbollah, two radical Islamic organizations, will not accept anything short of wiping out Israel from the world map. Check out Hamas's Charter. Aslan claims that the Turkish AKP government used to be a radical Muslim movement, but now it has become a "cautious peaceful government party". This is not true either. The AKP is slowly but steadily Islamizing Turkey. It dreams of re-establishing the Ottoman Caliphate based on the rule of Sharia. It still denies the genocide that Turkey committed against the Christian Armenians at the beginning of the 20th century. It also denies autonomy for the 8 million Kurds living in Turkey. The West, and for that matter the whole world, does not need propagandists who play down the threat of radical Islam and Jihad, we need people who tell the truth about this virulent virus that afflicts the whole world. Aslan's suggestion for "cooling down the temperature with Jihadists" does not work, it never will. Appeasement is of no help with the likes of Hitler and Pol Pot. Aslan also brags that "Al Qaeda may never fully dissipate". This is wishful thinking of an extremist Jihadist. Al Qaeda, like most extremist doctrinists, will, sooner or later, dissipate. Radical Muslims and Jihadists, in particular, must be busted, isolated, and eventually eradicated; the root causes-their doctrine and practices-must be exposed and discredited. What Aslan writes is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Additionally, if I were the head of the University of California, Riverside, where Aslan is allegedly teaching "creative writing", I would not entrust him with teaching such a course. Given his pro-Jihad mindset, entrusting him with such as course is dangerous. Call it "Cosmic War" or what you may, it can only be tackled by identifying and discrediting the ideology behind and its propagators, Aslan is one of them.