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Question Hello Islamism risen in the past 20 years because t
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15 May 2017, 07:39
Hi my question is that I have heard and read that Islamism risen in the past 20 years because the Cold War ended could there some truth in this what I mean by that is because it seems during the Cold War because the Western Media starting to claim Communism/Socialism/Marxism is dead it used to be that Youths/Younger People if they wanted radical/revolutionary change a better society that they turned to supporting the Left when I say the Left I don't mean Democrats or Liberals/Progressives or Social Democrats/Democratic Socialists like Bernie Sanders who just want to reform Capitalism I mean Marxists and Communists revolutionary Socialists anyways now a days since people think Communism is dead and the Soviet Union came apart and the Cold War is over it seems some not all but some Youths who want revolutionary change want to be seen as cool or rebels in society convert to Islam and become Islamists even Terrorists or you have young Muslims to to turn to Islamism to feel that void I just believe if the Soviet Union was still on this Earth that many of these youths younger people both Non Muslims and Muslims would turn to to Socialism and Marxism for answers and join a Communist Party/Socialist Party/Marxist Political Parties and be Pro Working Class it does seem that before the 1980s that the Arab/Muslim World was Secular it facr the PLO was supported by the Soviet Union and other Marxists and Communists I think I read the PLO had Marxists as members like the popular front for the liberation of Palestine the point Im making is I don't agree with Right Wingers that believe Islam/Muslims are all Radical Islamists like ISIS that can never be changed or reform because the West has played a big role in the rise of Political Islamists the CIA helped the Muslim Brotherhood since they thought Islamists would be a ally during the Cold War or the CIA funding the Islamists like Bin Laden in Afghanistan what what became the Taliban or Mujahideen Steven Emerson Daniel Pipes and Frank Gaffney among others admit this Gamal Abdel Nasser I think promoted what he called Arab Socialism it seems that in the 1950s 1960s and 1970s that the Muslim World was more Secular than today for the most part Islamists back than were a tiny minority with very little support in fact Nasser jailed the Muslim Brother leaders like Sayyid Qutb even before 911 2001 I never heard anyone talk about Islamists or Sharia Law or a Caliphate I believe the Muslim and Arab World has turned to Political Islamism for many reasons one reason could be because of Western Foreign Policy the economy in the Islamic World poverty in many places and the fall of the Soviet Union who supported Secular and Nationalist causes in the Muslim world also because the Arab Nations lost to Israel in 1967 and 1973 and the Islamic Scholars told Muslims that Islam is the answer also the Cia is the reason why Iran turned to Islamism given what the West did to Iran in 1953 many Right Wingers call the War on Terrorism the New Cold War sorry if my post is so long I just had a lot to say anyways what does everyone think anyone agree thank you for your time ?
First off, I do not have an opposition to Islam. After watching a recent documentary, it was mentioned that Islam increased in Tajikistan after the fall of the Soviet Union, so I began to think about the effects of religious choice after years of being forced in atheism. Does anyone have a more historical context about the evolution of religion in this region?
It's not necessarily accurate to say it gave way to a rise in Islam, but the increasing Islamization of societies in the Arab and Muslim world is at least in part linked to the Cold War. The very short version is that in the 60s, at the height of Nasserism in Egypt and the formation of the United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria, the US was far more worried about communism in the Middle East than it was about Islamism. As a result, the US supported a sort of incubator of Islamism in the Gulf, especially in Saudi. Islamists fleeing Syria and Nasser's Egypt fled to Saudi, where they found extensive Saudi and American political patronage and money. That movement grew throughout the 1960s, and then by the early 70s, when all the Arab communist regimes had collapsed, these newly empowered and rich Islamist ideologues, businessmen, thinkers, etc. flowed back out of the Gulf to their countries of origin, especially Egypt. President Sadat in Egypt greatly relaxed the state's stance toward Islamists and the Muslim Brotherhood (at least compared to Nasser) and also began liberalizing the economy. As such, when all these Islamists returned to Egypt, they had far more latitude to operate Islamist groups and also many more avenues for making money. That was one of the principal causes of the Islamization of Egyptian society. Along with the fact that when Sadat (and Mubarak and Sisi) began this neoliberal remaking of Egypt's economy, it greatly exacerbated both urban and rural poverty and also removed state subsidies that had been supporting the poor, and Islamist charities stepped into that void, wielding their newfound power and money to feed, clothe, and educate the poor while also pushing their slogan: al-Islam huwwa al-hal -- Islam is the solution.
