Understanding an Extreme Religion
Gary Ater
April 30, 2007
In the recent past, the closest that the west had come to this type of a personal devotion concept was in regard to the Japanese and their famous World War II Kamikaze pilots. Also, were the devoted Japanese soldiers that held many of the Pacific islands, to their death, such as those on Iwo Jima during the final months of WW II. These brave, devoted young Japanese pilots and soldiers pledged their lives “to the death” for their Divine Emperor. However, in this instance it was just a last, desperate attempt for the military leaders in Japan to try holding onto their empire that only a few years before, had controlled up to one third of the world’s habitable land.
What most westerners can’t identify with is that the religion is the total focus of a Muslim’s devotion and every function of their life is directed by this religious source. The case for all Muslims would be to follow the directives from their “bible”, the Koran, as well as their religious leaders. This concept of taking their religious direction is applied to managing their everyday lives, their villages and even their Muslim state or nation. In the Muslim world there is no division of religion and state. If you are an uneducated Muslim, all you know from birth is that Allah is everything. If you were born blind, that was God’s decision. When a Muslim dies, it is “As God wants”. If you are attacked and live, “It was the will of God”. The majority of Muslims (70% of the Muslim population) in the remote areas of the Middle East are uneducated and live under conditions that have not been endured by most westerners for well over a hundred years. These devout Muslim’s homes have dirt floors and no running water. The women must remain covered from head to foot, are forbidden to attend school or drive a vehicle and of course, they cannot vote. When walking, they should also follow a few steps behind their husbands. Their role in life is to bear and raise the children, follow their husband’s orders and the direction of their village Imams or higher religious leaders. Husbands can also have multiple wives if desired. Most Muslims in remote villages cannot read. They are taught from a very young age to memorize the word of the Prophet Mohammed as stated in the Koran. The Imam’s of these small villages are the teachers responsible for the children’s memorization of the teachings of the Prophet. If the Imam happens to be an extremist or terrorist, that is the focus he will use to teach his version of the Muslim “gospel” of the Prophet.
Under the average Muslim’s living conditions, it is not hard to understand how dying, becoming a martyr and going to paradise while working for the will of God, would sound better than most of their normal daily hardships. This is what drives the suicide bomber. This is why they volunteer to strap C-4 plastic explosive, with their pockets full of nails and sharp metal pieces to their body and walk into a crowd of non-Muslim “infidels” or groups of Muslims of a different sect and press the detonation button. And yes, to a devout Muslim, another Muslim from another Muslim sect is many times considered no better or even worse than a non-Muslim infidel. As God wants.
Most western people do not understand how in the late 1970’s, the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was able to take over Iran from the Shah, which at the time was looked at as the most modern country in the Middle East. Iran also had the full support of the United States political, corporate and military complexes. Iran is a perfect example for demonstrating the devotion of the average Muslim. When the Shah left Iran, the people from the western countries did not understand that the number of Iranian supporters of the Shah and his modern ways were only a small percentage of the total Iranian population. Most of the country consisted of millions of Muslims with a rudimentary education that would blindly follow the direction of their local Imams, Mullahs and Ayatollah’s. These religious leaders brought on an Iranian religious revolution of the masses that put the Muslim leaders back into power as they had been before for hundreds of years. Today, even though there are elections in Iran for individuals that can hold positions for running the day to day business of Iran, the real power over the Iranian oil, the military and the media is in the hands of the Grand Ayatollah and the religious leaders within Iran.
To better demonstrate the devotion of the devout Muslim, here is a passage that was written by a local Imam from a small Iranian village at the time that the Ayatollah Khomeini was coming back to power in Iran;
"Hasn’t the Grand Imam Khomeini appeared amongst us to open the spirit of the world? Hasn’t the Imam appeared amongst us to cleanse Islam of Evil and to spread Islam throughout the world, to carry the message of God as had been promised? Perhaps the Imam is even the “Mahdi”. Could the Imam Khomeini be the twelfth Imam who vanished centuries ago and has been hidden until now from human sight? Is he the Immortal One, promised by God to reappear to rule over a perfect world?"
With this type of devotion and commitment, the Ayatollah had the lives of over 50 million Muslims in his control to do his bidding. Many Iranian Muslims would happily rush to their death at the Imam’s merest whim. And why not? The “Mahdi” would automatically guarantee everyone that did his bidding a place in heaven and paradise.
Is there any wonder why westerners have trouble understanding the concept of the devout extreme Muslim and their devotion for doing what their religious leaders say, while believing it is the will of God? In the hands of insurgents and less reputable Imam’s, this kind of power allows the development of an army of devoted individuals willing to die “as God wants” for their cause. While the Muslims continue to have the financing, the oil and the desire for martyrdom, this is what the western civilization will be facing in the “real” world for many years to come.
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