The West Still Doesn’t Get Islam - We must be careful not to succumb to magical thinking.

The spectacular destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure by Israel and the U.S. is a long-neglected restoration of America’s deterrent power. Yet the subsequent cease-fire President Trump imposed on Israel bespeaks again the West’s long failure to understand the nature of traditional orthodox Islam–– particularly its sanctified violence in fulfillment of Allah’s command to wage religious war “Until,” as the Islamic Republic’s godfather, the Ayatollah Khomeini, announced, “the cry ‘There is no god but Allah’ resounds over the whole world.”

Nor was this sentiment a modern deformation of Islam in response to Western imperial aggression. One of the most significant Islamic exegetes, the late-14th century writer Ibn Khaldun, wrote in the Muqaddimah, “In the Muslim community, the holy war is a religious duty, because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force.”

This jihadist imperialist ambition guided Islamic conquests and occupations of lands that had been Christian for millennia, and remained a threat to the West up to Europe’s expansion into Muslim lands began to accelerate in the 18th century.

But the rise and spread of secularism in the West diminished the influence of religion, which once was the heart of our understanding of human affairs and change. By the late Thirties, Catholic writer Hilaire Belloc observed, “Millions of modern people . . . have forgotten all about Islam. They have never come in contact with it. They take for granted that it is decaying, and that, anyway, it is just a foreign religion which will not concern them.”

These changes over multiple decades also profoundly impacted Islam, and incited calls for reformation: “From the beginning of Western penetration in the world of Islam,” Middle Eastern historian Bernard Lewis writes, “until our own day, the most characteristic, significant, and original political responses to that penetration have been Islamic. They have been concerned with the problems of the faith and the community overwhelmed by infidels.”

Moreover, historian Efraim Karsh points out, the foundational belief in Islam’s divine mandate to conquer and occupy the whole world has not succumbed to modernity’s secular solvents that Christianity has: “The last great Muslim empire may have been destroyed, and the caliphate left vacant”–––an event Osama bin Laden called a “humiliation and disgrace”––“but the imperial dream of world domination has remained very much alive in the hearts and minds of many Muslims.”

Hard upon the abandonment of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, Egyptian Hassan al Banna created the Muslim Brotherhood to restore Islam to its doctrinal purity, especially the venerable mandate of Islamic jihad in order to revive Islam’s empire usurped by Western infidels. As al Banna explained, “It is the nature of Islam to dominate not to be dominated, to impose its laws on all nations, and to extend its power to the entire planet.”

His fellow Muslim Brother Sayyid Qutb, al Qaeda’s “intellectual godfather,” as Lee Smith put it, and an important theorist of jihadist renewal, wrote, “It is necessary to revive the Muslim community, which is buried under the debris of man-made traditions of several generations, and which is crushed under the weight of those false laws and customs which are not even related to the Islamic teachings.”

In this history of Islamic imperialist dreams, the most consequential development for our times has been the Iranian Islamic Revolution, whose architect, the Ayatollah Khomeini, successfully revived the dream of Islam’s regenerated imperial mission. And the successful destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure has not ended that dream for many Iranians and other Muslims, but only set it back. But we secularist Westerners, who have marginalized faith to a life-style preference or dangerous superstation, often cannot understand or take seriously the outsized role of Islam in Muslim cultures and politics.

This failure of imagination has been a geopolitical mistake. For as Bernard Lewis explains, “In most Islamic countries, religion remains a major political factor, for most Muslim countries are still profoundly Muslim in a way and in a sense that most Christian countries are no longer Christian . . . [I]n no Christian country at the present time can religious leaders count on the degree of belief and participation that remains normal in the Muslim lands . . . Christian clergy do not exercise or even claim the kind of public authority that is still normal and acceptable in most Muslim countries.”

That dominating role of Islam and it imperialist dreams are the context in which we should develop our foreign policy in the Middle East. As Islam’s premier traditional enemy for millennia, Israel since its creation has been the religiously sanctioned target of violence––from full-blown wars to terrorist attacks with high explosives, guns, automobiles, and missile barrages indiscriminately fired at civilians. Israel’s war will not cease until that risk of violence is ended.

We Americans have never been exposed to such indiscriminate violence, let alone endured such mayhem for decades. Worse, many of us have become callous to the plight of Israel’s people, while left-wing political factions make heroes of Iran’s proxies like Hamas, celebrate its sadistic carnage, and protest on Hamas’ behalf while chanting antisemitic genocidal slogans redolent of Der Stürmer. The current war has been a rare opportunity for Israel to degrade definitively Iran’s stockpiles of missiles and other materiel it shares with its proxies for use against Israel.

