Answering Islam - A Christian-Muslim dialog

A Prophecy Against America

by Silas

In May 1970 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded “Ohio,” a virulent protest song about the shootings at Kent State in which four students were killed by National Guardsmen during a demonstration against the Vietnam war.  In echoing fury the refrain “four dead in Ohio” is repeated over and over at the song’s end.  Find it on YouTube.  The writers were outraged that four innocent students were killed.  President Nixon, who had nothing to do with the shootings, is blamed implicitly. 

9/11 brought the deaths of some 2700 innocent Americans at the hands of Muslims.  No songs protesting the evil of Islam were written or sung.  Our previously outspoken musicians no longer cared about honor, now they worship fame and money.

While the perpetrators of the crimes are different (National Guardsman vs. Muslims) the end result was the death of innocents.  The arts community was outraged by what happened at Kent State but shrugged at 9/11.

Fast-forward to June 2014.  During the last 13 years the American people have been attacked by Muslims multiple times; many have been killed and maimed.  Worse yet, all over the world Muslims are killing tens of thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims.  Nary a word from our arts community is spoken in protest of the violence that Islam brings.  Tragically those that speak out against Islam are called hateful Islamophobes and some suffer repercussions.

In the 60s and 70s the Vietnam War was protested by college professors and musicians.  Many professors wrote books and articles against the evil of that war and the cheap, trivial, calloused way the American government (notably President Johnson) pissed on the lives of young American soldiers.  Various bands and musicians sung against that war.  Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” highlighted how politicians’ children, and children of other privileged families, never bore the pain of a war they supported.  As that war dragged on the American public slowly realized it was a growing cancer and increasing numbers demanded its end.

Today few college professors are acknowledging the worldwide plague of violence from Islam.  Few are knowledgeable enough to engage in discussion of the ugly face of Islam.  Fewer are brave enough to risk censure in doing so; it is not worth taking a stand.  And yes, the musicians remain silent.

Today millions of dollars are spent each year to help abused children and many government programs exist to help.  Dozens of agencies and groups, funded by the government, by religious groups, by private institutions, etc. work hard to protect abused children.  Yet Islamic female genital mutilation (FGM), justified by the Shafi’i theological school, occurs throughout the world, from America to Saudi Arabia.

FGM is not only an Islamic problem, animists and Christians also engage in cultural FGM and this mutilation should be stopped.  The deeper problem is that one of the major schools of Islam establish FGM.

Even in America Muslims families take their girls to be mutilated and disfigured weekly:

      1) Female Genital Mutilation in the U. S. Factsheet

      2) Swedish health authorities


On the other hand, the inglorious Brandais cowards, Frederick Lawrence and professors from Karen Hansen to Patricia Johnson, turned their back on a women who has risked everything in pointing out the evils of Islam. See this letter To President Lawrence.

You can thank Lawrence et. al. as this Islamic abuse and torture continues in America.  Don’t tell me you care about female children being mutilated when you oppose honoring a woman who has risked her life in exposing and combating that barbaric practice.  The female politicians who should have been speaking out about this are cowed.  Muslim feelings be damned!  Children shouldn’t be mutilated like that.

The great distance between “Ohio” and the Brandais faculty illustrates how America has regressed.  This nation struggles to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, and when it succeeds, it often shrugs its shoulders.  Confusion and apathy rule while Islamic evil acts.  Real Muslims smirk at your naivety, ignorance, and weakness.

 

 


A Biblical Archetype

Some time ago I was reading Jeremiah chapters 40 and 41 and the Lord quickened a passage to me.

The context is that many years earlier Judah was a client state of the Babylonians.  However they rebelled and were subsequently attacked and re-subjected.  Each rebellion brought harsher retribution.  Jerusalem and other cities were destroyed and many Jews were taken into captivity.  Although many Jews remained in regions and towns much of Judah was devastated.

Imagine the ruins of a city destroyed.  Imagine the suffering of the people.  Feel the pain of those who felt abandoned by Jehovah.  Their Father, their God, had failed them, had allowed their families to be killed or taken captive and their lands destroyed.  Where was God?  Where was God in all of this suffering?  How could He let this happen to His people?  They are downtrodden, their country broken, those that remain are weak, scattered, fearful.

