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So You Want a Holy War? (William F. Buckley Jr.)
National Review Online ^ | October 02, 2001 | William F. Buckley Jr.

Posted on 10/02/2001 1:07:50 PM PDT by Drew68

So You Want a Holy War? We have now Islam to deal with. October 2, 2001 1:25 p.m. hatever is or is not authentic transcription of Islamic dogma, we do know that the people who ran the airliners into the World Trade Center believed that a Koranic voice was telling them to do what they did. We have the four-page document that told them not only what to do, but what to think. "Kill them, as God said; No Prophet can have prisoners of war."

They would not cavil, their clerical dispatcher knew, but even so there was a reiteration of the sacradeness of their mission. "Recognize...what God has prepared for believers in endless happiness for martyrs.... Be steadfast and remember [that in] God you will be triumphant."

Here is a strategic suggestion from the Western high command. Declare in full voice that Islam is widely profaned and mistaught. That if it isn't — if the Koranic high exegetes are paralyzed with doubt whether such as the Ladenites are true to their faith — then the faith being practiced must be disavowed by the legitimists. Say as much and say also that the Western world is prepared to denominate the imposters as such and to call for a restoration of a Muslim religion consistent with civilized conduct.

We have done such a thing in the political world. Without using the language of excommunication as such, what we got around to doing in the postwar world was to exclude Communism as an acceptable model for the organization of political life. We did this because, by our experience with Communism in practice and by the exercise of reason, we judged it incompatible with irreversible advances in human behavior. When finally the United States abolished slavery, the word went out: No more. No Christianity cum slavery. One or the other.

We have now Islam to deal with. We do not need to make the point that its political and economic record is miserable, that only one of 18 Muslim states (Turkey) is democratically governed. There are those who are willing to advertise the individual hypocrisies. A spokesman from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, while calling on his faithful to overthrow the government of Pakistan for the sin of maintaining equable relations with the United States, sends his own two sons to the United States to school. The Taliban has taken unmarried women detected in pregnancy and buried them to neck level before execution. Where is Islamic condemnation of such practices? For that matter, where is condemnation of Saudis chopping pickpockets' hands off?

We read of the mobs in Karachi who denounce the United States and flaunt signs that call out to "CRUSH AMERICA." In a pinch, we have to gamble. Perhaps human nature isn't reliably self-interested enough to prefer liberal democracy to protracted tyrannical misery. But we have to hope that the raw instinct is there to welcome relief. There were Kuwaitis who prostrated themselves with gratitude to liberating GIs, even as there are millions of Afghans who flee the wretched world of their Muslim oppressors where they have been kept alive by American food shipments to Afghanistan and bank now on American food shipped to Pakistan, where they will reasonably hope that before America is entirely CRUSHED we will have stored enough food for them and their children.

It is thought to be a sign of toleration to defer to Islam as simply another religion. It isn't that. It is a form of condescension. Carefully selected, there are Koranic preachments that are consistent with civilized life. But on September 11th we were looked in the face by a deed done by Muslims who understood themselves to be acting out Muslim ideals. It is all very well for individual Muslim spokesmen to assert the misjudgment of the terrorist, but the Islamic world is substantially made up of countries that ignore, or countenance, or support terrorist activity. Mustafa Kamal Uddin, a 32-year-old body-and-fender man in Karachi, explained it to a New York Times reporter. You see, he said, holy wars come about only when Allah has no other way to maintain justice, times like now. "That is why Allah took out his sword" on September 11th.

We demand to know: Who taught Mustafa Kamal Uddin to reason in that way, and the crowds in Karachi to support such thinking? Pending an answer to the question, and the unmistakable assumption by reputable Muslims of the responsibility to extirpate such misteaching, renounce modern Islam. Either restore the proper Allah — or get ready for a holy war.


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To: Kalashnikov_68
If you want to really get nauseated just watch Forrest Sawyer's town hall garbage on MSNBC. I noticed last night that there were actually 3 Waspy looking folks in his group. If one were to go strictly by these theatres in farce then one would believe that this nation is 90% what we collectively call "minorities" and that we are either all whiners or trembling with fear. Any "hawk" is automatically shouted down and admonished by Sawyer. I thought PC had been derailed on 9-11-01. It hasn't. It has only morphed into a new and potentially more dangerous animal: called appeasement and weakness. I pray Bush is listening more to his hawks than Powell but at least publically it would appear otherwise. Hawks win wars folks. The "diplomats" can get to work when the dust settles.
61 posted on 10/02/2001 2:46:39 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: Kalashnikov_68
"Who taught Mustafa Kamal Uddin to reason in that way, and the crowds in Karachi to support such thinking?"

The same bunch that taught Cat Stevens to calmly explain that "of course, Rushdie must die."

62 posted on 10/02/2001 2:48:38 PM PDT by Don Joe
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To: Terrorista Nada
This post is history on the FR. I've alreaday had 5 posts and 2 threads pulled for less. Lock and load.

I hope not. I'm getting awfully tired of being told to put my head in the sand and deny everything I see going on around me. I am quickly losing faith in our resolve to seek payback and this is extremely discouraging and depressing. The days and weeks are passing by and nothing seems to be happening except for peace marches. I fear it will take another major attack or two to seal this nation's resolve and bury this PC nonsense in the unmarked grave of failed ideologies where it should have been placed ten years ago.

I'm ready for a bloody and ruthless payback and I am utterly insulted by being asked to walk on rice paper to avoid offending someone else's sensibilities.

