Zealots!

Recent decades have propelled the term "Islamic Terrorism" as one of the most used terms in current parlance... Let us trace the history of the emergence of what has been described as the "biggest threat to the existing world order since communism"..

1. The first Islamic Bigot movements came to the fore with the weakening of the Ottomans... An Arab zealot founded the Wahabi movement which encouraged its followers to return to the form of Islam (which they believed) was sanctioned by Prophet Mohamed... Uptil this time, the Muslim world had more or less been tolerant on the whole, although there were such notable exceptions as Mahmud of Ghazni (who sacked the Somnath Temple), Aurangzeb(who broke with the liberal ways of the Mughals) and Timur (who put all 'infidels' to sword in occupied Delhi). The wahabis followed the writ of the holy Qu'ran in letter more than spirit. The result was one of the first wahabi monarchies was established in Arabia by a tribe called the Saud... Modern day Saudi Arabia is based on the wahabi ideology.
2. The collapse of the empire of Iran provided the necessary impetus to the growth of Islamic Political Power. The mullahs led by Khomeini realized the power of politicized Islam and began to export this philosophy to the other countries in the region. Countries like Lebanon witnessed the devastating results of the power that the world's first Islamic Theocracy wielded. Islamic Iran trained and equipped thousands of soldiers of Islam who unleashed themselves in the struggles in the region. Iran's tacit support created one of the first terrorist organizations- Hezbollah- The Party of God. For decades thereafter Hezbollah struck Israel, Lebanon and much of the region with unmatched viciousness.
   
3. The creation of Israel in 1948 and its subsequent occupation of most of Arab Palestine was the rallying cry for a Pan Arab Movement. Arafat's fatah began its terror campaign to drive the Israelis from Palestine, other terror groups joined in, culminating in hijacks, abductions etc. most notably the Munich Olympics Hostage Crisis. The strengthening of the Hezbollah in Lebanon that almost drove the Israelis out of Lebanon provided impetus to the radicalization of the Palestinian youth, resulting in the famous Intifada of 1988. It was only when it failed to dislodge the occupiers that the Palestinians resorted to all out terror tactics. Hamas- A radical Islamic entity came into existence hence.
   
4. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan is described as the turning point in the strengthening of the Islamic Zealotry. Left aghast by the invasion of the atheistic, godless Soviets... Afghan nationalists joined hands to oust the common foe. For years, this land had been stalked by civil strife and tribal wars. To face an enemy, bent on the destruction of what they perceived was their culture and pride, they forged a common front under the name of the Mujaheddin... CIA's dollars and the support of the Pakistani Islamist Establishment further strngthened the Mujaheddins. By 1989 the Soviets were gone, yet the CIA dollars remained as remained millions of indoctrinated and unemployed Afghans. Afghanistan once again took a turn to civil war and in 1996, the Taliban emereged as the rulers of Afghanistan. One more regime in the region now used its islamic roots to export its ideology abroad.
5. Pakistan was founded as a secular republic by Jinnah. However, the process of Islamization began in front of his eyes. When Zia Ul Haq took reins of power in his hands, he was only furthering a cause that had long been espoused- Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Under Gen Zia, Sharia was introduced in Pakistan and Madrassas bloomed. With the Soviet war in Afghanistan underway, Zia supplied millions of indoctrinated youth (The future Taliban) to the CIA's covert war machine against the Soviets. By the end of the 1989, victorious Mujaheddin were returning home to spread the word of Politicised Islam. Thanks to a series of inefficient democratic regimes, Pakistan took a turn for the worse. The insurgency in Kashmir, supported by Pakistan, was now supplied with the same Mujaheddin who had earlier fought against the soviets. Militant camps sprung up in every corner of the country, more and more unemployed and deprived youth took shelter in these camps to make a martyr of themselves.... 9-11 turned Pakistan's world upside down. Armitage's dire warning ' We will bomb you back to the stone age' worried Musharraf so much that he swore allegiance to an anti Taliban alliance with the US at its helm. The militants created by Pakistan's army & the ISI now turned upon their masters. Now free of ISI's leash, Pakistani isurgents have wrecked havoc in the world.
6. The war in Iraq lend credence to the theory that America was hell bent on destroying Islam. Millions of radicalized youth took to the streets to battle it out with the Great Satan. The true effects of the war are yet to be seen though the carnage in Madrid and London can be partly ascribed to the war.

The growth of terrorism has been partly due to the after effects of what happened in the 80s & 90s and also due to the free flow of currency from the supporters of terrorism based in Saudi Arabia & elsewhere in the region... Regional conflicts have also been hijacked by these militants...There is, as always, an economic angle to terrorism...Unemployed, Uneducated men are easy prey to the terror machine, wanting to make a quick buck and get rich...

The solution lies in correcting the historical grievances that exist as well as provide socio-economic succour to dissuade young men from getting swayed and serving the terror machine...