TL;DR - All of the above is a roundabout way of saying that the rise of societal Islamization in the Middle East is tangentially connected to the USSR in that the West's efforts to bring down the USSR often involved bolstering Islamists.
Source: MA in Arab Studies
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First off, I do not have an opposition to Islam. After watching a recent documentary, it was mentioned that Islam increased in Tajikistan after the fall of the Soviet Union, so I began to think about the effects of religious choice after years of being forced in atheism. Does anyone have a more historical context about the evolution of religion in this region?
It's not necessarily accurate to say it gave way to a rise in Islam, but the increasing Islamization of societies in the Arab and Muslim world is at least in part linked to the Cold War. The very short version is that in the 60s, at the height of Nasserism in Egypt and the formation of the United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria, the US was far more worried about communism in the Middle East than it was about Islamism. As a result, the US supported a sort of incubator of Islamism in the Gulf, especially in Saudi. Islamists fleeing Syria and Nasser's Egypt fled to Saudi, where they found extensive Saudi and American political patronage and money. That movement grew throughout the 1960s, and then by the early 70s, when all the Arab communist regimes had collapsed, these newly empowered and rich Islamist ideologues, businessmen, thinkers, etc. flowed back out of the Gulf to their countries of origin, especially Egypt. President Sadat in Egypt greatly relaxed the state's stance toward Islamists and the Muslim Brotherhood (at least compared to Nasser) and also began liberalizing the economy. As such, when all these Islamists returned to Egypt, they had far more latitude to operate Islamist groups and also many more avenues for making money. That was one of the principal causes of the Islamization of Egyptian society. Along with the fact that when Sadat (and Mubarak and Sisi) began this neoliberal remaking of Egypt's economy, it greatly exacerbated both urban and rural poverty and also removed state subsidies that had been supporting the poor, and Islamist charities stepped into that void, wielding their newfound power and money to feed, clothe, and educate the poor while also pushing their slogan: al-Islam huwwa al-hal -- Islam is the solution.
TL;DR - All of the above is a roundabout way of saying that the rise of societal Islamization in the Middle East is tangentially connected to the USSR in that the West's efforts to bring down the USSR often involved bolstering Islamists.
Source: MA in Arab Studies
15 May 2017, 20:33
Hey Truthseeker! Certainly an interesting perspective. I happen to agree with you.
Furthermore, while it was around, the USSR was not only an ideological alternative to Islamism, but a practical political and military one, too. For example, all the radical Islamists of the 80s flooded to Afghanistan to fight the 'godless communists' instead of destabilizing Middle Eastern countries or launching terror attacks on Europe. The 1979 Iranian Revolution was an exception, but they never exported their ideology the way the Saudis have. Then there was the USSR's support for Arab nationalism and the push for a pan-Arab Arab Socialist Union. The main opposition to this Egyptian-based tendency was the Saudis, the other countries of the Gulf, and their Western allies.
Furthermore, while it was around, the USSR was not only an ideological alternative to Islamism, but a practical political and military one, too. For example, all the radical Islamists of the 80s flooded to Afghanistan to fight the 'godless communists' instead of destabilizing Middle Eastern countries or launching terror attacks on Europe. The 1979 Iranian Revolution was an exception, but they never exported their ideology the way the Saudis have. Then there was the USSR's support for Arab nationalism and the push for a pan-Arab Arab Socialist Union. The main opposition to this Egyptian-based tendency was the Saudis, the other countries of the Gulf, and their Western allies.
