by Waleed Aly of the Islamic Council of Victoria, The Age, 16th July2005

If Osama bin Laden is any guide, terrorist demagogues, like cult leaders, are charismatic figures who espouse heretical views that stand condemned by the mainstream. Their discourse is absolute and adversarial - the cult is pure, the world is evil - and in the process, the leadership emerges as the exclusive source of authority. Thus are the followers' critical faculties suspended. With no external, stabilising influence, any action mandated by the leadership is uncritically executed. Murder-suicide suddenly becomes "reasonable".

But most tellingly, it is the vulnerability of cult members that is so tragically exploited. It is no coincidence that suicide bombers are almost exclusively pawns: the young, anonymous and dispensable. Terrorist leaders may speak absurdly of heavenly virgins gained through self-inflicted "martyrdom" - but they seem incongruously unwilling to claim the prize for themselves.

...

I believe Australian Muslims' most meaningful role will necessarily be focused on preventing cult formation. Here there is hope. One feature of cult members is that they are often overcompensating for some kind of feeling of guilt. This creates a spiritual void that the cult often fills. (It comes as no surprise at all that one of the alleged London bombers, Hasib Hussain, suddenly became fervently religious 18 months ago after being a wild drinker.)

Our failure as mainstream Muslims has been our negligence in providing the alternative narrative to fill this spiritual void. Anyone familiar with the Muslim community will know stories of those who convert to, or rediscover, Islam and adopt the radical views filling the gap left by the mainstream's relative inactivity.

Ultimately then, it is not enough, or even particularly useful, for mainstream Muslims to condemn cults within because they are already defined by their very marginality. We must forcefully provide the presently dormant alternative.