X-LAM: Roots of Terror and the Battle Ahead

Terror organizations with a global reach are actually few in numbers and stature. This general observation is particularly true of those groups which target the United States. However, certain Middle Eastern organizations steeped in traditional and fundamental teachings of Islam seek violent solutions to their grievances and, in the conduct of their execution employ more extreme methods and techniques than previously imagined. Given the 'extreme' nature of this threat and the 'extreme' fanaticism displayed by the perpetrators, this paper refers to this particular brand of Islam as 'X-Lam'. This paper researches the roots of Islamic extremism. It begins with a medieval emphasis on returning to the fundamental values of the prophet Mohammed. Over the Centuries, key Muslim intellectuals radically altered the philosophy of the faith and more recently, extreme followers have taken their faith even further towards the application of violent means, including declaring 'war' against the crusader west. We must label followers and practioners of X-Lam as enemies of the United States and a threat to U.S. security. These are not ad-hoc groups relegated to killing themselves because of a set of social conditions and injustices that refuse them upward mobility. This paper is about a part of a generally peaceful religion that has gone bad. Defining the actors and their ideologies will be an integral part of my framework. First, Islamic extremists (the terrorists with global reach as referred to by President Bush in his address to a joint session of congress and the American people on 20 Sept 01) are characterized by the use of violence or the willingness to use violence. This measure of violence is the major difference between Islamic extremists and Islamic fundamentalists. The roots of Islamic extremism go all the way back to (lbn Tayamiyya in) the 13th Century.