Terror & Hate

TOWARD UNDERSTANDING MUSLIM TERROR & HATE
(Try As You Might)
The first essay entitled Islam – a Non Politically Correct View is primarily reportage of facts concerning historical, cultural, religious and behavioral aspects of that religion. Informative as it might be it does not go far enough to help one understand the ‘inner’ Muslim. Perhaps nothing could. Nevertheless, this paper is a different attempt to describe the Muslim political and cultural mind set insofar as how they regard non-Muslims and their place in the world.

Is it Psyche?
Psyche is defined by Webster as, interchangeably, the Soul, the Self or the Mind of a person or body of persons. Let’s expand that definition to mean that which informs our core beliefs, behavior and reactions to the world around us. It defines us and is a nearly impregnable mask that cannot be penetrated or changed without extreme outside intervention or a soul wrenching epiphany from deep within. In simpler words it is what we are in a very fundamental way.

Western Ways

The western psyche can, in aggregate, be said to consist of considerably tolerant and open minds that are receptive to reasoned argument and accustomed to change and questioning while simultaneously being very used to living amongst challenge and doubt regarding one’s personal beliefs. Westerners can be quite firm in their beliefs and life styles while concurrently being quite able to live civilly amongst others who do not accept them at all. Variable external conditions are an every day part of western life and, for the most part, we adjust and deal with it all quite comfortably. We certainly have our idiots, jerks, bigots and radicals but they are a minor force in the overall scheme of western thought and culture. All in all, the west is a relatively pleasant and undemanding place to live assuming one can fill his basic human needs. In particular, all nations of the so-called west are clearly blessed with relatively peaceful and secular civic structures that are protected and arguably made possible by a consistently applied rule of law.
Hand in hand with this relative calm and security is a confusing but dangerous characteristic of westerners to refuse to see things as they are. Critics call this political correctness coupled with white guilt. Supporters call it cherishing diversity. By any name we have a cultural propensity to turn a blind eye to things that should horrify and even frighten us into action. Such things as honor killings; execution of gays; death by stoning; death sentences from religious leaders (Fatwas); and extreme anti-Semitism head up a much longer list of every day Muslim behavior that is mind numbing to western individuals. Collectively, however, we do not react strongly to it and we are increasingly accepting tacit accommodation of these practices within our own countries. Our governments fail to adequately condemn the religious and cultural source of such atrocities and, in fact, we welcome their people to live amongst us as if they were cherished family.

The Islamic Mind Set

Not so Muslims, especially for Islamic fundamentalists. In their rigid world the very opposite of western thought informs their cultural and religious psyche. Allah, through Mohammed as his last and final Prophet, or so they believe, established Islam as his vehicle to shape human life and law. He, Mohammad, then delivered to Muslims the Koran, given verbally by the angel Gabriel directly to Mohammed His Messenger, to reveal Islam’s only true written word. The Islamic religion allows no questioning or interpretation of the Koran, demands complete obedience to it and even has a set of religious law –Sharia - which is their basis for ordering human life and, indeed, is all that is needed for the only valid form of government - a Muslim theocracy. Muslims not only believe explicitly in the Koran as the unchallengeable guide to life and in Mohammad himself as the perfect person. It must also be understood – and herein lays an essential difference - that they do not accept that others even have a right to different beliefs. Thus, in spite of words about ‘People of the Book’, all others are still infidels to be converted or subjugated. This implacable difference and outlook compels Islam, in its fundamentalist form, to either convert or kill us.
It is extremely difficult if not impossible, therefore, for a westerner to comprehend what he is faced with in dealing with his Muslim counterparts. A person’s reasoning power seems inadequate. The westerner will expect comity in his relations with Muslims, and will even get it on a superficial level if such behavior serves some temporary Islamic purpose, but will eventually be forced to face the harsh truth that he is really held in contempt by the religion of his Muslim acquaintances.
What follows does a good job of clearly illustrating the twisted Muslim mindset. A Wall Street Journal Op-Ed opined about the paradox of why Muslims refuse to assimilate and always take such furious offense over imagined insults (Danish Cartoons) to their religion while western religionists can shrug off similar things (Piss Christ). The article resulted in letters to the editor that were, with one exception, strongly in support of the gist of it, i.e., why do they even come here? Most letters also pointed out that Christians and Jews do not riot or kill people who mock their religion; only Muslims do such things. The exception was a letter from a Muslim-American from which the following is a direct quote: “At stake isn’t whether the decision of Muslims to live in western society is theirs but whether a western society, such as the U.S., protects the religious rights of any group so that the citizens of that group have a right not to be offended by other groups.” What this Muslim is clearly saying is that western society must and will change to accommodate them and their beliefs and that our concept of freedom must be modified to suit their needs. Westerners believe that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. Muslims believe this does not and cannot apply to them and so they seemingly lay an uncompromising obligation upon us and our legal systems to assure that they not be offended. Such an accommodation would not only spike our traditional and constitutional free speech, it would amount to a governmental preference of religious demands, heretofore unthinkable on the liberal left. Meanwhile, it is OK by Muslims and their western apologists that many Islamic nations officially deny non-Muslims the right to worship, amounting to the ultimate insult if you will, but in their minds this is not a part of their contract with the west. Muslims occupy a truly impenetrable one-way world.

