New Book: It's All About Muhammad

I am halfway through a great book entitled, It's All About Muhammad, by F. W. Burleigh. It is a fascinating story. Muhammad comes alive, as does the town of Mecca and the characters who lived there. I first learned about this book from the author himself. He wrote me the following email (reprinted here with his permission):

Dear Citizen Warrior;

I wrote an illustrated biography of Muhammad that was recently released: It's All About Muhammad, a Biography of the World's Most Notorious Prophet. It's very detailed and based primarily on a close study of 20,000 pages of the canonical literature of Islam. Additionally, it contains 25 illustrations, half of them "depicting" atrocities Muhammad committed.

I would like to know if you would be willing to review it for Citizen Warrior, as it offers an abundance of ammunition to push back Islam and is a good supplement to your excellent book, Getting Through.

I believe this book is distinctive from anything that has been published about Muhammad to date:

For one, it is illustrated. It is also thorough, with nearly 500 pages of biographical details written in such a way that the reader is brought into the action. It's almost like a novel, but it is factual and based on the wealth of anecdotal materials about Muhammad found in the canonical literature. It is supplemented with 47 pages of chapter notes that prove that nothing is invented. It gives a good sampling of the weirdness of the source material.

Among other things, the bio shows the connection between the events of Muhammad's life and the Koran and demonstrates that the Koran was like a blog that Muhammad maintained for 23 years. Quotes from the Koran are woven into the narrative and show the time of origin of many of the most hate-filled verses of the Koran — echoes of Muhammad's hatred.

Perhaps what is most different about the book is that with its illustrations it offers itself as an example of an approach to dealing with Islam — in the short term and in the long term. In the Epilogue, the book argues that the best weapon that can be used to push back Islam is the truth about Muhammad, but presented in docudramas and feature film. As you are well aware, the truth about him is grotesque. Muhammad in fact committed almost every crime listed by the International Criminal Court as constituting a crime against humanity — all indictable offenses based on the evidence that can be found in Islam's literature. The epilogue suggests a film project in which Muhammad and his cronies are put on trial for crimes against humanity.

Islam contains the seed of its own destruction, and this seed is the truth about Muhammad. Your book, my book, and books by many other people who understand the insidious nature of Islam are necessary and important for waking people up. However, how many people read books? Not that many, meaning that their impact at best is trickle down. Yet what is needed is to bring the masses of humanity on board for an informed push back against this evil. Informed people are motivated people.

This can be best accomplished through the graphic presentation of the truth about Muhammad — the truth weaponized. The truth is the weapon, the horrific details of Muhammad's life the ammunition, the Internet and TV and ultimately the movie theater are the delivery systems.

I'd be happy to send you a complimentary copy, but I realize your address is not something you would likely give out to anyone — not even to the president of the United States of America!

If you would like to have an idea of the book, you can check it out at www.zengabooks.com. There is a sample chapter posted, Chapter 23: The Final Solution, which has to do with the massacre of the Qurayza Jews. Also posted are the introduction, the list of illustrations, and the Table of Contents.

Your book and your blog are first rate and put you on the front line of the struggle against Islam. I am a late comer to the fight, but here I am along with a ton of ammunition.

____________________________

After I started reading the book, I wrote to the author and said: "I'm enjoying your book tremendously. Well done. You must have been reading about Muhammad for a long time. What first got you interested in the subject?"

Here's what he said (reprinted with his permission):

9/11 was the spark. Before that I saw Islam was something screwy, more a disease than a religion, but didn't know much about it or Muhammad and really didn't want to.

After 9/11, I began looking into it, but sporadically, then in 2006-2007 I decided a truthful biography was needed with illustrations thrown in as a way of telling Islam to go screw itself. But I didn't have time to jump into it. However, the next few years I figured out what I needed to learn was in the original literature, so I began acquiring everything I could get my hands on...all the books in the bibliography and a lot more. Fortunately, translations of important books were getting published by then, like the Life of Muhammad of al-Waqidi, first available in 2011, which is the definitive original work of his raids and battles.

Then I took a deep breath and began to study and write full time in 2011, almost day in day out. It involved tearing apart about twenty of the most important volumes of the original works, which means scanning them page by page, and then reading them line by line, often many times, to extract the content, and breaking everything down into many thousands of mini-files to I could keep track of hundreds of characters, events, concepts, you name it, so that when I wrote I had all of this stuff at my fingertips. This was something I did as I wrote. Characters were extremely important and I developed quite a number of characters in the book. I compiled big files on a lot of Muhammad's friends and enemies. When you know enough about them, you can see them as believable three-dimensional people you can identify with, as real as anyone you hear about today in the media. All this was accompanied by reading supplementary work that was worth studying....the works of 19th and 20th century Christian and Jewish scholars were invaluable for understanding where Muhammad got his ideas and how he modified them to suit his delusions about himself. I read the Koran multiple times, dissecting it so that I could tie in events in Muhammad's life to specific verses, and on and on...it took about three years of hard work like that to get to the end of it, and then months of rewriting and editing until it read well.

We are in a war for survival. Islam has destroyed entire civilizations and ours is not immune from destruction. It will take the efforts of millions of Citizen Warriors to keep that from happening, and I've signed up for the duration. Writing It's All About Muhammad was only boot camp.

____________________________

In a later email, the author sent me more information about how he wrote the book. This is what he said:

I undertook an extensive study of Islam a number of years ago and as a result of these studies produced a comprehensive biography of Muhammad, the creator of Islam.

Given that I put 10,000 hours of work into this, I consider myself an expert not only in the biographical details about Muhammad, but also Islam. And that is because Islam is all about Muhammad. Know Muhammad, know Islam. Nothing that happens anywhere in the world that is related to Islam is unrelated to Muhammad.

Why is this important? Why should it matter what a guy named Muhammad did in the Wild West of Arabia 1,400 years ago? He's dead and now dust. He may be dust, but what he created is not dust. What he created is a militant ideology that seeks to impose itself worldwide, and it is making rapid advances where it is least resisted.

Islam's followers model their behavior on Muhammad's. And they follow the commands of his Koran. They believe God dictated the Koran to him and all of its commands to commit violence against people who rejected him.

It is the assumption of all of the work I have done that Islam is irremediably violent and always will be because Muhammad was irremediably violent. He would never have gotten a lasting following by peaceful proselytizing. He was only able to succeed through violence. He created a powerful ideology of sanctified violence using sex, booty, and fear of hellfire to rope people in and keep them roped. ISIS and the nauseating atrocities it perpetrates are not aberrations. ISIS is Islam 101, the Islam of Muhammad.

Islam creates chaos and strife everywhere it goes. Live even for a day in the Middle East and you will see what will come eventually to where you are now — unless you do something about it. But how can you do anything about it unless you know what it is about? You have to know your enemy and your enemy is not al-Qaeda, or ISIS, or Boko Haram. Your enemy is what is in the head of these people and the man who put it there. Your enemy is Muhammad.

To know the truth about him is to have a weapon to defend yourself against what he created. The truth about him is grotesque. It is a story of cruel barbarity, assassinations, mass murder, plunder, enslavement, and on and on. But relatively few people know anything about it, yet the truth about him is the seed that ultimately will bring about the destruction of what he created.

Read It's All About Muhammad, a Biography of the World's Most Notorious Prophet.

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Dutch Researcher Says Geert Wilders is Right

Dr. Peter van Ham, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael (Netherlands Institute of International Relations), wrote the following. Translated from the NRC:

PVV (Party for Freedom) leader Geert Wilders has warned for many years of the threat of Islamic terrorism. And while terrorists have murdered people while holding the Quran in their hands, all Dutch progressive-liberal parties insist that none of this has anything to do with Islam. Not a single Dutch party-leader or opinion maker wants to admit that Wilders is right. There are five reasons for that.

