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The Lure of Jihadism, or "Boys Will Be Boys"
by Raymond Ibrahim
Pajamas Media
February 3, 2010
http://www.meforum.org/2585/lure-of-jihadism
According to a recent ABC
report, "As many as three dozen criminals who converted to Islam in
American prisons have moved to Yemen where they could pose a 'significant
threat' to attack the U.S., according to a report on al-Qaeda from the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. … Also of concern to U.S. officials, the Senate
staff found, is a group of 'nearly 10 non-Yemeni Americans who traveled to
Yemen, converted to Islam, became fundamentalists, and married Yemeni women
so they could remain in the country.' … An American official described them
as 'blond-haired, blue-eyed types' who fit the profile of Americans who
al-Qaeda has sought to recruit for terror missions."
These, of course, are not the first Americans —
"blond-haired, blue-eyed types" or otherwise — to convert to Islam
and join the jihad: John
Walker Lindh wound up fighting fellow Americans alongside Taliban forces
in Afghanistan; Adam
Gadahn became a major character in al-Qaeda's propaganda machine; Gregory
Patterson, Levar Washington, and Kevin James plotted terror strikes
against the U.S.; Christopher
Paul and Jose Padilla
conspired to use weapons of mass destruction.
Then there are the countless European converts, such as the
British "shoe-bomber," Richard
Reid, who attempted to achieve "martyrdom" by detonating
explosives in his shoes while aboard a passenger aircraft; the late Germaine Lindsay,
who did achieve "martyrdom" by killing himself and 56 of his
fellow citizens and injuring over 700, in the London bombings of 2005; and Abu
Abdullah, the native Briton-turned-fiery-Islamist-preacher who makes no
secret of his vitriolic hatred of the West (all, of course, while enjoying
that unique Western liberty, freedom of speech).
What causes such men, born and raised in the West, often
from Christian backgrounds, to abandon their heritage, embrace Islam, and
become radicalized to the point that they conspire to kill their fellow
countrymen?
As for Islam's intrinsic appeal, it has long been argued
that, unlike Christianity, which can be "heavy" on theology, Islam
is relatively simple and straightforward. Thus while Christianity may revolve
around the metaphysical — the Trinity, Christology, even the notion of grace
— Islam, in black-and-white terms, commands its adherents to do this and not
do that. In fact, the Arabic word "Sharia," that comprehensive body
of laws Muslims are to obey, is etymologically related to the word for
"pathway" — as in, "the pathway to paradise."
Yet there is another, more subtle, factor that may entice
men to Islam: traditional male roles are highlighted in the religion. This
may appeal to non-Muslim men who want to assert their "masculinity"
in what they perceive to be gender-free Western societies. Harvey Mansfield's
book, Manliness,
defines that term as "a quality both bad and good, mostly male, often
intolerant, irrational, and ambitious. Our gender-neutral society does not
like it but cannot get rid of it."
Indeed, with an ethical code that coalesced in the seventh
century — when the Muslim prophet and "perfect example" walked the
earth, enforced his will, and conquered his "infidel" neighbors —
Islamic culture can hardly be deemed "gender-neutral." Even
philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who despised Christianity as
"effeminate" and preached the need for man to be transformed into
an amoral "hyper-man," professed admiration for Islam, describing
it as "noble and manly" (The
Antichrist).
Of course, traditional masculine roles are not the sole
domain of Islam; most civilizations have lived in accordance to such norms;
so-called "gender-neutral societies" are, from a historical
perspective, aberrant. James Bowman, author of Honor:
A History, points out that, when it comes to the West's disregard for
notions of honor and masculinity, "we are, in global terms, the odd ones
out"; he further asserts that, up until the Victorian era, in the West,
"honor was rather closer to the Arab and Muslim idea of it today."
It is in this context, then, that disaffected young men —
who, like Nietzsche, despise what they perceive to be a
"gender-neutral" society — may find a religion which emphasizes
"masculinity" appealing.
John Walker Lindh especially seems to fit this paradigm.
Precipitating his conversion to Islam was his teenage discovery that his
father was homosexual — an event that appears to have traumatized
and alienated Lindh. Islam's masculine ideals and unequivocal
condemnation of homosexuality may have lured young Lindh, who, soon after his
father left his mother and moved in with another man, converted to Islam at
age 16. Shortly thereafter, he went a-jihading.
This is all further exasperated by Muslims mocking Western
masculinity — such as Osama bin Laden, who has ridiculed Western acceptance
of homosexuality and characterized the American soldier as "a paper
tiger" who is "too cowardly and too fearful to meet the young
people of Islam face-to-face" (The
Al Qaeda Reader).
