Why Islam?

Much of the Middle East is now Islamic. Muslim warriors conquered it centuries ago, and Sharia law has been slowly eliminating the last remnants of non-Muslims ever since. Now some orthodox Muslims are working to conquer Europe.

But why is Islam so different from other empires that have come and gone through history?

The Mongols conquered the largest landmass ever controlled under one government, and if Genghis Khan hadn't died when he did, his warriors may well have conquered Europe.

But nobody is worried about the Mongols now. Why?

Because they didn't write a book and they didn't start a religion. There are no faithful followers of Genghis Khan still working to fulfill his vision of world conquest.

We cannot say the same about Muhammad.

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"Are You a Hatemonger? I Don't Believe in Promoting Hatred"

THIS IS another installation in our series, Answers to Objections. When you criticize Islam, you may very well be accused of being a "hater," as if telling people about basic Islamic doctrines means you advocate hatred toward Muslims as the solution. And nobody likes a hater, or wants to be one.

This objection is fairly easy to answer. Here are three possible ways to respond:

1. Hatred is not the answer. If anything, I am anti-hatred. That's why I am trying to expose Islamic teachings: Shari'a law includes a system of legally-mandated hatred. Mohammad is their model, and he expressed hatred toward non-Muslims. He maligned them, robbed them, tortured them, killed them, raped them, and took them as slaves. Muslims are supposed to follow his example. It says so in the Qur'an 91 times.

2. I'm talking about the teachings, not the people. Some Muslims follow the teachings, and some are Muslim in name only. But non-Muslims need to know about the teachings, because many of the most fundamental Islamic teachings are about how to deal with non-Muslims. According to the teachings, we must be subjugated under Islamic law. All of us. Voluntarily or by force. And the tens of millions or hundreds of millions who follow Islamic doctrine to the letter are actively working toward that end. They have gained control over how Islam is taught in American schoolbooks. Devoted followers have set up organizations in the United States and other Western democracies with the express purpose of undermining those democracies from within. We need to know about this stuff. It is affecting us already.

3. If I say the teachings of communism advocate ending economic inequalities, does that make me a hatemonger? If I say Republicans advocate smaller government, does that make me a hater? If I say Buddhists believe in reincarnation, does that make me a hater? But if I say the teachings of Islam advocate striving to institute worldwide Shari'a law, that makes me a hatemonger? That doesn't make any sense. Where did you come up with that?

When you answer these questions, think of the question itself as an earnest request for knowledge, even if the question comes out as an accusation. People don't really know how to understand what you're doing, so they use the only model they can think of to interpret your actions: They think you must be like a racist or a religious bigot or something along those lines.

So a helpful response is to give them a better model to interpret with. What you're doing is much closer to education than hatemongering. Urge them to read the Qur'an for themselves to find out more about it.

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The Key Point of the Whole Argument

IN OUR discussions with others about the third jihad, what is the one barrier that seems insurmountable? Here's what I'll bet it is: You say it is a fundamental and essential part of Islam that Muslims must wage jihad against non-Muslims until the whole world submits to Islamic law. And they say, "It can't be."

It can't be because all religions are the same. It can't be because everyone is basically good. It can't be because most Muslims aren't violent. It can't be because if it is, the consequences would be too much to bear. It can't be because only a racist would say such a thing. It can't be because everybody knows Islam is a religion of peace. It can't be because I have this Muslim friend and he is really nice.

In other words, all the things people say to you to argue this point are a desperate attempt to not allow that fact to be true.

This should be the key point of any public education we engage in: That it's an essential part of Islam to wage jihad until the whole world submits to Islamic law. Once that point is accepted, all things that need to be understood can be understood easily.

But how can you get someone to accept that fact as a fact?

Last night I was reading a rather long article called A New Koran? and I think I've found something we could use to help people accept the key point.

The article is a discussion between several well-known people. Among them are Robert Spencer, Bill Warner, Khalim Massoud (president of Muslims Against Sharia).

The topic of discussion is the re-writing of the Qur'an. Massoud is working on a project that removes all exhortations to intolerance and violence from the Qur'an. The argument goes on to discuss how the Muslim world has responded to this and other attempts to make the Qur'an less dangerous for non-Muslims.

As I was reading, something struck me: THIS would be persuasive evidence for the unenlightened.

These Islamic scholars, some of them Muslims, are almost universal in their agreement that the Muslim world will never accept at altered version of the Qur'an. In other words, intolerance and violence toward non-Muslims is such an inherent, fundamental part of the Qur'an, taking it out would make Islamic teachings almost unrecognizable to the Muslim world!

This is the kind of article that would only be interesting to those who are in the field — those who write and speak about it, or who are working on projects to stop Islam's relentless encroachment. But I thought this might be good evidence to make our point in a way the uninitiated would listen to.

I suggest we print out the article and have it handy. I suggest we bookmark it where we can find it easily. And then let's use this article when someone says, "It can't be."

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