STI Nov 15, 2004 Growing tide of Islamic militancy Experts warn that militant voices on the streets are gaining credibility Athens
FROM tidy and prosperous Holland to a dense, tropical rubber plantation in southern Thailand, there are similarities that suggest new flashpoints in the global struggle against radical Islam. A note impaled on Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh's body by his alleged Muslim killer threatened attacks against Holland's politicians in the name of Islam. The body of a 60-year-old Buddhist worker in Thailand was found last week with the message 'more will be killed' in revenge for the deaths of 85 Muslim protesters last month in a region with a mounting Islamic insurgency. 'The fault lines are growing,' said Mr Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. 'It's not just between the Muslims and non-Muslims. It's also within Islam itself. It's a battle between moderate Muslims and extremist forces that threaten to hijack Islam.' The most recent hot spots zigzag around the atlas - from Liberia in West Africa to the Netherlands in Europe and to South-east Asia. They join a growing roster of places feeling the strains of religious conflict and terrorism along the edges of the Islamic world - regions as diverse as Chechnya, Nigeria, Spain, Central Asia and the Philippines. Even China is worried about separatist sentiment in its vast and mostly Muslim province of Xinjiang. Part of the reason, many Islamic experts say, can be traced to global communications that forge common points of reference, such as Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's defiance or the guerilla attacks on US forces in Iraq. But even more powerful rallying cries come from firebrand imams and opinion-shapers: That Islam is under threat and it is the duty of followers to take a stand. In Amsterdam, moderate imam Abdel Eillah fears the scales are tipping in a troubling direction among Muslim immigrants who fail to adapt. 'When I hear young men praise violence in the name of Islam, I fear for my faith and I fear for the world. We must fight it before it's too late,' he said, after the Nov 2 slaying of Mr van Gogh, whose work included harsh commentary against traditional Islam. Former US ambassador Richard Parker says: 'The common language of Islamic militancy is growing louder.' 'This is not something that happened overnight. It's a feeling of injustice among Muslims that goes back decades,' said Mr Parker, who served as a diplomat in Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco. 'But now it's become much more legitimate to say that violence and 'holy war' is the proper way.' The bloodshed in southern Thailand could mark a resurgence of a long-simmering Muslim insurgency and, some officials fear, prove fertile ground for Islamic terrorists. Thailand's Muslim minority has complained for decades about economic and social discrimination by the Buddhist authorities. Violence subsided in the 1990s after government concessions for greater funds and Muslim political representation. But the calm began to erode in recent years. In April, more than 100 Islamic militiamen were killed in raids on security posts. On Oct 25, at least 85 Muslims died when security forces dispersed a demonstration outside a police station. Most of the victims suffocated or were crushed after being packed into army trucks. Mr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, an assistant professor of international relations at Chulalongkorn University, believes the strong retaliation from the authorities 'can only galvanise the Muslim insurgency in the south'. 'We have not yet seen escalation,' he said. 'But I still think we may be headed from bad to worse.' -- AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
