Al Qaeda's Real Goal

Al Qaeda's real goal is to establish a Caliphate and dominate the world with Islamofascism. Forget about democracy and free speech, those days would be gone under an Islamfascist Caliphate. Simply look at the record in Mohammedan dominated lands: Women are chattel, critical speech is a death penalty, converting from Mohammedanism to another religion is death penalty, if you are a non-Mohammedan and allowed to live you are condemned to a life of a dhimmi. Mohammedans will tell you dhimmitude is a life of protection, the reality is it is a life of NO rights and inequal standing in courts of law. The only protection involved is you get to live and only then if you understand your religion or lack of it is blasphemy to Allah. Any exercise of this blasphemy is death not life.
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Its no secret to those who pay attention to what's really going on in the War on Terror that the aim of al Qaeda and its allies has little to do with the short term goal of removing American troops from Iraq and everything to do with restoring the Islamic world to a supposed "glory" that existed centuries ago. Today's Washington Post carries this article about that goal, the restoration of the caliphate, that makes it clear that this isn't necessarily just the radicals who share in this dream, which may explain why so many in the Islamic world seem to accept the tactics of bin Laden and his ilk.

The goal of reuniting Muslims under a single flag stands at the heart of the radical Islamic ideology Bush has warned of repeatedly in recent major speeches on terrorism. In language evoking the Cold War, Bush has cast the conflict in Iraq as the pivotal battleground in a larger contest between advocates of freedom and those who seek to establish "a totalitarian Islamic empire reaching from Spain to Indonesia.

"The enthusiasm of the extremists for that vision is not disputed. However unlikely its realization, the ambition may help explain terrorist acts that often appear beyond understanding. When Osama bin Laden called the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "a very small thing compared to this humiliation and contempt for more than 80 years," the reference was to the aftermath of World War I, when the last caliphate was suspended as European powers divided up the Middle East. Al Qaeda named its Internet newscast, which debuted in September, "The Voice of the Caliphate.

"Yet the caliphate is also esteemed by many ordinary Muslims. For most, its revival is not an urgent concern. Public opinion polls show immediate issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and discrimination rank as more pressing. But Muslims regard themselves as members of the umma , or community of believers, that forms the heart of Islam. And as earthly head of that community, the caliph is cherished both as memory and ideal, interviews indicate.

The article goes on to demonstrate the support for the idea of a caliphate among seemingly moderate, even secular Muslims who see the idea of Islamic unity as something to look forward to as a positive development. The article also talks about a heretofore little known group called Hizb ut-Tahrir which is at the forefront of the caliphite movement:

For four hours they heard Hizb ut-Tahrir's disciplined, intensely argued belief that the Muslim world lost its moorings when it imported not only scientific advances from the West, but also systems such as nationalism and democracy that emerged at the same time. In a series of 22 volumes on sale beside the podium, and in weekly discussions, the group sketches an alternative governing system it believes lies embedded in the Koran and the teachings of the prophet.

The system includes a caliphate, revived after national governments are subverted by Hizb ut-Tahrir members working in their highest levels, according to the plan. Hizb ut-Tahrir members have been charged with planning such coups in Jordan and Egypt. Zeyno Baran, an analyst at the Washington-based Nixon Center who has written extensively on the group, said it could "usefully be thought of as a conveyor belt for terrorists.

"The group has a rigid, cellular, secretive structure and a bookish set of beliefs describing its utopian vision for a future caliphate. Hizb ut-Tahrir insists it has renounced violence, a policy that differentiates it from groups such as Kaplan's motley band or the Chechen guerrillas who carried out the deadly 2004 siege at a primary school in Beslan, in southern Russia -- and who would seat a caliph in the northern Caucasus, according to Chechen guerrilla groups' Web sites.

And where did this meeting take place ? Cairo ? Riyadh ? Damascus ? No, it took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. And in case there is any misunderstanding of what the ultimate goal of these people is, consider this:

"An ideology must perpetuate itself," said Ahmet Arslankaya, an Hizb ut-Tahrir member in Turkey, where the organization faces harassment by security services. "Our final strategic aim will be to expand the Islamic thought to the world and carry the Islamic banner to the White House, of course."

Since 9/11, the Bush Administration has consistently tried to say that the War on Terror is not about Islam. As we approach the fifth anniversary of that horrible day, its becoming more apparent that, in reality, that is precisely what its about. Or, as James Joyner says, "While we're short of a clash of civilizations, we should not pretend that most of the Islamic world shares our values."

Alexandra at All Things Beautiful has more on this issue in this post, including an expanded discussion of Pope Benedict's take on the likelihood of an Islamic Reformation, which I wrote about several days ago.

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Source: Below The Beltway.