Redefining Islam

INTRODUCTION: So now we have Muslim college students from the University of South Florida (students of Prof. Sami Al-Arian?) driving near a South Carolina military base with a bunch of pipe bombs in their car. They were, of course, just as innocent as the “flying Imams” of U.S. Airways Flight 300 fame; they were merely out for a drive with some “fireworks” in the back of their car. But still, even Bill O’Reilly, when interviewing a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, passes off the Islamic fundamentalist threat as being “just a tiny minority" of the Muslim community. That “tiny minority” has the passion and the ability to bring down our country and it’s time we stopped leaning over backward to minimize the threat they represent.

In an August 2006 column I wrote about current efforts by the Vatican to obtain reciprocity for religious practice by Christians and Jews in Islamic states. 

Unfortunately, the Islamic approach to religious tolerance is totally incompatible with western political traditions, and always will be.  Hence, there is nothing that the Vatican can do through a more confrontational approach that will in any way slow the Islamic invasion of Christendom, or convince Muslims that they must allow Christians and Jews the freedom to openly practice their religious beliefs in Islamic states. 

That battle was lost before it began, although a few liberal daydreamers and left-wing nutcases cling to the fantasy that moderate and liberal Muslims will one day rise up and confront radical Islam. For those who are betting their lives (and mine) on that forlorn hope I would remind them of seven simple words: “Those who cure you will kill you.” 

That cryptic warning was related to an Anglican priest, Andrew White, during an inter-faith conference in Jordan a short time before an eight-member Islamic terror cell, which included seven medical doctors, staged an attack on public facilities in London and Glasgow…an attack that was intended to murder and maim large numbers of innocent men, women, and children.

So, what are the chances that Muslims can, or ever will, assimilate into western society? Is it possible that we can ever live in peace and harmony with people who are taught that it is their duty to kill Christians and Jews and to kill any and all who criticize their religion? If the Vatican expects to find “reciprocity” with such people they are engaging in some very foolish wishful thinking.

There are those who insist that radical Islam represents only a small minority of Muslims – perhaps only one in ten – but ten percent of 1.4 billion amounts to 140 million. 

In all of America’s previous wars, from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam and Desert Storm, we have not faced 20 million enemy combatants. Now we face more than seven times that number. Yet, they are not separated from us by battle lines or national frontiers. They are here, living and traveling freely among us. And, unlike previous enemies, they do not fear death, they wear no uniforms, they recognize no rules of war, and they willingly slaughter women and children. 

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich has suggested the convening of another Geneva Convention to deal with the threat of Islam. Such an international conference would provide an opportunity for western nations to redefine Islam for what it is, not for what Islam claims to be. It must be redefined, not as a religion deserving of legal protection under western law, and not as a military force deserving of protection under the Geneva Convention, but as a radical and dangerous religious sect that has declared holy war against all of civilized society.

The oath of allegiance required of all newly naturalized American citizens says, in part, “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or (of) which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law…and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.” 

The convening of a second Geneva Convention would provide an opportunity for all native-born and hyphenated Americans, including Muslim-Americans, to reaffirm that oath, and any individual who would feel uncomfortable making that solemn commitment should be informed of his/her alternatives.

Ultimately, it must be a matter of public policy in the West that Muslims will have the same right to practice their religion in western countries as Christians, Jews, and others enjoy in Islamic states. Nothing less will suffice. And if Muslims are unable to accept such reciprocity then we must be prepared to withdraw from them the First Amendment rights that they now demand.  

We must make it clear to all who come here that we are a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values…not Muslim values, not Hindu values. To us, a cow is just beefsteak on the hoof and anyone who cannot enjoy a good ham sandwich or the sight of a beautiful female body will probably be much happier someplace else. That’s who we are and we’re not about to change any of that to accommodate some fool with one foot stuck in the twenty-first century and the other planted firmly in the seventh. 

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how many British and American liberals will be cancelling appointments with their Muslim physicians.