Islamic terror based on Qu’ran: ex-CIA official

A former top official of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency paints a menacing picture of the relationship between Islam and terrorism.

“Islamic terrorism is based on Islam as revealed through the Qu’ran,” keynote speaker Bruce Tefft claimed in a panel discussion at the University of Toronto on jihad and global terrorism. The session, held late last month, was sponsored by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Speakers Action Group.

Tefft, a founder of the CIA’s counter-terrorism center and now an advisor to the New York Police Department’s intelligence and counter-terrorism divisions, said that without Islam, the long-term strategy of Al Qaeda and its followers make little sense.

Linking Osama bin Laden to the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, Tefft said: “To pretend that Islam has nothing to do with Sept. 11 is to willfully ignore the obvious and to forever misinterpret events.”

In a harsh indictment of Islam – the world’s fastest growing religion and the second-largest faith after Christianity – Tefft said that while there may be moderate Muslims, Islam itself is immoderate.

And, he added, “There is no difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, which is a totalitarian construct.”

According to Tefft, the Qu’ran enjoins Muslims to believe that the whole world should be governed by the principles of Islam, an expansionist religion that has historically grown through conquest.

All infidels are to be converted, enslaved or killed, he said, drawing on the knowledge of Bernard Lewis, a Jewish historian who has written books about Islam and Islamic history.

Tefft, whose career at the CIA spanned 21 years, argued that Islam was a religion of peace and tolerance in its formative phase, but has since grown intolerant of non-Muslims.

Islam cannot be reformed because its teachings, as revealed through the Qu’ran, are regarded as the word of God, and to be a Muslim, a believer must accept the Qu’ran on a literal basis, Tefft said.

He said Islam views Judaism and Christianity as failed religions and itself as the only true religion.

Islamic terrorists are animated by passionate anti-Western convictions, Tefft argued. They blindly sacrifice their lives for the chance of going to paradise and enjoying the charms of 72 virgins.

To them, the United States is the epitome of evil, because its constitution separates church and state.

Tefft said Al Qaeda’s 700-page training manual covers all aspects of terrorism, from surveillance to assassinations, and is drawn from U.S., Russian and Iranian manuals .

Of the 6,000 or more mosques in North America, 80 per cent are radical in orientation and devoted to spreading an intolerant Wahabi strain of Islam. They are funded by Saudi Arabia, he said.

David Harris, the former head of strategic planning at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said that Islamic fundamentalists are hostile to Canada and consider it a “Little Satan.”

He warned that Hezbollah has begun surveying sites in Canada for possible terrorist attacks.

John Thompson, the president of the MacKenzie Institute, a Canadian research organization, said Al Qaeda has a reservoir of recruits for at least a generation to come.

Tom Kay, the chief of police in Owen Sound and the immediate past president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said Canadian law enforcement agencies that combat terrorism are under-funded.

“We face complacency from people in power,” he said, referring to Canadian politicians at all levels.

It is scandalous that more money is not being allocated to counter-terrorism efforts, Kay said.

Leo Adler, the director of national affairs for Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, urged Canada to be more resolute in fighting terrorism.

Rather than operating in a vacuum, Jihadists work with highly honed organizations that supply them with funds, logistical support and intelligence, Adler commented.

Thanks for posting this yonif. I have exchanged Freepmail with you in the past I believe. You are in Israel and I am in Southeast Asia.

I post a lot here on this subject because I have an intimate knowledge of the subject and the people who practice it. Any attempt to explain this further could cause problems for me which I am sure Mr. Yonif and Mr. Ali Sina understand. Over time it is my hope that a lot of my fellow Freepers will understand the reasons why as well..

This is a truthful hardhitting analysis that all of Freerepublic, the West and America needs to read and understand and I have taken the liberty of 'pinging' several people whom I feel might have an interest in the subject.

Further down the thread you will see a link posted to a site called FaithFreedom which is run by an Ex-Muslim (Mr. Ali Sina) who is an Iranian now living in the United States.

I became friends with Ali Sina over the internet when we were discussing how we did not share Dr. Daniel Pipes views on Islam. Later both myself and Mr. Sina exchanged letters with Dr. Pipes and his assertion that 'moderate' Muslims can bring about a kinder, more tolerant version of Islam like Christianity has been doing. Both Mr. Sina and myself agreed that there is no such thing as a "moderate muslim" and to imply that there is or that there can be a more moderate and tolerant version of Islam is misleading.

My explanation to Dr. Pipes was that in Islam this was not possible and the reasons are as follows ~

Unlike Christianity, the Quran is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike the Bible which is a collection of stories according to the apostles. To change Islam would be like Christians changing the Ten Commandments. It can't be done because as we all know, this IS the word of God.

The word 'Islam' does not mean 'peace' as I have seen here before, but rather SUBMISSION which is extreemly important for non-muslims to understand. Submission to the will of Allah and therefore a Muslim has no right to question and/or attempt to question and/or interpret the Quran. He must submit.

If you understand this absolute, then you can understand that there is and can be no such thing as a 'moderate muslim' - there is only 'good muslims' and 'bad muslims' - the bad ones are the ones who don't submit to the will of Allah.

Many Westerners to this day speak of the deafening silence of the Muslim countries and Muslims worldwide - and ask why the Muslims worldwide don't speak out against the extremism in their midst, all the while, never completely understanding that 'extremism' is Islam does not exist but rather 'fundamentalism' and that is the strict and literal adherence to the Quran (the word of God), and once again - submission.

When Muslims and Muslim countries are pressured either by the Western media or Western governments to speak out against so-called "extremism", they find themselves only able to make benign statements such as "killing of innocents is wrong", "killing innocent women and children is wrong" or we are saddened to see so many innocent people die.

Ask yourself, would you call a Christian who follows the ten commandments and does not stray an 'extremist' or would you call him a "good Christian"?

What emboldens the Muslims worldwide and what is fueling their expansion now is what they see as the decadence and accelerated decline of Western civilization the death throes of Christianity and the rise of secularism.

Homosexual rights and gay marriage in my opinion was really one of the breaking points in the last several years from where I sit. How does a good Christian and a conservative explain that their fellow Christians in America approve of gay marriage and even elect a homosexual as their bishop? Needless to say it boggles the mind. There is no explanation.

A few years back an American multinational company which has a factory here in Malaysia came out with a company head office endorsed circular promoting a "coming out day" for closeted homosexuals within the company worldwide and mandatory "tolerance training" for the 'bigots' (ie. those employees who are repulsed by homosexual behaviour and find it sinful). Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon.

When Muslims call America "The Great Satan" they are not joking. Many of them despise and hate America's invasive culture.

There is a solution to all of this and it is not multiculturism, diversity or tolerance. It is sorry to say, exactly what Ann Coulter said right after 9/11.

"Unlike Christianity, the Quran is believed to be the direct word of God and therefore leaves no room for interpretation unlike the Bible which is a collection of stories according to the apostles."

This is your personal belief.

Whether you choose to use the word "bad" or "moderate" is immaterial. That's semantics. There are different muslim sects. They practice and believe differently. Sufis are not wahabbis. Whether you want to label one good, bad, moderate, cloudy, it doesn't matter.

As for your Iranian friend, we certainly have something in common there. I can understand his leaving his faith. He lived under a fanatical tyrannical system. I'm glad he escaped.

I also think it's important to distinguish between what is said and/or felt by middle eastern people because of their religion and what is said because of their geography and history. Anti-American or anti-British sentiments, have a lot to do with history and oil. I'm sure you're aware of that.

Count me on the Daniel Pipes side of this argument.

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