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In the days and nights after the smoke had cleared, and the few remaining survivors had been pulled from the debris of the fallen World Trade Center, the countries and independent states of the world were faced with a choice: Would they choose to support America, and in turn its belief in post-Enlightenment theories and practices, or would they instead choose to side with the terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists responsible for the attacks, men whose medieval outlooks had lead them to ignore reason and tolerance in the name of militant religiosity. For the countries that believed that the fundamental rights of man still included freedom, liberty and property, the choice was clear, and they made it without delay. They chose civilization.
To fully understand what is meant by the term “post-Enlightenment”, however, a look back to western Europe in the 16th century is necessary. It was during this time that a monumental transformation first began to take shape; a revolution that would ultimately liberate the West from the constraints that had always hindered the progress of the traditional, agrarian societies of old. The thoughts and teachings of the Scientific Revolution, and later t
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The final conclusion that can be reached from observing the present-day conflict is that the war that must ultimately be fought between the West and the East is not going to be a battle of military might against strategic terrorism, but rather an ideological battle between the principles of the Enlightenment – reason and tolerance, liberality and individualism – and the convictions of Islamic fanaticism. Political, social and religious reforms never occurred; instead, more extreme versions of religious and political systems took root, touting the defence of “their” causes and beliefs in the face of the “enemy” as the only priority. Today the world is witnessing a similar upheaval in developing countries, especially those ruled by Islamic regimes, as they fight to make their own journey towards modernity. As long as terrorism and mass murder in the name of fundamentalist belief are allowed to be taught almost from birth to such a disturbingly large percentage of the population in the Middle East, the violence will inevitably continue. Men like Newton and Galileo, through their theories and discoveries, provided the tools for a new, modern society to base itself upon innovation and the development of technology rather than simple agriculture and military strength. And until they do they will never be able to see eye-to-eye, or perhaps more importantly, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers from the West. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that is through terrorist bombings of embassies and other political institutions, assassinations of opposition leaders and supporters alike, and ultimately the killing of over 5,000 civilians caught in two of the most recognizable symbols of Western technology and prosperity that these people fight to spread their one and only message: Either you are a believer or you are an infidel. The man of modern civilization would never suffer beneath autocratic and absolute rule the way the man who came before him had, for the power had finally been transferred into the hands of the society as a whole. The terrorist organizations and dictatorships such as the Taliban that control most of the Muslim world truly believe that it is their mission to take up the sword, so to speak, against all those who deny Allah and his Messenger, and those who once believed but have since fallen away.
The present-day conflict, therefore, comes down to battle between those who are willing to embrace the principles of the Enlightenment, and those who feel they must reject it. In turn, the great thinkers and philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire provided the commentary necessary for the fundamental changes in social, political, intellectual and religious thought that inevitably followed. The church and state remained inseparable, technology and innovation were all but condemned (except when necessary to gain and secure power), and the legal system crumbled, controlled solely by fundamentalist radicals who still believed in the absolute authority of laws established by 7th century Islam.
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