How to thnk about Islam

Americans are trying (unsuccessfully) to navigate through the challenge of dealing with Islam. The problem, of course, is that our most fundamental ideology is all about freedom--including freedom of worship. Our forefathers fled from European tyranny, including religious tyranny, and their collective experience led the brilliant crafters of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights to champion freedom of conscience in matters of religion.

On the other hand, Islam presents a serious threat to our country. At the lower end of the threat spectrum is the simple fact that many of us find Islamic culture and beliefs distasteful in the extreme. More seriously, it is a culture that gave birth to a sustained, worldwide proclivity for violence against perceived infidels. Historically, according to Huntington, Islam "has bloody borders,"--i.e., it is a civilization that inculcates a collective feeling of victimization--blaming others for its own failures. This leads to the easy seduction of young, often unemployed men toward the emotional release of violence and hatred. Finally, there is the real threat of American Muslim communities pushing for Sharia law and the forced integration of their values and beliefs.

So how do we defend ourselves and yet stay true to our principles concerning freedom of religion. The answer is simple.

The reason we feel so emasculated in dealing with Islam is that WE THINK OF IT AS A RELIGION. IT IS NOT.

Islam is a geopolitical ideology above all else. It is a culture (more accurately a system of cultures) with strong, often uncompromising views about politics, warfare, economics, and social organization. It also happens to have a religious component. But Islam is much more than a religion. The religious part of it is relatively minor in comparison to the greater whole.

An analogy helps to clarify. The Holy Roman Empire was not a religion. It was a political and military organization that had a religious ideology. In its heyday it boasted a universal ambition: to conquer the world for Christendom. (Sound familiar?) It would be ridiculous to think of the HRE as a religion, even though it had some religious ideas connected to it.

In the same way, Islam is not a religion. It is an ideology of world conquest and incessant war. It began when a talented warlord named Mohammad rose up and conquered his neighbors. Over the next few centuries, relentless conquest and bloodshed established Islam as a major power stretching from Andalusia to the borders of China and beyond.

But is it fair to say that Islam is inherently violent and bent on conquest? The worldview of mainstream Muslim scholars suggests so. The world, from the Islamic viewpoint, is basically divided into two parts: dar al-Islam ("the abode of Islam"), and dar al-Kufr ("the abode of unbelief"). The abode of unbelief is further divided into two parts: dar al-harb ("the abode of war"), and dar al-'ahd ("the abode of treaty"). The latter is viewed as a temporary measure--a present necessity while Islam gathers its strength. Ultimately, according to Islamic eschatology, world history ends with the conquering or coerced assimilation of the world under the Mahdi. The ideology couldn't be clearer.

Why then is there such a sustained insistence on the part of so many Muslims that Islam is peaceful and not a threat? There are two basic reasons: ignorance and deliberate deception. As with all belief systems, there are many, many people who identify themselves with some ideology without truly understanding it. How many "Christians" today really read their Bibles, could explain soteriology, the Hypostatic Union of Christ, or Christian eschatology? These are fundamental issues in Christianity, but relatively few "believers" have any idea about them.

In the same way, many Muslims are blissfully ignorant of their own beliefs. How many Muslims understand that the Qur'an is composed of two contradictory parts--the Mecca part and the Medina part? How many know about the rule of interpretation called abrogation? This is basic to understanding the Qur'an, and yet few Muslims know anything about it. Hence, they are easily duped into mouthing whatever they are told and whatever is politically correct at the moment.

Likewise, Islam teaches that it is the duty of the believer to deceive his enemies concerning his real intentions. Hence, much of the debate about the so-called "pacifistic nature" of Islam is mere deception--played out many times in Islamic history.

Is Islam a peaceful ideology? Three of the first five caliphs were murdered by fellow Muslims in power struggles. The first few centuries of Islam featured unrelenting conquest. The facts are obvious and inescapable.

Critics are quick to respond to the obvious bellicosity of Islam by trying to equate Christianity to it. An absurd practice for those who have any sense of history. Do you remember the Apostles of Christ murdering each other in power struggles? Instead, even when they found themselves in serious, gut-level disputes with one another, how did they respond? Read Galatians 2:9.

Christianity did not advance from Palestine into Asia and Europe by the sword, but rather by word of mouth, prayer, and love. Christians were murdered, tortured, harassed, and abused...and the gospel of Christ advanced ever faster. Later, when misguided and unscrupulous men wrested the purity of biblical Christianity and foully converted it into a political alliance with the Roman Empire, it became repugnant and often evil. But the real essence of Christianity survived and thrives today, converting souls and bringing some respite to the devil's world.

What is biblical Christianity's view concerning violence? The answer is simple: warfare is an unavoidable part of this fallen world. Christians should be neither pacifistic nor warmongers. When required by their duty as citizens, Christians should serve honorably, killing in war as necessary. As for the biblical view of the end times--there will a period of grave, worldwide violence on an unimaginable scale--BUT NEVER AT THE HANDS OF CHRISTIANS! Rather, it is the devil and his agents who will perpetrate violence, and, in the end, Jesus Christ himself who ends it all in one decisive, bloody campaign to establish justice and lasting peace.

The contrast with Islam is obvious and compelling.

Americans have a right to oppose Islam, because Islam is not a religion, even though it has some religious components. In World War II we fought Nazis because they were bent on conquest and violence. In the Cold War we opposed the Soviet Union--not because we insisted on the eradication of socialism, but because the Soviets, in the name of socialism, were bent on conquest, coercion, slavery, and violence. Similarly, today we should oppose Islam, not because we are bigots who fear a foreign religion, but because Islam is much more than a private religion. It is a vicious, universalist, geopolitical ideology of conquest, deception, coercion, and violence.