Youssef Aboul-Enein - Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat

Table of Contents

FOREWORD

It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.

JOSEPH JOUBERT (FRENCH ESSAYIST AND MORALIST, 17541824)

In this fascinating book, Commander Aboul-Enein takes readers into an exploration that, in his view, delineates between Islam, a faith that gives comfort to over one billion people; Islamists, the millions who desire to see an Islamic character to their local governments and wish to attain this through a political process; and finally Militant Islamists, the adversaries who wish to impose a narrow form of Islam through violence upon a diverse Muslim community.

For years I have been an advocate for sailors and officers putting pen to paper, bringing to life their ideas in various publications. I have publicly stated that the people who want to do this country harm are doing so; they are thinkers and writers, and often highly effective strategic communicators. We as senior leaders can do no better service than to encourage the imagination and creativity of our officers as well as our enlisted personnel to read, think, write, and publish. Those willing to courageously put their ideas in print will ultimately bring us all closer to providing policy options that will advance Americas national interest.

I believe this book will provoke the kind of thought and reflection needed to define new ways of defending the interests of the United States around the globe and undermining al-Qaida ideologically. This is a book that will clearly stimulate debate and contribute directly to the national discussion of an important challenge ahead.

Commander Aboul-Enein is a scholar, naval officer, writer, thinker, leader, listener, and teacher who has contributed greatly to increasing our understanding of Islam from the national level to the individual soldier, sailor, airman, and marine. This is a culmination of Commander Aboul-Eneins essays, lectures, and myriad answers to questions posed to him by members of the United States Armed Forces and Federal Government of all ranks. It is a book intended to help us all understand one of the most complicated forces shaping our world in this unfolding and dangerous 21st century.

Adm. James G. Stavridis, USN
Miami, Florida
October 10, 2008

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are many individuals who made this work possible. First and foremost are the officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel within the U.S. armed forces and Department of Defense who attended my lectures on this topic and whose questions led to further inquiry, discovery, and refinement of the subject of this volume. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to engage with thousands of soldiers, sailors, airman, and marines over the years, traveling from Camp Pendleton, California, to Fort Benning, Georgia, and all bases in between, lecturing on Islam, Islamist groups, and violent Militant Islamists. Specifically my appreciation goes to Mr. Gary Greco and Ms. Jacky Hardy, who offered many mornings of stimulating debate, argumentation, and support for my efforts to reduce my lectures to a book. Mr. Tom Cutler of the Naval Institute Press must be recognized: he hounded me on an annual basis after our first association and friendship in 2002 to write this book. I am a letter writer, and over the years I have written hundreds of letters to officers, who include Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, USMC; Capt. David Tomlinson, MSC, USN; Capt. David Davis, MSC, USN (Ret.); Capt. Rick Cocrane, MSC, USN (Ret.); Capt. David Gibson, MSC, USN; Capt. William Frank, MSC, USN (Ret.); Capt. Eugene Smallwood, MSC, USN; Cdr. Robert Anderson, USN (Ret.); Lt. Cdr. Andrew Bertrand, MSC, USN; Lt. Cdr. Marrie Read, MSC, USN; and PS1 (AW/SW) David Tranberg, USN. In addition, I wish to acknowledge the support of my two brothers, Lt. Cdr. Faisal Aboul-Enein, USPHS, and 1st Lt. Basil Aboul-Enein, USAF; I am very proud that all three of us are in the uniformed service of the United States. Penning these letters offered a mental escape and further refined my thoughts on how to define the threat. In addition, the John T. Hughes Library and Library of Congress Near East Reading Room both provided not only valuable research material but quiet places to write. I am indebted also to retired shipmate CTIC David Ely, USN (Ret.) for his valuable assistance. Christopher Robinson brought life to my hand-drawn maps for this book. Military families are an integral part of Americas national security, and they support husbands and wives on the tip of the spear, battling in the field or in the arena of ideas, to improve our safety and challenge our adversaries.

I am also indebted to enlisted personnel, noncommissioned officers, officers, college professors, and policy makers who enabled me to have experiences in my Navy career, helped to manage difficult military seniors, and gave me the privilege of advising at the highest levels of the Defense Department. A successful military career requires many diverse mentors. In addition, this work could not have been possible without the support of my spouse, Cheryl Anne, who discussed the concepts of this book with me for long hours, or of my children, Maryam and Omar, who endured far too many days while I was traveling, in watch centers, involved in Defense Departmentlevel bilateral discussions, or deployedonly to have me return home thinking about this book. Finally, I must acknowledge my childhood education and exposure to the globe that my parents provided me, along with a love of the Arabic language, eloquence in English, and immersion in the history of the Middle East. Also shaping me as a youth were my grandparents, in particular my late maternal grandmother, who steeped me in her Ottoman heritage and taught me many things about the intricacies of the Middle East.

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