The Perils of Islamic Obscurantism

By Dr. Babu Suseelan

2006/02/13   

Few months ago, I was attending a conference in London . One evening as I lay in my bed, my attention was focused on a solitary fly on the window of my room. The fly was located on an upper pane of glass. The window itself was slightly raised at the bottom edge. At first, as if by deliberation, the fly moved time and time again around the periphery of the section to which it had become attached. Then it would crawl diagonally, fly in desperation only to crash against the deceptive transparency. It again moved monotonously back and forth horizontally across the full surface of the windowpane. Random movements followed. Punctured again by furious flight ending always in near disaster. For whole minutes, as it stunned into stupor, the fly would remain motionless. Energy restored finally, it would commence its futile motions again. It crashed again like a firecracker out of control careening crazily around the ceiling. 

This fly, I said to myself, is a prisoner of his frame of reference, or probably, his lack of frame of reference. If flight into freedom was his object, if indeed any objective existed at all, then there was an obvious avenue of escape. An adequate passage was readily accessible at the bottom of the window. Driven by instinct alone, bereft by reason, caught up in a meaningless space, behavior could only be blind and it could end only in frustration, fury and futility. 

This episode has specific application and relevance to the current cartoon crisis, Iranian nuclear crisis, Islamic terrorism, and the violence and terror perpetuated by Hamas in the Middle East and Jihad terrorists in Kashmir , Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Iraq , Sudan , Yemen and Pakistan . It may well be that Muslim fundamentalists are caught up in the limitations of their own frame of reference. It is conceivable that Jihad Muslims are squandering resources in wealth, manpower and human energy, in a misguided quest for Islamic conquest, power and influence. If Muslims want to succeed in determining new directions and new dimensions, and if they want to influence the world, and restore the glory of Islam, they need urgently to reexamine their policies and priorities. 

The Burden of Islamic Jihad 

War, terrorism, violence, and hostility in the Islamic world have existed in one form or other since Mohamed converted the Middles east into a Muslim world. But today’s Jihadi terrorism, homicide bombing, arson attack, nuclear threat, and the use of high-tech weapons for murderous attack on innocent civilians have far reaching economic, political, and social ramifications. Regardless of how much blood is spilled in the Middle East by Jihad terrorists and the relentless Jihad terrorism in Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan and India, Muslims are not able to dramatically change the world. The Jihad terrorism and continued violence in Europe, Middle East and India has created unprecedented disruption in social life and economic, political and ecological crisis. The economic costs of Jihad terrorism in the United States , Israel , India and Denmark continues. Prices for fuel, food and consumer goods are soaring in several countries. The United States and many European countries are faced with additional task of absorbing millions of dollar for airport and flight security. Thousands of people died or injured of terrorism, several families suffer from the loss of family members and people are afraid of travel. 

The Islamic hatred of democracy, pluralism, religious tolerance, co-existence, freedom of _expression still continues unabated. The battle between rigid, closed, dogmatic ideology of Islam and free thinking is by no means decided, but its outcome will determine whether Muslims will embrace, freedom, democracy, pluralism, coexistence, progress and tolerance or succumb to non-compromising Islamic fundamentalism, conflict and relentless war against the civilized world. Social policy experts and intellectuals have predicted that the magnitude and impact of Islamic rage hostility and violence would further destabilize the entire world. Muslim hatred and determination to wipe out democratic Israel and non-believers make the situation more complex. 

History demonstrates whenever Muslim nations arm it to the teeth they attack the neighboring country. Or they turn the weapons against their own ethnic and religious minorities, all in the name of fundamentalist Islam.

The Perils of Islamic Fundamentalism 

All the Islamic countries from Algeria to Yemen have either dynastic ruling or military dictatorships. Saudi Arabia , Pakistan , Jordan , Syria , Morocco , United Arab Emirates , Kuwait , Bangladesh , Iran , Muscat and Oman , Bahrain , Sudan and Libya have varied historical experience with tyranny, brutality, and persecution of minorities. Every Islamic country in the world is Islamic and non-believers have no religious freedom. Most of the Islamic nations, citizens are barred from the political or democratic process. Freedom of _expression, political assembly, open debate and religious tolerance are nowhere to be seen in Islamic countries. Muslim countries have no bill of rights and modern impartial judiciary. 

Whether it is a dictator, or dynasty, military or Mullah regime, persecution, torture, execution and public beheading are frequent in all Islamic countries. In Saudi Arabia , offenders are beheaded or have a limp amputated in public on Friday, the day of Islamic prayer. Since the Islamic revolution in Iran , thousands of innocent people are executed without legal proceedings. Two Islamic countries Iraq and Iran killed more than three million people during the war. Arab Islamic terrorists have killed hundreds of Jewish men, women and Children in their false hope of destroying Israel .

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