Eventually the Babylonian king appointed a Jewish man, Gedaliah, as governor over Judah.  Gedaliah began to rule confidently for he had the king’s backing and many Jews who had fled previously to neighboring lands returned.  Community and prosperity grew.

Here is the account from the Scriptures (New American Standard), Jeremiah 40:7-16:

Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.  So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men. Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, “Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you.  Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.  Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.


But storm clouds gathered and one of Judah’s historic enemies, Ammon, moved against them.  The passage continues…

Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”


Gedaliah was confident and assured in himself and his position for he had the backing of the powerful king.  Things were going well and the future looked good.  The people were returning, the land yielding its fruit.  However Johanan, a faithful Jew, warned him of a terrible threat from Ishmael, a threat both to him and the people.  Johanan was prepared to deal with the threat but Gedaliah was naïve and arrogant and rejected Johanan’s warning sharply.

Imagine what Gedaliah was thinking:  “Ishmael is my friend and I’ve known him for years.  Our parents were friends!  As fellow Jews we’ve suffered together, endured together, worked together, surely this man is faithful and trustable.  Ishmael is here with me, has given me his allegiance, and is working with me to restore Judah.  Perhaps Johanan is jealous or has a grudge.  Besides, I have the backing of the powerful King of Babylon and no one would dare raise a hand against me.

Ishmael was also a Jew and a member of the royal family.  The Ammonite King, Baalis, commissioned him to murder Gedaliah.  Ishmael gave himself fully, eagerly, to the task.  He was in one-accord with his people’s enemy and he prepared to do Baalis’ bidding.

The New International Commentary on the Old Testament comments on verses 15, 16:

Johanan was more aware of the dangerous consequences that would follow the assassination of Nebuchadrezzar’s governor in Judah.  The Jews so recently gathered about Gedaliah at Mizpah would be scattered and the remnant would perish.  Clearly such a murderous act would prevent the establishment of a new nation founded upon the remnant of Judah left in the land.  Better to slay Ishmael secretly than allow an evil train of events to be set in course.

Gedaliah could not accept the fact that others were less sincere than he was in his desire to reestablish a stable Judah.  His sheer transparent magnanimity made him incapable of a critical assessment of people or of situations.  This mistake, which many noble men in Israel and elsewhere both before and since have made, cost him his life.1

The story continues in Jeremiah chapter 41:

In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the Lord. Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern. But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.


Ishmael and the 10 Jews who joined him were a mortal threat to his fellow people.  His heart had turned against them and he hated them.  Whatever the motivation, Ishmael justified himself in betraying, murdering, and plundering his former brethren.

Gedaliah turned a deaf ear to the warning and a blind eye to the danger.  He and hundreds of people paid the price for his blind arrogance.  Worse yet, the budding nation of Judah was damaged severely.  The good that Gedaliah accomplished was wrecked.  The wonderful restoration they experienced ended and the promising future lost.  Gedaliah’s faults combined with Ishmael’s cunning and deception destroyed the beauty of a blossoming nation.

Matthew Henry’s commentary makes some key points on this event and the murder of the pilgrims:

These (Ishmael and his men) had put themselves under his (Gedaliah) protection (ch.xl. 8), and now came again, and they did eat bread together in Mizpah.  He entertained them generously.  They pretended friendship and gave him no warning to stand on his guard.

These pilgrims towards Jerusalem he hated for the sake of their errand. Ishmael went out to meet them with crocodiles’ tears, pretending to bewail the desolation of Jerusalem as much as they; …2


The NICOT offers additional details:

Treachery was never expected.  Gedaliah was caught off his guard and was defenseless.  The fact that Ishmael was at Gedaliah’s table may suggest that the two men knew one another and that Gedaliah was making a gesture of friendship.  Ishmael violated all the laws of Oriental hospitality by his shocking act of perfidy.3


Look at this from Ishmael’s perspective.  His heart had joined with Baalis and turned against his countrymen.  He wanted to plunge his dagger as deeply as possible into the heart of his former people.  Outwardly he professed fidelity, inwardly he hated them.  He came to Jerusalem, pretended to support Gedaliah, and gained Gedaliah’s trust easily.  Ishmael said the right things, used the correct buzzwords, feigned support for Gedaliah, and disarmed him.  The naïve and arrogant Gedaliah was easy prey for the skilled and cunning Ishmael.

