Militant Islam

The Decline of Islam

In the 17th century, the Muslim world was the planet's most vibrant culture and its strongest military force, with territory encompassing the Middle East and southeastern Europe. As a world power, Muslims viewed Western religious, cultural, and military developments with disdain. Accordingly, when the West achieved military superiority, the Islamic world was caught by surprise. By 1769, Russia's Army had soundly defeated the Ottoman Turks, handing the Islamic world its first military defeat.

A spate of Muslim military losses followed. Between 1798 and 1912, at least seven Muslim countries, from Aden (modern Yemen) to Morocco, succumbed to the advances of invading European armies. [Page 231]By the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire lost its grip on the Middle East; the British and French consequently divided up the former Muslim empire as spoils of war. The most painful defeat, however, was likely the loss to Israel in 1948 when a unified front of five Arab armies lost to a military of only several hundred thousand Jews.

Along with these Western military advances came cultural and intellectual concepts often new to Islam in the practical and physical sciences, modern weaponry and military tactics, mass communication, law, and political science. A threat to the status quo, these concepts were often considered radical and destabilizing, and did not fit comfortably within the traditional Muslim culture.

While many adapted, some Muslims rejected these changes. Instead, they created a rigid ideology deeply imbedded in a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. This ideology, militant Islam, came to be seen as a struggle to return to the era when Islam was dominant. The ideology rejected the West, modernity, and many of its innovations. Indeed, it even perceived the source of these innovations (the West) as its enemy.

In time, the militant Islamic vision crystallized. It rejected not only the influence of the West but also the legitimacy of secular governments in the Muslim world for their subservience to the West. Thus, the overthrow of these regimes became an important part of their agenda.

The Rise of Militant Islam

The most significant boost for the militant Islamic movement came in 1928, when the Ikhwan al-Muslimun, or Muslim Brotherhood, emerged in Egypt. The cornerstone for many of today's militant Islamic movements, the Muslim Brotherhood rejected Western influence and, more specifically, England's secular influence over Egypt. The organization, founded by Hassan al-Banna (1906–1949), advocated the Egyptian institutionalization of Islamic beliefs and values. Without religious governance, al-Banna argued, the Muslim world would be “a society of cultural mongrels and spiritual half-castes.” Al-Banna and his followers soon developed armed cells that attacked government officials and supporters, leading the movement to be outlawed. The group, however, continued its activities, wreaking havoc on the Egyptian regime.

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