Tawfiq Hamid In Depth

Tawfik Hamid, former member of al-Zawari's terrorist organization, authored an article recently in the Wall St. Journal discussing the nature and source of radical Islam. Now he appears in an interview on Point of Inquiry where he discusses the same topics in much greater depth. Among the points he makes:

Radical Islam derives from the literalist interpretation of the Koran expoused by the Salafi / Wahhabi sect of Islam exported throughtout the world by Saudi Arabia.

Wahhabi / Salafi Islam has spread so quickly not only because of Saudi petrodollars, but also because it offers the most textually based interpretation of Islam.

Wahhabi / Salafi Islam is the cause of terrorism, and not Western policy towards the Middle East nor the Israeli Palestinian conflict, both of which are just red herrings.

Islamic violence will not end until there is a widely accepted reinterpretation of the Koran.

And much, much more. Download and listen to the interview here. The interview was posted on March 16, so it may be old news for some - but I just stumbled upon it and found it fascinating and informative.