From an ideological point of view, it makes sense that the Dutch progressive-liberal parties choose to see the PVV as a bigger threat than radical Islam. PvdA (social democrats), D66 (social liberals) and SP (socialists) all believe in a successful, multicultural society and find it hard to abandon this belief. Every ideology consists of a coherent set of ideas. Admitting that Wilders is right means admitting that Dutch society is less successful than they want to believe it is. Giving in to Wilders immediately begs the question: Why at all do we need such a large, meddlesome government that thinks it knows better than its own citizens in almost every matter? And why keep praising multiculturalism now that it has to face its limitations? It is much easier to deny and twist the facts, and to portray Wilders and his electorate as stupid and dangerous.

Moreover, there are many personal reputations at stake. Politicians and opinion makers almost never admit that they were wrong about something; that they have underestimated a threat; or overestimated their own abilities. For example, not a single politician has admitted that the introduction of the euro went wrong. In the same vein, we hear no mea culpa now that the threat from Islamic terrorism is increasing. Because whoever admits publicly to have made mistakes on such an important topic undermines his own credibility. D66 leader Pechtold presents himself as a kind of “anti-Wilders”; whatever the PVV stands for, the D66 opposes. To admit now that Wilders is right, is therefore impossible for all the Dutch progressive-liberal parties. The damage to their reputations would simply be too big.

Major interests and many jobs are at stake. It’s not so much about the politicians’ jobs, but about those people working in the immigration, integration, and asylum sector. The successful, multicultural society costs a lot of money, and many are making a good living because of its existence. Admitting that Wilders is right not only means that Dutch immigration and asylum policy must be changed, but also that other policy areas – such as development aid – should be revised.

Anybody working in these vulnerable sectors realizes that the PVV should not be put in the right, no matter what happens. They prefer to downplay the Paris attacks and the threat of Dutch jihadists, and are trying to solve these problems with more social projects for disadvantaged young people and districts.

Admitting Wilders is right also has far-reaching geopolitical consequences. Turkey and the Gulf States interfere explicitly with the fate of Muslims in Western Europe. Not too long ago, the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan compared the German anti-Islamization movement PEGIDA with the Islamic State. Netherlands prides itself on excellent international relations with almost all Muslim countries, from Turkey to Yemen and even Saudi Arabia. The economic consequences of admitting Wilders is right could be dire. This explains the position of the VVD (conservative liberals) on Islam and their insistence that Wilders is wrong.

Finally, the personal hatred towards Geert Wilders should not be underestimated. Progressive-liberal Netherlands prides itself on its own tolerance and broadmindedness, both of which end abruptly when it’s about Geert Wilders and the PVV. Now that the PVV seems to be proven right regarding the growing threat from Islamic terrorism, they attempt to marginalize and demonize Wilders even more. This strategy is also used to intimidate the PVV and its electorate.

Any pupil, student, teacher, or government official who dares to publicly support Wilders can count on social sanctions. Hence the remarkable silence in the Netherlands, even though the PVV is the biggest party in the opinion polls at 27 seats and would become the largest party in parliament.

Ideology, personal interests and aversion ensure that Dutch politicians will continue to underestimate the threat from Islamic terrorism, or even deny it. We let progressive liberals ban critical thinking about Islam even though the Islamization of Western Europe is steadily and rapidly continuing.

The above report was also posted on Inquiry Into Islam here.

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It Was Islam That Hijacked the People, Not the People Who Hijacked Islam

On the blog, No Compulsion, in the "About Us" section, the blogger says:

I was born in Alexandria, Egypt to an average Muslim family… Like most of my generation, we considered Islam to be the most important thing we should learn in order to please God; and to gain Paradise after death.

And as we were taught, the only religion accepted by God is Islam; all the rest are falsehoods, as in Qur’an verse 3:85, “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good)." ...So, automatically when anyone asked us, “What’s your religion?” We would answer, “Al-hamdu-lillah muslimah!” or “Thanks be to God, I am a Muslim!”

Islam for me, like for all of us, was life and life was Islam. Lessons and speeches came and went from the mouths of our teachers and Imams, and we took them always as incontestable realities; we shouldn’t (or couldn’t) ask, “why, how or who?” To be part of the flock of Allah we must not ask — just believe and apply, as in Qur’an verse 5:101, “O ye who believe! Ask not of things which, if they were made known unto you, would trouble you; but if ye ask of them when the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made known unto you. Allah pardoneth this, for Allah is Forgiving, merciful.”

I spent 27 years fooling myself, being fooled and fooling others, turning all around in an endless infernal circle… It was a circle of lies and evil.

From the time I was able to think for myself, a simple question plagued me: Since Allah created all human beings, why would he hate non-Muslims and require us to fight them? How could God hate? And since I am the creation of Allah, as a female, why did he create me a with lack of reason, as opposed to men? These were the first questions that broke my brain into pieces.

From that point on, my long journey of seeking the truth began… And as long as I walk, I discover new hidden catastrophes in the sacred texts of Islam, and teachers unable to answer or reconcile the prescriptions for domination, violence, and slavery.

I couldn’t fool myself anymore. I discovered I was lost, I was lied to…WE ARE ALL LIED TO! I understand that Muslims who read this and refuse to hear, will accuse me of being a jinn (literally a demon).

I discovered the ultimate truth that Muslims and non-Muslims alike refuse to admit — Islam is not a religion of peace…The problem resides in Islam itself, its teachings, the example of the man they believe is their prophet… It was Islam that hijacked the people, not the people who hijacked Islam.

Thank you for visiting my site. Liberty begins here.

Editor's note: We have also posted this on Inquiry Into Islam here for your sharing pleasure.

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People Who Criticize Islam Need Bodyguards For The Rest of Their Lives

There are a few points I think we should try to work into our conversations with people about Islam:

1. Anyone can freely criticize Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology, Jainism, atheism, and every other "ism" on the planet, but not Islam.

2. People who criticize Islam (like Geert Wilders, Salman Rushdie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, etc.) need bodyguards for the rest of their lives. People who criticize Jesus or Joseph Smith or Krishna or any other religion or political ideology don't need bodyguards.

3. And Islam is the only religion trying to assure everyone else that they are a religion of peace. You don't see the Amish trying to convince anybody how peaceful they are.

I think it's possible that these simple facts, stated plainly and matter-of-factly, at an appropriate time in the conversation, would sink in and do their magic. And one morning, your listener will wake up and declare, "Islam isn't really a religion of peace!"

And we'll have one less dhimmi in the world. One less person who unwittingly aids the enemy. One more ally when ALAC laws are being voted on or immigration policies are being changed. One more person who will support a politician willing to speak honestly about Islam.

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Islam's Dangerous Degrees of Devotion

The following was written by Carol Brown and originally published in American Thinker here. This article impressed me:

The obsession to convince us that most Muslims are moderate and that Islam is a religion of peace brings to mind Shakespeare’s “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” Is there any other religion that draws such an incessant chorus of voices proclaiming the religion to be peaceful?

No.

It is only the case with Islam that we hear the ceaseless lie because it is the only religion that warrants explanation on a daily basis. If the explanation reflected the truth, we might actually win this war that has been waged against us – a war that has been raging to a greater or lesser degree for 1400 years.

The fact is, Islam is a political doctrine of war. In the West, it is also a religion of caveats.

The caveats

According to the uninformed or intentionally misleading, Muslims generally fall into one of two categories. There is the ever-elusive “moderate” Muslim, though it’s not clear what that means.

According to the uninformed or intentionally misleading, moderate Muslims follow a peaceful religion and are presumed to be like any other group of reasonable, law-abiding, freedom-loving folk.

But there is ample evidence to show that moderate Muslims might also represent jihad lite. “Moderate” may describe the kind of Muslims the Obama administration is importing from places like Syria who have had “minor” associations with terrorists. Or perhaps they are American Muslims who believe that drawing a parody of Mohammed should be a criminal offense, with some saying the person should receive the death penalty.

In any case, if there’s a moderate version of a religion, there must be a pious orthodox version. Which brings us to the other category for Muslims: extremists. They are the ones who commit heinous acts of violence by, presumably, misrepresenting Islam. Although that’s a bit confusing because people can’t represent an extreme form of something while simultaneously not representing that something in any way, shape, or form.

