Developments in the investigation of the bombing of New York’s World Trade Center point strongly to a conspiracy carried out by militants driven by Islamic fundamentalism, a decades-old movement that has spawned an increasing number of terror groups in recent years.
In Egypt, Moslem terrorists have managed to scare off tourists in a series of attacks that have killed several foreigners.
In Algeria, the government is engaged in a fight for survival against a well-organized and frequently violent Islamic opposition.
In Lebanon, the Hezbollah organization launches Katyusha rocket attacks and guerrilla raids against Israel and its allies in the border security zone.
The list goes on and on.
Turkey suffers from Moslem fundamentalist terrorism; Sudan has already become a Moslem fundamentalist state and hosts training base for militants; and in Morocco, the reign of King Hassan II is threatened by Moslem extremists.
Israel, of course, faces Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, where militants have killed several Israeli soldiers in daring attacks during recent months.
But Islamic fundamentalism has also made great inroads among Israeli Arabs by providing basic services to the community and stirring religious awareness. This trend has some experts wondering whether the foundations of future violent rebellion are being laid within Israel proper.
This fear is prompted by the fact that an overarching aim of the Islamic movement is to replace secular political rule with theocratic Islamic rule.
Underpinning the entire movement throughout the Middle East and beyond, drawing on vast financial and political resources, is the theocratic regime of Iran.
The late leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, would be proud of his current-day ideological disciples, now spread throughout the world, even to secular New York.
Recent developments in the World Trade Center bombing investigation suggest that the prime suspects have connections to Islamic fundamentalist groups.
IRAN PLAYS A CRITICIAL ROLE
Iran’s role in encouraging Islamic movements worldwide has been critical, providing help both directly and indirectly.
Iran organizes religious conventions and seminars, assembling religious and political leaders from all over the world, much like Moscow used to organize Communists.
It sends material and financial help to Moslem organizations not only in areas of conflict with the West, but also to the Moslem republics of the former Soviet Union.
In the case of Hezbollah, Iran even provides direct training by Iranian military personnel, as well as equipment and money.
There is no direct chain of command from Teheran to areas of operation such as the Israeli-held territories, Egypt and Lebanon. Each of these areas has created its own, independent Islamic movement, tailored after the specific needs of the local population.
The Sunni Moslems in Egypt and Israel will not accept the authority of the Shi’ite Moslems of Iran, but they look up to them as a model for success.
Hamas regards itself as part of the Moslem Brotherhood movement, operating in the Arab world since its founding in 1928 by Hassan al-Bana in Ismailia, Egypt.
The Moslem Brotherhood believes in correcting social in justice prior to jihad, or holy war, against the infidels.
In some states, such as Jordan, the Brotherhood has entered politics by sponsoring candidates in parliamentary elections. It has walked a thin line between trying to effect change by working within the system and rejecting it altogether.
The Brotherhood has always been active in providing social services to the needy, while at the same time keeping in mind its ultimate goal of replacing the secular regime with the just rule of Islam.”
YOUTH GROUPS AND MEDICAL CLINICS
In the Israeli-administered territories, the Brotherhood has sponsored mainly educational, cultural, religious and social activities.
It has built mosques and kindergartens operated after-school activities for the youth, and supported libraries, medical clinics and charity organizations.
Its umbrella group, Al-Mujama al-Islami, was even officially recognized by the Israeli authorities in 1978.
A crucial change came 11 years later, with the creation of Hamas, the militant branch of the Moslem Brotherhood.
Hamas aspires not only to end Israeli control of the territories, but to bring about the destruction of the State of Israel.
It leader in the Gaza Strip, Sheik Ahmad Yassin, is serving a life sentence in an Israeli jail for his involvement in the murders of Israeli soldiers.
Another more militant arm of the Brotherhood is the Islamic Jihad movement, which has focused its efforts completely on military resistance, as opposed to social and cultural activities.
The Islamic Movement in Israel proper is very similar to the early stages of the Moslem Brotherhood in the territories, concentrating on social services, rather than political activities.
But the movement’s years of social work and support for infrastructure projects, such as paving roads in Arab villages, have born political fruit.
The movement now controls five municipalities in Israel including Umm el-Fahm, the second largest Arab town in Israel, after Nazareth, with a population of 25,000.
WAITING PATIENTLY FOR JUDGMENT DAY
The movement’s leaders, such as the major of Umm el-Fahm, Sheik Raed Salah Mahajneh, often express their views on political issues. They have for example, spearheaded a campaign for the return of the Palestinians deported by Israel to Lebanon.
But they have refrained from taking direct part in Israeli politics. Despite their growing public influence, they have so far chosen not to form a political party and run candidates in the general elections.
Among the more moderate fundamentalist leaders is Sheik Abdullah Nimer Darwish Darwish has said that if he lived in Egypt, he would have pushed to create an Islamic state. But since he lives in Israel, he realizes that goal is unattainable.
“Islam has a ladder of priorities, he said recently. “On the land of Palestine, there is the land and there are human beings, that’s me and you. Land has no soul God has created us from the land and given us spirit.
“Do I prefer land to human beings, or would I rather share the land and put an end to bloodshed? I prefer to share and wait patiently for Judgment Day.”
But as Moslem fundamentalists spill blood in violent attacks across the world, Darwish’s comments sound like a voice in the wilderness.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
