Islamism in Theory and Practise, and A Modest Proposal. posted by Richard Seymour

Islamism Good, Islamism Bad...

Yesterday I suggested that there were circumstances under which socialists ought to support Islamists - namely when they were fighting against tyranny and oppression. It follows that there are circumstances in which we ought not to, and here are two examples which I believe illustrate the difference.

The Madhi Army is growing in strength and number, a particular surge in recruitment following a particularly bloody clash in Sadr City:

Residents of this vast, impoverished area of over one million saw US troops battle members of the Mehdi Army early yesterday morning. According to Agence FrancePresse, hospitals counted 18 civilians killed in the fighting, but Captain Brian O'Malley of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, operating in the area, said US forces killed 26 Iraqis, all of them militiamen loyal to Muqtada Al-Sadr.



The heavily resisted assault on targets in Sadr City by US forces came less than a day after the US 1st Cavalry Division completed a weapons purchasing program in the district, through which the Army bought assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades, mortars and artillery shells, among other weapons, "at or above market prices." The Army boasted. that thousands of weapons were turned over by Sadr City residents, but the real effect of the program was unclear at the end of last yesterday's fighting, which was possibly the fiercest this neighborhood has seen since tensions between US forces and Muqtada Al-Sadr escalated in late March.



As men congregated around the newly rebuilt office of Muqtada Al-Sadr in order to join his militia, Sheikh Hassan Al-Adari, a spokesman for Al-Sadr, claimed that many of the people killed last night were civilians and said such a slaughter will only serve to draw angry Iraqis to the resistance.



"It's normal to see people coming here from all over Baghdad to join us in defending against the occupiers," he said, "especially when the Americans are killing civilians and attacking our holy places."

On the other hand, in Bangladesh,

A 100,000-strong pro-Taliban group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB),
previously known as the Jama'atul Mujahedin is operating a private army that
terrorises locals and Leftists in northern Bangladesh, allegedly at the
behest of local police and politicians.

The Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), previously known as the
Jama'atul Mujahedin, is accused of killing at least five alleged underground
Leftists and injuring many more since it surfaced last month after
reportedly operating underground for six years. The JMJB is said to be the
youth front of the outlawed militant group Harqat-ul-Jihad.

The group claims to target outlawed Leftists known as Sarbaharas, members of
the Purbo Bangla Communist Party. But terrorised villagers accuse the JMJB
of raping women, harassing villagers and flaunting firearms, swords and
other weapons. When local dailies began reporting on the apparently
100,000-strong JMJB, group members reverted to lying low. ("Islamist private army rises in Bangladesh", Hindustan Times, 17th May 2004).

A Modest Proposal...

Meanwhile, this fool will get no sympathy. And it looks like the US are deciding to take seriously an alleged peace offer from Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr has made these offers several times, and it has so far amounted to diddly-squat on account of US intransigence. At the same time, Sadr's own aides are denying that any such offer has been made:

Ahmed Shibani, al-an al-Sadr aide, said there was "no truth" that a final agreement had been struck and that al-Rubaie "is talking on his own."

Well, don't worry, guys. If I were you, I should make the peace deal, see if you can get yourself a slot in the interim government. Then you will have mandatory powers over the British army whom you can then send into combat with the Americans. Beautiful.