So increasingly, the uninformed or intentionally misleading tell us that Islam has nothing to do with these “extremists.” Apparently it’s a gigantic coincidence that these savages keep shouting “Allahu Akbar” while quoting the Quran chapter and verse as they kidnap, rape, behead, burn, execute, and destroy every living thing in their path.

Are we to believe these barbarians have come across an imposter version of the Quran that is different from the real Quran – the one that preaches nothing but love for humankind?

By removing the words Islam/Islamic from descriptions of Islamic terror, all that remains is a vague, generic, and incomplete description of the truth: “Extremist.”

The key word that truly informs is left out: Islam/Islamic.

This verbal manipulation occurs repeatedly. It is embraced and peddled by regular folks, the media, far too many in the GOP, just about everyone on the left, and of course the Obama administration. A recent example among an ever-growing list was Obama’s summit to “fight violent extremism around the world” – as if we are witnessing a strange phenomenon of random worldwide violence perpetrated by random demographic groups targeting random people.

But back to the caveats.

If moderates represent the true nature of Islam and extremists have nothing to do with Islam, that leaves only moderates. In which case, why would those who follow Islamic teachings need an extra descriptor (“moderate”) at all? They wouldn’t. They would just be Muslims – the people who follow a religion called Islam.

So, good. We’ve found some common ground. We can toss out these needless caveats because Islam is Islam is Islam. And Islam by any standard is extreme at its core.

Now, how to awaken the brainwashed masses to this growing problem (understatement) that threatens all of civilization?

The uninformed or intentionally misleading

The uninformed or intentionally misleading willingly spew opinions as facts. The most common refrain we hear is that “Islam is a religion of peace.”

Working in tandem with the daily dishing of lies is the distraction method. This is when “not all Muslims are terrorists” is pulled out of the proverbial closet.

Complicating this disgraceful situation is the fact that the uninformed or intentionally misleading are rarely challenged when they spread this garbage around.

So when someone says that Islam is peaceful and that terrorists do not represent Islam, they need to be called out every single time and asked:

• Upon what do you base your assertion?
• Have you read the Quran? If so, do you understand the meaning of Chapter 2, Verse 106: Abrogation, or what the word taqiyya means?
• Why do you assume all religions are created equal? Do you think all ideas the same; that none are better than others?
• Are you afraid to speak the truth because you fear retaliation against you and/or your family and/or your employer?

The truth

First of all, Islam is not so much a religion as it is a political ideology. The ultimate goal is world domination. If that sounds crazy or extreme, I didn’t make it up. It’s written in the Quran and it is central to Islam’s history of conquest over the past 1400 years. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here among a long list of examples.)

Second, while it is often said that not all Muslims are terrorists, the discourse tends to stop there or gets re-routed away from the central point. But it shouldn’t. Because here’s the deal: Some Muslims are terrorists. And given the size of the population of Muslims on the planet, “some” is quite a lot.

But what of the rest of the population of Muslims?

While most do not commit outright acts of terror, many of them support terror. And they do so in a variety of ways, including financial support, political activism, and brainwashing their children. (See here, here, here, here, here, and here among numerous examples.)

Then there are those who are not terrorists and who don’t overtly support terror, but who have attitudes that support it or feel ambiguous toward it, including those who support Sharia law – an oppressive and draconian legal system based on Islamic supremacy.

When you do the math, as Ben Shapiro did, you wind up with quite a few Muslims – millions and millions of them – with a vision for civilization that is at odds with Western values. Shapiro’s analysis of a Pew Research poll revealed that more than half of the total Muslim population on earth hold radical views. Additional polls and analyses point to similar conclusions.

We can speak the truth. Or we can allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the Islamic invasion that is well underway. So far the West is doing the latter. Which makes it all the more urgent that every single one of us step forward to the front lines of this battle. Speak the truth at every opportunity and educate others. Because the propaganda machine runs 24/7.

And it is powerful and effective.

Earlier this month a Des Moines Register poll of likely caucus participants revealed that 53% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats had a positive view of Islam as a peaceful religion. If I had to venture a guess, I’d say most, if not all, of those who make up these numbers are uninformed.

They need to learn the truth.

Who will tell them?

That would be us.

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Sharing Information About Islam With Police Officers and Politicians

An activist in Australia sent us the following note, and we have his permission to reprint it here. His approach is unique. He is directly influencing people in power with a psychologically sound, emotionally intelligent approach. Here's what he said:

There's an article I've been sharing with police officers and politicians which helps them understand just how big the problem of radical Islam is: Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood: What is the difference?

When I see politicians I take a hard copy. I start by asking how much time I've got. Once they tell me I hand them the article and tell them that this explains what I'm concerned about. I ask them to read a few pages, then I tell them that, "Some politicians have been deceived by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Don't be one of them." If they tell me Islam is peaceful. I tell them I'm not talking about Islam. I'm talking about members of an organisation called "The Muslim Brotherhood."

Then I tell him or her to finish reading the article in their own time and that I'll be back in a few weeks. (They are likely to do this because they've already seen that the article is well written and informative.)

When I return I loan them a copy of the DVD "Honor Diaries" and say, "These ladies are asking for our help. Some people ignore them because most of them are Muslims. But that's not right. They're human beings with feelings like the rest of us. We should at least listen to what they have to say."

I also give them a copy of Mark Durie's book The Third Choice. (The author of that article above)

Anyway, some food for thought. Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Brad

I wrote back with some questions for Brad: How do you share this with police officers? Go to the police station? When you see them on the street? Or are some of them friends of yours?

And when you see politicians, you're visiting them at their offices? Local politicians?

Brad answered:
I make appointments with politicians; and walk straight into police stations.

I've started putting the following at the end of Mark Durie's article (hand written): 'This guy has given a brilliant talk on-line called "Understanding Islam." If you find him to be rude, or obnoxious, or he comes across as a racist, just stop watching.'

I think that almost tempts them to watch it.

Regards,
Brad

That's really smart: To directly address what the other person must be thinking, but do it in a way that invites them in: "If you find the person rude or racist, just stop watching." Brilliant. 

And how he invites someone to watch the Honor Diaries is also clever. He dispels the idea that he is a bigot:  "These ladies are asking for our help. Some people ignore them because most of them are Muslims. But that's not right. They're human beings with feelings like the rest of us. We should at least listen to what they have to say."

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The Problem of Islam

The existence of Islamic doctrine presents the non-Muslims of the world with a problem. On the one hand, being a Muslim — at least in theory — means believing in the written Islamic doctrines (the words written in the Koran, the Hadith, and the Sira), which advocate relentless striving to bring all the world under the rule of Islamic law (and authorizes the use of force to do so), teaches that women are worth less than men, and teaches non-Muslims are "the worst of creatures," among many other equally unsavory teachings.

On the other hand, many people who call themselves Muslims don't abide by most of those teachings. They either don't know about the teachings, or they have decided not to follow them. This group may, in fact, be the majority of Muslims.

But the existence of even a majority of Muslims who ignore the written doctrine doesn't prevent Islam from being a problem to non-Muslims. Enough Muslims believe that the Islamic doctrines are valid and strive mightily — even to the point of death — to put those doctrines into practice. And many of them are actively trying to reach the more ambivalent Muslims of the world and convince them that because they don't follow the teachings, they are hypocrites, which is a very bad thing according to Islamic doctrine. So bad, in fact, the penalty for it is death.

A study in Britain found this surprising fact: The children of Muslim immigrants are more likely than their parents to be "radical" (to believe Islamic doctrines should be followed diligently). Recruiters talk to young teenage Muslim boys and tell them that their parents are hypocrites. They are told to read the Koran for themselves and then look at their parents and ask, "Do they actually follow the teachings, or just give it lip service?" And what teenager isn't happy to deride their parents for being hypocrites? But it pushes them toward fundamentalism.

Another aspect of our problem is the indiscriminate acceptance of Muslim immigrants into free countries, and then a lack of pressure by the host country to integrate them into the larger society, which creates the conditions for what Daniel Pipes called "semi-autonomous sectors" to develop. Others have called them (somewhat — but only somewhat — mistakenly) "no-go zones." These are areas where Muslims concentrate, and as their numbers increase in that area, the more devout among them start exerting pressure on the rest of the Muslims to conform to Islamic standards. And of course, the Muslims-in-name-only cannot successfully argue against these Islamic standards because it's all written down in clear and forceful language in the books they supposedly believe are sacred. So they conform. The women cover up. The men attend the mosque (or they are harassed), dress differently, grow a beard, etc. The non-Muslims in the area are also harassed until they move away, making room for more Muslims to move to the area.

