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在伊斯兰教内战中站边

Apr 12, 2016 Bernard-Henri Lévy

巴黎—法国总理瓦尔斯最近说，圣战主义的借口都不是好借口，他是对的。瓦尔斯说，拒绝借口文化意味着抵制深思圣战冲动的解释的诱惑。

4月4日，瓦尔斯又对了一次，他警告沙拉菲派可能赢得意识形态胜利。沙拉菲派思想是圣战主义的基本思想，它将欧洲（以及欧洲之内的法国）视为传教的主要目标。

过去三十年来，诸任法国政府都逃避参与这一争论的责任。但是，尽管消极态度确保了短期的社会和平，却也让与法国公众不同的价值观在法国各大城市大量生根发芽。然后又继之以一厢情愿的盲目，政府拒绝承认军事伊斯兰原教旨其实就是伊斯兰法西斯，即顽固派批评家四分之一世纪以来一直在大声疾呼的第三种全球极权主义变体。

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Tarik Gunersel Jun 6, 2016

How about secularism? Most Muslims in Turkey are still secularists, mainly thanks to Atatürk. Instead of supporting the so-called "moderate Muslims", why not mention and support the secularists, some (most) of whom consider themselves within Islam. Taking sides within Islam has been a strategic mistake; only by supporting secularism can the Western friends really help "moderate Muslims".

Tarık Günersel, Poet-Playwright, Istanbul
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Millat Hasan May 7, 2016

Bangladesh is still a moderate Islamic country.
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Talal Serhan Apr 20, 2016

I wonder, why did n't the author spit it out? And raise the famous slogan that express the true nature of those in power in the west, which is " Pay a dollar, kill an Arab". From most of the comments below, I think he would be welcomed.
Accusing Islam and Arabs by terrorism,beside many other lies, has been the miserable, funny and Repugnant way to control their lands and wealth.
Wake up folks, the world is changing. Stop enjoying, what your ancestors used to, lying, killing, raping, staling, turning people against each others, extortion, extermination.....
It won't work any more.
Try to accept and live with your own claimed values to be able to accept and share human life with the rest of the world.
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Stock Soup Apr 19, 2016

This is why Israel cannot release the West Bank to the Palestinians. Until a moderate Palestinian government emerges that can fight off the radical threat (and avoid a repeat of Gaza), the status quo must do.
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Munir Quddus Apr 18, 2016

I believe there is no conflict is stating that,
a. Radical Islam is a deviant form of Islam, and
b. The vast majority of Muslims are law abiding citizens of the world who believe is a peaceful and moderate Islam
The problem with many politicians is that they conflate radical Islam with all Islam. This is not just a conceptual fallacy, but one that has immense policy implications if we wish to support the moderate Muslims in this ideological struggle...
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Steve Hurst Apr 18, 2016

Continental EU security is a bad joke and rabble rousing war chants do not address the basic problem which is anybody who is determined can walk into Europe and even when identified is free to wander about. The problem starts in Greece and ends in Brussels stopping off in Germany along the way with the encouragement of Merkel

Anybody who thinks otherwise should look at the measures the Americans have in place on the Mexican border

Very simply the EU has not commited sufficient funds and expertise to address the problem and castrated its policefoce with Political Correctness overruling investigation and reporting. You need to look no further thena the widespread catch-and-no-charge-release of criminal migrants

Rabble rousing war chants are simply deflecting attention from the basic domestic security failure and preptending the problem is bigger than it really is

A short comment on security failure is here -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35918282
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Brent Beach Apr 18, 2016

M. Lévy chose the worst of all possible analogies when he wrote: "we must devote ourselves to identifying, untangling, and exposing the networks of Islamic hate and terror with the same energy and ingenuity that are now being applied to unraveling the global schemes of tax evaders."
We all know, as he should know, that the attack on tax evasion will be at best superficial and at worst non-existent. As we have seen repeatedly in the US, symbolic fines are imposed that are paid by anyone other than the culprits who caused and who profited from the sub-prime meltdown.
A similar attack on the offshore problem will be a joke, a fake attack that preserves far more than it challenges.
An effective challenge to Islamism must begin with the schools funded by various middle east regimes that teach Islamism to the children. Failing that, Islamism will escape without a scratch.
An effective challenge to the offshore parallel universe must begin with all offshoring of trade and tax evasion: that includes The City, Delaware, Switzerland, ...
Neither will happen.
Perhaps M. Lévy's analogy is more apt than the intended.
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Jaap Bosma Apr 17, 2016

Just like communism, jihadism will only end when it is morally bankrupt. We already see this in Iran where the Islamic Revolution has lost its appeal among the people (although it is still entrenched in power).

If we want to strengthen our moral position (and defeat jihadism quicker) we can do two easy things, stop supporting the Saudis who sponsor the salafism bordering on jihadism, and stop supporting the zionists who in practice do not share our values of universal human rights, but the right of colonisation for Jews and endless injustice for Palestinians.
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aldo matteucci Apr 17, 2016

"...Salafism, the doctrine underlying jihadism, which views Europe (and, within Europe, France) as prime ground for proselytization. "

The author might be advised to read about the Christian proselytization of the Levant in the XIXth century, the missionaries setting up universities in most of these countries, and France herding Italians and Spaniards to occupy the best lands of Algeria. The crowning event was the treaty of Sèvres, where France and Great Britain carved up the region like a pizza. In 1944, the French position in the Levant was important to De Gaulle than victory in Europe.

What is happening is the unraveling of Sèvres - a horrifying process which does not spare the original perpetrators. And why should it? V We taught them well, did we not?