However, President Trump’s cease-fire has stopped Israel from finishing the job of ending that long, bloody threat. As Austin Bay writes on Creators: “After a Trump F-bomb tantrum, Israel agreed to observe the ceasefire, though it meant giving up its air supremacy. With another five days Israel could have taken out scores of regime-maintenance targets — thug forces protecting ayatollahs and assets that can threaten Persian Gulf oil tankers. Sample targets: Iranian Republican Guard Corps leaders; speedboats, stored naval mines and anti-ship missiles the regime could use to close the Strait of Hormuz.”

Moreover, as highly as we may think of Trump’s calls for peace and reconciliation, the mullahs and other devout Muslim jihadists see it not as magnanimity and respect for life, but as the infidels’ weakness and spiritual poverty that for centuries allowed Islam to dominate much of the Western world. Any breathing space bestowed on the mullahs will be exploited and used to further its still potent traditional Islamic global ambitions.

Furthermore, allowing Iran to sell oil to China to keep the mullahs from attacking the Straits of Hormuz, through which 20% of oil is delivered, will eventually––like the billions Obama’s feckless “nuclear deal” handed over to Iran––provide funds for beginning the replacement of destroyed jets and other materiel, and the reconstruction of its nuclear weapons infrastructure and equipment. President Trump has publicly announced that if Iran makes such moves, the MOPS will return. But why give Iran the opportunity?

As for the threats to the Straits, we don’t need oil-sales to China to leverage Iran from attempting to shut them down. Didn’t Ronald Reagan at the end of his second term, intervene in the Iraq-Iran war to punish Iran’s wanton attacks on international shipping in the Straits? From July 1987 to September 1988, the U.S. military conducted Operation Earnest Will to protect international shipping, but also to retaliate for Iran’s attack on the USS Stark, which killed 37 sailors and injured 21.

Today, with Iran rocked back on its heels, its materiel degraded, and its air space controlled by Israel, we don’t need to seek help from our most dangerous geopolitical rival, and benefit Iran in order to keep oil flowing through the Straits.

Next, the danger from Iran’s nuclear ambitions has not been fully put to rest. Yes, contrary to CNN and other evangelical Trump-haters, the facilities have been destroyed. According to a post-attack assessment by David Albright and Spencer Faragasso of the Institute for Science and International excerpted in The Wall Street Journal, “Overall, Israel’s and U.S. attacks have effectively destroyed Iran’s centrifuge enrichment program.”

“That being said,” the authors caution, “there are residuals such as stocks of 60%, 20%, and 3-5% enriched uranium and the centrifuges manufactured but not yet installed at Natanz or Fordow. These non-destroyed parts pose a threat as they can be used in the future to produce weapon-grade uranium.” The mullahs’ friends in China, North Korea, and Russia would no doubt be available to help Iran get its nuclear weapons project back on track.

The President has promised to strike Iran again if the mullahs should make such attempts. And he’s earned credibility by ordering the most consequential military strike in decades. But we must be careful not to succumb to the magical thinking of “diplomatic engagement,” particularly with passionately intense people of faith who are motivated by the long imperialist dream to fulfill Allah’s will, which to the faithful cannot be bargained away.

24% of the planet, ~2 billion people are Muslims.

A map to illustrate: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Islam_percent_population_in_each_nation_World_Map_Muslim_data_by_Pew_Research.svg

They sit on resources that are needed for an industrial, transportation heavy, society.

Pakistan is a nuclear power.

This is an issue we can’t solve with bombs. In fact, most issues are not solved with bombs.

Bombs are merely a political spectacle. They offer what appears to be a quick and easy solution for policy makers.

In America, there are a lot of folks that cheer an attack or bombing on, it makes them feel proud that their nation has this power and resolve.

The belligerent approach is especially useful for US policy makers (think Lindsey Graham) that can act with a relative high degree of impunity. We have buffer states in Asia and Europe, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which still provide some insulation and with our huge military and tech advantage, our massive intel apparatus and near police state, those trying to retaliate have a difficult time.

Trump did right, don’t read too much into what I’m saying, it was 5 minutes before midnight and Iran had to be stopped in acquiring a nuke.

But in the greater picture, this is NOT a problem we’re going to bomb our way out of. It’s too big in terms of land mass, number of people, nations we trade and depend on for resources...

Long term, because this is not a problem we can fix through destruction and death, the only REAL fix is what you had for many centuries, a divide where you have an Islamic and Christian world and no real mingling as was the case even pre 1950s.

It was the US that really resurrected this problem post WWII because of oil. Saudi Arabia was the first and it spread from there. Just like it was the US that at least initially nurtured and grew the monster we call China (PRC) today (industrially by moving manufacturing there).

Islam needs to exist in its area, we live in ours, and you don’t have them in our area, and we’re not in theirs.

All that has been pushed aside by modern globalization, driven by greed which pretends to be noble: The Lexus and the Olive Tree (https://www.amazon.com/Lexus-Olive-Tree-Understanding-Globalization/dp/1250013747). This book spells out the basic philosophy of how all this globalization is moral and will create prosperity and peace.