Gedaliah was a good man.  He believed in his God and loved his country.  He worked hard for the welfare of his people and restoration of his country.  He believed his countrymen shared the same vision.  His passion, faith, and vision contributed to his inability to accept that he and his nation could be betrayed by one of their own.

 

 


This Biblical passage is an archetype for us.  America and the West have been warned about the threat of Islam, real Islam.  America, like Gedaliah, failed to heed the warning.  Real Muslims grin at our weakness, at your weakness, your inability to distinguish, identify, and classify Islam’s real goals.

Although our feeble musicians and many weak and cowardly professors are silent, there are other types of songs, of messages, that proclaim the evil and danger of Islam.  Many have just not listened.  These messages, these songs, are not found in an album and no rock tour performs their tune but the malevolence is declared.  Like Gedaliah, our intentions are good but our ears are plugged, our eyes dim, we bask in naivety and arrogance, and fail to hear the message.  Many Americans hear only the sound of silence while this cancer grows.

I want to highlight these messages that are annunciated clearly but heard poorly.  America, like Gedaliah, has no excuse for its naivety.  The message is proclaimed and accompanied by demonstrative signs.

 

The First Song: The Song of Intentions

I am no lone voice in the wilderness foretelling impending doom.  There is a chorus of baritone voices and trumpets in this proclamation.  These voices are heard from around the world.  There are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, atheist, political, secular, and scholarly voices that sing in unison of the evil and threat of Islam, real Islam, Muhammad’s Islam.  People in Thailand, India, England, Germany, Australia, etc. all proclaim the same message:  Islam is an inherently violent religion.  Yet somehow many Americans continue to think that Islam in America is benign, that it won’t hurt them.

Notable leaders have voiced concern:

President Obama  Obama's Top Fear is Manhattan Getting Nuked

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair  Tony Blair: West must take sides


The tone of the European and other countries is changing.  The Dutch are rejecting real Islam.  The weak and backward English are finally starting to reject it.  The French are rejecting it.  The Chinese are rejecting it.  Europe is no longer ignoring the danger and they are so very slowly responding.

But note who else joins this chorus:  with grim face, determined gaze and vigorous voice, Muslims join this song.  Read the statements of Al-Qaeda, of ISIS, of the Ayatollahs, of a multitude of jihadist groups around the world.  They proclaim violence and death to America and they’ve been saying it for years.  You hear them not only in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, etc., but you also hear them in London, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Washington DC.

These Muslims have preached death to America, their Great Satan, for dozens of years.  Yet so many discount their threat and believe that those Muslims got Islam wrong, that real Islam is peace, that it is just another religion like all the other religions in the world.

Questions:  Did Muhammad murder men and women?  Did Muhammad conquer by force to spread Islam’s rule?  Answer them and then decide who is practicing real Islam, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, or Sheila Musaji.

Please take those threats seriously.  Those that make them are dedicated Muslims who know the teachings of Muhammad and wish to obey them.  They have no problem killing other Muslims who oppose them, surely they have no problem killing you.

This first voice, this simple message, is what so many from so many walks of life are saying uniformly about the intentions of real Islam.  These are the words of them that know real Islam. 

 

The Second Song: The Song of Actions

A second chorale joins this song with soprano voice and guitars blaring.  This is no foretelling of things to come.  I utter no blind prophetic word.  The ghosts of events both past, present, and future join this song.  Throughout the entire world Muslims, real Muslims, have engaged and continue to engage in violence and oppression against both non-Muslim and inadequate Muslim.  These actions of Islamic violence occur frequently in every country in the world with a sizeable Muslim population.  The cries of those being murdered, blown apart, and stabbed to death cry out against Islam’s evil.

There is a river filled with blood drawn from humanity’s veins.  It is shed by the sword of Islam.   It flows throughout the world, spilt by dedicated Muslims against those that oppose real Islam, Muhammad’s Islam.  This blood cries out against Muhammad’s evil.  Have you noticed that this river was but years earlier just a stream?  Daily, if not weekly, you read about suicide bombings, abduction of school girls, bombings, massacres, etc.  Have you taken note?  Have you heard this cry?  Does that river of blood and violence concern you?

