by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n
Private Papers<\/em><\/p>\n I<\/span>mmediately after the announcement of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi\u2019s death \u2014 Osama bin Laden\u2019s \u201cprince of al-Qaeda in Iraq\u201d \u2014 almost every major politician, including President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Iraq\u2019s new Prime Minister Maliki gave some sort of victory speech, some highly triumphant, others more cautious.<\/p>\n But how effective, really, is the death of al-Zarqawi?\u00a0 Will it have any tangible affects on the \u201cWar on Terror\u201d?\u00a0 Has al-Qaeda received a mortal blow, as some have asserted?\u00a0 In short, will the assassination of an Islamist leader yield anything greater than satisfaction at seeing justice served?<\/p>\n History provides an answer to these questions.<\/p>\n Consider the progress of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and oldest Islamic fundamentalist organization today, once joined by a fourteen-year-old Aymin al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda\u2019s number two man.\u00a0 Founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, it originally boasted only six members.\u00a0 In the following decades, in part thanks to the radical writings of one of its premiere ideologues, Sayyid Qutb \u2014 whom al-Qaeda liberally quotes \u2014 the Brotherhood, though constantly clashing with Egypt\u2019s government, grew steadily.<\/p>\n Both leaders, Banna and Qutb, were eventually targeted and killed by Egypt\u2019s secular government \u2014 the former assassinated, the latter executed.\u00a0 Far from dying out, however, the Brotherhood continued to thrive underground for many more decades.\u00a0 Then, to the world\u2019s surprise, the partially-banned constantly-harassed Brotherhood managed to win 88 out of 454 seats in Egypt\u2019s 2005 parliamentary elections \u2014 making them the largest opposition bloc in the government.<\/p>\n After two of its most prominent leaders were killed, after thousands of its members have been harassed, jailed, and sometimes tortured, today the Brotherhood is stronger, more influential, and securer than at any other time in its turbulent history.<\/p>\n Palestine\u2019s Hamas, itself an offshoot of the Brotherhood, is another case in point.\u00a0 Founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hamas has since been labeled a terrorist organization by several nations, including the U.S., most notably for its many suicide-operations against Israel.\u00a0 Due to Yassin\u2019s figurehead status of Hamas, the Israeli government targeted him for assassination: on March 22 2004, while the quadriplegic Yassin was being wheeled out of a mosque after morning prayers, an Israeli helicopter launched two hellfire missiles that hit and killed him instantly.<\/p>\n The result?\u00a0 Far from waning or demoralizing, Hamas, like the Brotherhood before them and also to international consternation, went on to win in a landslide the January 2006 Palestinian elections, officially representing the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n Then there is the Ayatollah Khomeini, the original poster-boy of radical Islam.\u00a0 Overthrowing a secular government and coming to power in Iran\u2019s Islamic revolution of 1979, Khomeini transformed Iran into a theocratic state \u2014 precisely what al-Qaeda yearns to see happen for the rest of the Islamic world.\u00a0 For one decade he was the West\u2019s bane, from instigating the American hostage crisis, to issuing a fatwa condemning a novelist to death, to taunting the U.S., for which he coined the term \u201cthe Great Satan.”<\/p>\n Today, nearly 20 years after the death of the Iranian cleric, not much has changed in Iran. Sharia law still governs; Sharia endorsed enmity towards the West still thrives.\u00a0 In fact, the only real difference is that the Islamic theocracy\u2019s aspiration for nuclear armaments is nearly realized.<\/p>\n T<\/span>here are countless other examples from both past and present history in which popular Islamist leaders were either killed or died naturally, and the only thing that changed is that their movement grew and consolidated.<\/p>\n Indeed, the prophet Muhammad himself was harassed, attacked, and targeted for killing, and today, 1400 years after his death, the movement he started claims over one billion adherents.<\/p>\n Aymin al-Zawahri summarized this phenomenon well.\u00a0 Asked in a recent interview about the status of bin Laden and the Taliban\u2019s one-eyed Mullah Omar, he confidently replied:<\/p>\n Jihad in the path of Allah is greater than any individual or organization. It is a struggle between Truth and Falsehood, until Allah Almighty inherits the earth and those who live in it.\u00a0 Mullah Muhammad Omar and Sheikh Osama bin Laden \u2014 may Allah protect them from all evil \u2014 are merely two soldiers of Islam in the journey of Jihad, while the struggle between Truth and Falsehood transcends time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to this statement, which itself is grounded in the Koran, Islamic militants are not the\u00a0cause<\/i>\u00a0of the war. They are but a symptom of a much greater cause: the \u201cstruggle between Truth [Islam] and Falsehood [non-Islam] that transcends time.