Taliban: World must now accept that Islamists are here to stay – Fani-Kayode

 

Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation, has said that the world must now live with the fact that Islamists are here to stay.

 

The former minister was reacting to the defeat of US troops by the Taliban in Afghanistan, who now rule the country.

 

Recall Afghanistan was plunged into turmoil after Taliban took over the country, invaded the Kabul, the nation’s capital and occupied the Presidency.

 

This happened after the United States of America pulled out its military after spending about two decades in the war ravaged country.

 

“One of the things we will have to come to terms with no matter how difficult and unpleasant it may be is the fact that the overwhelming majority of people in Afghanistan want and support the Taliban. Had this not been the case they could not have won this 20-year war.

 

 “Militant & radical Islam is almost irresistible in battle because its adherents are committed unto death.

 

Those that are committed to liberation through jihad are extremely difficult to contend with because their ideological commitment is total& religious beliefs sacrosanct.

 

“You cannot fight a man who is not afraid to die and who considers it an honour to be killed in defence of his faith. That is the Salafist and Wahabbi doctrine and philosophy and in many ways it is powerful and compelling even though I deplore the violence that goes with it.

 

“Islam is a unifying force amongst its adherents & a powerful rallying cry and point for those who opt to resist what they regard as bondage, injustice & tyranny.

 

“Sadly Christianity lost that power years ago when it became watered down by liberalism, humanism and the permissive society which essentially rejected all the old Christian norms and values and established the secular state.

 

 “The Church was also relegated in its authority when it came to matters of governance and barred from exerting any political influence.

 

“Consequently as Christianity waned in its political power, Islam grew stronger.

 

The Shia Islamists of Iran, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, defeated the Shah of Iran and his American allies through a people’s revolution in 1979 which has endured till today.

 

“The Islamists of Afghanistan, through Al Qaeda, defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980’s and in 2021 they have defeated the Americans through the Taliban.

 

“The world must now accept the fact that the Islamists are here to stay and that whether we like it or not sooner or later other nations in the African, Arab and Islamic world may follow their path.

 

Take it or leave it, this is the bitter truth.”