63 posted on 10/02/2001 2:48:41 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Ymani Cricket
"Leave the mullah...take the cannoli"....at least some world leaders aren't afraid to speak the truth. God bless him.
64 posted on 10/02/2001 2:48:45 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: bluetoad
LOL! Great 'toon.
65 posted on 10/02/2001 2:49:28 PM PDT by PogySailor
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Comment #66 Removed by Moderator

To: Kalashnikov_68, all
The first word of the article is "Whatever," not "hatever."

This should make a great movie, "Crusades II" or "Towering Infernals II" (not "infernos").

67 posted on 10/02/2001 2:54:16 PM PDT by Terrorista Nada
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To: Kalashnikov_68
It is thought to be a sign of toleration to defer to Islam as simply another religion. It isn't that. It is a form of condescension.

This whole idea of "respect for other beliefs" is based on the ridiculous notion that all possible beliefs are equally deserving of respect. They aren't.

What will we do if it becomes obvious that we (the West) might be forced to fight a religious war, whether we want to or not? It only takes one side to ignite such a war.

68 posted on 10/02/2001 2:55:55 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: wardaddy
"Leave the mullah...take the cannoli"....at least some world leaders aren't afraid to speak the truth. God bless him.

Yeah, but then he caved and apologized. Heaven forfend someone would have the audacity to claim Western Civilization might possibly be superior to one which hacks the hands and feet off of petty theives and covers their women in burlap sacks. </sarcasm>

69 posted on 10/02/2001 2:56:59 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Kalashnikov_68
The Arabic world is an anachronism whose time is up.


BUMP

70 posted on 10/02/2001 2:57:47 PM PDT by tm22721
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To: wardaddy
Don't worry about PC. It is a luxury of a peaceful, prosperous society. One more attack and watch the ramparts begin to crumble.
71 posted on 10/02/2001 2:58:35 PM PDT by Restorer
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To: Terrorista Nada
The first word of the article is "Whatever," not "hatever."

Yeah, Damnit! I caught that after I hit the post button. NRO always has this oversized letter for their first word which never carries over in a cut and paste format. Oh well...

As far as the Crusades II, I was happy when Bush used the term "Crusade" in his speech to congress. I was disappointed when the Whitehouse downplayed it. Hell yeah, it's a Crusade! At least I hope it will be.

72 posted on 10/02/2001 3:03:11 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Kalashnikov_68
Now, THIS is a thread.
73 posted on 10/02/2001 3:06:24 PM PDT by ecomcon
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To: Kalashnikov_68
Had to look up "cavit", though I was pretty confident of it being an actual word, and an entirely usefull one at that, but lo, "sacradeness" looks to be a...TYPO! Surely not from the author's pen. ;-)
74 posted on 10/02/2001 3:11:20 PM PDT by ecomcon
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Comment #75 Removed by Moderator

To: NoControllingLegalAuthority
Crucifixion, stoning, drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, evisceration and dismemberment are not just an "honest difference of opinion" in the treatment of criminals.

Exactly. If the Nazis still ran Germany we wouldn't be saying something like "well how they operate their concentration camps is their business just as long as they keep it in their borders." Canada's opposition to the U.S. death penalty isn't the same thing as our objecting to the barbaric practices of the muslim nations. Cutting off peoples hands and feet for stealing a loaf of bread sounds like something out of Europe's dark ages.

76 posted on 10/02/2001 3:18:43 PM PDT by epow
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To: Restorer
I hate that it will take that to drive a stake in the heart of this PC beast but you are probably right. My guess...and it's only a guess is that our enemies will refrain from further action until after we strike so they may appear to possess realiatory powers themselves. They should realize that further strikes by them at this juncture would only steel our resolve. The bulk of our citizenry are not on board with the media and the State Dept. in my modest opinion. At least not here in flyoverland.
77 posted on 10/02/2001 3:21:40 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: ecomcon
cavit=cavil hee hee
78 posted on 10/02/2001 3:23:45 PM PDT by ecomcon
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To: Kalashnikov_68
Almost without exception the nations of Islam are backward, poverty stricken dirt dumps, populated by illiterates.

If any of them had a national bird it would be the flea.

They are for the most part a rabble of lying, thieving, shiftless, lazy beggars, living in hovels. They have no schools, no industry, no system of law, no system of finance, no agriculture. They have no culture. They produce no art, no science, and certainly no humanities.

They cannot even self govern, except at the point of a gun. And even the gun and the bullets it fires has to be purchased (or stolen) from the West. As an aside it is amazing that our fourth estate never points out that with their peoples living in abject poverty, there is always money for weapons. Some Islam. Some religion.

They produce only filth, oil and hate. And they do not hate us. Not really. Not at the root. At root they hate themselves. And with cause.

79 posted on 10/02/2001 3:27:34 PM PDT by Guillam
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To: Kalashnikov_68
Buckley assumes that because terrorist wrote some letter where they attributed their beliefs to Koran, then that is exactly what must be in Koran. He obviously is too lazy to actually make an effort to do research. Maybe it is because his own bias is so strong that this is what he will like to believe so why bother to check. Just like liberals who wait for some violent tragedy that involves gun use to spew hate against christian conservatives and gun owners, Buckley and his type do not care to establish the real reasons, but are too busy expressing their hate.
80 posted on 10/02/2001 3:32:02 PM PDT by The_Republican
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