Posted on 07/23/2005 5:24:23 PM PDT by F14 Pilot
If the problem of Islamic-inspired terrorism wasn't painfully obvious before, the London bombings have driven home the point yet again. In the West our contact with murderous acts of terrorism supposedly in the name of Islam has been relatively limited but dramatic nonetheless.
In all of the furor, the constant stream of reports--from London, Madrid, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq--of dead, injured, kidnapped, terrorized and brutalized populations, it is easy to be overcome by the horror, easy to forget that the fight against Islamo-fascism is a necessary, even mandatory struggle.
As pleasant, as liberating, as it might seem to be able to wash our hands of the entire business, withdraw our troops, retire behind our borders and let the world go its own way, it won't happen.
We cannot do it.
We cannot afford to do it.
The world cannot afford the luxury of ignorance. The war against terrorism is a war to the death. For the self-anointed leadership of Islamo-terrorism, there are no neutrals and that, quite frankly, is the essential reason for our complete opposition and tireless resistance.
Whatever claims may be made by Osama bin Laden or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi or their ilk, there is not a single person or idea not encompassed by their very limited and perverted screed who is held harmless or sacred--Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, it matters not--if an individual or a society does not accede to and embrace with fanatic enthusiasm the convoluted and medieval Wahabist interpretation of Islam, he or she is not entitled to life or liberty. It is that simple. And that urgent.
The increased tempo of terrorist operations--heightened as Iraq and Afghanistan draw ever further away from the enervating clutches of the fanatics--is indication of how very desperately the opposition fears democracy and religious freedom and tolerance. The very nature of the targets selected by the terrorists indicate their very real fear that they are losing the war. They have already lost the hearts, minds and sympathies of the vast majority of the civilized world.
But with every new act of terror, al-Zarqawi, bin Laden and their minions demonstrate how truly they have misread human nature. The Spaniards were deterred from their commitment to Iraq by the horrendous bombings in Madrid, but not so the British. Not so the Americans. Not so the Saudis. Not so the Afghanis or the Iraqis--Sunnis or Shiites. If anything, the terrorists' strategy to deliberately target the innocent in an effort to derail the society at large and thus paralyze the war effort, has not only failed--it has backfired.
Americans have taken the war to the very heart of the enemy's territory. The British have shaken their fists defiantly at the murderers among us and determined, with typical British aplomb, to carry on. Even the Spanish, initially deterred by the horrific violence inflicted on their citizens, have become relentless in their pursuit of the predatory murderers who have infiltrated Spanish society.
Do not be misled or cowed by the remarks of Omar Bakri Mohammed, the England-based sheik who blames the West for provoking the attacks. Do not be dispirited by the inflammatory rhetoric of Anjem Choudary, a lawyer and Islamic activist who claims, from the relative safety of his home in England, that there is more horror to come. Do not be dissuaded by the rantings of the father of suicidal hijacker Mohamed Atta, who vows a 50-year war against the West.
All of these people--the bin Ladens, the Attas, the al-Zarqawis--are failed human beings. Their belief system is corrupt, empty and vindictive in the extreme. What they label as Islam is about as far from true Islamic beliefs and practices as snake-handling is from Christianity. They are an anomaly.
As evidenced by the outpouring of outrage, not only in Great Britain and the United States but in Muslim populations throughout the world, the terrorists have done nothing but prove to the world that they are anathema to civil society. If there were ever any doubts before, there are none now. The Islamo-fascists have done their utmost to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are at war with the world. No pseudo-religious sect with such extreme and inflexible views should ever be allowed to hold sway over the world at large. The actions of Al Qaeda and its Iraqi, Saudi, Syrian and Jordanian associates are purely destructive--assassination, kidnapping and murder of diplomats, policemen, soldiers, journalists, teachers, statesmen, scholars, Imams. The world that they would impose on us is as dark and repressive as any ever dreamed of by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge or Adolf Hitler's Nazis.
In some ways the Islamo-fascists are their own worst enemies for, just as we are beginning to weary of the grind and drain of war, they commit inhuman outrages such as to ensure that we do not forget what this entire war is about. They remind us that this is a war we cannot afford to lose--none of us.
That little breeze by your ear was the point of my post.
This may sound a bit "nuts" but I've wondered for a year or two now, what the impact would be if Muhammed Ali were to convert back to Christianity and repudiate islam. I realize that the chance of that happening is something like .0000001 %. Still, other seemingly unlikely things have happened in our lifetimes.
At one time he was termed the most recognized person on the planet. His conversion to islam in the 60's rocked the world. He would certainly be risking his life in so doing, but hell, he's done that before and he's probably nearing the end anyway. As I said, it's a low probability event, but it would be an event of huge proportions.
Can you cite me an example of an American or British Muslim that has blown the whistle on a terrorist?
