OBSERVATOIRE DE L'ISLAMISATION DE LA FRANCE ET DE L'EUROPE

The Rising Global Threat of Radical Militant Islamic Fundamentalism



Searching For The "Islam of Peace" ...

The word "Jihad", or "struggle", which is generally translated as "holy war", is from the Arabic root of the word "jahada", which means "to strive for".

The word "islam" in Arabic means, quite literally, "to surrender", or "submission", as to the will of Allah (God), which Muslims believe was definitively revealed through Allah's designated Apostle and final Prophet, the Arab merchant warlord Abu al-Qasim Muhammad, who lived from c. 570 to 632 AD.

The will of Allah, as reportedly revealed to Muhammad in visions and other "received communications", was relayed by Muhammad to his followers during the last 20 years of his life. After his death, these revelations and edicts were eventually written down and collected into the compiled verses and quotes which have become known as the Qur'an and the Hadith, which together form the primary doctrinal foundation for the Islam religion.

Jihad

It is frequently said that Islam teaches two primary types of jihad. The first, best known, and allegedly lesser form of jihad, is the outward struggle, or the drive to actively spread and enforce the will of Allah through the propagation and spread of Islam, and Shari'ah Law, using armed force and violence whenever necessary.

It is also said that the object of jihad is not necessarily the direct conversion of individuals to Islam, but rather the gaining of political and social control over the collective affairs of societies and governments, in order to run them in accordance with the principles of Islam. It is expected that individual conversions will occur naturally as a by-product of this process, as control of the power structures passes into the hands of the Muslim community.

A second, and far greater form of "jihad", say many moderate, reformist Muslims, is the internal "self" struggle, or the soul's struggle with evil.

According to a former Muslim and PLO terrorist, Walid Shoebat, who writes "It is a fallacy that 'jihad' represents an 'inner struggle'. [There are] over one hundred quotes by Muhammad [in the Qur'an] referring to jihad by the sword, by killing, by taking no prisoners, by forced conversion, or by enslavement - [and] only one quote referring to an internal struggle .."

Increasingly drowned out or threatened by their more vociferous and militant ideological kin, Islamic moderates are said to believe that while "jihad" might on rare occasion refer to an active war or struggle against an oppressive regime or ruler, such a war may only be properly waged against that regime, and not against innocent people.

Radical militant Islamic fundamentalists on the other hand, assert that jihad is an actual war of conquest, entirely without limits or constraints, and that all nations, and all peoples, who are not followers and adherents of Islam - or as in more extreme cases, of specific radical interpretations of fundamentalist Islamic tradition - are inherently enemies of Islam itself, and must therefore be either conquered, converted, enslaved, or destroyed.

Plurality and peaceful co-existance is NOT an option.

In practice, "jihad" in almost every instance is an outwardly-directed religiously and ideologically-driven conflict or struggle for a goal - armed, violent, political, activist, legalistic, terroristic, or otherwise - which has as it's purpose pretty much anything that an Islamic religio-political leader wishes to declare, as long as the end result in some way supports or advances the promulgation of the Islamic ideology, and goal of domination.

The pious leader then may call upon all Muslims to unquestioningly support and participate in his cause as a measure and unqualified expression of their Islamic faith.

In spite of occasional references in the Qur'an that may nominally call for tolerance toward non-Muslims, earlier verses are often nullified by verses which occur later, a principle known as abrogation, or the Law of Abrogation, which was established by none other than Muhammad himself.

Modern politicians today practice this principle consistently. After all, it's not what I said yesterday that matters. It's what I'm telling you now.

The most famous verse on jihad is the Verse of the Sword, Al-Tawbah 9:5. This verse alone abrogates (cancels, or makes void) over one hundred and twenty preceeding verses, or most of the few other existing Qur'anic verses calling for any sort of tolerance, forgiveness, and peace toward non-believers.

Fascism Unplugged
The historical parallels of modern Islamism to 1923-1945 Nazi Germany are staggering. Adolf Hitler and his followers in the National Socialist (Nazi) movement of Germany saw the Germanic Aryan as the "perfect race", destined to rule the world, and to purge it of the "lesser races".

So too does the modern and latest incarnation of fascist totilitarianism, radical fundamentalist Islamism, see the vision of a "perfect religion" that is destined to rule the world, and to purge it of the "infidel".

1930's Italian Fascism, like German Nazism, and even Japanese militarism, was at its core a racist and zenophobic movement, that systematically discriminated and persecuted human beings on the basis of their racial, ethnic, or national affiliation.

Nazism, fascism, and revolutionary communism all sought (and still seek) to create a centralized authoritarian state to enforce blanket obedience to a reactionary, all-encompassing autocratic ideology.

Modern Islamo-fascism does all of this, but with a religious twist: It is not simply the Fuhrer commanding the death and enslavement of millions, it is Allah (God) himself - as conveniently interpreted by His self-proclaimed priests, clerics, mullahs and imams - and of course, as by His distiguished warrior Prophet - Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him!).

