Suchergebnisse

SUDAN HAS EXPERIENCED AN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION WITHOUT VIOLENCE. IN A GRADUAL REVOLUTION THAT BEGAN IN THE 1970'S, ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS CONSOLIDATED THEIR POWER THROUGH WEALTH AND SYSTEMATIC CONTROL OF THE CIVIL SERVICE, THE ECONOMY, THE JUDICIARY, AND THE ARMED FORCES. ALTHOUGH FUNDAMENTALISTS COMPRISE ONLY 20 PERCENT OF SUDAN'S MUSLIM POPULATION, THEY ARE RICHER, BETTER ORGANIZED, AND MORE HIGHLY MOTIVATED. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE "SHARIA" HAS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY THE ENTRENCHMENT OF DICTATORIAL RULE, THE WEAKENING OF INSTITUTIONS, THE EROSION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES, THE AGGRAVATION OF THE CIVIL WAR IN SOUTHERN SUDAN, AND AN EVER-WORSENING ECONOMIC MALAISE. THE FACT THAT THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES IN NORTHERN SUDAN, EXCEPT THE COMMUNIST PARTY, ARE AFFILIATED WITH RELIGIOUS SECTS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ALL SUPPORT THE "SHARIA." THE REVOLUTION HAS CAUSED APPREHENSION IN WASHINGTON AND SOME AFRICAN AND ARAB STATES, ALTHOUGH THERE IS AS YET NO EVIDENCE THAT SUDAN POSES A DIRECT THREAT TO ITS NEIGHBORS.

This article examines the clash between rising transnational Islam and the declining Western nation-state in Europe, and suggests that non-Islamic apologists for Islam are aiding the dangerous Islamist agenda. Islamist ideology is assessed, and in its global reach and in its aggressive intentions, it is found to bear some resemblance to another transnational belief system: namely, Communism. The article uses examples from the news media, religious society, and commercial society to illustrate the lengths to which non-Islamic apologists for Islam will go in accommodating Islamist ideology throughout the European continent. It warns against the dangers of the spread of an Islamic reverse imperialism, and suggests that the European establishment has, to its own detriment, adopted a patronizing and indulgent attitude towards Islamist ideology and ideologues. These people, it is argued, are hastening the very clash of civilizations that some of them foolishly claim they are avoiding, and are thus helping to advance the Islamist agenda.