• “Beware of Extremism in religion; for it was extremism in religion that destroyed those who went before you.”
  – Prophet Mohammed (570-632)
• “Whoever kills an innocent person, it is as though he has killed entire humanity.”
  – The Holy Koran

George Bernard Shaw had famously said, “Not knowing how to punish great men, God gives them disciples.” Prophet Mohammed preached pious Islam and Holy Koran whereas his disciples hijacked it for fanatic Islamism. Following are a few telling tenets of Islamism and are so different from those of true Islam mentioned above.

• “Islam is a revolutionary doctrine and system that overthrows governments. It seeks to overturn the whole universal social order.”
  – Abul Ala Mawdudi, Islamist Ideologue and founder of Jamat-e-Islami.
• “I have written ‘Milestones’ for this vanguard [Islamists], which I consider to be a reality waiting to be materialized.”
  – Syed Qutb, Islamist ideologue who wrote ‘Milestones’, the Communist Manifesto of Islamism.
• “We need weapons, not food and aid. In war, we can eat our enemies.”
  – Omar Bakri, leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
• “The Islamist does not flatter the people, is not courteous to the authorities or care for the people’s customs and traditions, and does not give any attention to whether people will accept him or not. Rather he must adhere to the ideology alone.”
  – Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

I am borrowing copiously from a very readable book titled ‘The Islamist: Why I became an Islamic Fundamentalist, What I saw Inside, and Why I Left’ written by Ed Husain and published by Penguin Books. The back cover of the book successfully captures the essence: ‘The astonishing true story of one man’s journey to Islamic Fundamentalism and back.’

‘Though raised in a devout but quiet Muslim community in London, at sixteen Ed Husain discovered an intriguing political interpretation of Islam known as Islamism. Lured in by its ambitiously fundamentalist tenets, Islamism quickly became the center of his life. He organized controversial events, mingled with radical figures, and recruited fellow Muslim youths for the Islamist cause. Five years later, after considerable personal turmoil, he rejected those same principles and tried to return to a normal life. But he soon realized that Islamic Fundamentalism poses a threat that most people - Muslims and non-Muslims alike – simply don’t understand, and decided to tell his story.’

‘Based on firsthand experiences and written with pervasive clarity, The Islamist delivers a rare inside glimpse of the devious methods used to recruit new members, and Husain offers profound insight into the appeal extremism has for young Muslims in the Western world.’

‘This is a lesson that can not be ignored.’

Very happily for the world, at least the Americans and Israelis are not ignoring the lesson. President Obama has worked out a very effective doctrine of carrot and stick; of extending the olive branch to the true and peace loving Muslims and catching or killing those Islamist bastards at the same time.

The mankind will probably never have to unite in Hollywood style to repel an attack of the Martians. But if the world spent the 20th century fighting the evils of Fascism and Imperialism, then the better part of the 21st century will be spent in fighting with Islamism and also Maoism. It is the new axis of evil and a challenge that cannot be met with weak-ass Gandhiism; and needs some kick-ass Obamaism.

-Niyanta Deshpande Tokyo, Japan
‘Kicking ass for peace!’