With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Fact & Fiction

An Interview with Professor Daniel Chirot About Islam

by Katie Brynn
Ms. Brynn is an intern with HNN.
In an effort to understand what is happening in the Islamic world, HNN is interviewing scholars in Islamic stuidies. Daniel Chirot is professor of international relations at the University of Washington.

What do Osama bin Laden and other Islamic extremists want? What should we know about them?

Professor Chirot makes the point that we call those responsible for the attacks Fundamentalists,"but we should also call them puritans." Like American Puritans of old, the Islamic extremists believe that the modern world is dangerously corrupt. They warn that God is going to punish the corrupt for their sins just as He did in Biblical times.

Mr. Chirot says that"these radical Muslims have a goal, and that is to drive America and the West out of the Muslim world so they can purify Islam and bring back what they consider to be pure genuine forms of Islam that follow the original commands of the Koran." He emphasizes that these groups view the United States as a source of the pollution that is causing the dissolution of Muslim values. In particular, the extremists finger the American media, Hollywood included, for allegedly spreading corrupt values around the world. Professor Chirot says that Islamic extremists believe the United States"supports corrupt governments in the Middle East, imports corrupt ways, and brings in all sorts of disgusting products." Additionally, he says,"the people who conducted this operation on September 11 believe that if they purify Islam and go back to the original Koran, they can restore the grandeur" that they once possessed.

Do the extremists really think they can defeat the United States?

Professor Chirot insists that Osama bin Laden and other extremists consider the United States not only corrupt but cowardly. They drew this conclusion on the basis of recent events.

ITEMWhen the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, six people were killed and thousands more injured; only a few people were arrested by the Clinton administration in connection with the attacks.

ITEMWhen the two U.S. embassies were blown up in Africa, 213 people were killed; the Clinton administration launched a few missiles in response.

ITEMDuring the Somalia conflict, eighteen Americans were killed and one of their bodies was dragged through the streets amidst celebratory activities; President Clinton pulled the troops out of Somalia.

ITEMWhen the USS Cole was destroyed, seventeen American lives were lost; there was no response by America.

The conclusion the extremists reached was that"if they hurt us enough, we will just get out of the Middle East, get out of the Islamic World, and let them conduct their puritan revolutions."