16 May 2017, 07:42
truthseeker2007 wrote:Hi my question is that I have heard and read that Islamism risen in the past 20 years because the Cold War ended
☭ could there some truth in this
☭ what I mean by that is because it seems during the Cold War because the Western Media starting to claim Communism/Socialism/Marxism is dead it used to be that Youths/Younger People if they wanted radical/revolutionary change a better society that they turned to supporting the Left
☭ when I say the Left I don't mean Democrats or Liberals/Progressives or Social Democrats/Democratic Socialists like Bernie Sanders who just want to reform Capitalism I mean Marxists and Communists revolutionary Socialists anyways now a days since people think Communism is dead and the Soviet Union came apart and the Cold War is over it seems some not all but some Youths who want revolutionary change want to be seen as cool or rebels in society convert to Islam and become Islamists even Terrorists or you have young Muslims to to turn to Islamism to feel that void
☭ I just believe if the Soviet Union was still on this Earth that many of these youths younger people both Non Muslims and Muslims would turn to to Socialism and Marxism for answers and join a Communist Party/Socialist Party/Marxist Political Parties and be Pro Working Class
☭ it does seem that before the 1980s that the Arab/Muslim World was Secular it facr the PLO was supported by the Soviet Union and other Marxists and Communists
☭ I think I read the PLO had Marxists as members like the popular front for the liberation of Palestine
☭ the point Im making is I don't agree with Right Wingers that believe Islam/Muslims are all Radical Islamists like ISIS that can never be changed or reform because the West has played a big role in the rise of Political Islamists the CIA helped the Muslim Brotherhood since they thought Islamists would be a ally during the Cold War or the CIA funding the Islamists like Bin Laden in Afghanistan what what became the Taliban or Mujahideen
☭ Steven Emerson Daniel Pipes and Frank Gaffney among others admit this
☭ Gamal Abdel Nasser I think promoted what he called Arab Socialism
☭ it seems that in the 1950s 1960s and 1970s that the Muslim World was more Secular than today for the most part Islamists back than were a tiny minority with very little support in fact Nasser jailed the Muslim Brother leaders like Sayyid Qutb even before 911 2001
☭ I never heard anyone talk about Islamists or Sharia Law or a Caliphate I believe the Muslim and Arab World has turned to Political Islamism for many reasons
☭ one reason could be because of Western Foreign Policy the economy in the Islamic World poverty in many places and the fall of the Soviet Union who supported Secular and Nationalist causes in the Muslim world also because the Arab Nations lost to Israel in 1967 and 1973 and the Islamic Scholars told Muslims that Islam is the answer
☭ also the Cia is the reason why Iran turned to Islamism given what the West did to Iran in 1953
☭ many Right Wingers call the War on Terrorism the New Cold War
☭ sorry if my post is so long I just had a lot to say anyways what does everyone think anyone agree thank you for your time ?
It is a pleasure to read your post. You are absolutely right on all counts!
There is a ton of information I can post in response. I don't know where to begin!
☭ ☭ ☭
Maybe we should begin here, with the Izrael, the spearhead for the British Empire's "divide and conquer" assault on the Middle East:
Initially, Izrael subsidized Hamas. Izrael sought to use Islam to lure Palestinians away from the secular PLO, which, at the time, was gaining friends and respect around the world. As a bonus, Izrael could use Hamas terror to dehumanize and demonize all Palestinians. Cheryl Rubenberg quotes Yehoshua Porath, an Israeli historian, to explain Izrael's logic:
Quote:-- Cheryl Rubenberg, Israel and the American National Interest, page 277The world could not ask Israel to negotiate with a terrorist PLO bent on the destruction of the Jewish state; it could expect it to negotiate with a responsible PLO.
But since Israel was unwilling either to negotiate with the PLO or to consider the establishment of a Palestinian State, it had to eliminate the PLO and its influence with West Bank and Gaza Palestinians.
Yehoshua Porath, an Israeli scholar of the Palestinians at the Hebrew University, expresses another aspect of Israeli thinking as regards the PLO:
❯❮❯ "The government's hope is that the stricken PLO, lacking a logistic and territorial base, will return to its earlier terrorism; it will carry out bombings throughout the world, hijack airplanes, and murder many Israelis.
❯❮❯ "In this way, the PLO will lose part of the political legitimacy that it has gained and will mobilize the large majority of the Israeli nation in hatred and disgust against it, undercutting the danger that events will develop among the Palestinians that they might become a legitimate negotiating partner for future political accomodation."
☭ ☭ ☭
Or we can begin here:
Quote:-- "Wahhabi movement: Saudi funding", wikipediaSaudi Funding
The Saudis have spent at least $87 billion propagating Wahhabism abroad during the past two decades, and the scale of financing is believed to have increased in the past two years.
The bulk of this funding goes towards the construction and operating expenses of mosques, madrasas, and other religious institutions that preach Wahhabism. It also supports imam training; mass media and publishing outlets; distribution of textbooks and other literature; and endowments to universities (in exchange for influence over the appointment of Islamic scholars).
