Max Scheler and the psychopathology of the terrorist

Modern Age, Summer, 2005 by Manfred Frings

  There were reports and even pictures of rejoicing in the streets in
  Arab and other Muslim cities at the news from New York. In part, the
  reaction was one of envy--a sentiment that was also widespread, in a
  more muted form, in Europe. Among the poor and the wretched there was
  a measure of satisfaction--for some indeed of delight--in seeing the
  rich and self-indulgent Americans being taught a lesson. (6)

The religion of Islam dominates the state and governments in Muslim lands. In his essay "Politics and Morals," Max Scheler showed that the relationship between religion and the state has (among others) two major alternatives:

  A religion can be above the state and can direct and therefore have
  influence on politics. In this case the state is subordinated to a
  religion by varying degrees. On the other hand, the state and its
  politics can be dominant over a religion, and have direct influence on
  a religion. In that case religion is subordinated to the state by
  whatever degrees, which--like Western separation of church and state--
  is rejected by Islam because both are based on human and not Divine
  Law. (7)

There are many historical examples of these alternative possibilities. During the Middle Ages in Europe, for instance, the state was more often than not obsequious to the Vatican. At the beginning of modernity, however, the relationship was reversed in Europe and has lasted up to present times (with some exceptions among smaller religious groups, such as, the Amish, the Mennonites, and others).

Nothing like the Western dominance of the state over religion can be found in the world of Islam. Since Muhammad (c. 570-632), or roughly since the seventh century, the submission to Allah has been the priority over the submission to the state. Today, Islam possesses colossal power over state and politics (with unresolved exceptions as those of the Sunni in Iraq). The tenet that religious power must have priority over state and politics explains much of Islam's frequent critique of the secularized West and its manmade laws and institutions such as democracy, the United Nations, and systems of secular courts. Western democracies practice tolerance toward all religions, including Islam, but in Islamic belief this indulgent tolerance is a concoction of human laws by infidels.

Given our description of the formation of the psychic components of resentment, of the geopolitical spread of Islam, of its unrelenting theocratic frame of mind, and of the primacy of its religion over the state, we are hopefully prepared to answer the question of Islam's impotency and its role in terrorism. Before the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe, Islam had been a powerful historical force, more so than is generally recalled. During and after the seventh century Muslim armies converted or conquered Syria, Palestine, the northern part of Africa, and Iran. They successfully invaded Spain, Portugal, and Italy, including Rome. During the thirteenth century, the Tartars overcame Russia. Muslims conquered Constantinople and some territories in the Balkans. For several centuries their power was also established militarily and, in addition, they developed an economic network reaching as far as India and China. There had also been an expansion of Muslim arts and sciences beyond those available in Europe before the Renaissance.