Robert D. Kaplan hopes that the actions of one radicalized Muslim in the US military does not result in a backlash against all Muslims in the US military:

The ultimate strategic goal of al-Qaeda is to turn our struggle with it into a “clash of civilizations.” If potential Muslim recruits to the U.S. military quietly decide not to enlist for fear of retribution or prejudice inside the barracks, that would be a victory for al-Qaeda.

Still, trust but verify:

That’s why, while we improve our security procedures behind the scenes, we should deal with the massacre at Fort Hood in as low key a manner as possible. More Maj. Hasans may lurk in the barracks and public squares. The way to find them out is not in a shrill witch hunt, but quietly, methodically, and legally, even as we open up our military to a wider spectrum of recruits.

[Fabled to be founded by Alexander the Great, the Tajik city of Khojand is a mishmash of Soviet and Islamic ideas. Dorzhiev reports from the front. (See his earlier post here) – YH]

Could the clash of civilizations be resolved by a beard growing contest?

Khujand is the capital of Tajikistan’s northern Sogd province that presides over the country’s share of the Fergana Valley. The Fergana has a reputation as a Central Asian flashpoint owing to the convergence of multiple countries, ethnicities, and ideologies that cohabitate within its gerrymandered borders. In the past months it has grabbed headlines for skirmishes between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan that escalated into violence. Additionally there have been several IMU related incidents in the nearby Uzbek cities of Khanabad and Andijan fueling speculation of the repatriation of insurgents feeling the squeeze in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. Elsewhere in Tajikistan the apparent return of warlord Mullo Abdullo in the Rasht Valley has sparked fears that civil war era malcontents are regrouping in the Gharm region. Fueling the trend, officials announced June 24th the arrest of 40 alleged extremists in Dushanbe. Given these recent developments one might be tempted to think of Khujand as a potential Kandahar or Peshawar. Such fears are stoked when we read that in recent months police in Khujand have rounded up at least two dozen members of Hizb Ut-Tahrir — an outlawed political party who encourages the re-establishment of the Caliphate. Read the rest of this entry »

The Economist reports on the situation of Faiza M., a Moroccan woman who married a French citizen and moved with him back to France. She applied for citizenship and was rejected on the basis that she wore a burqa, a “radical practice” that is “incompatible with the essential values of the French community, and particularly with the principle of sexual equality.” One (female Algerian) official is quoted as saying “[The burqa] is not a religious sign but the visible sign of a totalitarian political project preaching sexual inequality.”

Get over it. The burqa is just a piece of cloth. It is clothing and it is not the state’s role to intervene into what type of clothing people wear. The motto of France since the French Revolution is: Liberté, égalité, fraternité. This decision makes a mockery of France’s “essential value” of liberty.

The sad thing is that Faiza M. only started wearing the burqa at the request of her husband when they arrived in France. As long as it is her choice, she should be able to wear whatever she likes. If, however, she is being forced to wear a certain kind of clothing against her will, then the state should step in to protect her personal freedom. Religion cannot be used as a shield. Legal and religious institutions are rightly separated, and a country’s laws are applicable to all citizens equally. Using religion to flout the laws is unacceptable, like the Muslim woman in Florida who refused to reveal her face for a driver’s license photo.

Finally, I would just like to stress that I am by no means a Muslim apologist. All faiths have their whackaloons. The bottom line is: I am a freedom-loving libertarian, and am willing to defend that position.

Two years ago, I discussed the spread of radical Islam by Saudia Arabia and proposed countering the well funded extremist influence with a more moderate and modern version of Islam, namely that of Turkey. Here’s a short version of what I said:

With countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan fostering and spreading radicalism through out their respective regions and the world, and Saudi Arabia having almost infinite resources to do so, radicalism can’t help but spread despite our best efforts in the War on Terror. Though occasions such as the Tsunami in Asia and the more recent earthquake in Pakistan have given the US opportunities to bolster its image in the Muslim world (though it would have responded with aid and asisstance anyway), they are merely bandaids which help in the short term and do little to counter future terrorism. A simple lesson from the news is that bad news sells. Similarly, the image of poor Pakistanis receiving medical care from US soldiers won’t last as long as images of dead Iraqis or tortured prisoners (or even silly cartoons!).