This is all in accordance with Islamic teachings and the example of Muhammad: If a group of Muslims can, they should enforce Islamic standards (they are Allah's standards, after all, and should be the standards for all people), and when Muslims gain political power, they should impinge these standards on everyone, including non-Muslims.

This manifests itself in a different way by shutting down free speech by force. When the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists made fun of Islam, for example, 12 of them were murdered for it. When Theo Van Gogh made a film critical of Islam's treatment of women, he was shot to death. Salman Rushdie wrote a novel critical of Islam and the devout Islamic ruler of Iran ordered his assassination. So far, he has avoided being murdered. The examples go on and on.

Muhammad himself did the same thing. And it says in the Koran (91 times) that a Muslim should follow Muhammad's example in all things. People during Muhammad's lifetime were assassinated with Muhammad's approval or request for the "crime" of criticizing Islam or Muhammad.

To some degree, the method has worked: Islamic standards have been imposed on non-Muslims. The Islamic standard referred to above says nobody can make fun of Islam or Muhammad. By rioting and killing, devoted followers of Islamic doctrine are instituting this Islamic rule worldwide on everyone. After the 2006 "cartoon riots," very few newspapers in the world had the courage to re-publish the cartoons. Almost everyone was cowed into silence. In other words, free speech was shut down on that subject. There was even a book published about the whole event, and the book didn't even show the cartoons! It wasn't quite as bad after the Charlie Hebdo shootings, but many major newspapers refused to re-publish the cartoons.

Another problem with Islam is that the penalty for leaving the religion is death. Freedom of religion is not an option with Islam. The death penalty is actually enforced in some Muslim countries, and a reasonable argument could be made that it is enforced in some non-Muslim countries too, if we count Muslim parents killing their daughters for going out with a non-Muslim boy or in other ways acting non-Muslim. These are called "honor killings" and they are carried out because the parents are following the written Islamic teachings.

In other words, many of the regular, mainstream teachings of Islam are major human rights violations when they are put into practice. We can't ignore this problem, but we can't really "solve" it either. What can be done when a billion and a half people claim allegiance to an ideology that is incompatible with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and human rights, especially for women? Going to war with all of them would be ridiculous. Not doing anything at all would be equally ridiculous. But what can be done?

That's the problem of Islam.

So far, we have only one strong conclusion: The solution will begin with learning what Islam really teaches and dealing with an accurate understanding of the written doctrine, rather than trying to make each other believe things that aren't true. Whatever solutions non-Muslims come up with should at least be based on reality and not on wishful thinking. That much seems clear. Learn some ideas about what might be done here.

The article above is posted on Inquiry Into Islam here for your sharing pleasure.

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Infidel Lives Matter

The following was written by Eric Allen Bell, originally published on Faith Freedom here. You should make sure you're sitting down as you read it, because it will blow you over with its intensity and direct honesty. 

Bell is a writer, filmmaker and media adviser, living in Los Angeles, California. While making a documentary about the construction of a 53,000 square foot mega mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he attempted to expose “Islamophobia”. But he had an awakening, which you can read about here. When he stated publicly that Islam was the biggest threat to human rights in the world today, his writing was banned from being published on the Daily Kos and MichaelMoore.com after LoonWatch.com created a petition to silence him. But he has not been silenced. 

Okay, are you ready? Here's Eric Allen Bell:

About 1,400 years ago a mentally ill illiterate desert dweller, a Jew-hater suffering from auditory hallucinations, dictated a best seller entitled “The Holy Quran”. Out of this book came a tyrannical political system and a fanatical religious ideology called Islam. The word Islam means “submission”. The Quran also produced a brutal legal system called the Sharia. Since the author of the Quran, a blood thirsty rapist, pedophile and slave owner named Muhammad, first began his homicidal mission – to force the unbeliever to submit to Islam – approximately 270,000,000 people have been killed in his name.

Today, the leader of the most powerful country in the world, Barack Hussein Obama, has declared Islam to be a religion of peace and told the United Nations that, “The future has no place for those who would slander the prophet of Islam”. We are in big trouble. The leader of the free world is more concerned with protecting the feelings of the followers of Muhammad than protecting the lives of his majority Infidel incumbents. Somehow in all that channel changing chatter, the voices are mostly absent which say that Infidel Lives Matter.

As the public education system in America slowly celebrates Islam more and more, while whitewashing its horrific history, we raise a generation who have forgotten that Infidel Lives Matter.

Every Islamic hellhole on the globe today is the result of brutal Quranic conquest. History has forgotten that those who are now forced to submit to Islam in those nations used to be Infidels. They were allowed to speak up and object to the sadistic teachings of Muhammad, until enough of them had forgotten that Infidel Lives Matter.

Remember, the word “Islam” literally means “submission” and its stated mission is to force the entire world to submit to Islam. Remember that today Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, although a careful read of the Islamic scriptures makes it self-evident that Islam is really more of a political system, with some religious overtones. Remember and don’t forget that you are free to say whatever you want about Muhammad, in print in pictures and in film and you do not have to submit. Remember – when they twist your words, tarnish your reputation, call you names and threaten your life – that Infidel Lives Matter.

Over its 1,400 year bloody history, after the followers of Muhammad attack a land for Islam, they build victory mosques. Since the Twin Towers were hit by devout Muhammad maniacs on 9/11 – new mosque construction in America has nearly doubled! The writing is on the wall for all who have the courage to see. This rapidly growing phase in the cultural expansion of Islamic Law in America is made possible by the silent voices – the voices that should be shouting from the mountain top that Infidel Lives Matter, but instead would rather not know what a mosque even is.

Since 9/11 there have been approximately 25,000 acts of brutal Islamic terrorism. That means on average several per day, taking the lives of roughly 2,000,000 people. And after each act of Islamic brutality, political leaders and media talking heads immediately change the narrative, to warn us about an imaginary wave of “Islamophobia” rather than to just come out and say that Infidel Lives Matter and we have finally had enough. No. Like the wife who cannot leave the wife beater, we make excuses: “He didn’t mean it” and “He wasn’t really being himself” and “He is trying to change” and “Well, maybe I deserved it”. But the fact is that Infidels do not deserve the bullying of Islam but a bully will not back down until he is defeated – and this bully will not be defeated until enough of us come to realize that Infidel Lives Matter.

The Islamic President of Turkey said that “The mosques are our barracks”. Turkey is a country with more journalists behind bars than nearly any other, while enjoying the reputation of being the most moderate Muslim country in the world. What is meant by that quote, about the mosques being barracks? And what is a mosque exactly?

A mosque is place where the Sharia is taught. Sharia is brutal and sadistic and runs counter to human rights. A mosque is a place where sedition and treason are taught, and this runs counter to the preservation of American values, ideals, and our very survival. A mosque is a place where superstition is taught, and this runs counter to reason and rational thinking. A mosque is a place where Islam, meaning “submission” is taught. And submission runs counter to Liberty. Liberty means that you own you. Liberty is one of the founding principles upon which the free world stands. Islam and Liberty cannot coexist. It’s a zero sum game where only one can win – and we can only win when we remember that Infidel Lives Matter.

Islam is anti-human rights, anti-reason, anti-liberty and anti-free speech. Islam is the most intolerant belief system in the world! Nothing is more xenophobic than Islam. Islam is the biggest hate group in history and its target is the Infidel. And we as Infidels must destroy Islam and destroy it absolutely if we are going to leave a free world to our children and grandchildren. We must end Sharia in our time. And we must take control of the media narrative until the message becomes abundantly clear that Infidel Lives Matter.