This river of blood and violence exists as Muslims labor to establish Islam’s rule over all.  If “everybody wants to rule the world”  then Muslims are foremost in that goal.

Actions speak louder than words.  This second message, in clear voice, are the actions of real Muslims.

 

The Third Song: The Song of Doctrine

A third band lends deep-toned voice in harmony while bass guitar and drums undergird the song.  The scripture of Islam, the traditions of Islam, command powerfully and devout Muslims hear and obey.  These doctrines, these tenets of violence, are the rebar in the foundation of Islam and upon it real Muslims build and execute.

Aggressive violence was permitted and sanctioned by Allah just before Muhammad fled Mecca for Yathrib (the Hijrah).  This sanction is known as “The Order to Fight.”  Different scholars identify various Quranic verses comprising this order but generally they are 22:39, 40 and 2:193.  This “order” is documented in the Sirat Rasul Allah4, The History of al-Tabari5, and Ibn Kathir’s sira6.

From then on, the scope of violence grew in scale of bloodshed and oppression of non-Muslims.

Below is a quote from Sahih Muslim, an “authentic traditions” that details Allah’s command to Muhammad:

It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.7


Also see Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, #24.8

This was not “Muhammad’s Plan,” it was “Allah’s Plan.”  Allah’s will for Muhammad was to fight people until they converted to Islam.  (Christians and Jews would be allowed to pay an extortion tax in a humiliating condition to remain in their faith – see Quran 9:29).  Allah’s will was for Muhammad to establish an earthly kingdom.

This command from Allah was non-negotiable.  It was not optional.  Muhammad obeyed with all his heart.  That this “fight” was a physical fight not a spiritual one, (that is why Muhammad mentions “their blood and property” would be protected).

This article is not going to argue “violence is integral to Islam”, however you can read the following articles that argue this topic in some detail.

The Verse of the Sword by Silas

Introduction to the Sword in early Christianity and Islam by James Arlanson

Jihad in Islam by Ernest Hahn

Jihad: The Teaching of Islam from its Primary Sources by Rev. Richard Bailey


Violence is integral to Islam and it has been ever since Muhammad received the “order to fight.”  The evidence and verification of this are the resulting actions of Muhammad and his subsequent Caliphs.  During the last ten years of Muhammad’s life the trail of blood behind him grew ever wider.  And just as Jesus’ disciples knew Him best and obeyed his commands, so too Muhammad’s Companions, his closest friends and followers, knew him best and obeyed his commands.  The trail of blood continued to widen.

Al-Tabari is regarded as being the greatest or one of the greatest Muslim historians and I’ll let his texts make this portion of my argument.  He was a Quranic scholar and composed many theological works.  He also compiled a chronological history of Islam that can be found as a 39 volume set.

Here are the titles of some of the volumes post Muhammad:

Volume 10:    The Conquest of Arabia

Volume 11:    The Challenge to the Empires (This covers the Wars of Apostasy and the Initial attacks against Syria)

Volume 12:    The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine (the battle of Qadisiyyah was one of the primary battles between the Persians who were eventually conquered and the Muslims).

Volume 13:    The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt

Volume 14:    The Conquest of Iran


What does this tell you about Muhammad and the early Muslims?  It tells me that they were implementing what Allah had commanded Muhammad to do:  subject the world to Islam, establish an earthly kingdom.  Again, this was not an option, it was a command.

 

 


Muhammad and the Jews and a Prophecy against America


Two Relevant Islamic Historical Examples

Just as we have the example of Gedaliah, we also have examples from Islamic history.  Two of them follow.


Example 1:  Muhammad’s conflict with the Banu Qaynuqa Jews

There were three larger Jewish tribes established in Medina:  the Banu Qaynuqa, the Banu Nadhir, and the Banu Qurayza.  (Banu means “tribe”).  They were not strong allies with each other and in fact and at times they joined Arab tribes and fought each other. 

