Radical Islamism & Jihad *Wednesday, Apr 15 2009* Militant Islam: The Nemesis of Pakistan <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1326>
*ISLAM AS AN INSTRUMENT OF DICTATORSHIP* In view of the fact that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, it became imperative for the Pakistani leadership to lend some specific Islamic character to the Constitution of Pakistan. But this ran contrary to the requirement of making Pakistan a modern democratic state, the thinking in which the same Pakistani leadership had been brought up. Pakistan’s constitutional history, therefore, has been one of struggle to make Pakistan a liberal democratic state on one hand, and to make it conform as much as possible to Islamic orthodoxy on the other. In theory, the system that evolved by virtue of the 1973 Constitution provides enough scope for a liberal democracy to take root. In practice, however, civilian and military rulers with dictatorial tendencies used Islam as their tool. The result was that Islamist elements over the years acquired extra-constitutional power and influence disproportionate to their support among the electorate. This extra-constitutional power has become a major source of instability and disruption in Pakistan, and a threat to peace in the region. -- *Satish Kumar* *This paper, first published in January 2000, provides an excellent backgrounder to the following issues:* *Islam and the Pakistani State* * * *Islam as an Instrument of Dictatorship* * * *Jihad as a Foreign-Policy Tool* * * *Islam, Terrorism, and Society* * * *Islamic Militancy and Pakistani Governance* 1 Comments More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1326> Islamic Personalities *Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq relied on ijtihad bur rejected analogy <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1329>* *Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq* was a great scholar and educationist, a man of superior thinking and superb understanding of Islam and its teachings. His heritage needs in depth study, to exclude whatever is in conflict with his attitude and scholarship. In the matter of fiqh, Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq relied on ijtihad based on the Qur'an and authentic hadith and rejected analogy as a basis of evidence to deduce rulings. Ijtihad therefore forms a distinctive part of his school of law. -- *Adil Salahi * *---* *Imam Jafer Al-Sadiq: The Father of Modern Science and Philosophy* The grace and wisdom of Muhammad (SAW) emanates from his pure household, who we are told to follow and love to then succeed in this world. It is therefore of no surprise to see that such a household comprises some of the greatest religious leaders, philosophers and scientists the world has ever seen. -- *Noor Youth Committee* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1329> Islam, Women and Feminism *Sisters in the Muslim Brotherhood: No gender equality yet <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1328>* *Cultural mores, not Islamic ideology to blame, claim Sisters* Women activists advocating for an Islamic political system through the Brotherhood believe that Islam brought justice to women. Their lack of equal rights presently, they insist, has to do more with the cultural, political and social realities in which their movement functions than with the movement itself. Still, more and more female members of the Muslim Brotherhood are becoming restless about the lack of representation and are seeking ways to increase their numbers in senior positions in the movement itself and, in time, to participate more in the country’s politics. Primarily, these women want a formal consultative position in the Muslim Brotherhood hierarchy. -- *Omayma Abdel-Latif* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1328> Islam and the West *US-Turkey-Russia: The role of Islam, oil and gas pipeline in a complex three-way Great Game for domination of Eurasia <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1327>* For Washington the key to bringing Germany into closer cooperation with the US is to weaken German dependence on Russian energy flows. ... Now, with the Obama visit to Ankara, Washington is attempting to win Turkish support for its troubled Nabucco alternative gas pipeline through Turkey from Azerbaijan which would theoretically at least lessen EU dependence on Russian gas…. Germany will clearly not join Obama in blocking Russia. Not only does Germany depend on Russia for energy supplies. She has no desire to confront a Russia that Berlin sees as no real immediate threat to Germany. For Berlin, at least now, they are not going to address the Russian question. -- *F. William Engdahl* * * *Obama Impresses Many on Both Sides of Turkey’s Secular and Religious Divide * To the world, Turkey is a Muslim country that is a logical starting point for President Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world. But for Turkey — a country that has experienced political convulsions recently over how Islam fits with an open society — that identity is so rife with conflict that it has drawn millions to the streets and nearly caused the government to fall. -- *Sabrina Tavernise And Sebnem Arsu* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1327> Radical Islamism & Jihad *Pakistan: The first casualty of ‘Islamic’ militancy is women’s rights <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1324>* Gen. Zia’s use of Islam for political purposes was meant partly to drum up support for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and partly to create terror and render the populace incapable of protest against oppression. This is what the Taliban are also doing. They have in the past deliberately videotaped such punishments and circulated the footage. In March 2007 Taliban in Khyber Agency publicly stoned and then shot dead a woman and two men on charges of adultery. They videotaped the shooting and circulated it — footage even the most sensationalist channel would think twice about broadcasting. The ‘Swat flogging video’ is an aberration only in that the local media broadcast it. One reason for the broadcast (conspiracy theories aside) was that the footage, while horrific, involved no blood or limbs being lopped off. -- *Beena Sarwar*** More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1324> War on Terror *How Britain helps Islamic militants’ recruitment drive <http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1325>* *‘Islamic Terrorism’ receives consistent support from the West* Adil said officers with machine guns told him to put his hands up, grabbed his wrists and tied his hands behind his back while pointing guns at him. They told him he was being arrested as a terror suspect. He was taken to police station where he was kept for several hours before being released. Adil, who came to Britain two years ago, said his experience had changed his view of Britain. “They are clearly identifying Muslim students. It’s a big insult…The first thing I will do is leave this country as soon as possible,” he told The Guardian. So, thanks to the police, we have another “alienated” young Muslim out there. Which is exactly what the extremists need. -- *Hasan Suroor* More...<http://www.newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1325> -- Syed M. 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