Understanding the History of Secret Societies and Jihad
The newest War on Terror is the one nominally against Islamic extremism. To the revolutionary, violence is defense against an oppressive state. To the jihadi , it’s the defense of Islam against infidel godless materialism. But how did this Islamic extremism find its footing? Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī The notion that Islam was under attack by the West began with an obscure nineteenth century figure, Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī. His birthplace and real name are uncertain. Born in 1838 or 1839, probably in today’s Iran, al-Afghani watched Islamic lands fall helplessly under the military, cultural, and financial dominance of the Europeans. Al-Afghani believed that only the creation of a Pan-Islamic consciousness would reverse this domination. Yet personally, Al-Afghani didn’t reject Western material progress, and took almost no interest in theology. Some thought he seemed more at home in Europe than in the Middle East. In 1868, al-Afghani was initiated into a Masonic lodge in Egypt. He later