Some of the hundreds of thousands of non-Saudis who live in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf have been influenced by Wahhabism and preach Wahhabism in their home country upon their return. Agencies controlled by the Kingdom's Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance are responsible for outreach to non-Muslim residents and are converting hundreds of non-Muslims into Islam every year.
☭ ☭ ☭
Recall that Saudi Arabia is the closest U.S. ally in the region, next to Izrael -- and remains so even after 9/11 -- yet here it is promoting Islamic terror worldwide! How can this be?!
The truth is that the U.S. Empire uses terrorism as a battering ram against governments it seeks to destroy. Our rulers -- the global banking elite -- are not nice people! They are as sociopathic and machiavellian as it is possible to get.
Here are three articles that address the fake "War On Terror" and U.S. Empire's use of terrorism:
* 29Aug06: Brendan O'Neill, "Today's 'Islamic Fascists' Were Yesterday's Friends", Antiwar.com
* 01Jun15: Thierry Meyssan, "Jihadists in the service of imperialism", Voltaire Network
* 16Jun16: Paul Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Gould, "Brzezinski Vision to Lure Soviets into ‘Afghan Trap’ Is Orlando’s Nightmare", Sputnik News
Quote:-- Simon Jenkins, "Bin Laden's laughter echoes across the West", London Times, 19 Mar 2003Nothing can be giving bin Laden greater pleasure than the spectacle of the West going to war to topple his hated foe, the "atheist Satan", Saddam Hussein. Even in his wildest dreams, he cannot have imagined what has now come to pass, Saddam about to go and Islam radicalised against the West.
Quote:-- Michael Scheuer, veteran CIA analyst, Imperial, quoted by Justin Raimondo, "The Axis of Treason", Antiwar.com, 31 Aug 2004U.S. forces and policies are completing the radicalization of the Islamic world, something Osama bin Laden has been trying to do with substantial but incomplete success since the early 1990s. As a result, I think it is fair to conclude that the United States of America remains bin Laden's only indispensable ally.
Quote:-- "Operation Cyclone", wikipediaOperation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program to arm and finance the Afghan mujahideen prior to and during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, from 1979 to 1989. The program leaned heavily towards supporting militant Islamic groups that were favoured by neighbouring Pakistan, rather than other, less ideological Afghan resistance groups that had also been fighting the Marxist-oriented Democratic Republic of Afghanistan regime since before the Soviet intervention. Operation Cyclone was one of the longest and most expensive covert CIA operations ever undertaken; funding began with $20–$30 million per year in 1980 and rose to $630 million per year in 1987. Funding continued after 1989 as the mujahideen battled the forces of Mohammad Najibullah's PDPA during the civil war in Afghanistan (1989–1992).
☭ ☭ ☭
The war racket here in the NATO-bloc eats up about a trillion dollars a year -- more than the military spending of all other countries on the planet combined, and more than ten times what Russia spends. This is money that is being sucked out of infrastructure, health care, education, tax relief.
To make such a "Protection Racket" work, one needs a stupefying "Threat" of some sort. If there is no "Threat", then there is no need for "Protection" and customers have no reason to pay.
In the 1990s, it was no longer possible to depict Russia as a "Threat", because Russia was under U.S. domination. Therefore, it was necessary to invent or manufacture a new "Threat". Clinton hit upon Yugoslavia, but that fictitious "Threat" lasted only 78 days, because that is how long it took NATO to crush that country and dismember it.
After that, the war profiteers invented an "Islamic Threat". The great irony is that they have been supporting Islamic terrorists since the early 1980s -- e.g., "Operation Cyclone". They could not target their friends, so they targeted the secular countries where Islamic terrorists were unwelcome.
Now that they have run out of secular countries in the Middle East to destroy, they have turned back to Russia. They want us to believe that nothing has changed since the 1950s -- that the Russians are still "Coming", and will arrive any day now. Suddenly, we're back to "Better Dead Than Red" -- and patriots who disagree are falsely labeled "Traitors" and "Krembots". So much for "Freedom of Speech"!
The neo-cons never ask about the cost of the suicidal wars they foment -- the cost in our freedom, the cost in lives, the cost in dollars, the cost in corruption. That's because we pay for their wars, not them. The chickenhawk sociopaths always end up on top.