The Germans have a good way of describing it: Morgenland and Abendland, morning land and evening land, referring to where the sun rises in the East being the Muslim world, and where the sun sets in the West being the Christian world.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenland
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abendland

Today we of course no longer use these terms, just like the entire concept of “usery” is purged from our language and you have churches with interest charging loans...

The only way we can have a relative stable and lasting peace is by creating a physical separation. Something which was the norm a long time ago.

Just like you cannot mix oil and water, you will not mix Muslims and Christians and have peace. We can make up modern junk like “Religion of Peace,” and repeat it daily until it’s coming out of your ears (post 9-11), we censor police reports and fudge the numbers so that the religious motivation is lost in official reports, we can make movies and make the Christians look like the bad guys (blame ourselves): Kingdom of Heaven (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320661/).

None of this will change the basic foundation: you have mutually exclusive value systems.

The West had philosophical movements like the enlightenment era which influenced how governments run, the basic values of people, which Islam never had. Islam is organized solely around its religion. It defines the law and punishments (Sharia / Mufti), the boundaries of democracy (cannot violate Islamic teachings and conventions), food (Halal), dress, sexuality, education, banking and finance.

When you mix Islamic culture with Western liberal (classic meaning) society, the clash is pre-programmed.

How do you mix Muslims with Germans that like to drink beer, eat pork, lay nude in a park in the summer, are tolerant of all religions, see all equal before a secular law, believe in a science based secular education, and believe that the outcome of a democratic process should be respected and define policies even if these go against one’s personal beliefs or Christian teachings?

For example: There is no accommodating Islam with German life and culture.

You either have the Germans throw their beer down the drain and stop eating bratwurst, start making their women wear burka’s and close all the FKK beaches and spa’s, punish people for depicting the prophet Mohammed, kill those that insult him, stick kids in a Madras where they learn about Mohammed riding to the sky on his horse Barak, and only Islam being the recognized and favored religion with all others being oppressed, or you’re going to have conflict.

It’s going to get WORSE!

The Germans are now at a point where this Islamic population will continue to grow even without immigration, and as they grow, they will begin making the demands above, even if that seems ridiculous to some here and now. There is a profound difference between 1% Muslim and 10% or 30% Musim population. At 30% they take over (Lebanon / Sudan) even if still in a minority because they are highly organized and belligerent.

The only real fix - create a separation.

Of course this is still not a tenable political position, most people would reject the forced relocating of so many people. But IMHO, given another few decades (not just years, but decades) and the social friction we have, the constant flow of attacks (terrorism - reclassified as crime / Obama created that), and the occasional “big event,” like Madrid, London busses, or 9-11, it is only a matter of time until the people come around to understanding that there is no other way.

Things are the way they are for a reason. We often deny that.

When we began mixing civilizations that are truly incompatible for economic gain, we really just set in motion a learning curve, where Western civilization needs to relearn hard lessons that were known for many centuries.

Look at history, islam, moslems have more innocent blood on their collective hands then any other religion or group of people. They have killed hundreds of millions.

Shall we ask the Indians, the Armenians, the Yazidis, the Greeks, Hindus?

Islamic Invasion Of India: The Greatest Genocide In History https://www.sikhnet.com/news/islamic-india-biggest-holocaust-world-history

Islamic Invasion Of India: The Greatest Genocide In History - X
https://x.com/ImtiazMadmood/status/1725084755920621807?lang=en

Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_of_Yazidis_by_ISIL

The Biggest Holocaust in World History http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/holocaust.asp

Armenian Genocide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide

The long read Slaves of Isis: the long walk of the Yazidi women

When Isis rounded up Yazidi women and girls in Iraq to use as slaves, the captives drew on their collective memory of past oppressions – and a powerful will to survive. By Cathy Otten https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women

Greek genocide the Pontic genocide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide

Assyrian genocide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_genocide

The Jihad Against the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christians
http://www.seyfocenter.com/english/354/

The koran in its many versions (last count 19 or so) is and has been nothing more then a get out of jail free card for the followers of islam. It’s in the koran. A manual for criminal activity, a blue print for hate, death, murder, theft and conquest and oppression.

You all should know by now the moslems, they lie, they steal, they kill, they murder, they rape, they torcher, they cannibalize, they can have sex with an animal (their favorite goat) but can’t eat it but it’s ok to sell it...It’s all in the islamic fatwas. Islamic law, (Sharia) or in the koran.

It’s been that way since it’s inception. I know there is a DEVIL because he whispers in every moslems ear.

I have been literately saying this for years and I will keep saying it.

Google knife attacks, (vehicle, truck, car attacks),* google bombings, google rape gangs, google hostages, google mass homicides, google fire bombing** and the overwhelming majority will have a moslem, or a palestinian involved as the perpetrator. We all know that islam is a death cult and criminal mafia like organization. ...do the searches and then you decide what a moslem is.

*Added May 26, 2025
** Added June 1, 2025

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