The Great Totalitarian Threat of our Time

I am an open-minded and tolerant person, like most Americans.  However, there is one thing that we can’t safely tolerate.  That is tyranny or totalitarian influences that would destroy the ability to be open-minded or tolerant.

Although some Islamic groups/sects are trying to break away from militant Islam, there are far too many within the faith who either condone or celebrate terrorism committed in the name of their faith.  Since my personal experience with Islam is limited, I began to study it about three years ago.

It's never a good idea to learn about someone or something from their enemies.  (Get your information straight from the source, that’s what I say!)  I read the Qur’an.  I studied Islam in general.  I read the writings of proponents and opponents of the faith and have come to my own conclusions (mostly that the truth is very difficult to find indeed).  The Qur'an is a long read, and I know that not everyone has the time, or the patience, to read it.  Still, I recommend it.

I learned that there are three concepts of Islam that are very important to understand as an American or Westerner.  1) Islam is not fundamentally a peaceful religion that was hijacked by militant members.  The Qur'an encourages violent acts towards non-believers.  2) Instituting world-wide Shari'a Law is a religious duty for all Muslims.  To live under any other form of government is considered a sin.  3) Muslims are allowed (and in some cases encouraged) to deceive non-Muslims if it helps their religion.  This principle is called Taqiyya - a term you might want to remember.  To get a nice overview of these concepts, check out this short video on YouTube.  

A few disturbing current events in Europe that you may not be aware of:

• Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff - A woman who has lived in Muslim countries for nearly her entire life, speaks at a university about her experiences and is thrown in jail for years (her real-life experiences are called hate-speech).
• Geert Wilders - A Dutch politician who has been put on trial for daring to say outrageous things about Islam (that are backed up by the writings of the Qur'an). Further info and video of the trial can be found here.
• One law for Muslims - another for others. - How can there be equality under the law, when there is more than one law?

When you think back over the scope of history, it's quite easy to see that the destroying influences that wreck civilizations are the results of human activity.  Sometimes these influences are spurred by natural disaster, but they are driven to soul-crushing completion by groups of people.  The Gauls and Goths destroyed Rome (although Constantinople hung on for a few extra centuries).  The Huns scoured Eastern Europe.  The colonialism of Europe blasted Asian and African societies.

In contrast, natural disasters don't usually impact history directly.  They may leave death and destruction in their wake, but without humans, they don't inherently change things.  For example, the Black Death did a number on Western Europe, but left social and political institutions intact (just smaller).

Interestingly enough, most people who live at a time that a huge totalitarian threat is rising have no clue of what is about to happen.  Only through the forced, retroactively-applied filter of searching for the meaning and causes of major historical events, do past events seem inevitable and all-too-clear in their catalysts.  While the wave of conflict is building to tsunami proportions, most people do not detect or perceive the threat at all.

We live during such a time. The great totalitarian threat of our time is to be found in the rising tide of Militant Islam and Creeping Shari'a.  The tenets of militant Islam and the legal and social rules that make up Shari’a are completely incompatible with our country’s rule of law and the Bill of Rights.

Looking at the lamp of history, it is perfectly clear to me that without intervention, we will fight a world war against this threat.  Already we are in the midst of a Cold War with this foe, but it is going to turn hot if things remain as they are.

The Center for Security Policy has released an excellent combined tactical and strategic plan that defines militant Islam and Shari'a.  It's pretty lengthy at over 170 pages, but it is clear and concise in it's treatment of our options and possible contingencies.  It's just that there are a lot of them.  If you want a very good read that is positive and not all doomy-gloomy, I highly recommend this report.  It doesn't focus on just fighting militant Islam, but gives a lot of suggestions on how to encourage the evolution of Islam into a tolerant religion that can co-exist with others.  You can find a PDF of the short version of this document on my Downloads page.

Now, there will be some who will invariably wish to hurl insults at me for writing about this topic.  I'll be called an Islamophobic, for certain.  That, however, would be completely incorrect.  The use of that term would imply that I hate and/or fear Islam.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I hope that the attempts to moderate the Muslim community will succeed and that actual conflict will be unnecessary.  The only fear I have related to Islam, is that if internal attempts at tolerance fail, open warfare does occur, and their totalitarian threat is crushed (and it would be) - Would there still remain a faith called Islam on the planet?  It would be a sad outcome if their heritage and creed were totally eradicated.  I believe that there is the potential for the current ideology to become a profound faith and force for good in this world.  One that engenders true piety in its members - a respect for themselves, their God, and for all others who live on His creation.

I'm not seeing that from Islam as yet.  There are plenty of examples of Muslims dancing in the streets whenever something bad happens to the West or America, but I prefer to look in the other direction and find examples of their inner piety.  When a scandal of some kind occurs in a Western religion - the members of that faith will rise up and protest the wrong, condemning its occurrence and demanding its repair.  But when Islam is shown to have inner problems or outward scandal, all I see are Muslims calling for those who speak of the issue to be beheaded or (and perhaps more disturbingly) a deafening silence.  There is no tolerance, no introspection, no allowance made for any other opinion other than their own.  Islam is a religion of peace - so long as every infidel is dead.

Clearly, their faith has a bit of growing up to do.  I truly do hope that their teenager years don't result in some kind of personal tragedy...

UPDATE: Read more about how to resist Stealth Jihad here.