CHARLOTTE, September 22, 2012 ― Have you ever wondered why Muslims are compelled to declare that Islam is a “religion of peace” following a terrorist attack or rampant violence by enraged believers?

No other religion in the world is ever forced to defend itself in such a manner. Only Islam. That is because every other religion on the planet is inherently “peaceful.” Islam is not.

Surely the events of recent weeks throughout Egypt, Libya, Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries should be some indication to even the most ambivalent observer that such extreme reactions are indicative of the ferocity that festers within Islam.

This is not new. Many Americans believe that such responses are the consequence of hatred of the West. The truth is that the current problems are merely the latest examples of fourteen hundred years of conflict that began in the 7^th century.

Author and filmmaker Gregory M. Davis sums it up in two paragraphs: “The spectacular acts of Islamic terrorism in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are only recent manifestations of a global war of conquest that Islam has been waging since the days of Muhammad.

“Over the course of its fourteen-hundred year history on three continents, Islam has demonstrated that it is essentially and enduringly violent.  This is the simple, glaring truth that stares the world in the face today, but which few seem willing to contemplate.  However difficult to accept, the fact is that we are in a global religious conflict with an adversary who intends to destroy or conquer us and who has been hard at work at both for fourteen centuries.”

Whenever and wherever Islamic violence occurs, Muslim apologists come out of the woodwork to decry its savagery by stating that the Koran explicitly denounces the killing of innocent people and that all human life is valuable. 

As evidence for their claim they cite Sura 5:32 of the Koran, which says, “whoever killed a human being…shall be regarded as having killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind.”

Peaceful, right? Ahhh, but here’s the catch. Verse 5:32 in the above form is taken out of context. Here is the full sura as written in the Koran, “That was why We laid down for the Israelites that whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be regarded as having killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind.”

The chapter continues immediately with the following, “Our apostles brought them veritable proofs: yet many among them, even after that, did prodigious evil in the land.”

“Those that make war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land shall be slain or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land. They shall be held up to shame in this world and sternly punished in the hereafter….”

As Davis points out in a few terse words, “Engaging in violence against non-Muslims is not a fringe idea but a central tenet of Islam.”

Islamic actions in recent days and the above quotes from the Koran bear that out.

The media continually questions how an inane video by an obscure filmmaker on YouTube could result in the overreaction and violence that has erupted in the Middle East. First, it should be understood from the outset that most of the protestors who have taken to the streets have not even seen the video in question. They are responding primarily on hearsay, which, for them, is enough.

Beyond that, we are not dealing with a contemporary problem, but one that has been on-going for centuries and which will continue so long as Muslims cling to the basic principles that were taught by Muhammad. As Davis explains, “The Prophet especially disliked the many poets who ridiculed his new religion and his claim to prophethood – a theme that recurs today in the violent reactions of Muslims to any perceived mockery of Islam.”

While the YouTube film is more than mere “perceived mockery,” the point is that we are dealing with fourteen centuries of upheaval.

What we need to understand is that the so-called “moderate Muslims” which make up a high percentage of the Islamic faith, are not relevant to the argument any more than non-Nazi Germans were relevant to Hitler’s rise to power. The minority of radical Muslims that follow Islam to the letter are in control, and it is they who are perpetuating the firestorm that confronts us.

Much has been written lately about the moderation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, but one of its founders, Sayyid Qutb, a leading 20^th century theorist of Muslim ideals also claimed that Islam was a “religion of peace” in his book Islam and Universal Peace.

What Qutb said and what he meant are entirely different as Gregory Davis explains, “Islam seeks the subjugation of the entire earth under Islamic law. When Islamic law becomes universally triumphant, peace will reign; therefore Islam is a religion of peace.”

In other words, “religion of peace” is purely and simply “spin” in its most obtuse form.

This is a key factor in understanding the concept “peaceful Islam”, and it is a dire warning to the West which has blindly and naively believed, especially under the leadership of Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that negotiation with the Muslim world is possible.

Davis sums it up in one final statement. “If the West persists in the false hope of solving the problem of Muslim violence once and for all (through democracy, capitalism, multiculturalism, sensitivity, or whatever the next political vogue will be), it risks being unable to contain it, and thus may bring down upon itself otherwise unavoidable future disasters.”

While that parenthetical list may desirable, and though it expresses Western morality and ideals, it does not work within the reality of Islamic radicalism and violence.

Our only hope is through strength or the Western world cannot survive against this “religion of peace.”

 

Peabod is Bob Taylor, owner of Taylored Media Services in Charlotte, NC. Taylor is founder of The Magellan Travel Club, which creates, and escorts customized tours to Switzerland, France and Italy for groups of 12 or more. Inquiries for groups can be made at Peabod@aol.com Taylored Media has produced marketing videos for British Rail, Rail Europe, Switzerland Tourism, the Swedish Travel & Tourism Council, the Finnish Tourist Board, the Swiss Travel System and Japan Railways Group among others. As author of The Century Club book, Peabod is now attempting to travel to 100 countries or more during his lifetime. To date he has visited 69 countries. Suggest someplace new for Bob to visit; if you want to know where he has been, check his list on Facebook. Bob plans to write a sequel to his book when he reaches his goal of 100 countries. He also played professional baseball for four years and was a sportscaster for 14 years at WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

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