I also noted that the US, Europe and Turkey itself would all benefit in a variety of ways from an outreach program by Turkey. Among other things, it would soften and improve Turkey’s image in the West while extending its influence eastwards by promoting itself as a beacon of hope in such a troubled region. It would help Turkey take on a greater leadership role and give Muslims everywhere a taste of what their countries could be like. Turkey, it seems, was listening (or rather, beat me to it).

Praying in Pakistan has not been easy for Mesut Kacmaz, a Muslim teacher from Turkey. He tried the mosque near his house, but it had Israeli and Danish flags painted on the floor for people to step on. The mosque near where he works warned him never to return wearing a tie. Pakistanis everywhere assume he is not Muslim because he has no beard. “Kill, fight, shoot,” Mr. Kacmaz said. “This is a misinterpretation of Islam.”

But that view is common in Pakistan, a frontier land for the future of Islam, where schools, nourished by Saudi and American money dating back to the 1980s, have spread Islamic radicalism through the poorest parts of society. With a literacy rate of just 50 percent and a public school system near collapse, the country is particularly vulnerable.

Mr. Kacmaz is part of a group of Turkish educators who have come to this battleground with an entirely different vision of Islam. Theirs is moderate and flexible, comfortably coexisting with the West while remaining distinct from it. Like Muslim Peace Corps volunteers, they promote this approach in schools, which are now established in more than 80 countries, Muslim and Christian.

[...] The Turkish schools, which have expanded to seven cities in Pakistan since the first one opened a decade ago, cannot transform the country on their own. But they offer an alternative approach that could help reduce the influence of Islamic extremists.

They prescribe a strong Western curriculum, with courses, taught in English, from math and science to English literature and Shakespeare. They do not teach religion beyond the one class in Islamic studies that is required by the state. Unlike British-style private schools, however, they encourage Islam in their dormitories, where teachers set examples in lifestyle and prayer. “Whatever the West has of science, let our kids have it,” said Erkam Aytav, a Turk who works in the new schools. “But let our kids have their religion as well.”

Read the rest here at the NYT and read more about Fethullah Gülen, who started and runs this chain of schools at his website here.

The great debate over Islamic dress is not only happening in France and the UK, but also in Islamic countries. The war against cultural imperialism seems to start with outward appearances. I mean one of the great symbols of globalization is American bluejeans, and the imams know this. Heck, jeans were worn by rebellious youth in the Soviet Bloc during the late 80’s, and look what happened to those countries, right? It’s that old equation: marijuana leads to heroin, bluejeans lead to “Liberté, Egalité, Franternité”, iPods lead to iMacs, etc etc unto eternity. So how do Islamic governments fight the war against cultural imperialism?

Many countries have laws against certain types of clothing, but most regular folk can usually find ways of “interpreting” the law just the right way so they can wear clothes they like. There is no 7th century Koranic term for “bluejeans” right?

Media campaigns are another way. ComingAnarchy reader Grendel sent in this picture of a billboard in Aceh “encouraging” passers-by to mind the Islamic dress code. I found the image on Wikipedia where a translation is given for the words at the bottom:

Following the leading Islam principles according to article 13, paragraph 1, every Muslim has to wear Islamic clothing. Whosoever does not follow these accepted Islamic customs will be punished with Tazir crime.

Apparently the text on the left side says “wrong clothing” and the right says “correct clothing.” A Tazir crime usually warrants corporal punishment, which brings us to the third way: force. This usually entails having “moral police” roam the streets measuring hemlines and beard-lengths. Recently in Iran barbers have been warned about giving men Western hairstyles. But Iran has been having difficulties enforcing the hijab. Rather than trying to use blunt force, the police have been trying to “educate” women as to why they should wear Islamic dress by holding their own fashion exhibition.

Are these countries fighting a losing battle? Mark Twain once said “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” I would only add that people forced to be covered up also lose their voice, but only until they decide to regain it. Then expect a big impact on society.