I think the left ought to be deeply ashamed of Islamic Extremism, for the fact that that it is a powerful movement in many countries that has captured the hearts of a great many men and women. We should be upset that hundreds of thousands if not millions have joined a liberation movement that is not ours. I think it's therefore our duty to study islamic extremism and the muslim world, and what should be done to re-establish the socialist movement in the region.
With that in mind, I ask, Why has Islamic Extremism at this point become a caricature unto itself, taking the form that western Propaganda depicts Islamic Extremism? Bin Laden, for all his depravity, made mild demands "Leave us alone, stop supporting Israel, we do not want to fight". in his speeches, he made arguments to western and universalizing ideas of peace, security, freedom, and self-determination, and was known to speak with a soft, gentle voice. You can see in his statements and actions that he rationally and deliberately used terror as a weapon to manipulate the US.
web.archive.org
Compare that to the current extremism with ISIS, a group that seeks a global caliphate, and the subjugation or annihilation of all non-muslims. ISIS rejoices in extreme acts of sexual depravity and violence. Slavoj Zizek writes:
"The problem with terrorist fundamentalists is not that we consider them inferior to us, but, rather, that they themselves secretly consider themselves inferior. The problem is not cultural difference (their effort to preserve their identity), but the opposite fact that they already like us, that, secretly, they have already internalized our standards and measure themselves by them."
opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
What do you make of it, Holla Forums?