The Al Qaeda Reader

"All aggregations of people around an irrational basis have in common, that their ideology in the end consists of a series of objections and rejections. They reject factual reality and the logical systems that describe it. They do not substitute a logical system of their own, because they don't need one, and it would be impossible to construct one anyway. Any attempt to construct a coherent theory would only produce a shambles. Objections against other ideas suffice. That they are 'so heterogeneous, so mind-bogglingly unfocused' does not matter. The motto of the irrationalist is 'Just say No!' The question is, what does Al-Qaida actually reject? Every indication suggests that ultimately, they reject our form of 'modern society'; the type of secularized, liberalized, gender-equal, religion-neutral, human-rights-based society that radiates out from the rich west and finds followers everywhere.... I think it is defensible to say that Al-Qaida hates freedom, in the liberal sense of the word. The modern usage of the term 'liberal' dates back to the early 19th century when political debate raged in the Spanish Cortes in Cadiz, in the part of Spain not occupied by the French, and the political left, those who rejected the feudalism of the old regime, were called liberales. The right-wing groups of the time were dubbed serviles, 'the slavish ones', because their political ideal was the absolutist reign of king Fernando VII. They were traditionalists who wanted to keep royal absolutism, the fiscal privileges of the nobility, the supremacy of the Catholic church, and even the inquisition.

It is probably best to think of Al-Qaidas leaders as serviles. They are traditionalist radicals. Their political dreams hark back to a golden age that never existed -- That is the irrationality of it.

The rank and file, of course, are likely to have their own very diverse motivations, and many recruits would just as likely fight under another banner, if that gave them an opportunity to take revenge for their grievances. Fighting an intellectual battle with Al-Qaida is probably rather pointless."

-- Mutatis Mutandis