It’s All About Freedom
Andrew McCarthy’s book, Willful Blindness, goes a long way toward shedding light on the almost inexplicable Islamic position on freedom. This is challenging to grasp but easy to say. There is no free will except to choose Islam or not because their fundamentalist notion of freedom is simply that we are free to submit to Islam or not. If one chooses Islam they are bound by its every word and sanctioned interpretation. In this circular thinking you are only free to become a religious sycophant. If you question or stray in any way you are un-Islamic and sinful. If you choose to reject Islam you are an apostate. Apostasy and infidelism are grievous sins. The former is punishable by death. Any nuance here must be looked at in Christian terms. Many Catholics regard confession as a matter of mental attitude and will not go to a Priest for absolution. This is so widespread that Catholic doctrine has come to accept it. Such a departure from Islamic Sharia would be beyond unthinkable.
In a related line of thought, obeying secular laws and elected or appointed leaders – government officials and police – is deemed equivalent to worship. Since only Allah can be worshipped, all secular governments are therefore heretical and should be destroyed. This is the rock solid basis of their rejection of western style democracy where citizens have a say in their government.
To be fair, fundamental Islamists long for the defeat of many of their own governments such as Egypt, Jordan and others for being secularly structured and for not following Sharia. Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen and a few others are Islamic theocracies, to a degree, so they get a pass. Saudi Arabia, for example, is an Islamic theocracy and even has a governmental Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Its head sits on the council of government and it has its own police and courts. They deal with modesty dress codes, preventing unauthorized inter sex contact, non-Islamic worship and much, much more. They often beat people right on the street and can arrest and hustle people off to jail and interrogation. Court administered punishments can be severe. This is Sharia in practice and is what Muslims are free to choose but are not free to reject.

Hardliners in Charge, All Others Afraid

Considered in another light, Islam is dominated by fundamentalists and hard liners who speak for the faith in nearly all matters; internally to fellow Muslims and externally to the world of infidels. There is no official hierarchy or governing body in Islam from which guidance and continuity can be gained, for better or worse. What leadership that does arise is informal and is often the result of power struggles and even assassinations. The few at the unofficial top compete with each other for air time and implied authority. Regardless, though these unofficial leaders may be highly revered, every Imam and Mosque is a free agent, albeit under the Islamic umbrella. This void of central leadership may well be why literal interpretations of Koranic scripture are the backbone and primary guiding light of Islam and strongly suggests why Islamic culture is so backward. It also suggests a high level of theocratic discipline in spite of this lack of hierarchy.
Coupled with the Islamic requirement to be unyielding in the practice of their faith, the many millions of Muslims who might by temperament be flexible and reasonable are, in fact, caught up in a mass psychosis of subservience to a much harsher and more fundamentalist Islam. This is the fascist element of Islam and it is real, widespread and steadily growing. Any Muslim who speaks up about liberalizing or temporizing Islamic teachings comes under attack and is persecuted as being un-Islamic, a grievous sin. Being un-Islamic is equal to apostasy and that label can beget very serious consequences. In a recent 2008 TV interview Ayaan Hirsi Ali confirmed that she lives under 24/7 armed guard as do most Muslim apostates living in the west.
Looking in yet another direction, Muslims seem to better understand westerners insofar as our behavior, individually and as a society, is viewed by them as decadent and craven and, therefore, represents a weakness that must be both exploited to their advantage and ultimately defeated. Unfortunately, there are unsavory aspects of our popular culture that give them a legitimate argument. Judged by their incursions into western civilization on a very broad front and largely on their own terms, they have been very successful both in a physical sense as well as by making so many of us believe they are at peace with us even while they are spiritually at war with us everywhere.

