Islamic Fundumantalism

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE THE ACTIONS OF TERRORIST. I AM NOT TRYING TO REMOVE THE BLAME.

Introduction 

Islamic Fundalmentalism is a complex issue, and the who is to blame for the creation of extreamist veiw has long been debated. However, by alienating and ostrisizing the Muslim world, the West has contributed to the rise of radical Islam. By looking at the history of extremism, the alienation of the Muslim's living in the Western cultures, and the alienation of Islamic nations, one is able to see the impact that the West has had on Islamist ideas.



History of Extremism 

Islamic extremists threaten to strike in Washington after the attacks in Paris 
(Islamists threaten US)

Prior to the 17th Century, Islam had spread and Muslim's had a great empire that spanned most of the Arabian Peninsula and had achieved unmatched advances in architecture, math, science, law, and art. They had little to do with the West, save for a few Christian crusaders, and thought them an inferior culture and religion. By the 17th Century the West had achieved military strength and in 1769, Russia defeated Turkey and this lead to a series of defeats for the Muslim empire: Napolean Bonaparte 's expedition into Egypt in 1798; the French seizing Algeria in 1890; in 1881, the French occupied Tunisia; a year later, the English tightened their grip on Egypt; in 1911 Russia captured parts of Persia; and in 1912, France extended influence into Morroco. All of this finally lead to France and England taking claim to parts of the Ottoman Empire as spoils of war after WWI. The West further angered the Islamic nations after the creation of Isreal in 1948, and the Muslim armies lost bitterly to the newly formed state in an attempt to take back the land. Throughout history, the West's influence left the Islamic states wanting more. This lead to the extremist view to start to take root. In 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was founded. Hassan al-Banna, the founder, rejected western ideals and advocated for Islamist beliefs and values. Without religious governance, al-Banna believed that the Muslim world would become "a society of cultural mongrels and spiritual half-castes"(Schanzer) and organized armed cells to attack the government and its supporters. Al-Banna was executed in Cairo, in 1949, in an attempt to stop the extremist movement, but it was too late. Al-Banna had laid out the foundation for countless other groups, all with the same hatred of the West and its ideals. All of the Western influence in the earlier years lead to some extreme views that a small majority of Muslims held to become a movement that persists to this day. Soon the movement was affecting us at home; the September 2011 attacks and the most recent attacks in Paris, on November 13, 2015, show just how much the Western influence has angered the radicals; so much so they are willing to attack us in our own countries.


Muslim's in the West

The attacks on us, on our own soil, have lead to a feeling of distrust from Westerners toward anyone of Middle Eastern or perceived Middle Eastern descent. Many Muslims living in Western countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States of America feel they are being blamed for the attacks. British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that British Muslims need to stop "[quietly condoning] terrorist groups" (Peev). This lead to comments from Former Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi, who the first Muslim to sit in the Cabinet. She stated that Muslims are ‘fighting the same battle he is fighting. They know they have to do more, they are willing to do more, but they will do it a lot better knowing we are on the same side” (Peev). Another Muslim leader in Britan, Manzoor Moghal of the Muslim Forum, sided with PM Cameron and told BBC Radio 4 that "The Muslim community in Britain is somewhat backward in its thinking, it is refusing to move and become progressive, it is refusing to change its old habits from attire to dress code, it is refusing to come out of an isolation which is self-imposed within certain sects of Islam” (Peev). The Labour Minister, Yasmin Qureshi also commented on the issue saying that the Prime Minister is confusing religious conservatism with support for extremism (Peev). She also says that Muslims are tired of apologizing for the actions of extremists, "‘It feels absolutely awful," she stated. "In Charleston you had a white man who went and killed nine black people in a church. I don’t hear anybody saying that the whole of the white population has to apologise for the action of one white man" (Peev). It is this kind of prejudice that further alienated the Muslim population, in the West and the Middle East and pushes the Muslim community to the outside of society, making them feel distrusted and ostracized, even tough they are hard working citizens.

Muslims stating Islam is not terrorism (Muslim's protest Terrorism)

Last month, Trump's stand on Mosques was another example of the prejudice that Muslim's suffer and lead to some anger from the Muslim community. In response, founder of the Republican Muslim Coalition, Saba Ahmed spoke out against Trump and went on Fox News in an American Flag hijab. To hear this statement, follow this link. Many Americans were angered by this harmonious show of faith and religion. It is statements like Trumps, a presidential candidate who is supposed to be for the people--including the Muslim citizens of America--that continue to make the Muslim communities and people feel like there are the enemies. In addition, the statements against Ahmed's show of patriotism and faith show how the Muslim people are ostracized and criticized in America. Anyone else could have gone onto the news with an American flag hat, shirt, pants or any other type of clothing and been praised for their patriotism. Anyone else could have gone on the news with a yamulke, a cross or other symbol of their faith and received little backlash. This just further demonstrates the alienation the Muslim people feel, in a place they call home. This leads to a lack of allegiance with the country and a push to a community where their beliefs and values are accepted and heard--even if that means aligning themselves with extremists.




