King Abdullah Discusses Militant Islam's Goals

In a revealing interview to Italy's Corriere della Sera titled "I terroristi odiano l'Islam moderato" ("the terrorists hate moderate Islam"), Jordan's King Abdullah explained that the Islamists assaulting Europe are ultimately trying not to take over in the West but to eradicate moderate Islam and take power in the majority-Muslim countries. Here is the key passage, as translated by Reuters:

No one is safe. Jordan is not and neither is Spain, which was so sorely hit. This is a threat to the security of Europe. [The Islamists'] objective is not the destruction of the West but the destruction of moderate Islam in order to take power. Europe is a secondary object. By weakening it [Europe], they want to influence the future role of the Muslim world in the international community.

The king admonished the West to take the threat of terror attacks more seriously and said that attacks such as the one in Madrid on March 11, 2004 are "only part of a much broader picture, linked to a struggle within Islam, with extremists who are seeking to create conflict between East and West and [inciting] inter-religious wars."

Comment: Once again, a Muslim is franker and bolder than his Western counterparts about defining the menace of militant Islam and explaining its goals. (For another example, this one Saudi, see "Saudi Interior Minister: Look at Terrorists' Convictions.")(March 23, 2004)

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