Here is a screengrab of university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh marching in the streets recently. They were carrying that jihadist flag. These are members of the Hizbut Tahrir - an international jihadi outfit with branches in about 50 countries around the world (Europe, Middle East, south and east Asia). They have a worldwide membership of about one million members or so (estimate).
The
Tablighi Jamaat has up to 80 million
followers (estimate) in 150 countries but they are not a political party
and they do not have any official membership rolls. The largest number
of their 80 million members come from "greater" India ie India, Pakistan
and Bangladesh. The Tabligh was founded in India and still remains a distinctly "Indian" and Urdu
speaking outfit.
The Nadhlatul Ulama in Indonesia has close to 100 MILLION members but they are based inside Indonesia. The Nadhlatul Ulama are quite astute because they have solidified their base in one country - Indonesia. Although not a political party they are getting involved in backing political candidates.
The Muhammadiyah religious movement in Indonesia is also sizeable with a membership of about 25 million people. They too are supposed to be non-political and operate as NGOs. It is a matter of time before both Nadhlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah in Indonesia get fully involved in politics.
The Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt claims to be another international pan-Islamic organisation but it is still an Egyptian outfit, with a membership of about two million inside Egypt (where it is banned). Despite their claims to be an international 'pan-Islamist' outfit the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is always almost exclusively Egyptian.
The Hizbut Tahrir was founded in Jerusalem in 1953. So its senior leadership is also "Palestinian". The present leader Ata Abu Rashta is a Palestinian. The Hizbut Tahrir has its headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. They do not like the Hezbollah.
Like the Muslim Brotherhood the Hizbut Tahrir wants to establish a world caliphate. If they are successful the Muslim Brotherhood will likely appoint an Egyptian as its caliph and if the Hizbut Tahrir establishes a world caliphate they will likely choose a Palestinian as their caliph.
If the Tabligh people were ever to establish a caliphate they will likely pick an Urdu speaking Indian as their caliph. If Nadhlatul Ulama rules the world, 'bisa di atur pak'. And on it will go.
The problem that will forever afflict all these diverse groups is that their problems began 1,400 years ago. And these problems have never been solved for the past 1,400 years. The Sunni-Shia divergences, the sectarian divergences, the schisms in the religion, major theological differences that have not been resolved over 1,400 years, the Salafi - Wahabi new kids on the block with their interpretations (also going back a thousand years).
So the present crop of the 21st century generation is basically trying to build a new house using construction techniques that have been in dispute for over a thousand years. They have not worked for over a thousand years. And they have not yet resolved their differences. But they still want to go ahead and build not just their house but the tallest skyscrapers in the world.
They will only come crashing down. A tale of the tail with no tail to the tale.
