The Means and Ends of Islamists

The New Individualist ^ | November 9, 2005 | Edward Hudgins

[Ed Hudgins]

The Means and Ends of Islamists

by Edward Hudgins

Objectivist Center/Atlas Society

After each new suicide attack, as innocent blood flows in the streets of Baghdad, London, Madrid, or Tel Aviv, there is a surge of speculation about what motivates terrorists who are willing to give up their own lives for their cause.

Some observers say they're motivated by traditional geopolitical goals—for example, to drive the allies out of Afghanistan, Iraq, or the Middle East; to punish allied countries for their policies; or (that perennial favorite) to drive Israel into the sea. Those who buy this explanation often contend that the terrorists' ends might be understandable, but their means certainly are not. If their ends can only be addressed, the terrorists will be satisfied and stop their attacks.

Others say the terrorists are motivated by hatred of the West because it is secular, democratic, and modern as opposed to Islamic, authoritarian, and medieval. Like Nazis or communists, Islamists see themselves in a war with the rest of the world—either they must win or we will. Giving in to their geopolitical demands might reduce the terrorism in certain places and for a while, but in the long run will be seen by the Islamists as a sign of weakness. They will only be encouraged to continue to push for more radical goals, and will regard their terrorist tactics as a successful strategy to achieve them.

So which is it? In fact, both arguments carry some truth because the two are not mutually exclusive. Islamists do not spring up from within a vacuum; rather, they arise from within a culture that instills in them most of their values. The ends of the Islamists are constituted in the means they adopt, and both their means and ends reflect their fundamental values...

Continued: http://www.objectivistcenter.org/text/ehudgins_means-end-islamists.asp?

[Sam Gamgee]

All of the above. If you listen to the recorded conversations you will hear their grievances. For instance, the absence of US troops is not good enough. They consider the presence of coke machines just as offensive. They hate the West, but they also hate India. They despise capitalists and capitalism. And although they couldn't express it, they despise the foundations on which Western society is built (The individual protected against the will of the state, the separation of the state from interference in religion, the right of women to determine their own destiny).

[DoctorMichael]

".......Islam is an irrational fundamentalist doctrine, and its practitioners hold values hostile to individual liberty and the toleration of philosophical differences. They favor indoctrination and blind faith over critical thought. And since they abandon reason in dealing with others and discovering truth, they must resort to force in order to instill their views on the unwilling........"

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