Al-Qaida members are a minority of a minority of a minority of the Muslim faith but consider themselves the only true believers, said Mary Habeck, associate professor in the strategic studies program at Johns Hopkins University.
Habeck, an internationally known expert on political violence, a best-selling author, historian and former National Security Agency staffer, on Thursday night presented "Al-Qaida and Islam: What's the Real Connection?" at this year's Crader Lecture at the Rose Theatre at Southeast Missouri State University.
Habeck offered insight into the history of al-Qaida and of Islam and its sects.
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Habeck said, Americans have been involved in a debate about whether al-Qaida had any relation to Islam. Most Americans are not Muslims and therefore don't have any connection to the faith, she said.
Most public figures also don't talk about it. The result is public silence that has created more anxiety than necessary about the nature of Islam, Habeck said.
Al-Qaida members claim to be Muslims acting in the interest of the religion. Those who join the group, however, may have no religious background, education or training.
There are those who believe al-Qaida has no relation to Islam and others who think it is what Islam is all about. The latter position has been taken by some public figures, Habeck said.
The way she understands al-Qaida is it's a violent sect of Islam that has killed far more Muslims than non-Muslims and been excoriated by the larger Muslim world.
There are about 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. She noted most Muslims are found outside Arab countries.
"The religion itself is as diverse as the people who practice it," Habeck said.
Extremists, such as al-Qaida members, make up less than 1 percent of 1 percent of the faith and believe only violence can create a Muslim state. Habeck said the sect thinks it is the only one that has the right to decide what constitutes a real Muslim, and if someone doesn't adhere to their beliefs, they can be killed.
In her opinion, Habeck said, al-Qaida members see themselves as true believers and think all other members of the faith are Muslims in name only. "They believe what they're practicing is the real Islam," she said.
Hafez Amer of Cape Girardeau said Habeck did a good job of explaining Islam and separating it from al-Qaida and its beliefs "because they are actually hurting Islam and Muslims," Amer said.
Habeck said after the war in the 1970s against Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden believed the jihad movement had defeated and caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. And if that could be done to one superpower, why not to the United States?
Bin Laden believed only by destroying the U.S. could his brand of Islam create its vision of the Muslim world.
Habeck said she's always been interested in "big strategic questions."
In the mid-1990s, she educated herself about Islam. "And then after 9/11, I added in a look at extremists and how these people could claim to be Muslims and yet carry out this terrible act," Habeck said, referring to the terrorist attacks that killed 3,000 people.
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