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"Bush = Genghis Khan" ... very telling

Reader comment on item: Zuhdi Jasser and "Monitoring Islamist Media"

Submitted by Alex (United States), May 14, 2006 at 00:14

The fact that an American Muslim publication would compare President Bush to a Mongol leader illustrates just how radical the leadership (and at least a large minority of the population) of America's Muslim communities are. The historical narrative of Islam has a cyclical view of history, in which episodes of good and bad fortune recur according to the degree of collective Muslim fidelity to Allah.

The most important of these episodes for present-day radical Islam and jihadi terrorism occurred when the Mongols (led by Hulagu, not Genghis Khan) sacked Baghdad, but then Muslims rallied to the call of Sheikh ibn Taimiyya and eventually defeated the Mongols via guerrilla warfare at Ain Jallout, in today's northern Israel. This episode obviously contains fertile historical material for the Islamist interpretation of the Iraq war, an opportunity not missed by Muslim leaders. How prominent does Dr. Pipes think the Hulagu-narrative is today's Muslim understanding of the Iraq war? I feel like it would be most popular amongst those already inclined towards Islamism--I have spoken with friends from the Muslim world who are not Islamists who did not even know about ibn Taimiyya.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (16) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Link correction [17 words]MikeLandfairJul 25, 2010 12:18176014
Congratulations for your interview at Glenn Beck [122 words]A. Gomes, MSWSep 24, 2007 21:57109601
Greetings [219 words]Dennis L. JansenApr 14, 2007 13:3589230
Mr. Zuhdi Jasser [166 words]Maurice PicowJun 17, 2006 03:1947813
Good for him [24 words]Carol McLaughlinJun 16, 2006 14:3547772
Our education and our better understanding of our Moslem neighbors [263 words]Nenette GrunbergJun 16, 2006 17:3747772
many broker in america [69 words]dariushMay 14, 2006 14:5145588
Housekeeping is needed for all groups [60 words]BilalMay 14, 2006 00:1745542
Bilal, welcome to our planet! [78 words]MosheJun 7, 2006 08:3745542
CHRISTIANS ARE NOT BEHEADING [88 words]ASKING QUESTIONSJun 7, 2006 11:2345542
Dear Moshe - [352 words]BilalJun 7, 2006 21:0545542
You forget India's history, Bilal [148 words]CarolJun 16, 2006 15:3245542
"Bush = Genghis Khan" ... very telling [188 words]AlexMay 14, 2006 00:1445541
mongols and iran [63 words]dariushMay 15, 2006 03:5145541
iran and serbia [38 words]dariusMay 15, 2006 03:5745541
iranian resistance movement [21 words]Anubhav SinghMay 22, 2006 04:3345541

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

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