Struggle For The Soul Of Islam

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The prospect of Islamic radicals' seizing power in Pakistan is frightening to U.S. officials, who say such a shift could bolster the Taliban's revival in Afghanistan, scuttle the hunt for bin Laden and give terrorists freer access to nuclear material. In its final report, the independent U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks recommended that Washington pony up more aid to defend Musharraf against the extremists. The trouble is, further U.S. meddling risks inflaming public opinion even more. "It is the ego of the West that is responsible for all this fighting," says Mufti Abdul Noor, 31, a teacher at Islamabad's largest religious school. "We do not want to interfere in the affairs of America or the West. We just want to live our own lives. But we are not being allowed."

"MY OMAR IS BACK"

For Americans, the most critical front in the war for Islam's future lies in the country that is home to 135,000 U.S. troops: Iraq. Among the many unintended consequences of this war is that some of the most harrowing terrorist acts being carried out in the name of Islam are taking place in a country the U.S. had hoped to transform into a model of secular democracy in the Middle East. The chances that Iraq will resemble that ideal soon are all but gone. The danger now is that control could slip into the hands of jihadists--as parts of the so-called Sunni triangle already have--intent on establishing their own fundamentalist regime that could become a breeding ground for terrorists. That gloomy prospect means there will not be any significant U.S. troop withdrawal in the near future.

If the U.S. hopes to find a way out, it will need the help of Iraqis like Mohammed Shakr. In his worst moments, Shakr was worried about losing his son completely to the radicals. He feared his son would go off to join jihad, to be one more weapon in a war that seems to have no end. To get his son back, Shakr relied on Omar's childhood friends who were not religious zealots. They began to visit Omar, invite him out, go on joyrides and reminisce about old times. To his father's relief, the strategy seemed to be working. Omar shaved off the long beard he had grown. He even began wearing T shirts and jeans again, instead of the short dishdasha. Still, his father was worried, so he broached a sensitive subject with his son. Would he consider marriage if his parents could come up with the right bride? To Shakr's delight, Omar didn't hesitate. Yes, he said, and within two days, he had settled on his wife-to-be. Soon he was spending all his time chatting with her on the phone. "My father's actions turned my life in a new direction," says Omar. "Things that were important to me before are not very important now." Mohammed says his son's transformation is complete. "My Omar is back."

In Mohammed's mind, one soul has been brought back from the brink, the one that matters most to him--his son. Small battles in the fight for Islam's future matter too. In the Islamic world now, too many stand at the same divide, between fanaticism and normality. Three years after Sept. 11, the questions are still the same: How many will make it back, as Omar did? And how many won't?