One of the more disturbing elements of this current crisis is the fact that ISIS seems to have taken over from old guard extremists in the area of propaganda. A significant number of western youth have already flocked to the ISIS banner. Indeed one of the bigger problems with this war will be what to do about citizens who have enlisted on the other side. ISIS holds an attraction for disaffected and disillusioned youth that very little in the west can compete with.
There are two questions that come to mind immediately. First of all, what exactly is the west prepared to offer to people who are living an ascetic lifestyle for a religious ideal? The West has completely jettisoned and disavowed any in its midst who might offer such an alternative. Christians who speak out against the immorality, sexual preoccupation and narcissistic self indulgence of the society around them are ridiculed and marginalized. What exactly are you going to say to a youth who has forsaken home and hearth to fight for these extremists?
The second question that comes to mind is contained in David Brooks' opinion piece for the New York Times.
If ISIS is to be stopped, there will probably have to be some sort of political and military coalition. But, ultimately, the Islamists are a spiritual movement that will have to be surmounted by a superior version of Islam.Who or what is this superior version of Islam and who are we to make this determination? More to the point, where is the Moslem critique of ISIS and its ilk? Where is the outcry condemning the actions of ISIS?
A mutual friend of ours once said: "the Americans made a bad mistake in thinking that you can fight Mohommedanism with bullets and bombs. You can't; you have to shine the light of truth on it".
ReplyDeleteEven CNN is admitting that you can't fight an idea...
Poor Tarek Fatah believes that the ideals of the French Revolution can combat and defeat Islamism. Again, it cannot. Remove Islamism and the West is still collapsing - precisely from that "false jurisprudence" warned about by the Popes from Pius VI onwards...
I think two aspects still need to be fleshed out: we are dealing with disaffected Middle Eastern youth who have been imbibing Moslem Brotherhood propaganda.... and we are dealing with disaffected radicalized youth living in "western" countries, but already isolated units....hence they travel abroad to fight for what they perceive to be the correct form of "Islam".
One, poor Imam in Calgary denounced ISIS. In Britain there have been fatwahs issued; there is Quilliam.... but in Canada and the US the silence is deafening. Even stranger is the media collusion in this silence. Imagine a group of killers calling themselves Catholics and committing mass murder; the media would hound and persecute the Church mercilessly.
ReplyDeleteThis does not need to be fleshed out as though skin color, culture or the religion of your parents could somehow inoculate you against this sort of temptation.
ReplyDelete