The first tribe to trouble Muhammad was the Qaynuqa.  Scholars think they were the most devout and knowledgeable Jews in Medina.  They rejected and denied Muhammad’s claim of prophethood and did not agree with Muhammad’s edict known as the “Constitution of Medina.”  Following his victory at Badr against the Quraysh, Muhammad threatened the Qaynuqa with destruction:

“O Jews, beware lest God bring on you the like of the retribution which he brought on Quraysh.  Accept Islam, for you know that I am a prophet sent by God.  You will find this in your scriptures and in God’s covenant with you.”9

(Note Muhammad’s error about the Jewish Scriptures foretelling his prophethood).

Using various pretexts Muhammad attacked the Jews and besieged them for 15 days until the Jews surrendered.  Muhammad wanted to massacre the males (probably from 12 years old and up) and enslave the females and children.  However a Pagan leader, ibn Ubayy, physically confronted Muhammad, shook him by his beard, and demanded their lives be kept safe.  These Jews had an alliance with ibn Ubayy’s tribe, the Banu ‘Auf (or Aws), and Ibn Ubayy stood up for these Jews.  Under pressure from the Pagan leader Muhammad relented.  He expelled the Jews with what they could carry.  This Pagan leader caused the “great prophet of God” to back down from committing a massacre.

During this time a Muslim who was a member of Ubayy’s tribe, the Banu ‘Auf (or Aws), ‘Ubada b al-Samit, went to Muhammad and renounced his friendship with the Jews:

“O apostle of God, I take God and His apostle and the believers as my friends, and I renounce my agreement and friendship with these unbelievers.”10


While they were being expelled ‘Ubada was challenged about his betrayal of the Qaynuqa:

Did you free yourself from your alliance with your confederates?  How is this which is in their hands with you!”  And he reminded him of some cases in which they had stood the test.  ‘Ubada said, “Abu l-Hubab, hearts have changed and Islam has erased the agreements…”11


When it came time to honoring friendship and commitment the demands of Islam overrode them.  Commitment and obedience to Islam were paramount.  It was a small thing for the Muslims to break and absolve any previous commitments and friendships when Islam was involved.


Example 2:  Muhammad’s conflict with the Banu Nadhir Jews

Not long after Muhammad’s defeat by the Pagans at Uhud relations between Muhammad and the second Jewish tribe, the Banu Nadir, became strained.  Muhammad had murdered some of their leaders previously and they resented his actions. 

Once again, under various pretexts, Muhammad moved against these Jews.  Muhammad called for one of his men, (Muhammad ibn Maslamah), to take a message to the Nadhir:

Call Muhammad b. Maslamah to me.”  When Muhammad b. Maslamah came, he was told to go to the Jews and say to them, “Leave my country and do not live with me.  You have intended treachery.”  Muhammad b. Maslamah went to them and said, “The Messenger of God orders you to depart from his country.”  They said, “Muhammad, we never thought that a man of al-Aws would come to us with such a message.”  Hearts have changed,” he replied, “and Islam has wiped out the old covenants.”  “We will go,” they said.12


However the Jews were promised support from ibn Ubayy so they decided to stay and defend themselves.  The support never came.  They were besieged and surrendered eventually.  Muhammad expelled them from the land. 

Notice how Muhammad ibn Maslamah’s words were similar to what was said to the Banu Qaynuqa Jews:   “hearts have changed and Islam has erased the agreements.”

These two events teach us about Islamic loyalty, integrity, and betrayal.  In real Islam a Muslim’s primary commitment and loyalty is to the Muslim community.  It is not with previous friends or fellow citizens.  Muslims who lived next door in fidelity with the Jews of Medina were going to watch and shrug their shoulders while their former friends and allies were beheaded.  It took a Pagan leader to make a stand and prevent the massacre.  No Muslims took a stand; they went along with the brutality.  It was okay because Muhammad wanted it that way.

These events, like the Ishmael and Gedaliah event, translate to our times.  Muslims who have emigrated to the West, become citizens, or worse yet, American citizens who have converted to Islam, justify themselves in their violent actions against their fellow Americans.  “America is the Great Satan.  America is doing this or that against the Muslims and I must take action against America and defend Islam” is the reasoning.  The Muslims who flew those planes into the World Trade towers had communal ground support in America.  Similarly, court cases involving those convicted of supporting or engaged in terrorism discovered that these people have had ground support from within their local Muslim community.  Yes of course the past has repeated itself in the present and will repeat itself in the future.  Why would you expect anything different?

