ABSTRACT
Two hallmarks of radical Islam are relevant to this chapter. The first is the quest for authenticity—that is, for solutions and cures to present day problems and maladies of the Islamic world that fit in with the traditions or essence of Muslim religion and historical experience; Islam should not be judged by values and panaceas produced by the West. The second is the turning inward: The problems of contemporary Islam are mostly internal; one should thus avoid extemalization of guilt and zero in on eradicating the "enemies within". Local Jews are never mentioned, for they barely exist; and as for the Arab-Israeli conflict the importance of this "external challenge" has been questioned by the radicals. Although the radicals view the fight against Israel as jihad, they assign to it a very low priority, so much so that they even oppose many specific acts taken by the authorities to engage in action.
