The Cause Of Terrorism

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF TERRORISM? Read the short answer here. I've been trying to find an answer to that question since September 11th. I started CitizenWarrior.com shortly after the towers came down. I wanted to create a clearinghouse for information related to the cause of terrorism and have gotten a tremendous amount of help from people all over the world. I've studied everything relevant I could get my hands on. But an enormous clarity arrived when I read the book, The Sword of the Prophet: Islam; History, Theology, Impact on the World, If there is one book that can give you a clear understanding of the cause of terrorism — especially the cause of Islamic terrorism — it is this book.

The author is Serge Trifkovic, PhD, who was a broadcaster and producer with the BBC World Service and the Voice of America. He has seen a lot and gotten inside stories of world events. And then he turned his knowledge, experience, and intelligence to the question: What is the cause of terrorism?

What he discovered is really surprising, or at least it was to me. According to him, the holy book of the Muslims contains explicit directions for its faithful followers to wage unending war against nonbelievers. (This is also something several other writers have said, including an ex-Muslim, which you can read here.) I am not an expert on Islam, but if what these people are saying is true, it explains much of what seems confusing about world events, and would be important for people in the free world to know.

"Killing or, in the case of Jews and Christians, enslaving and robbing them, was not only divinely sanctioned but mandated," reports Trifkovic. But, he says, Muslims will tell you in public this is not true. So who should you believe?

You could read the Koran yourself. Then you wouldn't have to believe anybody. Just read the book and decide for yourself. You can read the Koran online. If Trifkovic is right, the cause of terrorism isn't a secret. The source book is published and available and terrorists have even told us where we can find it. They quote the Koran constantly. You can literally go down to your local bookstore and get one. At my local bookstore they have eleven English versions of the book for sale. These are not anti-Muslim copies. They are for the faithful followers of Allah. I bought one and I've been reading it. I have found no contradictions with Trifkovic. He seems to be telling the truth about the Koran.

According to many writers, not only is Trifkovic correct, but Muslims will tell you otherwise because that is also commanded in the Koran. Deceiving unbelievers about your intentions is fair in war, and Islam is apparently always at war with unbelievers.

One thing I've noticed is that the Koran is not vague. The writings are not couched in metaphors or stories, like many other religious books. It was written by a single author and is very straightforward. And all the English translations are almost identical.

If all this is true, this should be frightening to the free world. Apparently, the reason none of us non-Muslims know this stuff is that a group of dedicated Muslims have carefully manipulated the way Islam is presented by the media in the free world. (Read more about that in the book, The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism, by Stephen Schwartz.) This is apparently one of their tactics of war: Fooling the enemy and misrepresenting Islam's intentions until it is too late.

Islamic terrorists know their enemy very well. They have used the free world's respect for all religions and our belief in freedom of religion against us. They have used our commitment to free speech and human rights against us. They know us very well, but most of us don't know anything about them. In a very real sense, our ignorance is the cause of terrorism. Islamic terrorists have been able to wage their holy war on our soil because of our ignorance of what they're doing. And the most important thing you can do to remove the cause of terrorism is to remove the ignorance — in other words, share what you know with people (and this article).

Obviously, the answer is not to wage war against all Muslims. The majority of Muslims are peace-loving people who ignore and explain away the Koran's commands to make war on unbelievers. According to one Muslim author, Irshad Manji in her book, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith, what needs to happen is for the majority of these moderate Muslims to publicly admit the Koran isn't perfect. Once that becomes an established fact, the cause of terrorism will be substantially weakened. She says the absolute authority of the Koran is what sustains the terrorists' fervor. That is exactly what sustained the Christians in their Crusades and Inquisitions. As long as nobody says the emperor wears no clothes — as long as people can't admit their holy book is not perfect (not the absolute word of God) — people can kill with holy zeal. It looks like that is the cause of terrorism ultimately.

