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well as by Pakistani government to a large extent undermined the ability of the terror cells based inthese two countries to plan and coordinate activities elsewhere. Still afterwards the Islamic terrormovement did not recede, but became more active. Here the world actually deals with the radicalideology shared by numerous persons and organizations throughout the Moslem world (especially in itsArab part). These persons and organizations are hardly connected with Bin-laden although they sharehis ideas and methods of fighting. Israeli intelligence more appropriately calls such movement“International Jihad” instead of Al-Qaeda.One of the main problems associated with such kind of terrorism (as it usually happened throughoutthe history of humankind) is that governments threatened by it started to use this absolutely real threatas a pretext to pursue their own short-term political and economic goals. It’s especially true about theUS administration, which alongside the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan launched war in Iraq,justified (at least in part) by the terrorist threat the ruling regime of this country presented to the civilizedworld. Such threat have never been substantiated and after more than two years of occupation of Iraq,in 2005 the US president had to akwnowledge that the enemy his country is facing in Iraq is acombination of Sunni rejectionists (the biggest group), Saddamists (the next biggest group), and finally“terrorists affiliated with or inspired by Al Qaeda.” This last group, even being the smallest is the mostdangerous of the all, since nonwithstanding the outcome of Iraq quagmire (as the <strong>for</strong>mer US presidentClinton described it) this conflict provides such terrorists the unique opportunity to train numertousrecruits from around the Arab world under the actual battle conditions in order to use them at someother time against various targets throughout the world.The most difficult problem, associated with this kind of terrorism is that both governments andexperts are mistakenly defining it mostly as the reaction on Western activities inside the Moslem world,which are perceived as directed at humiliation and breaking up of Islam. Such approach is grosslyunderestimating the situation. Although, frankly (especially the US) has done enough to provide quiteviable pretext to interpret its actions this way, it still is not enough to provide convincing explanation whythousands of people are ready to sacrifice their lives in daily ruthless straggle. Hatred of Zionists,American imperialists or the anti-Islamic West as a whole does not provide enough motivation <strong>for</strong> therelentless resistance the West is running into inside the Moslem world.The reality is much more complex. Today the world is dealing with crisis of Islam as religious systemas well as with systemic crisis of civilization based on its norms and postulates. Terrorism is just one ofmanifestations of such crisis, but not the most important. Problem is that Islam has not changed muchsince its beginning more than 13 hundred years ago. Attempts to live in today’s globalised world byliterally following commandments originating in 7-th century does not allow Moslem countries tomodernize successfully – especially in cultural and social spheres, to say nothing about the economy.In reality there are just two relatively successful examples of modernization in the Islamic world –Turkey and Malaysia. Factually all other Moslem countries are lagging far behind their non-Moslemneighbours in global competition. 26Today Islam is facing inevitable re<strong>for</strong>ms in order to prepare its flock to deal successfully withchallenges of globalization era. In itself such task is nothing new and insolvable. Christianity underwentthe pretty similar process during the Re<strong>for</strong>mation. The difference is that Christian re<strong>for</strong>mation (in thiscase Protestant Re<strong>for</strong>mation) was caused by the inherent logic of development of [Western] Europeansociety. In case of Islam it has to re<strong>for</strong>m in order to adapt to rules of the global game offered by thecompetitive religions – Christianity and Judaism or either to propose new, more successful rules of thegame of its own. Besides Christianity could give this process as much time as it was necessary. Islamis on the contrary is very short of time.One may even interpret the ongoing process as clash of civilizations, where the active role played byMoslem side is <strong>for</strong>ced on it by the circumstances beyond its control. Fact that its reaction manifestsitself in the first place as mass fanaticism and terrorism should not come as a surprise. This is a specificmanifestation of protective mechanisms of the system. Re<strong>for</strong>mation process is spontaneous anddepends rather little on will of people directly engaged in it, or these outside the Moslem world whocome in contact with it. Maximum the developed world is able to do under the circumstances – to try todirect the processes in the direction, which may be the least damaging <strong>for</strong> both sides. Engagement inthe direct straggle against the terror worldwide in this case may in the end prove less efficient, thanreduction to the minimum attempts to inflict on the Moslem world changes that it can not and does notwant to accept.26 This is of course with exception of some rather small Persian gulf states.136

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