|
The Terrorism to Come
From Policy Review, an article by Walter Laqueur, co-chair of the International Research Council at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. .... At present, Islamist terrorism all but monopolizes our attention, and it certainly has not yet run its course. But it is unlikely that its present fanaticism will last forever; religious-nationalist fervor does not constantly burn with the same intensity. There is a phenomenon known in Egypt as "Salafi burnout," the mellowing of radical young people, the weakening of the original fanatical impetus. Like all other movements in history, messianic groups are subject to routinization, to the circulation of generations, to changing political circumstances, and to sudden or gradual changes in the intensity of religious belief. This could happen as a result of either victories or defeats. One day, it might be possible to appease militant Islamism — though hardly in a period of burning aggression when confidence and faith in global victory have not yet been broken. Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-08-07 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=39918 |