Doc's Talk: Islamism and the National Counterterrorism Strategy

Michael Rubin

In World War II we fought the Nazis, and during the Cold War we fought the Communists. Today, however, we fight wars but are too constrained by political correctness to even set the enemy.When the Obama administration released its National Strategy for Counterterrorism (NSCT) last month, it acknowledged that there was an ideological component to terrorism, but it refused to define it.

s the American Islamic Forum for Democracy`s head M. Zuhdi Jasser noted, "In place to actually counter this ideology, our government must accept the extra measure of identifying it for what it is: a competitive form of political Islam, or `Islamism.` Although the NSCT uses the term ideology 20 times within a 17-page document, its failure to place the precise nature of this ideology suggests a continued unwillingness to face the root cause of terrorism." Enter the American Islamic Leadership Coalition, which issued a statement today that identified clear-headed improvements necessary if the United States hopes to counter terrorism effectively:

If we ever truly desire to defeat Islamist terrorism we get to know that the combat is low and foremost ideological. But we must likewise know the rich diversity of the Muslim community, and we must place our counter-terrorism partners by the ideological positions of their organizations.

For too long, both under President Obama and the Scrub and Clinton administrations preceding him, the squeaking wheel got the grease. Groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) spoke the loudest, screamed Islamophobia, and became the centre for U.S. government engagement. But rather than call the problems of certain Islamic exegesis legitimizing terrorism, they obfuscated and sought to deaden any incisive discussions which might associate Muslim Brotherhood interpretations of Islam with the enabling of terrorism.It is time to know that the American Muslim community is diverse. Some groups are forces for good, and others are not.We should bring with those groups which embrace American values of tolerance and liberty first and foremost.

The American Islamic Leadership Coalition continued with specific recommendations for a revised National Strategy for Counterterrorism:

Clearly and publicly set the ideology of al-Qaeda and the terror organizations that we try to defeat;
Distinguish betwixt the faith of Islam and Islamist ideology ("a distorted version of Islam"), whose adherents attempt to combine their own theocratic, statist agenda with Islam itself;
Acknowledge the variety of American Muslims, and realize that genuinely pluralistic, tolerant and spiritual Muslim leaders have the theological legitimacy, authority and credibility required to counter Islamist ideology and movements from within Islam, and should be encouraged and supported in their efforts to do so;
Engage non-Islamist Muslim groups to help produce and apply effective counter-radicalization programs that support the principles of autonomy and private rights;
Facilitate the product of compelling content ("narratives") and their distribution, through proactive use of the Internet, which is one of al-Qaeda`s primary substance of ideological indoctrination and recruitment;
Support the growth of robust, on-the-ground efforts to endanger the savage world of Islamist oppression, violence and terror, and line it with American values.

Let`s hope someone in the White House is listening so the United States can avoid, in the idiom of the Obama administration, any further "man-made disasters."