And of course, who would have the temerity to argue with or oppose God (Allah) the Almighty Himself, or His designates? Blasphemy! Sacrilege! Off with his head!

Death, after a little gratuitous or sanctified torture of course - and the real deal here, too.
None of that weak, tepid western "panties on the head", barking dog, loud music, no sleep, no dessert, "pinkie"-slapping, or humiliating low-crawling nudity stuff. That's the sort of "weekend in the city" that most would pay good money to receive from any competent dominatrix.

No, we're talking about real, honest-to-goodness, actual torture. Real blood, deep buises, sharp objects, razor blades and piano wire, needles and nails, ruptured organs, living eviserations, missing body parts, gouged-out eyes, dripping acid, and death-is-a-blessing-denied type torture - the kind of base, senseless cruelty that the West sees today only in the most vile slasher movies and video games.

The Spanish inquisitors were rank amateurs, compared to these guys. What is going on under our very noses today in the "peaceful" Islamist territories, under the auspices of the pious, "peace-loving" Islamists themselves, is a crime, and needs to be exposed, loudly and often, before it tragically becomes our own reality.

But tell that to the UN.

Thus, the Nazi's thousand-year "Third Reich" of the 1930's and 1940's, has now become the pan-Islamic "caliphate" or empire ("one world, under Allah - as defined by Muhammad"), that Islamists envision for the future.

In the end, it is all the same quest for power, using as its tool the prejudices and passions of the ignorant and weak-minded, to generate an atmosphere of fear and compliance among the vast majority, whose only desire in life is to otherwise live peacefully and well, with their family, friends, and communities.

Speak Softly, and Ride a White Horse ...

Like any group of people, Muslims come in all varieties - the good, the bad, and the simply indifferent. While it is desireable to hope that the largest majority of Muslims do not follow or agree with the principles of violent jihad as are being promulgated by their more aggressive brethren, it is certainly now up to them to demonstrate, through their own positive words and actions, a firm rejection of the more aggressive and violent tenents of their faith, and the members or leaders that espouse them.

Anything less invites great justifiable suspicion, and deserves little sympathy.
Close examination reveals a plethora of traditions and teachings within Islam that seem almost invariably to lead even moderate but unwary adherents down an intellectual path of justifying or at least sympathizing with religious militancy, tyranny, violence, cruelty, war, and zenopathic hatred.

There is also seemingly much within the spiritual teachings of Islam that has the potential to share common ground with similiar teachings in Judaism, Christianity, and many of the other great spiritual paradigms.

Walid Shoebat, and many others, are willing to admit that there are Muslims who personally reject many of the classical Islamic sources, and who truly focus on the peaceful verses of the Qur'an - seeking to somehow re-interpret the verses as peaceful and tolerant, if only because they do not themselves want to engage in violence. These may represent the "peaceful" Islam that most people apparently think of (or wish for) when they use the term.

The problem is, he says, that such "liberal" Muslims are effectively attempting to "re-write" Islam, rather than to correctly interpret it. They are peaceful in spite of Islam, not because of it - and because of this, they remain susceptible to the orthodox arguments and influence of the fundamentalists.

Or they become the targets of the jihadists as well. One must not only be Muslim, it seems; one must be the correct sort of Muslim, in order to survive jihad.

Unlike the Christian Reformation movement, whose instigators and followers were able to return to the holy texts and founders of the faith for their inspiration and validation of their spiritual theology - a theology which clearly prohibits genocide and murder - faithful Muslims cannot do the same.

Unlike Luke 6:27-28, not a single verse exists in the Qur'an with anything like "... love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you ... [and] if one strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also ..."

In fact, quite the opposite sentiment is found.

Spiritual Islam, to the degree it exists, certainly has the potential to contribute greatly to our insights and understanding of the human condition, and to perhaps someday become the foundation for a truly viable spiritual alternative.

The question is, is Islam institutionally and philosophically capable of such a dramatic paradigm shift?

The evidence seems to point against it. At the end of the day, Islam is the religion of Muhammad, and Muhammad, for all that he was, was certainly a violent, vengeful, vindictive, and ambitious individual. Take away Muhammad, and what you have will no longer be Islam, no matter how much of an improvement that might be.

Enemies of Darkness
Like all the proud cultures and traditions of history, Islam has had, and continues to have, moments that it must undeniably point to with considerably less pride - if not cover its collective face with abject shame. This period is certainly shaping up to be one of those long moments.
The point is not to deny or deflect the shameful acts of history, regardless of the causes or justifications of the era. The need is to ensure that history is not repeated by similar atrocities, and to learn from past mistakes.

No less can be said to be true for the Christians, the Jews, the Buddists, the Hindu, or for any of the others not mentioned here. Our imperfection is after all part of our humanity, and reason enough for humility.

The enemy that we, and those genuinely peaceful (but all too often shamefully silent) Muslims face today however, are those evil elements that have sought refuge and recruits within the aucpices of a malevolent and repressive theology.