Whatever position one may hold regarding these issues, one
thing is clear: If traditional masculine virtues are upheld in Islamic
culture, so too do traditional masculine vices abound — for it is
often a very fine line that separates hyper-virtue from hyper-vice. Honor,
courage, and patriarchic ethics can — and, in Islamic culture, regularly do —
morph into destructive pride (e.g., "honor
killings"), disdain for life (e.g., suicide bombings), and brutal
misogyny.
Nonetheless, for those more "adventurous" young
men looking to add a bit of "excitement" to their lives, Islam
offers avenues. Based on the Koran and Muhammad's biography, raiding,
killing, and plundering infidels (i.e., the "other"), abducting
their women, and enslaving their children are all permissible, so long as
they are done in a jihadist context, that is, in the "service" of
Islam. In fact, that is how the Islamic prophet and first Muslims spread
Islam — a historical fact, not a slander — as attested to by Islam's sacred
texts and histories, written and compiled by pious, authoritative Muslims.
Of course, such behavior was "normal" in the
seventh century. Then, wherever one looked, men of all races, creeds, and
religions were raiding, pillaging, plundering, and enslaving their neighbors.
For Islamists, however, the actions of seventh-century Muhammad, no matter
how at odds with modernity, must be emulated today no less than yesterday.
Moreover, any moral scruples a potential jihadist may experience over such
"antiquated" practices — that is, should his conscience momentarily
get the best of him — immediately dissipate in light of Allah's explicit
approval. For instance: "Married women are prohibited to you [Muslims] —
except for those taken captive in war" (Koran 4:24; see also 23:6
and 33:50-52).
Little wonder, then, that Islam appeals to certain Western
men over Christianity: Aspects of it better comport with man's baser
proclivities — for war, possessions, and women — than, say, the passive and
inhibiting teachings of Jesus: "turn the other cheek," "pray
for those who persecute you," and "he who lusts after a woman in
his heart has already committed adultery." Even Islam's version of
paradise is far more alluring. There, a river of wine and dozens of
"voluptuous women" await the jihadist who dies battling infidels
(see Koran 78:33).
And so, like mischievous little boys who find the pirate
lifestyle fascinating — raiding, killing, plundering, abducting, hiding in
caves — so do some Western men find the lifestyle of the jihadist
captivating. So they convert. Nor is it any small irony that the physical
appearance of today's Islamist heroes is reminiscent of those wily pirates of
old — from the furtive Taliban leader, "One-Eyed" Mullah
Muhammad Omar, to London's radical ideologue Abu Hamza, who not only
boasts one eye, but has a metal hook for a hand which he used to shake
menacingly when referring to infidels. (Like Walt Disney's Captain Hook, he
was affectionately referred to by his followers simply as "The
Hook.")
It goes without saying, of course, that none of this is to
imply that Muslims are piratical by nature. It is to say, however, that
persons naturally inclined to such activities — including would-be converts —
can and do find exoneration under the rubric of "sunna" and jihad
legal theory: if it was okay for Muhammad and the first Muslims to wage war
on, plunder, and enslave infidels — so the logic goes — surely it is okay today.
This phenomenon is further highlighted by the obvious
intersection between prison
incarceration and conversion to radical Islam. Indeed, most of the
aforementioned proselytes had criminal records previous to their Islamic
conversion, evincing a proclivity for violence and lawlessness: Reid and
Abdullah had convictions for muggings; Padilla for gangster activity; and
Lindsay for drug dealing. Patterson, Washington, and James began their
terrorist cell while incarcerated in a very real cell for committing over a
dozen armed robberies. And, most recently, the three dozen
converts-turned-potential-terrorists who just fled to Yemen were all, as the
ABC report puts it, "criminals."
Traditionally, one of the reasons ex-cons turn to religion
is to change their evil ways. Not so these Western
men-turned-Islamic-terrorists. Consciously or unconsciously, it would seem
they embraced Islamism — and subsequently jihadism — merely to receive divine
sanctioning for their otherwise violent and anarchic behavior, being
transformed in the process from petty criminals to major criminals —
terrorists and traitors.
Originally published at: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-lure-of-radical-islam-or-boys-will-be-boys/
Raymond Ibrahim
is the associate director of the Middle East Forum, the author of The
Al Qaeda Reader, and a visiting lecturer at the National Defense
Intelligence College.
Related Topics: Converts to Islam,
Radical Islam
Raymond
Ibrahim This text
may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole
with complete information provided about its author, date, place of
publication, and original URL.
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