General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It's really, really hard to talk about radical Islamic terrorism [View all]Imajika
(4,072 posts)The war on terror is, in reality, Muslim versus Muslim. Far more Islamists kill other Muslims than they do any Westerner.
All it takes is around 5% of any population that is fanatical enough to keep the rest frightened and cowed. Especially when that majority have no strong leadership. There just aren't that many militant moderates. Once upon a time in the Muslim world that existed in the form of Pan Arabism, but now that movement has been dramatically weakened (partially thanks to US intervention).
That said, we can not overlook the fact that not all terrorists are Muslim, but a disproportionately large majority are. Islam is a very social and political religion, and many of the most radical interpretations do exist in their texts. Almost any current interpretation of Sharia law simply can not coexist with Western liberal democracy.
The reality is the radicals are losing. And they know it, despite the brave face they put on and slick (violent) videos they put out. Every new satellite dish in the Muslim world is a loss for them, every new Western fashion or song that becomes popular in Islamic lands is a loss for them. So many people here in the US have the mistaken idea that somehow ISIS is this powerhouse that is growing more and more powerful. This is incorrect. Sure, they may have some short term victories, but in the end globalization, the information age, the spread of modern ideas, none of this can be stopped - and all of it is deadly to the radical interpretation of Islam.
It will take time, but radical Islam will fade - just like radical versions of other faiths have mostly done so. It is important to understand that these attacks, wicked and awful as they are, are mostly the last gasps of a dying interpretation of one of the worlds largest religions.