The enemy we face are those who seek to use hatred and violence as a means to spread and enforce their own world view, and who seek to subjugate or destroy (kill) any and all who do not agree, or who stand against, what they themselves believe (or at least claim to belive).
Unlike most of the other wars and struggles of history, this is not ultimately a war of nations, empires, kingdoms, or city-states.

This is in the end a war of ideas - of peace vs violence - of hatred vs civility - of life vs death - in short of a world that is truly pluralistic, even among peoples who chose to live apart, and in their own way, vs a world of "our way, or no way".

Make no mistake. This is now a world-wide, global war. War has literally and openly been declared by those who are unabashedly waging it. Shots have been fired. People have died, and are dying, each and every day, soldiers and civilians alike.

They are dying, literally risking life and limb, in an effort to protect, and even to obtain, the very freedoms you take for granted, freedoms that you enjoy every day. Freedoms that enable this web page to exist, and freedoms that enable you to be able to read it.

Nor is the war simply something that is just happening "over there", a hapless mis-guided political misadventure that we can easily afford to ignore, or abandon.

This is also a war of infiltration and sabotage, of sympathy and collaboration, of subtly undermining our ability and will to resist, and ultimately, of achieving our destruction from within - by slowly boiling the frog, so to speak. Resistance, they say, is futile.

You will be assimilated, or you will die. There is no acceptable middle ground. True, temporary exceptions may have occasionally been made in history for reasons of expediency and/or greed, but these exceptions were always temporary. Once again, they existed in spite of Islam, not because of it.

Although skilled in the art of doublespeak and denial, the enemy is not shy about their intentions, or the methods they will use to achieve their aims. They give no quarter - the "laws of warfare", political correctness, compassion, tolerance and the spirit of humanity are merely tools and loopholes of a civilization that they will twist and pervert to their own advantage at every opportunity.

Given the chance, the enemy will take the same openness, freedom, and tolerance that is the very hallmark of a modern, progressive society, and will turn it against itself, shamelessly using those hard-won freedoms as cover, even as he seeks to undermine and destroy them, all in the name of "Allah", all for the greater "glory of Islam", and all for the imposition, by hook or by crook, of a world-wide Islamic empire.

Anti-Zionism, Jew-hatred, tirades against the alleged imperialistic depravities of westernized, quasi-democratic societies (non-Islamic and secular Islamic alike), hatred for the west in general and America in particular, and claims of sympathy for the allegedly helpless, hapless and hopeless Palestinian Arab populations, all serve only as cynical smoke screens and recruitment slogans for a far deeper, much less altruistic Islamist agenda.

Calling Forth ... A Greater Generation

Denial, hiding one's head in the sand, or abandoning the battlefield to the enemy will not change either the situation or the threat, and will not make it go away. Cut and run. Phased Withdrawal. Strategic Redeployment. Use whatever euphamisms you wish.

Those are the responses of weaklings, cowards, and mis-guided fools to a reality they either desperately wish did not exist, or to one they optimistically seek to twist and use to their own political and ideological ends - somehow hoping or expecting that in the end, they themselves will be able to "swim with the dolphins", and miraculously escape the trecherous teeth of the crocodile they have so generously fed.

Defeatism and despair is not a strategy. Surrender is not an option. War of any kind is never easy - and now is not the time to get all "weak-kneed and wobbly", just because the enemy has not been neatly defeated and wrapped up within a pre-planned or legislated timetable, like some two-hour made-for-TV movie.

This battle has been going on for decades - perhaps even centuries. It did not begin when the planes hit the World Trade towers, and it would not (and will not) end even if every last "infidel" soldier were removed from Iraq (et al) tomorrow, and every Jew from Israel the day after - for those are not the real points of the matter. They are only the most recent excuses.

Hatred is a cancer. It is an evil. It is an anathema to life. It feeds, it destroys, it spreads to survive. In the end it cannot survive, of course, as in the end it will only kill the host.

In so doing, it destroys itself as well. But it cares not, as it knows of nothing else but anger, vengence, death and destruction. Such vileness and corruption contributes nothing to life, nothing to greatness, nothing to the glory of creation. It is, after all, the very definition of evil.

Turning the worm ...

But there IS hope!

There is hope for as long as even in the face of such dispair, negativity and defeatism, there are those among us who are still able to see circumstances clearly for what they are, who have the courage and conviction to stand up in defense of what is good and right, and who have the clear-headedness, fortitude and vision to step forward and to step up to the plate - striving always to build a better world, and striving always for one that is built on a foundation of optimism and hope, rather than on a slope of destruction and hate.

Building a "better world" - not through some pollyannish vision of so-called "social justice" or redistributionist fantasy, but building a better world by genuinely working together in positive, individual ways to make each of our lives, and the lives of each of our neighbors, easier and better.

Better through the constructive application of our unique individual talents and skills, whatever they are.

Freedom enables that.

Freedom and the ethic of human dignity and true compassion, that is humankind's best hope, greatest promise, and it's most profound legacy.

So have hope. Stand tall. Defend freedom - and help build tomorrow!


source: ( http://StandingUpToJihad.com)
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