It is very difficult for those of us with little exposure to Islam to understand that Islam is much like Christianity in that they both have wildly divergent sects, each with a singular view of what Islam means. We hear about the Shi'a and the Sunnis as they are the two largest groups, yet even within those sects are numerous subsects. Some sects are so alienated from the larger sects that those who practice some forms of Islam would be heretics and put to death for their interpretation of Islam.
It is as unfair to say that Quakerism represents the same interpretation of Christianity as Catholicism. So too is it unfair and unwise to lump all Muslims together as a monolithic group. Imagine if the world judged all Americans by the words and actions of Bush. Some people do precisely that and those of us who are not Bush supporters feel maligned by the simplistic ignorance of those who make the accusations. It's the same with Islam.
Fundamentalist Islam is violent because Islam itself is founded on principles of violence. Before you get your panties in a bunch over that statement, I have read the Koran, studied middle eastern history, blah, blah, blah. Islam is not the only religion to speak of God as vengeful, of slaying enemies, or of enforcing moral codes with a death penalty ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," (Ex. 22:18) comes to mind). The difference is that in Islam, the fundamentalists are those in power and are a growing minority in many countries where more moderate forms of Islam are practiced.
If you want to point a finger, point two at Washington and London. The governments of both countries have, since the days of Lawrence of Arabia, supported the Saud family. The Saud family, in turn, has the authority to rule over Saudi because it receives support from the extremely fundamentalist Wahabbist sect. Few Sunni Muslims practice Wahabbism, but many think they're very pious and carry a moral authority with that piety. The Saud family is special because the two holiest sites in Islam, Mecca and Medina, are on Saudi soil and that makes the Saudis caretakers of these sites. As caretakers of such holy places, they must be seen as pious or risk losing their ruling authority to a group who is more pious. In return for the support of the Wahabbis, the Saudis give billions to Wahabbist organizations.
Most people in the Islamic countries are dreadfully poor. They have no means of support, see relatively little of their oil wealth, and have no education. As these countries have been westernized in their economies, education has become increasingly important yet there are no public education systems in most of these countries. That's where the Wahabbis come in. They fund thousands of religious schools, the famed madrasahs. At these schools boys are taught to read, write, do math, and, of course, learn the Wahabbist interpretation of the Koran and Islam. Parents send their boys to these schools well aware of what kind of religious instruction is taking place, but they feel they have little choice if they want their sons to receive any kind of education. It's very much like sending a non-Catholic child to a Catholic school just because the education is better. Some of the boys go through the madrasah and keep their original faith, but others do not and they are swayed into the fundamentalist principles of Wahabbism as they have been fed a steady stream of anti-western, pro-Wahabbist religious and political propaganda.
Wahabbist madrasahs are everywhere, even here in the United States. In many countries they act as community centers and usually have a mosque attached where the imams can preach. They dispense alms, sometimes provide food or medical care to the poor, and do other things that missionaries typically do because that's essentially what these madrasahs are: missions.
The Saudis have an uneasy relationship with the Wahabbists. The Saudi royals are vastly rich, frequently live debauched lifestyles when outside of the country, and are clearly in bed with the United States and the UK. As a result, the more the Wahabbists demand from the Saudis, the more the Saudis feel obligated to pay and where do you think Saudi gets the money from?
Our governments paint the Saudis as partners in the war on terror, great allies of long standing, etc. but the fact is they've done more to promote fundamentalist Islam than any other group in the world. The problem is we can't get rid of the Saudis. It's a case of, staying with the devil you know. American, or indeed any western forces, can't set foot on Saudi soil in any aggressive capacity. For Mecca and Medina to be in American or any western hands would provoke a true Islamic outcry as we could not imagine. It would be something like al Qaeda invading and taking over the Vatican or Muslims using the Church of the Holy Sephulcre as a latrine.
So long as the people of western nations support governments who support the Saudis, we're going to see money being funneled into fundamentalist Islam and a consequent increase in the number of Islamic fundamentalists. The question we have to answer is what else can we do to stop it? If the Saudis cut off the Wahabbis then nothing will keep the Saudis in power short of sheer military force only we can't force them.
Now, perhaps, you have an idea why Osama bin Laden, a Wahabbist, was so eager to get American forces out of Saudi as was his primary complaint against the US. He knew, as the Wahabbist leadership did, that if Americans stayed in Saudi, that the Saudis wouldn't need the Wahabbists any longer if the Americans were willing to keep the Saudis in power via military means. With Americans out of Saudi Arabia, the royal family once again depends entirely upon the Wahabbists to stay in power.
Dirty little circle isn't it?
