Unchangeable Terror Stories

 Uncharted Territories is a Substack blog written by Tomas Pueyo.  He is prolific, with very well-researched, written and illustrated essays on a wide variety of subjects, all of which are interesting.  One that caught my eye was Islamismophobia, subtitled Support Islam. Oppose Islamists.  I thought Support Islam?  I can't, as a Humanist I oppose theocracy.  But I'm open for contrarian reasoning and followed through on Pueyo's arguments.  It's a popular concept with Middle East experts like Daniel Pipes who evokes the same spirit - the problem is Islamism, the solution is Islam.

This is a superbly presented piece, but sadly for the West, it has a fundamental flaw in its reasoning.  Put simply, Islamism, just Pueyo describes it, is the real Islam, not that of moderate Muslims.  "There is no radical or moderate Islam. There is only authentic Islam."  (Mohamed Achamlane.)  Or to quote Conor Cruise O’Brien: “Fundamentalist Islam is a misnomer which dulls our perceptions in a dangerous way. It does so by implying that there is some other kind of Islam, which is well disposed to those who reject the Koran. There isn’t. Islam is a universalist, triumphalist and political religion. It claims de jure dominion over all humanity.”

Islam is based on the Koran, the eternal and uncreated word of Allah who said, “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (5:4).  The laws laid down in the Koran are eternal and not subject to interpretation.   Islam has a rules-based ethic and since Allah is a god for all mankind, his rules apply to all mankind.  Islam’s telos is global theocracy, and the roles that ordinary Muslims play in its progress are vital to achieving its goal.  The 14th century philosopher Ibn Khaldun said, “In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and (the obligation to) convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force.”  In Milestones, called ‘the jihadists’ constitution’, Sayyid Qutb talks of Universal Sharia, not only applicable to Islamic society but to all societies. Islam itself is a civilisation, the nationality of a Muslim is his faith.  All other identities based on the modern nations-state should be abolished.

Much in the essay concerns Islamic violence, but as I detailed in Argumentum ad Cultro, another take on this is intermittent reinforcement.  When Allah says, “we will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve,” (3:151) there is no need to “…slay them wherever you come upon them” (2:191) to obtain Islam’s goal.  The occasional beheading, driving cars into crowds, flying planes into buildings or the threat of violent riots, is enough to make people respect Islam through implicit fear.  It’s a far more economic process of conquest compared with, for example, the Islamic conquest of the Balkan peninsula in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Pueyo's defence of the Islam of the moderate Muslim is optimistic.  Moderate Muslims, for all their number, cannot and do not drive the Islamic agenda.  That’s what the Islamists do.  Moderate Muslims are aware that Islamists are more dedicated to Islam than they are, so they have no power to influence them.  Moderate Muslims have more to fear even than us infidels since they will be regarded as apostates, and their punishment is death.  When push comes to shove and shove comes to jihad, they will have to make a choice – be regarded as friends of the enemy or support jihad.   Meanwhile, moderate Muslims serve the fundamentalists’ agenda in presenting Islam with a moderate face with increasing numbers of ‘Potemkin villagers’, and a lesser evil for pandering purposes.  I've expanded on this when commenting on Pauline Hanson's "Good Muslims" statement.

A generally unconsidered factor likely to play its part in Islam’s goal comes from Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth who says that according to the data, if 3.5% of the population happens to identify enough with your cause to engage in some sort of activism, then society will change in the direction of that cause.   Gramsci's long march through the institutions is a formidable example of its effects.

It’s not just Islamists that want Islam to prevail, it’s Islam.  Islam is the problem.  Pueyo's apologia will be welcomed by the Islamists.