Your first sentence is a fair one and I can only offer my opinion based upon what we read and witness as to the motivations expressed by these killers. I think you need to examine the motivations of those who explode car bombs in the midst of crowded markets and those who behead their fellow humans to the droning intonation of “Allahu Akbar”.
I would say ideologically, at the root of the conflict and hatreds that cause people to commit these atrocities are the religious perspectives pulsing away. There are many on this board who will seek to define who is, and who is not a “real” Moslem and what “real” Islam is.
I would propose to you, for example, that the 19 highjackers who flew commercial airliners into mega buildings were in fact Moslems and were acting on behalf of an Islamic belief which was to exact retribution on the evil “Great Satan” and was an ideologically sanctioned act of Jihad. I believe that a very large percentage of the Moslem populations’ perception of the West is couched in religious terms and that is, in part, made manifest in our support of Israel. The Moslems hate them and therefore hate us by proxy. This hatred is founded in a religious blood feud dating back centuries.
I'm going to go backwards and try to answer a few.
I would propose to you, for example, that the 19 highjackers who flew commercial airliners into mega buildings were in fact Moslems and were acting on behalf of an Islamic belief which was to exact retribution on the evil “Great Satan” and was an ideologically sanctioned act of Jihad. I believe that a very large percentage of the Moslem populations’ perception of the West is couched in religious terms and that is, in part, made manifest in our support of Israel. The Moslems hate them and therefore hate us by proxy. This hatred is founded in a religious blood feud dating back centuries.
As they had identified themselves as Muslim and there are no witnesses to say that they had committed the sin of shirk, I have to accept them as being Muslim
However, their actions are contradictory to the teachings of Islam.
This next one I have trouble in agreeing with.
a very large percentage of the Moslem populations’ perception of the West is couched in religious terms and that is, in part,
I tend to think you are not aware as to where the majority of the world's Muslim population is. Very few Muslims are anti American, although many are anti American policies. Very many of the world's Muslims are living in Western countries or countries closely aligned with the West. Any perceptions are not the result of any religious teachings for most Muslims.
I would say ideologically, at the root of the conflict and hatreds that cause people to commit these atrocities are the religious perspectives pulsing away. There are many on this board who will seek to define who is, and who is not a “real” Moslem and what “real” Islam is.
As a Muslim I find it very difficult to explain what a Muslim is to a non-Muslim. At the Very minimal a Muslim is any Person who has said the Shahadah or was born of Muslim Parents. A Muslim is simply a person who has chosen to serve the one Monotheistic God(swt) who was revealed through all of the Prophets(PBUT)
Islam is the act of Surrendering to the Will of God(swt) All Islamic teaching is directed with a single goal and that is to live our lives so that all we do, think or say is an act of surrendering to God(swt)
If a person is not acting in a manner that is a an act of servitude to God(swt) they are being unIslamic.
Your first sentence is a fair one and I can only offer my opinion based upon what we read and witness as to the motivations expressed by these killers. I think you need to examine the motivations of those who explode car bombs in the midst of crowded markets and those who behead their fellow humans to the droning intonation of “Allahu Akbar”.
Perhaps the motivation is more related to living in countries that have not seen peace for many decades and the people of those countries have been over run consistantly by foreigners. Areas where all strangers have shown themselves to have come with destructive intent.
Perhaps the motivations are more in terms of wanting freedom. Not much different then our attitudes towards the British in the 18th century.
