Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 66
was a reasonable explanation for their nations‘ prostration: the corrupt secular state that
did not follow the wise guidance of the Koran.
The Threat from Outside Forces
Many within the Arab world cannot understand why they have been laid low by events, and
they are willing to believe that the best explanation is that a conspiracy of outside forces
keeps the community down. This is not necessarily a view of the ignorant: it is often found
among those who assume that a just society would result in just outcomes. How, they ask,
can it be that their people suffer—they remain poor, and their future is so bleak—despite
their wealth, history, and devotion? The clearest answer is often ―outside forces‖ (Kuran,
2001). Thus, Israel becomes a powerful puppeteer that manipulates Western media against
the Arabs. Arab countries are maneuvered into conflict by Christians, Jews, and Atheists, or
by other unseen forces.
The Free Masons [which are controlled by Jews] ...control all the kaffir
[non-Muslim] institutions and systems in the world today ...they are
planning the mass sterilization of women ...they are able to instigate wars,
provide the arms for the two sides to be able to fight it, at a price of course,
and then take over control, or strengthen control if they already have it, once
the fighting is over, any opposition to them having been considerably
weakened by the inevitable consequences of war. (Thompson, 1995, 48-49)
The Islamist conspiracy viewpoint is similar to those seen in political cults (Tourish &
Wohlforth, 2000, 31-33).
Even well educated individuals within the Islamic society hold conspiratorial views, and such
views should not be dismissed with derision. As with Holocaust denial, these views left
unchallenged lead to wild leaps of logic incompatible with reality but compatible with
extremist views. The United States suffered from the results of these conspiracy theories
and had difficulty getting Muslims to believe that it was bin Laden—not a double—on the
infamous video, chortling over the deaths on September 11.
Islam as a ―Theory of Everything‖
In the modern West religion tends to be treated as a private matter, with civil institutions
providing a neutral arena for political discourse between various political, religious, and
social factions. As Supreme Court Justice Samuel Miller stated in 1872, ―The law knows no
heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect‖
(Menendez &Doerr, 2002, 175). Islam, however, makes no distinction between private and
public conduct, and does not distinguish between religious and civil matters. Many Muslims
agree that every institution of society and every department of government must be guided
by Islamic law. Laws based upon human authority are blasphemous (Maududi,1995, 15,
28). Mohammed was the last prophet, but he also was an administrator and a warrior
(Sullivan, 2001, 45).
Islamists argue that Islam provides answers to nearly all questions of daily life:
The Prophet determines the rules to serve as the basis of social and cultural
relationships, economic, judicial, and political dealings, matters of war and
peace, and international affairs. The Prophet does not transmit merely a code
of rituals commonly regarded as `religion.‘ He brings with him a whole
system of thought and action which is called Ad Din (the complete way of life)
in Islamic terminology. (Maududi, 1995, 6)
While modern Western states evolved secular systems as a result of ugly experiences with
internecine warfare and horrific religious excesses, Islamists point to failures of secularist
was a reasonable explanation for their nations‘ prostration: the corrupt secular state that
did not follow the wise guidance of the Koran.
The Threat from Outside Forces
Many within the Arab world cannot understand why they have been laid low by events, and
they are willing to believe that the best explanation is that a conspiracy of outside forces
keeps the community down. This is not necessarily a view of the ignorant: it is often found
among those who assume that a just society would result in just outcomes. How, they ask,
can it be that their people suffer—they remain poor, and their future is so bleak—despite
their wealth, history, and devotion? The clearest answer is often ―outside forces‖ (Kuran,
2001). Thus, Israel becomes a powerful puppeteer that manipulates Western media against
the Arabs. Arab countries are maneuvered into conflict by Christians, Jews, and Atheists, or
by other unseen forces.
The Free Masons [which are controlled by Jews] ...control all the kaffir
[non-Muslim] institutions and systems in the world today ...they are
planning the mass sterilization of women ...they are able to instigate wars,
provide the arms for the two sides to be able to fight it, at a price of course,
and then take over control, or strengthen control if they already have it, once
the fighting is over, any opposition to them having been considerably
weakened by the inevitable consequences of war. (Thompson, 1995, 48-49)
The Islamist conspiracy viewpoint is similar to those seen in political cults (Tourish &
Wohlforth, 2000, 31-33).
Even well educated individuals within the Islamic society hold conspiratorial views, and such
views should not be dismissed with derision. As with Holocaust denial, these views left
unchallenged lead to wild leaps of logic incompatible with reality but compatible with
extremist views. The United States suffered from the results of these conspiracy theories
and had difficulty getting Muslims to believe that it was bin Laden—not a double—on the
infamous video, chortling over the deaths on September 11.
Islam as a ―Theory of Everything‖
In the modern West religion tends to be treated as a private matter, with civil institutions
providing a neutral arena for political discourse between various political, religious, and
social factions. As Supreme Court Justice Samuel Miller stated in 1872, ―The law knows no
heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect‖
(Menendez &Doerr, 2002, 175). Islam, however, makes no distinction between private and
public conduct, and does not distinguish between religious and civil matters. Many Muslims
agree that every institution of society and every department of government must be guided
by Islamic law. Laws based upon human authority are blasphemous (Maududi,1995, 15,
28). Mohammed was the last prophet, but he also was an administrator and a warrior
(Sullivan, 2001, 45).
Islamists argue that Islam provides answers to nearly all questions of daily life:
The Prophet determines the rules to serve as the basis of social and cultural
relationships, economic, judicial, and political dealings, matters of war and
peace, and international affairs. The Prophet does not transmit merely a code
of rituals commonly regarded as `religion.‘ He brings with him a whole
system of thought and action which is called Ad Din (the complete way of life)
in Islamic terminology. (Maududi, 1995, 6)
While modern Western states evolved secular systems as a result of ugly experiences with
internecine warfare and horrific religious excesses, Islamists point to failures of secularist