This doesn't get the West off the hook about other things. We need to stop supporting non-democratic governments, for example. And we need to continue supporting the spread of women's rights and human rights and democratic freedoms around the world. But that is not the cause of terrorism. If the free world remained ignorant of the source of the terrorists' holy zeal (unaware that their religious book is political in nature and recommends doing away with unbelievers), we would still be blind, and all our efforts to satisfy terrorists' "demands" would only strengthen their cause, not weaken it.source of the confusion

You hear the terrorists quoting the Koran so you think the Koran must be about killing unbelievers. Then you hear moderate Muslims quote the Koran and it sounds like the book is about compassion and forgiveness. Why does the Koran offer conflicting quotations? Most Americans, I think, write it off by saying, "Well the Bible contains conflicting quotes too." And that is definitely true. Perhaps it is true of any large collection of writings. But the Koran is different than the Bible in a way I think non-Muslims should be aware of. The Bible was written by many different people at many different times. The Koran, however, was written entirely by a single author.

So the question is, why would a single author put conflicting passages in his book?

Here's how it happened. First understand that the Koran is a collection of the revelations Mohammad received from the angel Gabriel who was giving Mohammad Allah's message. When Mohammad first received his revelations, they were full of compassion and love and peace and goodwill. At that time Mohammad lived in Mecca, a large city. The population of Mecca didn't immediately convert to Islam in large numbers. A few did, but the rulers of Mecca didn't really like any threats to their authority, so they gave Mohammad a lot of trouble. Mohammad eventually moved with a few of his followers to another city. There Mohammad was able to gain a larger following. He eventually ruled that city and then made war on Mecca and eventually ruled Mecca too.

Meanwhile, the revelations kept coming. Until Mohammad died, he would get a revelation every once in awhile. After his death they were all bound into a book. That's the Koran. As Mohammad gained power, the revelations changed in nature. They were more about conquering and ruling and less about tolerance and compassion. That's why in a single book written by one man you find conflicting passages. Ideally, the way believers would handle the conflict is to simply take what is best and leave the rest. That is what most Muslims do, although they probably feel guilty about it since the Koran is supposed to be the undisputed, perfect word of Allah, and it is a sin to think otherwise (that is apparently also written in the Koran, although I haven't gotten to that part yet).

The head religious men of Islam have an official policy for handling the many conflicting passages in the Koran, according to Mark Gabriel (who was a university professor of Islamic history in Egypt). The Islamic religious leaders don't deny that there are conflicting passages in the Koran. They say, "Where two passages conflict, the later one overwrites the earlier one." That is the consensus of the Islamic scholars, according to Mark Gabriel. If this is true, it is bad news because it means that the authorities have said essentially, the intolerant, jihad-oriented passages overwrite the verses you hear quoted by the moderate Muslims in the media. Yes, the Koran says those things. They are quoting accurately, but those quotes are not valid when they are overruled by a later quote that nullifies them.

In the earlier passages, which Mohammad wrote while still in Mecca, you'll find words of tolerance and respect for Jews and Christians (but for nobody else except fellow Muslims). Later passages are, according to these authors, filled with hatred and vengeance on Jews and Christians. Now the Muslims themselves who are waging jihad against the West use those earlier, peaceful, tolerant passages to hide their intentions, to throw our population off their scent, to introduce confusion while secretly committing hate crimes, just as Mohammad did, against Jews especially and Christians secondarily. Or actually first against people who are none of those three religions.

In the book, The Sword of the Prophet, Trifkovic writes about a battle in the city of Medina at the time of Mohammad. The Muslims were victorious and Mohammad offered the men conversion to Islam as an alternative to death; upon their refusal, up to 900 were decapitated at the ditch, in front of their women and children." The revelations in the Koran were changing at this time, and they justified the destruction of the Jews.

I'm not a Jew or a Christian. I have no vested interest in saying one religion is better than another. But I'm an American, and the content of the Koran, at least in the hands of fanatical believers, seems to be dangerous to our freedom and well-being. As long as we remain ignorant of this possibility, we are vulnerable because we won't protect ourselves as they infiltrate our country and pour their oil money into "Muslim public relations." Meanwhile their numbers within our borders grow, and the situation becomes increasingly worrisome.

In the Koran, a later passage says, "When we decide to destroy a population, we send a definite order to them who have the good things in life and yet transgress; so that Allah's word is proved true against them: then we destroy them utterly."

The Koran is considered by many people in the Middle East as the perfect, absolute word of the Creator. What does a true believer do with a clear command like this?

You saw what they will do on September 11th. "Kill the unbelievers wherever you find them." So says the Koran. "So let it be so," say many (but thankfully not all) of its followers.

