Summary: This week marks the annual Islamic religious tradition known as the Hajj. All Muslims who are physically and financially capable are required, according to the tenants of Islam, to at least once in their lifetime make a pilgrimage to Mecca to worship Allah. islamic extremism<br> <br> The Hajj has been marked by varying degrees of controversy and tragedy in recent years. Last year over 2,000 people were killed when millions of the pilgrims gathering for the Hajj in Mecca resulted in a stampede where the victims were trampled to death by fellow Muslims. Shortly before the beginning of those same religious festivities a crane collapse at the Grand Mosque resulted in the death of 107 people.<br> <br> Saudi Arabia rules over the holy cities of Islam and is ruled by the Sunni Saud family making the stewardship of the holy cities a notably Sunni affair. Meanwhile, tragedies like these have served to inflame tensions between the Saudis and their Shiite neighbors in Iran and Yemen. The Shiites use the tragedies to demonstrate the corruption and irresponsibility which the Saudis have exercised over their holy cities of Islam.<br> <br> These sectarian tensions are merely the foreground of a greater crisis enveloping the Middle East and the religion of Islam. Even while millions of Muslims descend upon Mecca this week violent wars being waged in the name of Islam are being fought throughout the region. The Saudis have been at war with Yemen for decades but the recent levels of conflict have featured levels of atrocities on both sides that are unprecedented. Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary General recently confessed to the Saudis holding the UN financially hostage. When the UN condemned the Saudis for killing civilian children in their fight against Yemen the Saudis forced them to recant this statement or suffer a loss of financial support from the oil rich nation.<br> <br> Iran continues to sponsor groups like Hezballah and other Shiite extremists in the region. But all of this pales in comparison to the rise of ISIS under the banner of Islam. Islamic apologists and politically correct pundits argue that ISIS does not represent the Koran or Islam. This is likely true except for the fact that self-professing nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia are not countering the Islamic narrative that ISIS is proclaiming very well. Much of the ISIS doctrine and belief systems find their origins in Wahhabi Islam. Saudi Arabia spends a lot of its oil money to aiding humanitarian efforts among Islamic nations but just as much goes into propagating this dark and extremist messages of Wahhabism throughout the world. Iran is guilty of similar tactics from the Shia side of Islam.<br> <br> As a result of all this conflict one of the largest refugee crises since World War II is resulting as masses of immigrants flee war torn nations. Many of these refugees are Muslims. The governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia are on both sides of the equation confronting these refugees. On the one hand they are offering degrees of aid through Islamic charities and even the United Nations. On the other hand they are guilty of promoting the very radicalism that is causing the sufferings of these people.<br> <br> This week we will hear a lot about the Hajj and the Islamic religion and its traditions being hijacked by radicals, extremists, and terrorists. This is all well and good but we would do well to remember that if Islam is to outlive this extremist era the governments and nations who promote themselves as the guardians of the religion have a responsibility to step in and behave responsibly and charitably toward those who are suffering. They have a responsibility to the refugees as fellow Muslims but also as those who have helped inflame the tensions and violence in the region of the Middle East and throughout the world. Furthermore, the people of Islam should stop pretending that ISIS alone is guilty of atrocities and...