\u201d\u00a0 The problem, then, is not men like Khomeini, Banna, Qutb, and Yassin \u2014 nor is it even al-Qaeda or its recently slain member Zarqawi \u2014 killing them off is only treating the symptom not curing the malady.\u00a0 The root cause is the violent and fascist ideology that motivates them.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, this ideology is grounded in religion and God, replete with eternal damnations and rewards, and thus not easily discredited.\u00a0 None of the aforementioned men initiated the many commands that create strife between Muslims and non-Muslims; they only upheld them.\u00a0 Immutable verses from the Koran, as well as countless statements and examples by the prophet Muhammad, are what initiate this animosity:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever you find them \u2014 seize them, besiege them, and make ready to ambush them\u201d [9:5]<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you encounter infidels, strike off their heads\u201d [Koran 47:4].<\/p>\n \u201cI [Muhammad] have been made victorious through terror\u201d [Bukhari B52N220].<\/p>\n No \u201cradical\u201d Muslim \u2014 including head-chopping Zarqawi \u2014 made up these verses and others like them.\u00a0 They are understood to be the everlasting words of God and His prophet.<\/p>\n The West\u2019s plight vis-\u00e0-vis radical Islam is therefore akin to Hercules\u2019 epic encounter with the multi-headed Hydra-monster.\u00a0 Every time the mythical strongman lopped off one of the monster\u2019s heads, two new ones grew in its place.\u00a0 To slay the beast once and for all, Hercules learned to cauterize the stumps with fire, thereby preventing any more heads from sprouting out.<\/p>\n Similarly while the West continues to lop off monster heads like figurehead Zarqawi, it is imperative to treat the malady \u2014 radical Islam \u2014 in order to ultimately prevail.\u00a0 Victory can only come when the violent ideologies of radical Islam are cauterized with fire.<\/p>\n But alas, the Hydra-monster is myth, while radical Islam is stark reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Placing Zarqawi’s death in perspective by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers Immediately after the announcement of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi\u2019s death \u2014 Osama bin Laden\u2019s \u201cprince of al-Qaeda in Iraq\u201d \u2014 almost every major politician, including President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Iraq\u2019s new Prime Minister Maliki gave some sort of victory speech, some highly triumphant, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[227,773],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1rF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5480,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/hydra-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":5559,"position":0},"title":"Hydra of War","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Radical Islam will ensure the constant replacement of whatever terrorists we kill. by Raymond Ibrahim National Review Online Is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Masri, dead? Iraqi authorities just proclaimed that he was recently killed due to infighting. But al Qaeda-related websites beg to differ: \u201c[H]e\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7161,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/turkeys-latest-jihad-on-christian-armenians\/","url_meta":{"origin":5559,"position":1},"title":"Turkey’s Latest Jihad on Christian Armenians","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0RaymondIbrahim.com\u00a0 Far from being repentant of the\u00a0Armenian Genocide, Turkey, under the leadership of Prime Minister Erdogan, is again targeting Armenians; is again causing their death and dislocation. In the early morning hours of March 21, al-Qaeda linked Islamic jihadis crossed into Syrian territory from the Turkish border\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Turkey"","block_context":{"text":"Turkey","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/turkey\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/998287_10152343516494083_267260017_n-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3075,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/bin-laden-and-the-eternal-hydra-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":5559,"position":2},"title":"Bin Laden and the Eternal Hydra of War","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Hudson New York As we ponder the significance of Osama bin Laden's death, it is well to reflect that Islamists are not the\u00a0cause\u00a0of hostilities; they are but\u00a0symptoms\u00a0of a much greater cause. 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In our context, did Osama bin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6324,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/al-qaeda-flag-flies-high-above-christian-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":5559,"position":4},"title":"Al Qaeda Flag Flies High Above Christian Churches","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0Gatestone Institute \u00a0 Days ago, al-Qaeda\u2019s Egyptian leader, Ayman Zawahiri,\u00a0portrayed\u00a0\u00a0the overthrow of Muhammad Morsi and the Brotherhood as a \u201cCrusader\u201d campaign led by Coptic Pope Tawadros II who, according to Zawahiri and other terrorists, is trying to create a Coptic state in Egypt. 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