Terror in the Mind of Essay

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But this seems to be an assumption rather than an established fact. Jurgensmeyer later points out that Abouhalima denies his involvement in the World Trade Center bombing. If so, how can one know that Abouhalima was "disappointed" to see little damage? One can also see assumptions in the words Jurgensmeyer uses. For example, Jurgensmeyer writes that Abouhalima "felt free to talk about the subject of terrorism in general and terrorist incidents of which he was not accused, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing."

Instead of writing, he "was not involved," Jurgensmeyer says he "he was not accused," as if Abouhalima could be accused of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Instead of making assumptions about Abouhalima, Jurgensmeyer could have focused on the contradictions in the actions and views of the Islamist militant and his apparent lack of knowledge in Islamic law. Jurgensmeyer provides evidence for that by telling the story of Abouhalima's life but does not explain clearly. Jurgensmeyer, for instance, mentions that Abouhalima had his early religious influence by participating in a Muslim youth camp in a town near Alexandria, Egypt, but later in his life in Germany Abouhalima was engaged in a promiscuous life: a "life of corruption -- girls, drugs, you name it," in Abouhalima's own words.

Jurgensmeyer, however, does not raise questions about Abouhalima's religiosity, or its lack thereof.

Another example where Jurgensmeyer does not examine Abouhalima's position is when he quotes him as saying that "Islam is mercy.

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If indeed Abouhalima believes in it, then why does he not call for mercy? Why does he approve terrorist attacks and violence? Jurgensmeyer falls short of examining these questions critically and in details. It should also be noted that the discussion of Abouhalima in a chapter titled "Islam's 'Neglected Duty'" is misleading. Nowhere does Abouhalima talk about the "neglected duty," which apparently refers to jihad, an Islamic concept that literally means "struggle" and may refer to either violent or peaceful struggle (depending on those who interpret it). Jurgensmeyer rather could have emphasized the apparent lack of authentic Islamic discourse in Abouhalima's language.

Mahmud Abouhalima is a typical Islamist militant. People like him make references to religious duties and use religious terminology from time to time, but their real grievances, if examined critically, seem to be based on worldly political aims. Their references to religious doctrines are almost always abstract and vague. As Jurgensmeyer's discussion of Abouhalima's ideological views demonstrates, Islamists like Abouhalima are not well-versed in Qur'anic studies or other Islamic core texts. It is important to critically examine the views of Abouhalima and other Islamist terrorists and expose their lack of Islamic knowledge and contradictions inherent in their views as this may help in discrediting them in the eyes of most Muslims.

Mark Jurgensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2001), p. 60.

Ibid, p. 61.

Ibid,.....

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