No Good Choices
The West, or at least America, would surely mobilize against Islam on a massive, multi-front scale if only it had an adequate understanding of Islamic aims and core beliefs and were then intellectually able to regard them seriously. Although we must maintain a potent military force that can protect us as needed and project awesome offensive power, an appropriate counter attack need not be a violent or military one. Rather, it would best be a constructive but aggressive engagement with Islam on the broadest possible public relations and educational fronts using only the truth on a never ending but massive and coordinated scale. The notion of changing Muslim minds and forging a gentling of their religion seems an impossible task, and it may well be so, but we have no choice but to try in a very big and never ending way. If we fail to make progress with this mission we will eventually be faced with violent and destructive conflict from within. Muslim history, its oft repeated aims and today’s geopolitical reality all combine to reveal the danger to be palpable and terrifying in its implications. Muslims are not hiding anything and, in fact, are very open about their contempt for us and their religion based purposes for the non-Muslim world.
Military warfare is not the ultimate answer because, although we can prevail in any armed conflict, we cannot and should not kill 1.5 billion people. Power speaks to radicals but genocide, even to save ourselves, is unthinkable. We simply must prevail with ideas.

Yet, All Is Hidden

In a well funded (primarily by western oil purchases), continuing and successful effort to overcome the truth and manipulate western perceptions, Muslims engage in modern and sophisticated public relations efforts everywhere to cultivate a peaceful and benign image. It is important for us to always keep in mind that the Koran condones lying and deception to achieve ultimate Islamic world hegemony with a religious face. The Congress of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the most prominent example of the many organized and well funded practitioners of this massive and highly coordinated campaign that is specifically aimed at deflecting our collective attention. To this end they have been incredibly successful at forming and/or reinforcing benign western opinion and using our own legal and social systems to forward their interests to our great disadvantage. You are strongly urged to read Spencer and Steyn’s books if you need corroborating details. Preventing a realistic awakening of the traditionally liberal, tolerant and accepting mode of western thought is their precise goal. To date, they have been all too successful.

To The Future

Western Europe has taken this politically correct but self destructive philosophy that, at its core is an inordinate fear of appearing biased or judgmental, to suicidal extremes. Some social scientists have attributed this collective mind set to a deep sense of self guilt and national shame over incessant European wars ending with WWII, especially amongst Germans. That such things as the Holocaust were truly horrible will always be true but, unfortunately, this revulsion brings with it the tragically unintended consequence of paving the way for an eerily similar destruction of us from within that we have become increasingly powerless to combat. At the root of this cultural malaise is the realization that to combat it we will have to employ methods that are now very politically incorrect and, therefore, unthinkable to liberal elites; things like religious restrictions; curtailment of free speech excesses and the legal judgment that implies; strict, mandatory assimilation rules; strong national language policies; control and monitoring of school content; strong border and Visa controls; Work Visas that really mean work or leave; limited welfare and medical rights, etc. To date, western nations have not had the stomach or the political will to think in such terms, let alone enact them. As well, there are reasonable concerns that such moves impinge negatively on our guaranteed freedoms. To this I say perhaps so, but we are in a real fight for our survival and if we lose that fight these very freedoms will become a distant memory. So it is demonstrably better to make hard decisions up front than to entirely lose at the end of the day.
There are, as widespread research and observation support, growing predictions of an Islamic Europe in social, political, legal and economic terms that European elites are refusing to confront even with compelling evidence at their very doorsteps. America is traveling down the same road although we are, thankfully, still well behind them. If Europe does tip over into a true Eurabia will it happen in time to alarm America and wake us up? Let us hope so! Perhaps such a tragedy, if unavoidable, will deliver a convincing shock effect. There is still time for America to protect itself if we will only become adequately aware of the uncompromising ideological enemy at our doorstep and then, most importantly, collectively give a damn. If, in Mark Steyn’s words, we do become the last man (country) standing we will be uncomfortably isolated from a very hostile world that will probably include Canada. Such a geopolitical reality would have enough political and economic mass to have its way with us, especially if we still lack the will to fight for our survival.