August 28, 2004

On Islamism

He's smart that Lenin guy. Now read on.....

"The point is that Islamism comes in a variety of forms, yielding both left and right viewpoints. This is because the Koran and the Prophetic Tradition is an insufficient basis for creating any kind of society, good or bad. Consequently, Political Islam has always been leavened by traditions which arise from non-Islamic sources. Hence, the need for "itjihad" (reasoned interpretation).

I do not believe in theocracy, and do not support it. But it is palpable rubbish to say that Islamism can "only kill and oppress". It can also resist and revolt (pace the Mujahedin e-Khalq; Hizbollah etc). If Cohen were not drawing on common prejudice, and was cognisant of the diversity within Islamism, he could not make such a statement.

Incidentally, Cohen's Orientalism mimics the attitude of the fundamentalists: there can only be one Islamism, hermetically sealed, homogenous, always producing either paradise or hell..."

No comments:

Post a Comment