Terrorism against U.S. justified by extremists

Before Sept. 11, 2001, an infinitesimal percent-age of Americans had heard of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban or Al Qaeda. Since then we have become painfully aware of who these people are — they have continued their abominable massacres in Bali, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the Philippines. Thankfully they have not been able to accomplish any other terrorist plan in the Unites States with George W. Bush as our president. However, this fact is a double-edged sword — lack of proximity to bombings, killings and terror can lull us into a false sense of security. We will not be safe until terrorism is obliterated.

Jihad, or "holy war", was declared against the U.S. by bin Laden in 1996 — why? In his mind, all Americans are infidels deserving of death. His reasons vary — Americans are generally Christian or Jewish (enemies of Allah); American Muslims live under man-made traditions and false law (not the laws of Allah and the Sharia) and American taxpayers fund the U.S. military which is on "Muslim land" on the Arabian Peninsula, thus contaminating it. He and the Islamic extremists believe that all things non-Arab are evil and must be destroyed.

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon on the planet. It roots can be traced to the earliest interactions between humans. According to the experts at The Terrorism Research Center define terrorism as "the unlawful (emphasis mine) use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce… in furtherance of political or social objectives."

In warfare, rules of engagement are well-known to civilized societies. Diplomacy is exercised as long as possible. Warnings are issued, giving time to prepare for defense. If all warnings go unheeded, attack is imminent. Whether the Islamic extremists are aware of those rules or not, there is a complete disregard for civility and humanity as evidenced by the most recent attack on Russian school children. Why?

It appears that the establishment of religion world-wide is the motivation. Muslim intellectual, Sayyid Qutb, who has greatly influenced bin Laden and other Muslims of his ilk worldwide (including some leaders in American mosques) contends that the bankrupt and valueless Western secularism has destroyed the basic unity of Islam. The solution for true freedom for mankind is "new leadership" coming from Islam — divine sovereignty under Islamic law. He preaches that Islam needs to lead the way to restoration of civilization and true values by eliminating "all human kinship and to announce the rule of the Sustainer of the universe over the entire earth." He even advocates resistance to governments in Muslim lands that do not implement the Sharia. How to implement the global plan?

By Jihad, not the moderate Muslim's definition of "inner struggle," but violent, armed struggle. This is thier strategy to enforce Sharia globally. Qutb recommends that Muslims everywhere should "strike hard at all those political powers which force people to bow before them." He asserts that, "the survival and prosperity of the faith take precedence over the preservation of human life itself." This fanatical, absolutist and dangerous perspective of Islamic radicals is growing daily. Young Arab boys and girls are being taught that being a martyr is a glorious ambition.

Recently an Al Qaeda leader stated, "The Jews and Americans will never be safe so long as we are alive," and he included warnings about car bombings in the U.S. Additionally, he referred to anyone supporting the U.S. in Iraq as "combatants of Allah," licensing the wholesale slaying of U.S. allies.

Remember Sept. 11? If those terrorists had nuclear or biological weaponry, do you think they would have hesitated to use it? The answer is a resounding, "no."

Michelle Gomez is a third year political science major at CSULB. This article is the second of a weekly series appearing Thursdays.