May 6, 2013Dear Sir,Life is cyclical. Back during the 60s it was the in-thing to consider oneself a leftist, particularly if you were driven by any social cause or felt to be a victim of imperialist capitalism. Communism was for the "would-be liberators" the ideology of change, justice and liberation.Things haven't changed much for those who have been recent victims of injustice and/or loss of economic mobility happening as a result of the changing global axioms of political dynamics and influence.The break-up of the USSR will continue to have knock-on effects of resentments flowing through many of the now splintered nations that have emerged. Anti-American rhetoric runs high in much of Sino Europe, many will never forget or forgive the US for the role it played while Mikhail Gorbachev tried to get financial assistance from the US for his reforms. While he was negotiating funds the reform died on the vine and the once powerful USSR broke into several pieces.Resentment filled the void as communism fell and the newborn radicalism turned to jihadist philosophy. The mutual failure in or contemporary world to identifying and promulgate a humanist philosophy as a catalyst for a meaningful and recognisable way upward has led to disturbing alternatives. The world needs a truth that could attract, militate and inspire those at the bottom or even in the middle but feeling systemically marginalised into constructive activism.Unfortunately, ideology is also a victim. True Marxism became a victim and beguiled a couple of generations towards totalitarianism. Islam is the latest victim, because it's real truth is largely an unknown, hence the name has played host to fallacies. I think we can still remember the term "black Muslim". The black part was correct but the rest could be termed, as what some may refer to as black nationalism, black liberation, upward mobility and/or even a struggle for identity, but not Islam. Today, we have jihadist with a fundamentalist argument but who, because of negative experiences, are essentially anti-westernist and full of resentment and lacking a world class true human or spiritually based philosophy. They, like those who used the misappropriate term black Muslim, use the term Islam with zeal and belief however [it] is a misappropriation to justify their acts of terrorism.There is enough truth even in the American Revolution to catapult the whole world to a new realisation of our human worth and how to achieve mutual harmony. The American dream or ideal has been clouded by the American nationalist experience and imperialism. In fact the true Islamic ideal and the American ideal can be proven to be one and the same. Our young people and our new idealist must come to the philosophy of a shared and indivisible universe. The jihadist must give up the sword and bombs and adapt the true battle of engaging the intellect and the spirit of love for humanity against hate and tyranny. They must fight the real fight to establish human compassion.KHALID WASI