 

What will America, and the West, reap?

Do you believe you reap what you sow?  What will America reap?  Americans are a lot like Gedaliah.  Generally we’re benevolent, we give people the benefit of the doubt and want to extend a helping hand.  And like Gedaliah we’re naïve and arrogant with respect to those who deceive and intend to harm us.  After all:  “We’re the last super-power.  We’ve destroyed nations that stood against us.  Our military is the finest, most powerful, best trained in the world.  Our intelligence community has the best equipment, the best trained, most dedicated men and women working on our nation’s benefit.”  Perhaps we’re justifiably arrogant.  Like Gedaliah we continue to underestimate or discount a severe threat against us.  We’ve given Islam and Muslims the benefit of the doubt, bent over backwards to accommodate them, and closed our eyes to the obvious.


Two Cases in point

Case 1:  11 Sept, 2001 (9/11) the destruction of the World Trade Center towers

America had been attacked by Muslim terrorists several times before 9/11.  The WTC had been bombed previously in 1993.  Yet the lesson was not learned.  A few years later the two large towers were brought down.  Of course the blame must be laid on the Muslims who carried out the attack.  However, the record shows that our intelligence and government continued to be naive and arrogant and they did not put adequate measures in place to enable our country to defend itself more thoroughly.  We underestimated our enemy.

Could you see Osama bin Laden laughing with delight when the towers fell?

Question:  Did America learn her lesson following the catastrophe 9/11?

Answer:  No.

 

Case 2: the Major Nidal Hasan murders

There were earlier warnings and examples of what real Muslims in the military would do.  Several times before Major Hasan’s rampage Muslims had turned their weapons against their fellow soldiers.  Those lessons were not learned.

Major Hasan is an American born, dedicated Muslim.  His anger and hatred of America and Americans grew to the point of pushing him to murder 13 and injuring another 30+ people.  All of the warning signs were there, yet despite the evidence the Army coddled him and turned a blind eye to those signs.  The American military did not yet fully understand what they were up against, or did not take the threat seriously enough to act.  As Hasan openly opposed American policies the military shut their eyes tighter.  Johanan warned Gedaliah strongly only to be rebuked.  The American military bent over backwards to allow Hasan to do what he wanted.  Perhaps they cowered under threat of being called Islamophobic.  The failure to intervene allowed the cancer time to grow and bear fruit.  Of all organizations you would think the American military would be the sharpest, most astute, most proactive.  Unfortunately that was not the case.  Just like Gedaliah American leadership failed to protect its own.


Question:  2014 - has America learned?

Answer: No.


Real Islam has taken root in America.  Perhaps 30 years ago it was not so.  Now it is rooted deeply.  The Somalis that America has embraced and taken in now go to the Mideast to engage in jihad.  How on earth could you fail to consider that they are just as capable as engaging in jihad in Minnesota?  There is nothing magical in the land of 10,000 lakes protecting its people.

The stage has been set; it’s been set for some time.  Just as the Army reaped the fruit of its deliberate blindness, so too, unfortunately and tragically, America will reap bitter fruit.  The cancer of Islam is rooted and brings forth death.  Instead of challenging the evil of Islam many Americans have coddled it, embraced it, and some have kissed its ugly face.  Woe to a nation led by blind men who claim to see.

Real Islam should be challenged.  It should be challenged by our politicians, our professors, our liberal cultural leaders and our conservative moral leaders.  “Why would anyone choose to follow a debased man, an oppressive, superstitious faith, one whose fruit is proven poisonous?”  Many prominent Americans should have voiced concern, yet instead like Gedaliah, they silence the critics.

My words are harsh, but I reply, why would anyone commit themselves to follow and obey a faith and ideology that is so violent and oppressive?