Muslim's in the Global Community

Finally, the Muslim people are not only alienated in the immediate community, but they are also left out of the global community and subsequent discussions and advances. One example is the construction of the space station. Twenty-Five nation, who have fought in the past and had recent clashes, worked together to create the space station. Not one of them was an Islamic nation. The modern world was built on the scientific advances of ancient Islamic nations and to not be a part of an important and unifying project speaks to the lack of involvement in the global community.

Stats on Social Progress Index
 (Partners)

However, Islamic nations have had a relative decline in recent years, they rank behind every country in the world on the Social Progress Index, including non-Muslim African countries, and rank even worse on Transparency International's Perceptions of Corruption Index.In a golden age for practically every other country, life expectancy has doubled over the last one hundred years, poverty has fallen 80%, war has fallen by similar numbers and the number of democratically governed nations has increased in the last 50 years, the Islamic world is being left behind. Life expectancy is 15 years fewer than in North America. Part of the reason the Islamic world is in a decline is terrorism. While the attacks in Paris were being broadcast all over the world, extremist targeted Muslim communities: in Yemen, a car bomb went off killing 33 men applying for the police academy; a bomb in Bagdad killed 5 and another blast in a nearby town killed 3; in Tripoli, a suicide bomber walked into a cafe and set off his vest, and as the survivors pulled themselves from the rubble, another bomber set himself off; a suicide bomber in Pakistan set his vest off in a mosque, killing 7, and in Nigeria a ten-year-old girl was wrapped in explosive and sent into the market. The blast killed nineteen. Islam extremists are not only targeting the Western world but there own people as well. The Egyptian President called for an end to the self-destruction, "The Islamic world is being torn, it is being destroyed, it is being lost. And it is being lost by our own hands"(Gilmore).But the Islamist actions are not the only factor. The world, in fear of terrorist attacks, has pushed the Islamic world out of the global community. Canda sent 12 billion in aid to Islamic nations and the US spent 137 billion in the same efforts, but it wasn't about helping the nations or creating mutually beneficial relations. It was about preventing a problem and neutralizing threats. Islam is seen as a problem to be managed. After 9/11, Canada tripled it's spy budget and spent 18 billion to send troops to Afganistan. The US spent 4 trillion on military campaigns--including Iraq. That's twenty-five times more than was spent on aid. A passport for an Islamic nation is less welcome than any other and only 2% of visitors to Canada are from an Islamic nation, despite the fact they comprise 25% of the world's population. Russia, China, and India have all take similar stances of Islam, showing it isn't just the West against Islamic nations--it's the world. The Islamic nations have little say in the global community. Only 19% of global economies are not part of the World Trade Organization (Gilmore), and most of them are Islamic nations. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development only has one Islamic nation as a member, Turkey. While Canda, on average, belongs to 207 international organizations (Gilmore), an Islamic nation belongs top half of that. They are less connect than any other nation. However, the US and Canada are negotiating with Indonesia for a Trans-Pacific trade Agreement and Western oil companies work closely with Saudi Arabia and Nigeria but the exceptions prove the rule. Unless you are a moderate member of the Organization of Islamic Co-Operation (OIC) or have oil, the international community doesn't want anything to do with you. The more we alienate the Islamic world, the fewer opportunities become available to them, leading to feelings of animosity and isolation--which further fuels radical ideas. 

Conclusion
Ultimately, this isolation is what the extremist want. As the Islamic world is pushed further out of the global community and alienated within Western countries, the extremist can fuel their radical ideas and gain support. The West needs to extend help and support to the Muslim world and further include them in the Global community. This would give extremists less support and give their ideas less significance and lessen the effect of terror on the world today.

Works Cited

Gilmore, Scott. “How the Muslim World is Being Left Behind.” Maclean’s. N.p., 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.macleans.ca/politics/worldpolitics/why-muslim-world-decline/>.

Islamists threaten US. Paris Terror Attacks. USA Today, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.usatoday.com/topic/a16acf3c-5a2b-4c4c-886d-be08b9680e44/paris-terror-attack/>.

“Muslim Americans Fear Demonisation of Islam After Mass Shooting.” Dawn. N.p., 4 Dec. 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <http://www.dawn.com/news/1224198>.

Muslim’s protest Terrorism. Not in Our Name: Muslim’s Unite Against Terrorism. ABC News, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://abcnews.go.com/International/photos/muslims-unite-terrorisms-35280065/image-35280541>.

“Muslim Woman wears US Flag Hijab on Fox.” The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., 5 Dec. 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <Muslim woman wears US flag hijab on Fox  Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-muslims-feel-backlash-after-paris-and-california-attacks-20151204-glg5ui.html#ixzz3yDn9fV5Y  Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook>.

Partners, Henley And. “Islamic world compared to the rest of the rest of the world.” Chart. Maclean’s. N.p., 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.macleans.ca/politics/worldpolitics/why-muslim-world-decline/>.

Peev, Gerri. “Don’t alienate us over terror, Tory Muslim tells Cameron after he urges communities to speak out.” Mail Online. Daily MAil, 20 June 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3132209/Don-t-alienate-terror-Tory-Muslim-tells-Cameron-urges-communities-speak-out.html>.

Schanzer, Jonathan. “At War With Whom: A Short History Of Radical Islam.” Middle East Forum. N.p., 2002. Web. <http://www.meforum.org/168/at-war-with-whom>.