Friday, November 10, 2006

Analysis: Why 'Islamofascism' May Create New U.S. Enemies

"It is fairly clear that the people we are describing are all fascist," says former conservative Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also a historian by training. "They are all prepared to use the power of the state to impose a totalitarian system on others." -- But the problem with using a term like "Islamofascism," says historian Michael Burleigh, "is that it suggests to many people that Islam itself is fascist." -- Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl, who teaches Islamic law at UCLA, agrees. "The thing I don't think most Americans realize," says Abou El Fadl, "is all this Islam-hating materials, they reach the Muslim world." -- "They [people in the Muslim world] are well aware that practically every single week, a new Islam-hating book comes out, a book that talks about Islam as an inherently evil religion, an inherently dangerous religion," says Abou El Fadl. -- For former Pentagon advisor Richard Perle, the term "fascist" or "fascism" is an emotive term, which is applied with precision by very few people. Perle doesn't use the term "Islamic fascism." But he does believe that the fight faced by Western countries today is very similar to the fights they faced in the past -- the struggles between a liberal democratic vision and a totalitarian one.

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