ISIS, Imperialism and the Roots of Islamophobia pt. 1

Propaganda

Since 9/11 and the launch of the global War on Terror we have been told that we live under a constant growing threat of radical “political Islam”. This threat was first embodied in the form of Al Qaeda, and now since 2013 it has morphed into ISIS, a brutal force that has dominated large parts of Syria and Iraq and now claims terror attacks around the world. The narrative that has been promulgated by the U.S. and other Western powers is that groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda are natural outgrowths of Islamic culture, which is itself inherently violent and irrational, and the only way to eradicate them is through forceful military intervention in the Middle East. In recent years this has been combined with growing hostility and Islamophobic persecution of minority Muslim populations in Europe and the U.S., particularly targeting refugees from Muslim majority countries like Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan who are fleeing devastating wars in those regions.

President Trump mobilized his campaign in large part around the fear and hatred of Muslims promoted by the War on Terror. As part of putting 'America First', Trump launched attacks in Syria and ratcheted up military operations in Afghanistan that are resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths every month. At the same time, the growing 'alt-right' fascist movement that has been emboldened by Trump’s presidency is united in it’s determination to demonize and attack Muslim communities as a part of a broader assault on vulnerable populations in the U.S..

What are the connections between “political Islam” and its extremist variants to the longstanding tradition of Western intervention in the Middle East? What have been the reasons for this intervention? Why has the Middle East historically been a prime military and political objective for the major powers of the world? And what can ordinary people do to both in the Middle East and in the United States as well as elsewhere, to actually challenge the systems of violence and oppression that perpetuates this horrific state of affairs?

In this episode we turn to socialist activist, Wael Elasady, who has spoken widely on the question of Syria and led struggles for Palestinian rights and against US interventions in the Middle East. We follow Elasady as he lays out an expansive analysis of the economic, social and political conditions that have historically laid the groundwork for the emergence of Islamic terrorist organizations like ISIS and Al Qaeda. His analysis aims to clarify the reasons behind inter-imperialist meddling in the Middle East, how interventions have historically contributed to the rise of political Islam and its extremist elements, and why the US military is incapable of ending terrorist violence. It also draws concrete connections between accelerating growth of right-wing extremism across the West which promulgates Islamophobia, and the growth of global capitalism. Finally, Elasady offers a critical examination of the current weakness of the anti-war movement in the US and how the politics of international solidarity can help rebuild a mass struggle against both US military interventions and imperialism as a whole.

For additional sources on this topic, check out:
"Morbid Symptoms", Gilbert Achcar, analysis of the counter-revolution throughout the Middle East and North Africa: https://wearemany.org/a/2016/07/morbid-symptoms

"Political Islam", Deepa Kumar, exploration of the modern roots of 'political Islam: https://isreview.org/issue/76/political-islam-marxist-analysis

"Iraq, Syria and a multisided counterrevolution", Michael Karadjis, analysis of the connection between ISIS, counterrevolution and imperialism in Syria and Iraq: https://socialistworker.org/2014/07/02/iraq-syria-and-counterrevolution

"Islam and Islamophobia", Deepa Kumar, study of the rise of Islamophobia as a tool of Western imperialism in the Middle East and North Africa: http://www.isreview.org/issues/52/islamophobia.shtml

Along with our originally produced soundtrack, this episode features music from electronic ambient artist, Loscil. You can find these tracks on his open source album, "Stases". https://archive.org/details/one023