The current predicament will not be solved by hectoring speeches or op-eds, but by careful study and a better understanding of the situation - before "taking sides."

Following "expert" advice, Pres. Sarkozy took sides in Lybia. And look where it got us.
- Richard S. Stone Apr 19, 2016
  
  Aldo: To be blunt, who cares? Using some obscure historical analogy to refute an obvious issue today, or to somehow excuse political and ethical laziness and appeasement is just mistaken and pointless. I do not care what or why those people did in some ancient period, in terms of somehow justifying some inaction, or not acting, today. This is not about religious conversion, it is about trying to enforce religious rules on others, and killing non-believers and apostates, etc. In my mind this has a lot in common with the Anarchists. As for making mistakes in Libya: Part of the problem is that these countries held together by "strongmen" or dictators will fragment, violently, when that that one "bad" guy no longer controls things. It is a Western fantasy to think that "we" can control that. Or that "we" caused it. The West may have aided and abetted, but "caused" is going too far. Bad things happen. The West is NOT responsible for all of it.
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Cary Fraser Apr 17, 2016

The Islamic world confronts a crisis of both renewal and fragmentation and the factional conflicts among the so-called jihadists reflect the ongoing tensions driven by the diversification of the Muslim communities worldwide. The alienation of Muslims in a variety of contexts would suggest a widespread sense of marginalization in religious and social-political terms in both Muslim majority and Muslim minority societies. Unfortunately, the inter-generational conflict within these societies compounds the problem. If, in both Muslim majority and Muslim minority countries this issue of inter-generational conflict cannot be effectively addressed, then the resolution of the problem lies decades away.
- Richard S. Stone Apr 19, 2016
  
  Mr. Fraser: Where is the button to up-vote your comment?? You deserve that. In my view, underlying a lot of the conflict is the singular lack of productivity of the Islamic world. Do the rich in Islamic countries really invest at home? Or do they just stash their money somewhere safe?
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Cam Jennings Apr 17, 2016

Thank you Bernard for your article and finally we have a lucid commentary worthy of serious consideration, discussion and debate.
It is indeed a theological, ideological and political war that is being conducted by various state and non state actors with truth a casualty and innocent civilians merely collateral damage.
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Steve Hurst Apr 17, 2016

If you conjugate foreign military action and domestic police action you end with a police state; enjoy
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Daniel Esmond Apr 14, 2016

This is a difficult one… Positioning oneself politically is extremely limiting in terms of pushing forward this debate. As the author suggests, the progressive pole finds it difficult to approach this problem in a useful manner, there are no new solutions suggested and the ones already on the table have lost (some of) their credibility and have been overtaken by a very fast changing and amplifying problem. Taking part in this debate one runs the risk of either further fragmenting and undermining the progressive, liberal pole or/and to align oneself with the far right. So the alternative is to keep quiet.
The other difficulty is that the proposition outlined in the article – a secular, liberal, egalitarian approach, with religion relegated to a private sphere etc. – remains a valid theoretical offer, but one that fails to find a way to be put into practice. Unfortunately, nobody’s track record (whether we look at any country on Europe or the US) of providing a liberal integration model can be called successful. It now seems that alternative is a war.
Offering this alternative, whether one agrees with it or not, is rather disheartening. It indicates that we have run out of other options. If one looks at a whole range of evidence (the horrors in the Middle East, the enregimentation of more or and more Muslims (individuals as well as states) into a homogenous piousness inspired by Wahabism, the slide from piousness towards fundamentalism, the failure of states with Muslim majorities to modernise and develop etc.), the immediate reaction is that of fear followed by a willingness to put up the defences and accept the premise of a war, even if it is accepted only as rhetorical or discourse device. However, stepping aside from the emotional reaction, I would suggest two questions to the author: first, how are we going to fight this war? (concretely, what do we need to do, besides taking part the actual wars in the Middle East?); and second, how can anyone from the progressive liberal centre or left be convinced to accept this premise as long as it is set out on the terms appropriated by the far right?
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Curtis Milyard Apr 14, 2016

Is there anything wrong with western believers going and punishing radicals around the world?
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Allen Mackenzie Apr 13, 2016

Islam must reform and Muslims must reform it themselves. Our job as westerners is to defend our values and point out the tremendous inadequacies of Islamic doctrine. The question must be asked is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights. The answer is most likely no. But we should be as bold as possible.
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Jose araujo Apr 13, 2016

Problem is that the west has been bending over for so many time to the Saudis, that I think it doesn't know how to stand straight anymore.
- M M Apr 13, 2016
  
  Jose, this is a very good one..
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Steve Hurst Apr 12, 2016

'This is our war'
No, it is not a war, an inappropriate word as it polarises

Like it or not muslim terrorists are hosted in part of European muslim society. The only solution is to get moderate European muslim society to work against muslim terrorists. In this respect it is better to classify terrorism as a criminal act rather than a religious act

'..we must acknowledge that two Islams are locked in a fight to the death'

Really? more polarity when the reality is there is a spectrum. Terrorists do not survive alone, they require support however limited in a community from part of that community. The problem with setting a boundary is you push people to jump to one side or another.

The problem is small numbers of homegrown terrorists and again and again they are known before they do something. As are people who go to the ME then return to Europe. At a practical level this is not an intellectual war, it is basic policing

First and foremost Europe has to deal with homegrown terrorists who are a realtively small number, the ME is another issue and will not be solved until proxy action creases. To conflate the two is IMO unhelpful

BTW poor border control is also unhelpful
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在伊斯兰教内战中站边

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