Islamic blasphemy laws dictate that no one, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, be permitted to criticize the pedophile prophet Muhammad. And recently we have seen yet another wave of brutal attacks by devout followers of Islam against those who would simply draw a picture of his image. Islam is the ultimate tyrannical system – its body count unmatched by any other. And the history of Germany in the thirties and forties has shown us what happens, when we take too long to finally respond appropriately to tyranny. Islam and freedom cannot coexist. Islam has to go because the cruel must not dominate the civilized world and because Infidels Lives Matter.

I started writing this article after taking in the news of the latest shootings in Denmark, aimed at a conference on free speech and blasphemy laws. And in that same afternoon, as I put the finishing touches on this, a news story just broke out that the Islamic State just executed dozens of Christians, beheading them, following the commandments of the Quran.

Islam teaches that no government is legitimate unless it submits to Islam. And Islam is what is taught in mosques. Mosques teach sedition and treason. Therefore, the logical, reasonable and appropriate action for law enforcement is to raid all mosques in America. Arrest the Islamic Clerics and interrogate them. Determine if they are teaching what Islam preaches, with regard to forcing the world to submit to Islamic Law (Sharia). Tolerance of those who seek to destroy our way of life will be the death of us. A radical enemy requires a radical response. And we can tap into that radical quality in ourselves, the one which demands personal freedom, only when we know in our hearts and we believe that Infidel Lives Matter.

Infidels, which are those people who do not submit to Islam, are being tortured, raped and killed, all over the world, at an unbelievable pace – their Infidel heads on stakes and blood flowing in the streets, as churches and synagogues are burned to the ground, atheists executed and homosexuals hanged.

But if you were raised by a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer in America, there is a good chance you were raised to be ashamed of being an American. And you very likely believe that we deserve what the terrorists are doing to us. And if you continue to hold this belief, you will eventually lose your freedom. Don’t let anyone take your sense of self-worth away. If you are an Infidel then you are someone who has not yet been forced to submit to Islam. And if you want to retain this freedom then it is crucial you know it and see it and say it and believe it that Infidel Lives Matter.

The supporters of Liberty have made the world a better place. In the past 30 years, poverty, starvation and illiteracy have dropped dramatically as the result of political and economic systems which value personal freedom. Islam is the enemy of personal freedom. Wherever Islam thrives, the world becomes a living hell.

The time has come to draw a line in the sand. The time is now for people of courage and conviction to rise up and say “enough”. We must stop tolerating that which is intolerable. We must stop trying to coexist with that which seeks to destroy us. The tyrannical teachings and fanatical followers of Muhammad are a plague upon this world. And the only hope for destroying this plague are the Infidels. Infidels are the hope for humanity. And so now, more than ever, Infidel Lives Matter.

Infidels of the world, it’s time to heed the call. The Information superhighway is our battlefront. Get onto Twitter. Get onto Facebook. Spread articles which tell the dirty secrets about Muhammad. Post videos which expose the radical truth about moderate Islam. Share offensive picture memes of Muhammad. Use social media to spread information around the world. You can do it and you must do it because freedom is paid for in installments, by each generation. Spread the truth about Islam far and spread it wide and spread it like Napalm. The enemy of Islamic brutality is Information. Become a soldier of the Information Age and carpet bomb the internet with information. Don’t just think about this. Do it. Because Infidel Lives Matter.

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Finally: Strong Pushback Against Islamic Pressure to Shut Down Freedom of Speech

Last month, right after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, a group of Muslims held a conference denouncing "Islamophobia" in Garland, Texas. The AFDI (American Freedom Defense Initiative) staged a protest against this outrageous Muslim affront, and the protest dwarfed the Muslim event.

The Islamophobia event took place at the Curtis Culwell Center — a venue owned by the local school district. The AFDI asked the school district why they allowed the event on their premises. They said that their hall was open to anyone who wanted to rent it. So the AFDI decided that was the perfect place to have The First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest this May.

The AFDI will hold a contest for artwork and cartoons of Muhammad and the winner will be announced at the May 3rd exhibit at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. The winner will be awarded a $10,000 prize. There will also be a $2,500 People’s Choice Award.

The exhibit will display images of Muhammad, both modern and historic, and attendees will hear speeches by internationally known free speech advocates, including Geert Wilders. This is an event you don't want to miss. It has already gotten some news coverage on CBS (watch it here).

Muslim violence and intimidation has effectively imposed one aspect of Sharia law onto most of the free world — the rule that nobody can make fun of Muhammad or Islam. Most news organizations were unwilling to show the cartoons of Muhammad that orthodox Muslims took such exception to. On just about any other subject, newspapers and magazines revel in controversial issues because those stories boost sales. But when it comes to Islam, they tiptoe around it.

Free speech is the foundation of a free society. If something cannot be criticized, mocked or ridiculed, people cannot learn more about it or unite against it. That means it can grow in influence without the public being able to mount a resistance to it. Free speech is a fundamental protection against tyranny.

The way to gain and maintain free speech in a society is to exercise it. That is exactly what AFDI is doing with this event. We urge you to support it in whatever way you can, including flying to Garland, Texas in May to attend. The more people who show up, the more news coverage it will gain, which means the more this issue will be in the public conversation, and that's what we need.

The question now being answered in our lifetimes is: Will Muslim violence be allowed to impose limits on free speech in free societies or not? This contest says no: Free speech will dominate the world.

The security at the event will be intense, and of course, this costs money. If you would like to help cover these costs, you can contribute here.

The contest will be online, with entries posted on the AFDI web site. If you would like to participate in the contest itself, submit your artwork or cartoons by sending an email to MuhammadArtExpo@gmail.com. Read the rules of the contest here.

More information on the contest will be posted on the AFDI Facebook page.

The Executive Director of AFDI, Pamela Geller, wrote:

It’s time the free world said enough is enough.

On Saturday, an Islamic jihadist murdered one person and wounded three, firing multiple shots at an event entitled “Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression” at the Krudttoenden cafe in Copenhagen, featuring Muhammad cartoonist Lars Vilks and Francois Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark. Clearly he wanted to kill Vilks and continue the Islamic attack on free speech.

Last Monday, a Muslim mob in Pakistan that was protesting against the Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Muhammad forced open the gates of a Christian school, smashed windows, destroyed property and demanded that the school be closed. This followed demonstrations in which tens of thousands of Muslims in Pakistan demanded that the West adopt Shariah blasphemy laws. An estimated 800,000 demonstrated against free speech in Chechnya. Muslim mobs in Niger set 45 churches on fire in their rage against the actions.

Meanwhile, a carnival in Germany canceled plans for a Charlie Hebdo float. A cartoon museum in Belgium canceled plans for a Charlie Hebdo tribute. An art museum in Paris removed an artwork from exhibit after Muslim threats. This stunning cowardice proves, yet again, that it hardly ends with cartoons. It begins there...They seek to control what we say, what we think, and how we live.

And we are giving them that power.

This is how France responds after Charlie Hebdo jihad massacre? Shameful.

The West has to stop this pathetic cowardice... They’re just cartoons. Enough already.

The Cartoon Exhibit was a logical next step following AFDI’s Free Speech Rally in Garland. This new event will stand for free speech and show that Americans will not be cowed by violent Islamic intimidation. That is a crucial stand to take as Islamic assaults on the freedom of speech, our most fundamental freedom, are growing more insistent.

After the Charlie Hebdo massacre – and after the violent Muhammad cartoon riots a few years ago – there should have been cartoon exhibits all over the free world, to show the Islamic jihadis (and their stealth allies in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other Muslim groups that are doing all they can to intimidate the West into abandoning the freedom of speech) that we will not kowtow to violent intimidation. But there were no such exhibits. The free world was ready to submit...

But we aren’t. We know the risks. Of course, this event will require massive security. But this exhibit has to be staged. If we don’t show the jihadis that they will not frighten us into silence, the jihad against freedom will only grow more virulent.

And we hope that this event will give others the courage to stand up as well, and show the world that they aren’t going to submit to this savagery.

Read more: People Should Be Able to Say What They Wish Without Being Killed For It.

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Anyone Can Read It And Everyone Should

We have a friend whose Jewish grandfather lived in Vienna, Austria with his family, and in the 1930s, he read Mein Kampf (Adolf Hitler's book, published in the 1920s). Her grandfather immediately said to his family and friends, "We need to get out of Austria."