Confronting Islam will take more than pajama boys and girly men.  It requires people with knowledge about Islam and the courage and fortitude to take a stand.  Politely, but firmly challenge Muslims on Islam’s integral violence and moral failures:

  • Challenge Muslims on Muhammad’s orders to murder slave girls whose only offense was to mock him.
  • Challenge Muslims on Muhammad marrying and engaging in intercourse with a 9 year old girl before she had her first menstrual cycle.  This is NOT the greatest example of mankind.
  • Challenge Muslims on Islam’s fruit.  All over the world, wherever Muslims exist in numbers there is strife and violence: Islam must subject that which is non-Islam.  Even now, Muslim rioters in Europe are destroying the cities they live in, flexing their muscles to test their strength against that nation’s strength.  Each year they get stronger while the European nations struggle to take a stand.


Of course this list can go on.  Just spend a day or two reading the news and you’ll find devout Muslims committing some barbaric act.

 

 


Conclusion

I am no prophet of old.  This is no arcane prophecy.  I am not telling you something that you can’t figure out for yourself.  This is just taking stock of the situation and understanding a process:  no prophet need tell you that crops grow from seed.  Wicked seed bears evil fruit.

This criticism is not directed against a harmless religion.  I’ve read the Gita and discussed Hinduism with Hindus and I’m not aware of an edict commanding subjection by force.  I’ve spoken with Buddhist priests and ex-monks and discussed the various shades of Buddhism and I’ve not found commands to conquer by force.  No, my criticism is directed against not only a false teaching spoken by a false prophet, but also against a religion that commands the subjection of others in a brutal fashion.

Islam is not just another spiritual religious system.  It is a physical, geo-political, martial system as well.  Its intent is to establish an earthly kingdom.  Part of this system are commands to use violence to further Islam’s rule.  Again, take Muhammad at his word:  “I have been ordered to fight men unless…”  Allah commanded Muhammad to establish an earthly kingdom and subjugate the world under Islam’s rule.

As Muslim communities grow and mature more violence will occur.  You’ve seen it in New York, Boston, Portland, etc.  This is a proven model found worldwide.  These violent events are both exercises of Islam’s strength in that particular location, and tests of how the non-Muslim community will react.  The strength of Islam is entrenched in America and has been seen in the targeted murders of Jews or military personnel.

What is notable about these events is that they are not “one-time” occurrences.  They are not the work of a “few rogues,” rather it is the work of disparate groups or individuals who are motivated by the commands of Islam to use violence to further Islam’s rule.  These events should be viewed as the natural progression of a tree bearing fruit.  The core of Islamic doctrine commanding violence found in the Quran, hadith, and sira, and the aggressive violent actions of Muhammad and his companions and subsequent Caliphs, are too strong to be ignored or discounted by Muslims who are serious about their faith.

Jesus taught that people should discern the signs of the times.  He also taught to judge a tree by its fruit.  Until America recognizes Islam as an evil ideology her Islamic enemies will continue to grow in strength and violence.  If you cannot identify a cancer you cannot fight it effectively and it will spread death.

 

Final Words

1) This is not an indictment of President Obama, nor of President Bush, etc.  It is not a political statement.  Left wing and right wing, conservative and liberal, religious and atheist, we are all in this together.

2)  I am not mimicking President Obama’s spiritual mentor, Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who proclaimed “God damn America!”  No!  I have sung “God Bless America” like Kate Smith at the Spectrum.  While I have grown a little jaded at the banality and stupidity of American politicians (Bush #1, Clinton, Bush #2, and Obama), I still say and pray God bless America.  There are millions of good Americans, from atheist, to Christian, to Muslim, to agnostic, etc. and I pray that God continues to bless this nation.

3)  The archetype of Johanan, Gedaliah, and Ishmael, includes Johanan’s intention to kill Ishmael preemptively.  No!  I am not advocating violence of any kind.  I advocate all people to come to understand the mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, found in Jesus Christ.  Yes, there is a definite place for self-defense, police, intelligence, and the military, but as a Christian my drive is to preach Jesus and call others to salvation.  Christ has not called me to commit or proclaim violence.  Now, as an American citizen, I speak out and warn others to the evil of Islam.  Other prominent people involved with confronting Islam have proposed political/legal steps to check real Islam and you can find them here:

