http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=124202&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
'Ideology of Qaeda and US neocons doomed to fail' Published: Sunday, 24 December, 2006, 09:25 AM Doha Time By Anwar Elshamy THE dominating ideology of both Al Qaeda and the neo conservatives in the US are doomed to failure as they are rigid and do not accept others' views, the Institute of Islamic Political Thought's director, Dr Azzam al-Tamimi told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the Sixth Pan-Arab and Islamic Conference that ended in Doha on Friday. Dr al-Tamimi said that Al Qaeda, which is the counterpart of the Neo Conservative stream in the US, is committing a fatal mistake when it "sees life as either black or white". "Both Al Qaeda and the conservatives in the US believe in an eliminating ideology namely, 'you are either with us or against us'," he said. "The fatal mistake of Al Qaeda as a political thought is that it accuses every one who does not agree with it as infidels. There is a big difference between holding fast to your principles and eliminating every one with a different opinion or option," he said, while observing that Al Qaeda is not alone in its endeavour to restore the global and leading role of Islam because all Muslims around the world have the same aspirations but their approaches are different. Explaining the reasons behind Al-Qaeda's popularity, al-Tamimi said the outfit came up at a time when there was a glaring absence of democracy in Arab countries and despair prevailed. "Al Qaeda successfully grabbed the admiration of Muslims around the world when Arab regimes were in a state of inaction and democracy was on the decline. People have been stunned by what Al Qaeda achieved on the ground. It is not the ideology of Al Qaeda which helps it gain popularity, but rather its ability to achieve something on the ground and stun people. When Osama bin Laden speaks on a videotape, you can not help being stunned and amazed even if you are rejecting his discourse and ideology," he said. "It is because of this ability, that Al Qaeda's fighters are now among the most effective armed factions in Iraq and is rapidly gaining support within Iraq," he said. Asked about the convergence between Islamists and pan-Arabs especially since they have been involved in deadly conflicts for decades, he said that after the failure of pan-Arab slogans which were based on secular concepts, the pan-Arabs split. "The first category is the one which opted for 'Americanism' and sided with the enemies of the Arab and Muslim worlds by adopting American Liberalism. The second is the one which sided with the causes of the Ummah and accepted unifying their efforts with the Islamists to confronting US and Zionist schemes," he said. However, al-Tamimi said that the higher interests of the Arab and Muslim worlds necessitated that both the streams be united under one front. "I do not see this conference as a truce forum for conflicting parties. Even if the ideological differences continue to exist, I think such difference can be offset by the serious threat to the whole Ummah (nation)," he said. He said the conference was held in haste and missed its focal point. "I think the conference would have been more effective if the participants had concentrated only on the means to confront the US-Zionist scheme," he said, while observing that the Palestinian cause is the main problem in the region that should be dealt with first. However, he said that the bringing together of the elite, intellectuals and scholars to exchange ideas and concerns about the Ummah is a victory in itself. Al-Tamimi appreciated Qatar's efforts in hosting the conference saying that the previous five sessions held in Beirut had poor attendance because of financial obstacles. "Qatar has removed such obstacles by paying for accommodation for all participants and transportation for some," he said. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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