It is safe to assume that religion is as old as human civilization. All religions preach peace and peaceful coexistence with other faiths yet religious fanaticism isn't a new phenomenon and prevalent for ages, for centuries people have fought among themselves to stamp the supremacy of there religion . The unholy mix of religion and politics makes it a formidable force effectively used by elites to conquer and control vast territories and further there influence in the name of religion. The acrimony towards "other" religious faiths and hankering for religious supremacy led to numerous despicable wars throughout human history. The supremacism is inherent in almost all religions, Christian supremacism motivated crusaders to wage wars for "holy land" ,similarly Muslim supremacists unleashed wars to project there religious supremacy. Human race has paid a heavy price to this mindless acts of violence perpetuated for generations.
With emergence of secular,plural societies, people became tolerant and inclusive in there approach towards religious beliefs of other people. With time,societies learnt to keep politics and religion at distance and people learnt to be tolerant towards religious beliefs of others , more secular societies emerged and religious fanaticism is kept at bay in most of the modern free societies of world, barring middle east and few other countries. In plural societies, civil liberties irrespective of religious beliefs of inhabitants ensured freedom of press, religion, expression,assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law among other things. In the secular democratic societies, the mixing of political and religious ideology is heavily criticized by electorate and is governed by rule of law.
Such plural,open and free societies flourished around the world but the biggest threat to such a framework is now emanating from Islamic bigots. It is estimated that 1.6 billion or 23 per cent of the world's population is Muslim, out of these roughly 15% to 25% of 1.6 billion Muslim population are estimated to be radicals. These radicals believe in the implementation of medieval radical form of Islam all over the world, use of violence is legitimate in there eyes as they believe its there pious duty to spread Islam. These radicals reject secular laws and societies as unholy thus qualified for conversion. They loath and ban teaching of arts, music, history, literature etc. subjugation of women, stoning of apostates, homosexuals, levying jizya on religious minorities are among other things justified. The destruction of Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan, archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria corroborates there thinking and approach towards vulnerable cultural heritage.
Bamiyan Buddha Statute, Afghanistan
The biggest problem with Islamic terrorism is there interpretation of religious texts and justifying there numbing acts of violence against defenseless civilians. With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 a new form of warriors ( mujahideen) and "jihad" against infidel soviet army came into prominence.The defeat of Soviet army gave tremendous militarily and psychological boost to new kind of political islam emanating from the barrel of gun. This new breed of triumphant warriors believed in ultra orthodox form of political Islam that reached its zenith during this era attracting gullible Muslim youths from across the globe. The defeat of Soviet army by Afghani mujahideen encouraged and incited new kind of terror groups funded and abated by rogue nations like Pakistan to further there influence in neighborhood. These terror groups get tacit support, funding and unending surge of brainwashed youths from countless madarsas sprung across such rouge nations.
After 9/11 attack the state sponsor and tacit support to terror groups came to the fore and world community initiated steps to control the menace, but the wahhabi terror groups and there funding has transformed since then. It has spread its tentacles around the globe and has proven its reach and prowess by coordinating suicide attacks around the globe with impunity. No country is beyond the reach of terrorists who refuse to acknowledge the right of other religions to coexist peacefully with them as prophesied by Samuel Huntington in his notorious book Clash of Civilizations. The followers of wahhabbi terror groups have killed more Muslims (Shia,Ahmediyas,Sufi etc.) then the US army did while invading Iraq, another flashpoint to justify violence and take up arms to defend Islam by terrorists.
The scourge of Islamic terror has reached unprecedented levels now.What started as a genuine democratic uprising against the tyrant dictatorial regimes in Arab world and is nicknamed as "Arab spring" soon was taken over by dreaded terrorists to fulfill there long cherished dream of homeland. The defunct regime of Assad in Syria and nonexistent Iraqi government benefited terrorists to capture and establish there first terror country. Vast swaths of territory between Iraq and Syria was conquered by battle hardened terrorists and once again boundaries are redrawn after the fall of Ottoman empire . These terrorists have implemented strict sharia laws in territory under there control, and show intolerance towards religious minorities and has narrow vision of the world.There barbarism to treat enemies,minorities,women,homosexuals etc can put satan to shame and yet these terrorists claim to be true followers of Islam.
These terrorists follow violent ideology and refuse to reconcile with fellow brethren among Islamic community or other religions. Truth is these islamic terrorists have done irreparable damage to a peaceful religion of Islam, there barbaric methods and complete contempt for human rights blemished Islam. Acts of terrorism attributed to terror mongers can't be equated with Islam. The vast majority of Muslims are peace-loving & It is terrible that their collective reputation is tarnished by a small number of motivated but mis-informed extremists.
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