Weaknesses in the NYC Police Department's Terrorism Report


4) In condemning Islam I paint with a broad brush unfortunately.  I know many Muslims who are not violent, who speak against Islamic violence sincerely, who are friends.  The majority of Muslims in America are good people just like many typical Americans.  These Muslims are usually unaware of Muhammad’s evil and the teachings of real Islam.  Many who have some knowledge of it discount those actions and teachings and relegate them to an earlier time not applicable now.  No doubt my words hurt them and offend them.  That is not my intention.  Some Christians say, “Love the Muslim but hate the Islam.”  Okay, I understand that.  But how would Christians feel if someone said, “Love the Christian but hate the Christianity”?  Of course we would be offended to one degree or another.  Likewise even a nominal un-dedicated Muslim will understandably be offended when Islam is criticized.

But real Islam is not a benign faith and it must be criticized.  To the Muslim reading this I ask that you at least understand my point.  The doctrines of real Islam teach violence to spread Islam’s rule.  You can see that now on a worldwide basis.  So please forgive the offense and please understand where I am coming from.

Jesus spoke the truth and challenged people.  Let me present Jesus to you.  The Son of God, who gave His life, and gives us new life.  You see the dark fruit of Islam worldwide.  You know there is a God.  There is purpose and meaning in life.  Let me encourage you to consider Jesus.  His is the way, the truth, and the life.  His way is superior.  If you wish to see peace in the world, follow Jesus.

 

 


APPENDIX OF RECENT ARTICLES

Below are a selection of recent articles that highlight the points I am talking about.

  1. Al-Qaeda releases video of US suicide bomber in Syria  http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-releases-video-us-suicide-bomber-syria-071310074.html
  1. Michigan man accused of killing Irish UN peacekeepers in Lebanon arrested  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/07/21/michigan-man-accused-killing-irish-un-peacekeepers-in-lebanon-arrested/?intcmp=latestnews
  1. Philadelphia mosque leaders try to cut off man's hand –police  http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0FN2PW20140718?irpc=932
  1. Jihad in America  http://www.politicalislam.com/blog/jihad-in-amer-2/
  1. Billy Graham's Daughter Warns America: Judgment is Coming  http://blogs.christianpost.com/god-reports/billy-grahams-daughter-warns-america-judgment-is-coming-21867/
  1. Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28381455
  1. Confronting the Islamic threat to the West http://www.thecommentator.com/article/5046/confronting_the_islamic_threat_to_the_west
  1. The deadly cycle of terror that has Iraq and Syria in its grip http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9238221/terrors-comeback-kids/ 
  1. 'Bring back our girls' and Boko Haram: a campaign in vain  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/10965373/Bring-back-our-girls-and-Boko-Haram-a-campaign-in-vain.html
  1. Afghanistan: At Least 89 Civilians Killed in Suicide Attack  http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2014/07/afghanistan-at-least-89-civilians.html

 

 

 

[First published: 8 August 2014]
[Last updated: 11 August 2014]

Footnotes

1 Thompson, J.A, The Book of Jeremiah.  Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. 1980. (NICOT on Jeremiah). pp. 656, 657.

2 Henry, Matthew, Commentary on the Whole Bible. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. 1976. p41.

3 Thompson, J.A, The Book of Jeremiah.  Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI. 1980. (NICOT on Jeremiah).  Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1980. Page 657.

4 Guillaume, A., "The Life of Muhammad", a translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah", Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, page 314, 315

5 al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press  1988, volume 6 page 137

6 Ibn Kathir, "Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya", "The Life of the Prophet Muhammad", translated by Trevor Le Gassick, Garnet, 2000, volume 2, page 144.

7 Muslim, Abu’l-Husain, “Sahih Muslim”, International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1971, translated by A. Siddiqi, volume 1, #33.

8 Bukhari, Muhammad, “Sahih Bukhari”, Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi, India, 1987, translated by M. Khan volume 1, #24.

9 al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press  1987, volume 7, page 85.

10 Guillaume, A., "The Life of Muhammad", a translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah", Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, page 363

11 Faizer, Rizwi, The Life of Muhammad, Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, New York, New York, Routledge, 2011, page 89.

12 al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press  1987, volume 7, page 158.


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