No, but ask yourseft this. How is it the FBI managed to find and close down so many cells since 9-11? You also might ask yourself why we haven't had any terrorist incidences in this country?
I pray Americans wake up to what this "religion" is doing to our country and others. It's happening, but too slowly I think.
<< They hate us because we're better. >>
Almost.
Actually, though, they hate us because we reinforce their knowledge of their inferiority.
And thus their psychopathological self loathing.
This author has apparently never read the Koran. - tom
I think that there is another possibility on the issue of "moderate Islam", and that is that they are trapped in the system, and do not have the courage to speak out and act. This is very similar to the case of the people of the Soviet Union.
If you haven't read Natan Sharansky's book, The Case for Democracy, I highly recommend doing so. It shows many parallels that are useful. A key quote from the book, that made a huge impression on me, that sprang to mind immediately on reading your post:
"Over the years, I have come to understand a critical difference between the world of fear and the world of freedom. In the former, the primary challenge is finding the inner strength to confront evil. In the latter, the primary challenge is finding the moral clarity to see evil."
Moderate muslims in many cases are living in the world of fear.
I can find only one passage in the Bible on handling snakes, and that is usually considered of dubious origin and probably not in the original Gospel.
However, the Koran is chock full of passages about killing infidels and spreading Allah by force.
One can be a Christian fundamentalist and not believe in snake-handling (most don't) or spreading the Gospel by the sword (none do) for the simple reason it is not there in the Bible.
On the other hand, one cannot be a Muslim fundamentalist and not believe in the Ummah, the House of War, the primacy of Sharia Law or spreading Islam by the sword. It is everywhere in the Koran and the example of Mohammad and his successors.
How are we to defeat a band of deluded zealots
-- who state openly that their goal is to kill as many of us as possible,
-- who consider us wicked and soft,
-- who memorize long passages in the Koran, their "holy book,"
-- who worship five times a day,
and
-- who are willing to die to please their false god,
when our society is made up of people
-- who debate how to treat our enemy kindly rather than how to stop him,
-- who see themselves as morally superior but spend their wealth on crude and rude pleasure,
-- who may acknowledge that there is a God, but expect no negative consequences when they ignore Him,
-- who may own a Bible but don't read it,
-- whose spiritual life consists of partying on Saturday night and sleeping in on Sunday,
and
-- whose primary aim in life is to be comfortable and happy.
Did our fathers and grandfathers of the Greatest Generation risk or lose their lives so their children and grandchildren could spurn their values, live immorally, speak profanely, and glorify indecency?
Did young men die on Omaha Beach so Owen Wilson can entertain us with vulgar behavior and convince us that it is amusing? So that we interpret freedom to mean the right to use four-letter words and make "Desperate Housewives" the most honored show on television?
What would they think if they watched how we live our lives, both our actions and our words? How cheap have we made their sacrifice? The freedom they bought allows us to do or say anything we want, to choose depravity, completely dishonoring our heritage. What would they think if they knew how their grandchildren live? Gratuitous sex, nasty language, babies that would be their descendants killed by wanton mothers and immoral fathers, entertainers and entertainment that glorifies evil behavior, half the country sniping at our leadership so that we just look divided and weak to the enemy.
When did so many Americans become too cool -- or cowardly -- to stand up for high moral and spiritual standards? Is it a wonder that dedicated Muslims see us as an unprincipled society of hypocrites? Do we even recognize our hypocrisy? Do we have the courage to turn back and take a stand for right?
If not, I question whether our nation can retain our God-given freedom.
Um - I think that you have offended one of the resident apologists.
I wasn't praising the crusaders, but making a metaphorical point. That being that we have the ability, but probably not the will.
BTW, the terrorists viewed our twin towers as our mecca (of sorts).
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I have no problem with your original statement. My point was that the poster who seemed to have been offended spends a significant amount of time here trying to sell us the idea that muslim iran is really America's best friend (if they could just get rid of those pesky muslim mullahs).
So goes the party line.
1300 years of history belies it.
FNC had some comentator with some sort of survey that said 25% of England's moslems admitted to sympathizing with the terrorist bombers.
The key is admit.
I would say it is very very saft that the real number is far far far higher.
Even here at FR you have the fuzzy minded progressive thinking that Islam is actually the ROP, when in fact it offers the unchallengable literal word of god as having the world divided into two lands, that of war, and that of peace (submission to allah).
Fair enough.
And based on the recent post-7/7 polls in the UK, it's probably something like 1/2 the moderates support the radicals, and half are trapped. We could quibble over numbers, but you get the idea.
Seriously, there are useful concepts in Shanansky's book that we need to use in the infowar / war of ideas, in order to defeat Jihadi Islam. Note that President Bush has explicitly embraced some of these ideas as part of the grand strategy in the Middle East.
There may be, but those who are trapped still give money and still send their kids to madrassas.
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