Atamar Anagul and Aleksandr Kozhevnikov have been asked to contribute their thoughts on the lessons of 9/11. It should be stressed that any views are those of the Mr Anagul and Dr Kozhevnikov themselves, not endorsed by the website or the author or publishers of Bleedback.
By Aleksandr Kozhevnikov
Ideology is overrated
What is causing the jihadi terrorist problem? Foreign policy, foreign wars? Deprivation, poverty? Racism, injustice? Marginalisation, alienation?
Or a toxic ideology that is spreading around the world faster than governments (or religions) can contain it?
I will be honest: our politicians and our government agencies want you to believe that it is this Muslim ideology, and only the ideology, that is to blame. They have a reason for that: it gets them off the hook. If it is ‘ideology’ then nothing that the rest of us does is responsible; not the exclusion from full participation in our societies, foreign policy, foreign wars, repressive practices or indeed the extra-judicial assassinations.
The truth is that a variety of other vulnerabilities form the core susceptibility to being lured into a violent or extreme group. Ideology enters through this chink in their armour; it is only the justification or post-rationalization for making this dramatic change in their world view and way of life. No one wants to admit they have done this because they feel inadequate, rejected, or even bored. It is important for self-valuation to give it the veneer of a conscious choice of a noble cause. How many of these young peple were ardently resesrching political theologies to find the one that suited, and made a cognitive decision? No.
The paradox, then, is this: both jihadis and the governments they despise share the desire to blame the problem on ideology.
Think a moment, though, of the illogical, circular reasoning entailed in this. Why are people espousing this ideology? Because of the ideology. This is akin to explaining a rise in teenage pregnancies by saying ‘more teenagers are having unprotected sex’. Well, of course. But why?
Why are people being susceptible to an ideology that is, prima facie, so repugnant and so alien to the rich traditions of Islam?
That is a question that demands an answer – not the explanation itself.
The ability to evolve is greater than the ability to defend
agility is more important than ideology
All the effort in the West is in military means, security measures, and in some places some well-intentioned ‘counter-extremism’ programmes aimed at either detoxing the vulnerable or providing ‘counter-narratives’ to defend our populations.
More effort to and evolve intellectually is put in by the recruiters than by the West. They are able and energetic in providing new thinking that undermines and disproves the counter-narratives, and cuts off these well-meaning efforts at the knees.
ISIS is the threat that it is because it is so agile.
Until we become as skilful, as changeable, and as inventive as they are we will always be outmanoeuvred.
We defeat ourselves more often than we defeat the enemy
Blue on blue incidents. Financial incentives from Western profit-making companies to keep the wars going to keep their income streams flowing. ‘Allies in the war on terror’ fighting each other – above all, in Syria. Anti-Muslim measures that prove the jihadi recruiting propaganda to be true; we really are waging a war on Muslims and Islam itself. Not funding the domestic efforts against violence properly so they look amateurish and uncool.
Waging wars that look convincingly like ‘a war on Muslims all over the world’ or ‘a war on Islam itself’.
Politicians making their reputation more important than operational effectiveness.
Enough examples.
