THE CONFLICT WITHIN ISLAM

A PREVIEW OF MY BOOK, "THE CONFLICT WITHIN ISLAM: Expressing Religion thru. Politics".

Despite the tragedy of September 11, and the subsequent terrorist acts against Western targets throughout the world, despite the clash-of-civilizations mentality that has seized the globe, despite the blatant religious rhetoric resonating throughout the halls of governments, there is one thing that cannot be overemphasized.  What is taking place now in the Muslim world is an internal conflict among Muslims, not an external battle between Islam and the West.  The West is merely a bystander—an unwary casualty of a rivalry that is raging in Islam.

The violent activities of the extremist groups today show to the non-Muslim world an un-Islamic face of Islam.  These activities have become doubly offensive against the scriptural commands, when these are shown as Jihad, and are packaged in religious vocabulary. These are heretical.   Unfortunately, the trend of using religion for non-religious goals is not new, and can be traced since medieval times.

This is the story of contest between Islam religion and politics where politics was made a sacrament and religion abused. In describing this aspect, the historical and religious part naturally cannot be ignored.  The conflict within Islam for the soul of Islam continues. Will the struggle be resolved in the present and the foreseeable future? Or will it make life more difficult for the faithful?  This book attempts to find the answers. It is published by iUniverse in softcover and eBook format recently in Dec. 2011.