But nobody saw any need to uproot their lives just because of a book. That would be ridiculous, right?

But he had read the book and he knew better.

Her grandfather immediately sent his son to Britain and the son eventually made it to the U.S. That was our friend's father. After a time, her grandparents made it to the U.S. too. But her grandfather's brother and parents died in the camps, as well as cousins, uncles, etc.

If you've read the Koran, you're in a similar predicament. It's all very clear to you. Islam's prime directive is spelled out unequivocally for anyone willing to read it. Regardless of what the people around you think, you actually know.

People who haven't read the Koran are naturally skeptical about what you say is in the book, or skeptical about its relevance in our modern world. But this skepticism can and must be overcome. We need to convince people to read the book, or tell them what's in it. Even if they don't read it, the fact that you keep urging them to read it will, all by itself, give weight to what you say about Islam, and lends a certain level of authority to what you say in your conversations with them.

And of course, if they read the book, you won't have to do anything else. Their eyes will be opened.

This is the fast track to achieving a population that is no longer in the dark about Islam: Push them to read the Koran.

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Facts About the Crusades

On Inquiry Into Islam, we've posted an excellent summary of the Crusades by Raymond Ibrahim, former Reference Assistant at the Near East Section of the Library of Congress and Associate Director of the Middle East Forum.

Check it out: Surprising Facts About the Crusades.

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Tapping Into Power

Elsa Schieder, PhD, is presenting a free online introductory workshop to "Tapping," which is a method of using acupressure points to undo inner blocks. I have no idea if it works, so I'm not "recommending" it per se, but since her aim is to make us more effective at doing what we need to do (expose Islam for what it is), I'm letting you know about it.

You can read more about Dr. Schieder here. She has created some excellent interviews with top counterjihadists (learn more about those here) and is working to produce creative solutions to the problem of getting through to people about Islam. Her upcoming workshop is part of that effort. The following was written by Dr. Schieder:

Tapping into Power — energy psychology comes to the counter-jihad world. Tapping: tapping on a number of acupressure points to undo inner blocks. The counter-jihad world: masses of strategies to undo blocks in the West against recognizing the dangers of Islam, against the Islamization of the West, for the protection of Western freedoms.

The main goal of Tapping into Power: increasing our effectiveness by increasing our access to our own personal power to increase the power of the counter-jihad.

February 18th, 8 pm, EST (New York Time) — FREE introductory online workshop. For more info, click here.

A big characteristic of mine: curiosity. Another one: optimism. It is curiosity — what could explain the millions of Muslims marching against a little cartoon when they were utterly silent about the murder of thousands of Muslims by Muslims? — that was a major impetus to investigate this strange thing called Islam. It is optimism that gives me the utter inner conviction that we will prevail — that freedom of speech and thought, freedom to live lives right for us, freedom to live in safety — will all prevail.

Curiosity also got me to investigate tapping.

Another impetus was optimism. I had experienced hitting a wall, years earlier, with talk therapy. At some point, change stopped happening. But I didn't accept that change could not happen. Then I came across tapping. It was helpful. Wow!

More recently I have been listening to a very interesting teleseminar series on emerging techniques coming from neuroscience. More ground for optimism.

I would like you to trust me enough, if you have even a smidgeon of curiosity, to give tapping a try — or at least to become better informed about it, so you know what it is, if someone else mentions it to you. To register, click here.

Over and over I hear that Europe is a lost cause and the U.S. is basically lost as well, etc, etc. That's dangerous stuff — and not only because it acknowledges that the Western world is in danger. If you believe that the game is over, you are much less likely to win. I'm not saying denial or pie in the sky optimism are useful. But a rockbed of optimism gives strength, especially on bad days.

Another reason for tapping into power: I see many counter-jihadis as over-scared, over-angry, not seeing opportunities, most of all often having given up hope of actually achieving the end of Islam. In other words, I see that we're not as effective as possible.

The main goal of Tapping into Power:

increasing our effectiveness by

increasing our access to our own personal power

to increase the power of the counter-jihad.

It's for everyone who feels that some inner change might be helpful, especially when it comes to dealing with Islam.

Maybe your fear level is higher than you feel it needs to be. Maybe you sometimes freeze instead of responding effectively. Maybe you can't stop being eaten by anger. Maybe you're caught in the pain of an experience. Maybe you just can't believe that what you hear about Islam could actually be real.

The goal, again: tapping to gain more personal power. A special focus is inner change that makes reaching people easier, that makes you more effective.

An increasing number of therapists use tapping to speed things up, to achieve in weeks what generally takes months, and to succeed when no amount of talk helps.

I'm a great believer in recognizing what is out in the world — like the dangers posed by Islam.

Why do so many people not see these dangers? One can point to mainstream politicians, the mainstream media, plus powerful Islamic groups ever ready to insist Islam is a religion of peace (and watch out if you dare suggest otherwise!!).

There are also inner blocks, inner barriers — which are ever harder to maintain in the face of the increasing evidence and an increasing level of danger, but are still powerful. For instance, a Pew research survey conducted last spring found that the majority of people in France, Britain and Germany continued to have favorable views of Muslims.

So how can tapping help?

When we try to get people to listen, and when we try to figure out the best ways to use our time, we often need more skills, techniques, strategies.

We also often come up against our own inner blocks — which may block us from seeing opportunities, which may make us explode in anger when that's not effective, which may keep us silent due to fear even when we know we could safely speak. One of the biggest barriers: fear. Another, for some people: rage.

Just as I'm a great believer in facing what's out in the world — the threats to freedom of speech, for instance — I'm also a great believer in trying to recognize and deal with what's within us, especially things that hold us back.

That has brought me to create this teleseminar series.

As I've said, the tool for change will be tapping.

We'll also explore the chakras, because each chakra is linked to a different aspect of ourselves, such as the drive to survive, the drive to express ourselves, the capacity to recognize what is outside us, and so on.

The process: we'll go, week by week, chakra by chakra, using tapping to try to have the chakras as open as possible.

By the way, tapping is a tool you'll be able to use yourself.

The time of the free workshop: February 18th, 8 pm EST. The replay will be available for a week.

If you like what you experience, and want more, you will have the option to sign up for a 7-week workshop.

The 7-week workshop will start March 4th.

We will start with the root chakra (survival) — crucial when it comes to Islam, as it threatens the survival of the West. How do we deal with such threats? The three most common responses: flight, fight and freeze.

Again, what might you gain from tapping?

Less fear. More insight. More choice in how to respond. A greater sense of empowerment.

What qualifications do I have?

A PhD in Psychology. But this isn't psychology.

The biggest qualification is being a lifelong learner, ever curious and ready to stretch. Personal growth, personal development — call it what you will — has been a major interest. For years I taught a course on Knowing the Inner Self, where students were introduced to a whole range of tools for gaining more self knowledge.

The second major qualification is being a lifelong teacher, for a long time as a college prof. But the urge to teach goes way further back. When I was in grade 3 and my kid sister was in kindergarten, I taught her about fractions as I was learning about them – and got her to understand! She was soon doing fractions at Grade 3 level! (One half and one quarter equals what?)

Being a lifelong learner and teacher — with Islam, that's crucial. For most of us, the threat from Islam seemed to come out of the blue. I certainly had to learn about it. And soon I wanted to reach others — as is the case for most of us.

With tapping, I've likewise learned, and now would like to pass on what I've learned.

So again, you're invited to the introductory workshop. I'll explain tapping, show you how to do it, go over the chakras, and then we'll do some tapping. Register here.

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Running Out of Ways to Defend Islam

Damon Whitsell sent me the following article the other day. It is written by Allen Clifton, co-founder of Forward Progressives, and author of the popular Right Off A Cliff column. He is also the founder of the Right Off A Cliff facebook page, on which he routinely voices his opinions and stirs the pot for the Progressive movement. Clifton has a degree in Political Science.

Clifton's article was originally published on the liberal website, Forward Progressives. Here it is:

After a day in which the news was mostly dominated by the terrorist attack in France that claimed 12 lives, I felt numb much of the day. Not just because of the shooting, but because it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to do something that I’ve done steadfastly for many years. That is, defend Muslims from those who ignorantly attack and bash them.

