By Ed Husain . . . Hat tip: Abu Sahara
In this in-depth article, Mr. Husain explains how Zionism and Islamism has confused and radicalized Jews and Muslims - and Christians - resulting in unnecessary conflict around the world.
“Zionism and Islamism are both political perversions of ancient Abrahamic faiths of Judaism and Islam. They were both born out of protest and anger: Zionism in response to tsarist pogroms and Islamism as a retort to colonialism. The heavy political content of both ideologies came from men who had no theological training in the centuries-old traditional understanding of the Torah or the Koran. Theodore Herzl, an Austrian journalist, mapped out Zionism in an age of ubiquitous nationalism. Syed Qutb, an Egyptian literary critic, was the chief ideologue for Islamism. And yet they appealed to people of religious faith. Or did they?
“Prior to the Holocaust, Zionism was a pariah movement among Europe’s Jewish communities. Rabbis chastised Zionists for abusing religion and religious identity. And yet, with the inhumane onslaught against European Jews in the 1940s, Zionism gained acceptance and respectability. Today, across the Arab world, Islamism is on the cusp of gaining acceptance in the Arab street as political strangulation, economic suffering and social frustration reach unprecedented levels. For five decades, Muslim scholars, the ulama, have warned against Islamism - but for how much longer?
