Stuart’s Thoughts  11/21/2015

Our Chaotic World

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to process, much less understand, world events as they occur day by day.  Central to this is a question that many are asking but, as yet, no one can answer.  How can we bring a halt to the craziness that some refer to as radical Jihadism and others more boldly call radical Islam?  Who are these people who  willingly commit suicide out of satisfaction for killing others?  Why do they do this and what is their ultimate objective?

Some claim they are simply crazy and evil people whose actions have no rational objective other than to draw attention to themselves through despicable acts of terrorism.  However, maybe we should pay closer attention to what they are saying and consider that they may be acting out of some strong, although perverse, form of religious fanaticism.  Their claim is a desire to form an Islamic nation or caliphate in the Middle East and to eventually spread this throughout the world.  Those who have studied the Koran and other Islamic holy books confirm that justification for what they are doing can be found in the texts of these books. i.e,  convert the infidels to the Muslim religion or kill them and the use or terrorist strategies, including the killing of women, children and babies, may be justified to achieve the ultimate goals.

The vast majority of Muslims in the world reject these ideas and the tactics of the radicals.  In fact, many times, other Muslims are the prime target or victims of the radicals.  Nevertheless, many non-Muslims fail to recognize this distinction or may be unsure how to distinguish good Muslims from the radical.  The fundamental question is how can this insane situation be  controlled and hopefully ended?

In my opinion, the only hope for eventually ending this craziness is strictly in the hands of the Muslim people.  Although it may be a long and difficult road,  The Muslim religion needs to go through a reformation.  References to violence such as those quoted above need to be purged from the religious texts as do all other uncivilized actions such as honor killings and other inhumane treatment of women.  In other words, the good Muslims of the world have to reform their religion and lift it out of the stone age into the 21st century.  Christianity went through a reformation in the 16th century and Judaism in the 19th and 20th centuries.  It’s time now for the Muslims to step up and reform their religion.

This will not be a quick or easy solution to the serious problem our world faces today but it may be the only path to ending what can only be classified as an extreme case of religious fanaticism.  While military alternatives may be able to hold radical Islam  in check,  there is too great a supply of young terrorists emerging from the squalor of the Middle East for it to forcibly brought to an end.  For every Jihadist killed, two more will emerge to take his place.  A new face of Islam must be formulated to provide a new and more positive avenue of hope for these young people and for the world at large to celebrate.