I’ll be honest, as badly as I want to stand in the face of some right-wing radical who’s proclaiming that Islam is a violent, hateful religion and tell them that they’re an idiot and nothing but an ignorant jackass — I don’t know if I can say that and still honestly mean it.

Just let the reality sink in for a moment of what really happened. A newspaper experienced its second terrorist attack in just over three years because it dared to poke fun at Islam. What other group of ideological individuals on this planet would do that? Say what you want about right-wing Christian radicals, they might throw a hissy fit when someone makes fun of Christianity or Jesus Christ, but Christian fundamentalists didn’t violently attack Seth MacFarlane or his team of writers when Family Guy aired their Christmas episode last month where the subject was trying to get Jesus laid.

And let’s not forget that nearly five years ago, South Park (a show that brutally mocks and makes fun of practically everything) had one of its episodes edited by Comedy Central following violent threats by Islamic groups concerning their making fun of Islam and the prophet Mohammad. In fact, one of these groups based out of New York, Revolution Muslim, said at the time that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone would probably end up like Theo van Gough for making fun of Islam.

Who’s Theo van Gough you ask? Well, he was a Dutch filmmaker who was killed by an Islamic militant in 2004 because he dared to make a documentary concerning the abuse of some Muslim women in Islamic countries.

In other words, this group Revolution Muslim, a group that was based out of the United States, was essentially threatening the lives of the South Park creators for making fun of Islam.

But my frustrations with all of this seemed to boil over today when I read that Saudi Arabia had condemned this attack. When I read that I didn’t feel a sense of relief that a powerful Islamic nation stood up against this kind of behavior. Instead I thought to myself, “Who the hell is Saudi Arabia to condemn anyone else considering the way they treat their own citizens every single day”?

Not that Saudi Arabia is a terrorist nation, but their record when it comes to basic human rights is atrocious. So, how are they an “example to set” for other Islamic states? Should we just ignore the fact that there are still laws in Saudi Arabia that punish people for being openly homosexual; that they treat women more like property than human beings (women still can’t even drive there); they continue to behead people as a means of execution; and often use Sharia law to oppress many of their citizens?

Seeing the wave of anti-Islamic messages that have flooded the internet since the attack in France, I so desperately want to say, “To hell with you anti-Islamic bigots” — but what examples do I have to prove them wrong? ISIL isn’t shrinking. In fact, it’s growing at a rather fast pace despite our airstrikes. Then when you look at countries such as Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria they’re a complete mess. Then it seems that far more often than not, when Muslims are given a choice to select their own leaders, they often choose some degree of religious fanaticism. Even the stable Islamic countries in and around the Middle East are ruled more along the lines of Saudi Arabia than countries that actually enjoy freedom such as the United States, Canada, England, Australia and Germany.

During a discussion about this topic, I asked a liberal friend of mine to name one Islamic state where:

• Homosexuals are allowed to be openly gay.
• Women are given equal rights.
• Other religions are allowed to freely practice their faith and are not oppressed.

He couldn’t do it. And I’ll be honest with you, I can’t either. Because to my knowledge, there’s not a single Islamic nation in or around the Middle East that meets all three of those criteria.

So, while there are several Islamic states that have publicly condemned this attack, and that’s great that they did, the laws by which many of these nations are governed are still awful when it comes to giving basic human rights for many of its citizens. Which makes it really difficult for me to say, “See, these nations are leaders in the Islamic world that are going to bring about change and opposition against Islamic radicals,” when many of these countries are flat-out oppressive on many aspects relating to their citizens having freedoms and rights.

Can I really say, “Yes, Saudi Arabia is a powerful nation that condemns terrorism” as a point of bragging to defend Islam from bigots? What do I say when they counter with, “Well, what about their stances on religious freedom, gay rights and women’s rights”? There’s nothing I can really say to that.

Now let me be clear, this article isn’t meant to sound anti-Muslim. It’s me reaching a point where I really don’t know where to go or what to say anymore about this subject. It’s hard for me to keep saying “it’s not Islam, it’s just the bad guys” when so many non-terrorist Islamic states fail the litmus test when it comes to basic human rights for so many of those living under these regimes.

And I know there are millions of great Muslim people on this planet. And I believe the overwhelming majority of them are kind, loving and wonderful people.

But something has to change. Publicly opposing terrorism is easy, but condemning horrific acts being carried out by religious fanatics isn’t going to bring about the fundamental change that’s needed to get at the root of much of this violence. That change is only going to come from Muslims fighting every single day against oppressive Islamic states. These people have to want, and demand, actual democracy. They have to build nations not ruled by the Quran, but by basic human decency toward everyone regardless of gender, religion or sexual orientation.

Theocratic governments have always, and will always, breed violence and oppression.

And as long as Muslims continue to flock toward nations founded, built and driven by Islamic rule — none of this is going to stop. And sadly, far too many Muslims continue to do just that.

So please, don’t take this as an “attack on Muslims,” because that’s not at all what I mean here. I just really, truly don’t know what to say anymore.

When I see videos of hostages being beheaded by ISIL, hear about 145 people killed (including 132 children) in a Pakistan school suicide bombing, learn of hostages being murdered in Australia and now satire newspaper writers brutally gunned down because of a couple of cartoons — all in the name of the same religion — how can I keep defending it from those who spew hatred toward it?

I want to, I really do. But I’m just not sure if I know how to do it anymore.

Share this article with a friend. I recommend you share this version: I'm Running Out of Ways to Defend Islam, unless your friend is a conservative, in which case I recommend the Inquiry Into Islam version.

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How Do You Know You've Gotten Through?

Yesterday I was talking to a man I work with. We were having a casual conversation about current events — the recent Super Bowl, the footage of the plane crash in Taiwan, etc. — when I said, "I saw an interview last night and the guy was saying what Boko Haram means. I thought this was interesting. He said that haram means forbidden or discouraged. Halal is the opposite. It means permissible or allowed."

He nodded. He seemed to know that halal meant permissible. "Well," I said, "the word 'Boko' means 'books!' I guess books are sinful. Funny thing to stand for, huh?"

He smiled. We've talked a bit about Islam before. He hasn't really been in "my camp" about the issue, but he has listened to me. Over time his understanding of Islam has expanded and his willingness to talk about it has noticeably increased. I said, "I just read that ISIS is now burning books. And killing educated women."

"It's crazy," he said, referring to the whole world, I think.

"There's a real conflict, almost a civil war, going on within Islam," I said. "Some Muslims want to reform Islam, to modernize it, to modify it, but others think they should just follow the book to the letter. And they're fighting it out."

Notice what I did there. First of all, by describing the situation this way, I was not "against Muslims." This is important to him. He is definitely a fan of multiculturalism. He really cares about fairness. So by portraying it as Muslims against Muslims, I'm not "vilifying an entire religion" but I still have a chance to make an important point. And I almost always try to work the fact into my conversations that this is not a conflict between two "conflicting interpretations" of Islamic doctrine. Rather, this is a conflict between those who actually want to follow the doctrine as it is written, and those who (like the President of Egypt said in a recent comment) want to update the doctrine, want to establish some modified form, some standardized way of ignoring some of the teachings in the core texts.

That is a crucial distinction, and I think it is very important for as many people as possible to understand that simple fact.

I posted something recently on Facebook. It was quoted from a recent Bill Maher show (see it here), and I really loved Salman Rushdie's blunt and emphatic response. He's absolutely right. That is exactly what we should do: Give no more concessions to Islam. Period. But someone made this comment on the Facebook post: "Show me a Muslim who has taken up arms in this 'war against extremists.'"

I answered: "Many of the Muslims killed in Iraq and Syria are being killed because they are insufficiently Muslim according to the committed orthodox Muslims (ISIS). Some of the 'insufficiently Islamic' Muslims do, in fact, try to defend themselves. So it can be legitimately called a war. However, that's between them. What WE can do is educate our fellow non-Muslims so they are no longer fooled."

