Terrorism worries as the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan Appoaches
MJ GOHEL, TERROR EXPERT: It's a crime which can be exploited by radical clerics to motivate individuals into perhaps taking action on the basis that they're somehow serving their religion.</s>VERJEE: Terror expert MJ Gohel about how coming days may offer a new opportunity for radical Muslim clerics to motivate and recruit terrorists. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins next week. And in the past, there's been an increase in terrorism. Welcome back. We're</s>ON THE STORY. BASH: Zain, the first question is why? Why -- what is it about Ramadan that makes it a time where there is this fear of terrorism?</s>VERJEE: There's a feeling among terrorism experts that it's a window of opportunity. And any window of opportunity is something that terrorists are going to exploit. Counter-terrorism officials have said, look, the fact that Ramadan coincides with the U.S. election, and the fact that there is definitive intelligence to indicate that al Qaeda is intent on either striking the U.S. homeland or U.S. interests abroad, is reason to worry. They say that it allows radical clerics who would preach in sermons -- and you'd have a lot more people going to mosques during Ramadan -- to incite people, to -- and it's also a time where there is heightened anger in the Arab and Muslim world over the war in Iraq, over the Israeli-Palestinian issues. The images you see on television of children being pulled out of the rubble in Iraq, children being pulled out of the rubble in Gaza, is something that plays on Arab and Muslim sentiments and allows an opportunity for radical clerics to exploit. It's an important, though, to make the point that these are just radical clerics. The majority of Muslims in the world, one billion people, do not subscribe to that sort of extremist ideology.</s>STARR: Well, as you say, Zain, the majority of people who are of the Muslim faith, of course, every -- every reason to believe they, of course, will observe their holiday or their holy days in the most devout manner. But again, there have been historic examples where there has been trouble from the radical elements on the fringe. And go back over some of that. Remind people what's happened in the past.</s>VERJEE: Exactly. Ramadan has provided that psychological symbolic impetus for attacks. If you look at 2003, this is what you see during the month of Ramadan. The International Red Cross was attacked in Baghdad. A U.S. military helicopter was shot down in central Iraq. You had a housing compound in Riyadh that was also attacked. Italian troops, the</s>BASH: And what's it's interesting, also, is that there is a historical reason why these clerics are able to recruit, perhaps, these extremists. Tell us a little bit about that.</s>VERJEE: Yes, Dana. It's really interesting. There is a date during Ramadan that the west doesn't really know about. It is called the Battle of Badr, and it's anniversary that falls on the 17th day into Ramadan. And that's a significant battle in the calendar of most Muslims, because this is a battle where the prophet, Mohammed, was the underdog. In 624, he came with something like 300 men, he fought 1,000 men. He was fighting for Islam, and he won. So while a lot of Muslims will mark this on their calendar -- and they celebrate it and they mark it peacefully -- there is that terrorist, that extremist element that will look at it and exploit it and say, well, you know, Mohammed, during the Battle of Badr, was the underdog, he fought for Islam, he won. And we're the underdogs on the war in terror. And it's not really a war on terror, it's a war in Islam -- or on Islam. And there is a feeling that that date could also be exploited. And that date falls around the U.S. election.</s>BASH: Zain, thank you very much. Very interesting. And we're going to go from some of the dangers that may lie ahead, to some of the possible diversions. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas is on that story straight ahead.