UMichigan professor of history Juan Cole takes an interesting perspective on the latest words of Osama bin Laden. He argues that by taking a position on the side of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, a terrorist hated by Shiites and Kurds in Iraq, bin Laden has effectively "shot himself in the foot." Cole's argument is that bin Laden's only hope by taking such a position would be to turn the five million Sunni Muslims in Iraq into pro-al Qaeda, using many of them to increase the insurgency against the U.S.
However, not only has bin Laden taken the side of a hated killer, but he has also declared that any Muslim who takes part in the January Iraqi elections will be acting as an infidel because the Iraqi government does not currently recognize the Qu'ran as the basis of all law. This fatwa is in direct opposition to the ranking Shiite leader in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who declared that it is the duty of every Muslim in Iraq to take part in the election process, thereby giving the hand of Allah a direct role in the election of the new government.
Dr. Cole argues that taking this position on Iraq is a desparate move on the part of al Qaeda and bin Laden. It represents an extreme position in which he has willingly abandoned the Shiite population in hopes of recruiting a miniscule number of Sunni to his cause. Even most of the Sunni in Iraq, Cole argues, consider the Wahhabism of bin Laden an extreme and misguided form of Islam. As a result they are unlikely to follow the guidance of al Qaeda in any event, let alone now that bin Laden has sided with al-Zarqawi.
Cole presents an interesting point of view, but I am not entirely convinced, to be perfectly honest, that he has a clue what he is talking about. Certainly, bin Laden's position would help to bring about the civil war in Iraq between the Shiite and Sunni that al Qaeda and al-Zarqawi so greatly long to provoke. Any rhetoric that helps to divide the various groups within Iraq while at the same time making the United States military the enemy of them all would represent a worthy challenge to the oral skills of bin Laden. As with most events that have led us to this point, I think Professor Cole (as have many others) continues to underestimate the political and theological abilities of Osama bin Laden, and the unifying attributes of the al Qaeda banner.
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You should read Jane's perspective on this.
www.armiesofliberation.com
The 'Armies of Liberation' website (see link above from Lucifer) makes some interesting points about bin Laden's role in motivating the Arab populations of South Asia and the Middle East to demand reforms of government. Instituting democratic reforms in many areas--Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, and Arabia.
I must argue from my perspective, however, that I think many of Jane's citations of democratic reforms may just be wishful thinking. I agree that any democratic movements in the Arabian penisula and surrounding areas are positive activities that should be reinforced with more than just rhetoric; however, to conclude that bin Laden is having a greater affect on democracy than on insurgency would be a fantasy at this time. Let us hope that this fantasy can become a reality before more Americans, Iraqis, Arabs, Kurds, Persians, Syrians, Indians, Paks, Turks, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or Hindus die.
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