And I think one of the most important facts non-Muslims need to know is that this is not a conflict of interpretations. It is a conflict between following the actual text to the letter, or not following it to the letter. This simple fact makes Muslims and Islamic apologists less capable of deceiving us with their disinformation.

After my answer, someone else added a good one: "The Kurds maybe?" Yes. The Kurds are Muslims fighting ISIS. They are less-orthodox Muslims fighting more-orthodox Muslims. A perfect example.

Muslims are commanded in the Koran to not only kill non-Muslims but also "hypocrites," which means Muslims are exhorted to kill people who profess to be Muslims but do not follow the teachings. And orthodox Muslims are doing exactly that. Sometimes during a massacre of non-Muslims, the jihadis have been known to "test" the Muslims they come across to see how knowledgeable they are about Islam. If they fail the test, it means they are hypocrites, so they are also killed.

I ended the conversation with the man at work by saying, "These are interesting times we live in."

His reply was, "Scary times."

That's the first time I ever got that kind of response from him, and it was the first time I thought the reality of our situation has finally gotten through to him. My approach with him in the future will be different than it has been up to now. I remember when it first sunk in for me, that was my first response too: Fear. That's true for a lot of people.

But it should progress beyond that into a determination to do something about it. So I'll think about it and I'll make sure he and I have a different kind of conversation next time.

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Why the Crusades Began

About 450 years before the first crusade began, a new religion was born in the Middle East. At the time, the Middle East was mostly made up of Christians and Jews.

Before Islam began, there were five main centers of Christianity: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

As Islamic warriors conquered the Middle East and North Africa, three of those centers were lost. Most of what was once "the Christian world" became "the Muslim world."

Two of the centers of Christianity remained, and one of them was the new Islamic target: Constantinople (now known as Istanbul). Constantinople was a huge walled city, and it was being threatened by the now powerful Islamic empire.

Constantinople's emperor pleaded to Rome for help.

Rome needed to somehow unite the quarreling, constantly competing countries of Europe in order to defend Constantinople. But how? The only thing the European countries had in common was Christianity, so that was what the Pope used for his call to action. "Christianity is being threatened," he said. Jerusalem is in the hands of Muslims. Their "Christian brothers" who made pilgrimages to Jerusalem were being slaughtered. "Constantinople has cried out to us for help. We must save Christianity."

The appeal worked. People from many European countries put aside their differences and joined in the defense of their culture.

Several Crusades were organized over the next two hundred years. They didn't save Constantinople, but they did slow down the conquering forces so that Rome and Europe mostly survived. I say "mostly" because Italy and Spain were invaded by Muslim armies and Spain was conquered by Islamic forces for 800 years.

Spain finally re-conquered their own country in 1492, the same year Christopher Columbus "discovered" America while he was trying to find a new trade route to the East (the old trade route had been cut off by the Muslims who had conquered the Middle East and didn't want any infidels travelling through their territory).

The Crusades began as a response to a call for help because Muslim armies had conquered most of what had formerly been "the Christian world" and were threatening what was left of it with annihilation.

This was also published on History is Fascinating here.

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The Great Awakening Has Begun

FRANCE: Several polls show that more than 70% of the French think Islam is incompatible with democracy and Western civilization. Those polls predate the Charlie Hebdo attack (source).

AUSTRALIA: One in four Australians holds a negative attitude towards Muslims, a national survey has found. It found people were five times more likely to hold negative attitudes towards Muslims than any other religious group. "What we're finding is negativity towards Muslims is five times higher than towards Christians and Buddhists, so there's quite a significant issue there," said Professor Markus (source).

AUSTRIA: A new survey carried out in December 2014 and published January 2015 by Der Standard newspaper shows that 51 percent of the respondents believe that Islam is a threat to Austrian society (source).

BRITAIN: More than a quarter of young adults in Britain mistrust Muslims, a BBC survey shows. Some 27% of the thousand 18 to 24-year-olds questioned said they did not trust them, while fewer than three in 10 (29%) thought Muslims were doing enough to tackle extremism in their communities. A similar proportion of the young people polled (28%) said the country would be better off with fewer Muslims and almost half (44%) felt Muslims did not share the same values as everyone else (source).

GERMANY: A majority of Germans have rejected former President Christian Wulff's famous statement that "Islam is now also a part of Germany", with 52 percent against the idea (source).

CZECH REPUBLIC: About two-thirds of Czechs who have used the European election calculator EUvox consider Islam a threat to Czech society, according to an analysis of the results carried out by the Academy of Sciences Sociological Institute, released today. The institute assessed the opinions of 18,000 Czechs (source).

NETHERLANDS: Half of all Dutch people agree with Geert Wilders’ opinion that there should be fewer Moroccans in the country. De Hond polled 2500 people, 43 percent of whom expressed that they would rather there be fewer Moroccan people in the Netherlands. Only 3 percent of the people want there to be more Moroccans (source).

DENMARK: A Gallup poll shows most Danes think too many concessions are made for the minority. The public debates over banned Christmas trees, halal meat at schools and cashiers wearing headscarves appear to have made the Danish population more wary about giving their Muslim neighbors cultural concessions (source).

UNITED STATES: A Zogby Analytics poll found a growing number of Americans doubt that Muslim-Americans would be able to perform in a government post without their religion affecting their work. Forty-two percent of respondents felt that Muslim-Americans would be influenced by religion (source).

CANADA: Polls by Angus Reid, a public opinion research firm, show a steady increase in anti-Muslim sentiment since 2009, higher than any of the other major religions. Last year, 54 percent of English-speaking Canadians viewed Islam unfavorably, a feeling that stands even higher, at 69 percent, in the country's French-speaking region, Quebec (source).

ITALY: At least half of those surveyed in Italy say they have a negative opinion of the Muslims who live in their country (source).

GREECE: Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in Greece have a negative opinion of the Muslims who live in their country (source).

SCOTLAND: A school in Glasgow, Scotland asked pupils to say which which words came to mind when people talked about Muslims. Their responses included "terrorist," "oppressed," "a threat" and "scary" (source).

AUSTRIA: A new survey on how Islam is viewed in Austria suggests that anti-Muslim sentiment has risen sharply in the wake of the Paris shootings, with 69 percent of those polled saying they did not believe that Islam belongs in Austria. The survey, carried out by Unique Research for the Heute tabloid paper, polled 500 people. Only seven percent strongly agreed with the statement “Islam is part of Austria”, with 42 percent responding “definitely not”. Around three quarters of those polled said that they believed Austrian citizens who travelled abroad to fight with Islamic State militants should have their citizenship withdrawn. Only five percent rejected this idea categorically. Forty percent said that they felt Islam was a threat for Austria (source).

BRITAIN: More than half the British public think that Muslim women SHOULD NOT be allowed to wear the niqab in public. An opinion poll for Channel 4 found that 56% of respondents said they opposed the wearing of the full face-veil, while 55% said they would support a national ban, similar to legislation that was passed in France in 2010. The poll found that three-quarters (76%) said they were unsure of how to relate to women wearing the full face veil, while more than half (56%) thought it was demeaning to women who wear it (source).

GERMANY: The Bertelsman Foundation think tank survey looked at the perception of Islam in Germany from the eyes of Muslims and non-Muslims. Of the non-Muslims surveyed, 57 percent thought that Islam was threatening or very threatening to German society. The survey was carried out in November, before the massacre of journalists in Paris (source). According to a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 56 percent of Germans consider Islam to be an "archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life" and many believe religious freedom for Muslims should be "substantially restricted" (source).

UNITED STATES: A Pew Research Center survey found that 82% of American Republicans are “very concerned” about the rise of Islamic extremism in the world, compared with 60% of political independents and 51% of Democrats. Similarly, two-thirds of Republicans (67%) say that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers, compared with 47% of independents and 42% of Democrats (source).

AUSTRIA: There are only 11 percent of Austrians now who say Islam is compatible with the Western ideas of democracy, freedom and tolerance (source).

DENMARK: According to a YouGov poll conducted for Metroxpress, half of all Danes want to limit the number of Muslims in Denmark. Most of them don't want any more than they already have (source).

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