After the multiple terrorist attacks in Paris on last Friday, people have started discussions on all possible issues, viz: (i) why France, (ii) how a recent Muslim refugee in France was one of the terrorists, (iii) what were the motives of IS, (iv) how Western world was responsible for all these terrorist attacks, (v) how safe other countries were and (vi) what could be done to control these attacks etc. etc..
The fact of the matter is that we are living through global Jihad. It is a war between Ideological State(s) and Nation States. May be this situation will lead to Third World War. The present ‘area of control’ of IS is restricted to parts of Iraq and Syria; but its ‘area of influence’ and ‘area of interest’ are huge. IS has infiltrated in to all major countries developed or not-so-developed. Its ‘area of influence’ covers all those countries (including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh). The IS is determined to converting the whole world in to one Islamic Caliphate which is its ‘area of interest’.
A major proportion of Muslim may say that it is a war against Western imperialism, its corrupt culture, society and hypocrisy in the name of democracy and freedom. On the other hand, a major proportion of non-Muslims may say that it is a clash between concept and practices of free 21st century and stagnant 7th century.
There is no reason to believe that Islam does not promote ‘imperialism’. It surely does, but sanctifies this imperialism through religious obligation. Present day IS is doing that and in the past also, Islamic imperialism expanded from a small town of Arabia to present day fifty plus Islamic/Muslim majority countries. Western imperialism is mainly political and economic in nature; but Islamic imperialism is all encompassing. The story from Egypt to Indonesia is same. In last fifty years, the demographic shift in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan and Bangladesh in favour of Muslims speaks of the same story in a different way.
Coming to alleged Western corrupt culture and society one can argue that Western world did not impose its culture and social mores to Islamic world. The Islamic world has all along been at liberty of accepting (as in Turkey and in Iran under Shah) or rejecting those (as in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bangladesh). Only the Muslims immigrants to Western countries during last seventy years were exposed to Western culture directly. But those Muslims migrated of their own volition and by the end of Second World War, the Western countries (including US, Canada & Australia) had become multicultural. The migrated Muslims could follow their faith and culture in the countries they adopted. It was only after the misuse of the liberty by some immigrant Muslims, that some restrictions on religious practices have been put on Muslims in countries like France.
To kindle the current Islamic terrorism, some Jihadists even refer to the bygone golden era of Islam. But almost all Muslim famous figures of the golden era were labeled as apostates during their prime time.
The aggressive self-righteousness, inability to change, monopoly of power hungry Ulema and love for violence towards anything un-Islamic (people, culture & mores) inherent with Islam has made it a perpetually restless, assertive and ruthless religion. IS is propagating this same philosophy and the Muslims who do not believe in this interpretation of Islam are today’s apostates only.