Opposition movements..shunned 2 central tenets of al Qaeda: violence, fanaticism; Al Qaeda becoming

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Opposition movements..shunned 2 central tenets of al Qaeda: violence, fanaticism; Al Qaeda becoming irrelevant?
Feb 28, 2011 4:38pm by Mickel Adzema

people in country after country have risen to topple their leaders — and Al Qaeda has played absolutely no role.

the motley opposition movements that have appeared so suddenly and proved so powerful have shunned the two central tenets of the Qaeda credo: murderous violence and religious fanaticism. The demonstrators have used force defensively, treated Islam as an afterthought and embraced democracy, which is anathema to Osama bin Laden and his followers.

Will the terrorist network shrivel slowly to irrelevance?

For many specialists on terrorism and the Middle East, though not all, the past few weeks have the makings of an epochal disaster for Al Qaeda, making the jihadists look like ineffectual bystanders to history while offering young Muslims an appealing alternative to terrorism.

“Democracy is bad news for terrorists. The more peaceful channels people have to express grievances and pursue their goals, the less likely they are to turn to violence.”

over all, he said, developments in the Arab countries are a strategic defeat for violent jihadism.

“These uprisings have shown that the new generation is not terribly interested in Al Qaeda’s ideology,”
Opposition movements..shunned 2 central tenets of al Qaeda: violence, fanaticism; Al Qaeda becoming irrelevant?