The Clash of Cultures
“The enmity is deeply embedded and the clash is inevitable,” says an Al Qaeda propaganda tape (214), but Derbala, a leader of al-Jama'a denounced Al Qaeda. Not only for its methods, but also because the United States has benefited Muslims several times. He includes the 1991 Gulf War and the 1995, 1999 campaigns in the Balkans. Gerges interviewed Derbala in his cell at an Egyptian prison before the 2003 Iraq war.
Consider, then, the relative groups these two represent. “Al Qaeda membership never exceeded 10,000 people, al-Jama'a fielded more than one hundred thousand fighters in the 1990s,” Gerges says (214). Between the two organizations, the weight favors co-existance. Unfortunately they are not a complete survey of the Muslim world.
“There are two [main] cultures: the West and the East, the U.S. And the U.S.S.R; Islam is a third, a balance,” Hamza akl Hamieh, a former guerrilla told Robin Wright of the London Times. He was famous for six successful airplane hijackings (his goal was the return of a religions/political leader to Lebanon). Now that the U.S.S.R is gone, it seems Islam's role is to balance the remainder.*1
There are three key reasons for jihadists, and Muslims in general, to hate the United States. First, the U.S. sometimes (often) allies itself with unjust leaders, further corrupting them with wealth in the interest of stability. The Saudis aren't really improving the standard of living for their people as a whole.*2 The second major problem is the U.S.'s relationship with Israel. From the moment when Truman recognized the new state, we've been supportive of it. To many Muslims, that means we are clearly against them. The third problem is the most slippery, and the most significant. The U.S. global dominance threatens to destroy Islamism. Kamal assembled this list (167).
While democracy, America's token push, isn't fundamentally incompatible with Islam, there are several incompatibilities in the way America institutes it. Equality for women, meaning that the law makes no distinction for gender, doesn't work under Islamic law. Morehowever, the Western culture in general, the 'blind materialism' presumed to drive us, seems pretty evil to them. Mamdouh Ismail, a radical Islamist who spent three years in prison in connection to the Sadat assassination, said “out Islamic nation is morally superior to the West and the United States. We must not be deceived by American and Western propaganda about progress and civilization. We must not let America colonize us mentally.”
Morally superior? The same concept lead, no doubt, to the “Great Satan” statement Khomeini is famous for. But what on earth is he talking about? Remember Sayyid Qutb? No? Well go back, I did mention him. His book, (Pamphlet?) The America I Have Seen is well known to jihadists, but didn't exactly receive attention in the U.S. He wrote about a church dance, which was scandalous because the pastor himself turned the lights down to encourage a romantic (i.e. lusty) mood. An encounter with a drunk girl, who apparently tried to seduce him, also stands out. She was “stunningly beautiful,” her body “sensuous,” and “inviting,” when she invited herself to his bed – and he physically prevented her from entering his room and closed the door in her face. Even advertising and film were objects of sexual worship that turned Qtub's stomach. America is full of “pleasures that acknowledge no limit or moral restraint, dreams that are capable of taking corporal shape in the realm of time and space.” (144,5) And he visited a small, conservative town in Colorado in 1949!
He goes on to explain the problem in greater detail in other books, particularly Islam: the Religion of the Future: “Humanism is the ultimate scale by which man's development or backwardness should be measured, while his spiritual happiness is the measurement of the fitness or unfitness of the elements of his civilization to his nature.” Western progress failed. “In America, man was born with science, and thus believed in it alone... since he received nature as an untamed,stubborn virgin, and fought to build his homeland with his bare hands, applied science was his greatest ally in his violent struggle.” But this resulted in a “deformed birth,” which “narrowed his [America's] horizons, shrank his soul, limited his feelings, and decreased his place at the global feast, which is so full of patterns and colors.” There is no one in America who cares about morality and the spirit, or about human affairs, Qtub lamented to a friend. All they care about is dollars, movie stars, and cars. (151)
“Morality in America is long dead,” said a young Lebanese militant, expressing a general feeling from Arab Muslims. “Everyone in America cheats on their spouse, every American male (and presumably most of the females?) engages in sex before marriage and continues to do so outside of marriage,” said a leading authority on Islamic texts, Gamal al-Banna of Cairo (156). American churches, which supposedly praise the same God that Muslims claim, are even worse to jihadists. By encouraging 'fun' with youth groups, they are plainly encouraging the 'children' to have sex. (see Qtub's story about the dance at a Methodist church, 157. And worse, the preachers complete with one another, preforming miracles too convenient to be real to boost attendance... Church is, my what they can see, a commodity to be sold.
That is the jihadist view, indeed the common perception for many Muslims, of America. The disgust should be evident. Now the most impressive interview of Gerges' book can be compared to this. Abu-Jandal was Osama bin Laden's personal bodyguard for a time. He joined al Qaeda from Saudi Arabia, and participated in several campaigns (including Mogadishu on the “Day of the Rangers,” best known as Black Hawk Down. He didn't have the chance to use his weapon there. 113) before bin Laden approached him. The character of bin Laden is something to fear. He was born wealthy, you may know, but he lived with his troops rather than in luxury. Abu-Jandal related a visit in 1998: “Sheikh Osama came to visit us [training group, this is before becoming bodyguard] and asked “what are you eating today?”
“Rice and potatoes,” I replied.
“May God be praised, you are richer than we are,” he answered.
“Richer than you, how?”
“We ate bread and yoghurt today.” He used to lead a very simple life.” Abu-Jandal explained, “I never saw him pay attention to what he wore or to his personal belongings. (133)”
Abu-Jandal said, “After that day Sheikh Osama gave me a pistol and made be his personal bodyguard.* The pistol had only two bullets, for me to kill Sheikh Osama with in case we were surrounded or he was about to fall into enemy's hands, so that he would not be caught alive. (137)”
bin Laden's sons, excepting one who couldn't stand the primitive conditions, earn their own livings through their own work. His wives (again, excepting one, who requested and was granted a divorce) put up with the poor conditions for the sake of his vision. Abu-Jandal revently quoted Sheikh Azzam, who once urged loyalty to bin Laden (they later disagreed and split paths) “Osama bin Laden … is a whole nation embodied in one man. He shoulders the nation's cause.”
Which of these perceived worlds would you choose to ally with?
The cry of Khomeini resonates; “We shall export our revoultion to the whole world, there will be struggle... Islam is the religion of militant individuals who are committed to truth and justice. It is the religion of those who desire freedom and independence. It is the school of those who struggle against imperialism.”
*1) I think, actually, that will be China's job. Considering everything. That's the topic for anyone paper.
*2) this is something which I should verify, but I'll cite it as common knowledge now until I figure out how to look it up. They're not good guys, they're just more friendly to us than Saddam was.
*3) Now, bodyguard is a loose term, the job might be better understood with the old English word Huskarl. Abu-Jandal was chosen for his charisma, and his ability to help recruit others.
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