Issues involved with the Muslim community
The “Muslim problem” Put Into Perspective
News Flash!!!! The politicians and pundits who are on the news “discussing” the Muslim situation are either short-sighted, ignorant, or are pursuing agendas contrary to the facts of history and world order.
FUNDAMENTALS
Islamist: a word hardly anyone uses, but is fundamental to honestly discussing the situation in which the world finds itself today. One of the few times that a politician has used the word in its context was by Senator Santorum during a Republican debate, and that was on an ‘undercard’ session. For those interested in the subject, see the book by Zuhdi Jasser: “A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith”.
Fundamentally, the discussion has to follow two paths: one is the religious aspect followed by all who are Muslim, the other is the aspect of the Islamists who Believe that their faith requires them to pursue a divine world order based on the teachings of Mohammed and involves a reordering of government and society, i.e., all aspects of personal human life. This includes the concepts of theocracy (i.e., the ‘mullahs’ take all aspects of political, economic and social power unto themselves), the Belief in the sanctity of Shari’a law, including the subjugation of women, the on-going slavery issues, and the use of force and violence to advance their cause.
Note: the capitalization of Believe and Belief is intended to reflect the fact that these concepts are core to the Islamist’s interpretation of their “religion”. To put it into perspective, these hold the same sway with Islamists that the concepts of immaculate conception and resurrection hold for Christians.
Most disturbing is a Pew Research Center report on “The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society”. The populations of many of the Muslim dominated countries around the globe have more 70% who believe Shari’a law is the word of God or Allah. One might take two views of immigrants from those countries: 1) the immigrants are those escaping the severity of Shari’a (stonings, amputations, …) and should thus be welcomed under refugee statu, an 2) those coming from these countries might well be oriented toward the spread of Islamism.
It should also be noted that as with anything that involves the future of mankind, there are apologists or agitators by any name that have developed philosophical arguments that would counter the above (admittedly) simplification of the above descriptions. This would include those representing the Muslim Brotherhood, the Council on American Islamic-American Relations, and other ‘front’ organizations. There is a need to establish the credential of those to whom we listen in these discussions; one such credential might include the issue of assimilation, which has plagued countries such as Australia and the United States as well as most of Europe.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
We need to understand that for six centuries before World War I the eastern Mediterranean was governed by the Ottoman Empire under various forms such as sultanate, caliphate, vizier-ship. Not for a minute can we consider that the ayatollahs and mullahs have forgotten the loss of the Empire during the last 100 years.
Following the downfall of the Ottoman Empire, the Europeans and Americans divided up the area in a manner inconsistent with the realities of the various religious elements in the region. One result was the formation of Saudi Arabia, consolidated in 1932 by ibn Saud. As a condition of gaining the support of the religious leaders, the Saudis made what we can now describe as basically a “deal with the devil” by turning over the education of the children to the mullahs in the madrasas with the corresponding protection and propagation of the Wahhabi movement. The billions of dollars reaped by the Saudis from their oil exports during the 20th Century were funneled, with a significant percentage taken by the royal family, to the Wahhabis. We have all seen the results of this alliance.
CURRENT SITUATION
For the past 15 years the world has seen the culmination of these 100 years of preparation for the return of the Islamists to power. The Western World spends a lot of time talking about the Taliban, Al-Queada, Boko Haram, and currently ISIS. These are all but symptoms of the development of the Islamist movement. In the US in particular, there is a major conundrum: the heritage of religious freedom and welcoming oppressed people (Muslims) vs. the concern of admitting those advocating the violent overthrow of the country (Islamists). This can well be the existential question of our day.