Identifying fear

[marct]

Hi Folks,

Let’s assume that we could clearly identify the means he uses to frighten us, beyond what we see on the surface. (I can already see lots of questions here, like, is he actually frightening us or are we doing it ourselves?). What might they be?

You know, I think Dayuhan hit the nail on the head with this:

One thing I think the AQ inner circle really fears is irrelevance: a day when Muslims no longer hate or fear the west, when the word "jihad" inspires as little passion as the word "crusade" inspires among modern Christians. A jihadi is nothing without a jihad.

Given that "jihad" has a double meaning, personal and social struggle, my suspicion is that what they are truly terrified of is having their nice little Manichean model of "reality" made irrelevant . I also suspect that they are terrified of anyone noticing how Manichean their model actually is, although I have seen a few indicators that some mullas are starting to get worried about it (specifically about their apparent rejection / militarization of personal jihad and of the apparent ease with which their fellow travellers use declarations of takfir against any who disagree). I also find it quite interesting that their movement is often directly opposed by many of the followers of al-Ghazali, who tend to privilege the concept of personal jihad in its spiritual sense.