AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVE: Being the anniversary of the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks, and especially in the light of the somewhat provocative comments today in the US by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on CNN that moving the “Ground Zero Mosque” could incite violence against the US and the West throughout the Islamic World (“Imam: Moving Mosque Could Ignite Violence”), it may be timely to reflect on what are the key aspects of Islam that make it an ideological tool for terrorist groups.
From the perspective of one who has been involved in one form or another in counterterrorism for some time, I’d suggest that these key aspects can be summarised as being the following:
• It is in reality more akin to an ideology than a religion – indeed, it could be accurately described as a political ideology masquerading as a religion;In this context, it is important to recognise that in the West we have a cultural worldview that treats religion and politics as separate, whereas in Islam they are not, and are in fact inextricably intertwined as one and the same: Continue reading and comment >>> Steve Barber | Friday, September 10, 2010
• From a religious perspective it has not yet undergone an equivalent of the Reformation which took place in the context of the modernisation of Christianity;
• This interplay of religion and ideology within Islam provide an ideal basis from which terrorist groups can drive their political agendas.