In his book, Trifkovic gives you the quotes from the Koran and he tells you where you can find the quotes. Each passage of the Koran is numbered, like the Christian Bible, so you can easily verify the quotations. The Koran is available to read online. Here are some quotes from the Koran from some of the chapters I've read online. These sites are not anti-Muslim propaganda. They are simply Muslim sites for regular Muslims. The material is easy enough to read to confirm for yourself. And when you do, please share it with your friends and family. Get the word out.

If your friends are good people, and I have no reason to believe they aren't, they will say something like, "Yes, but Christians have committed atrocities in the name of God too, using the Bible to justify their actions." Defending any religion is a natural, knee-jerk response from the good people of a tolerant society when they hear a religion being criticized. Test this out. Tell some of your friends about the violent passages of the Koran and you'll hear them defend it.

You can respond something like this: "That's true. And now the great majority of people in free countries don't consider the Bible to be the literal Word of God. So the Bible can't be used the same way any more. It takes a high degree of certainty before people are willing to slaughter others. What needs to happen now is for everyone, including Muslims worldwide, to go on a campaign to get everyone to accept the Koran is not perfect either. Then when a child is raised Muslim, he won't give the book as much authority in his life, which will allow him to choose the healthier quotes from that book and ignore the violent ones."

I have found one Muslim who has been willing to do that. It is a start. She needs to be supported so others will find the courage to do so. Here is her web site. By the way, the reason it takes courage, even for someone in a free country is that the Koran apparently orders its believers to kill anyone who criticizes the Koran. Mark Gabriel said that in a predominately Muslim society such as Egypt, it is very dangerous to say anything slightly indicating the Koran may not be perfect.

So a Muslim willing to say publicly the Koran is not perfect is a brave soul who deserves our support and admiration and protection. Help this admission spread around the world until the certainty and finality of the Koran is reduced. The primary cause of Islamic terrorism is that certainty.

If you feel you have no power to alter world events, that is a mistake in your thinking that needs to be corrected. Start here.
muslim propaganda

In researching any topic, I try to read books from all angles, so I've read lots of pro-Muslim books and articles — and probably most of them are by good people. For the most part they completely ignore the violence lurking in the Koran, pretending it isn't there. I don't think that is helpful. That ends up helping terrorists, even if that isn't the author's intention. For example, they say Islam means "peace." But the combination of the letters "slm" means submission, protection, safety, security, peace, and surrender. In most of the Muslim writings I have come across, they most often define Islam as "submission to the will of Allah," and, according to many of the authors I've been talking about, it also means "getting all others in the world to submit to the law of Allah (Sharia)."

It is part of Muslim propaganda in the West to say things like, "Islam is totally against violence. The word Islam itself means 'peace.' Islam is a religion of tolerance and compassion." Haven't you heard this? Yes, the Saudi-funded Muslims within our borders have flooded the airwaves with this stuff. It's part of a huge public relations campaign (read more about that below).

The situation is similar to the publication of Hitler's book, Mein Kampf. The Koran is nothing like Hitler's book and the two cannot be compared, but the free world's response to it is identical. Hitler outlined his plans while he was in jail. He published it as a book, telling the whole world what he intended to do. Hardly anyone in America or England or Poland or France or Russia read it. After he had built his war machine and was invading other countries, then people read it and found out Hitler was doing what he said he would do. The free world has the same situation now with the Koran.

The Koran is available for anyone to read. Have you read it? Do you know anyone who has? Neither do I. And yet people who say they are following its plan have declared war on Western democracies. That's why I think the cause of terrorism is mostly our own ignorance.

"Does our tolerant and democratic way of life contain within itself the seeds of its own destruction?" asks Ambassador James Bissett. "Should organized intolerance be tolerated?" This is from the introduction to The Sword of the Prophet. "This book," writes Bissett, "chastises the 'opinion-forming elite' for its role in pretending that Islam does not present a serious problem." (You can see examples of world leaders doing just that in the DVD, Islam: What the West Needs to Know).

The book makes it perfectly clear that Islam does present a serious problem. Most of us, I think, have had the feeling it did. But we've been encouraged to deny our intuition by the Muslim propaganda machine, and by genuinely peaceful Muslims trying to defend their faith. (Read here a list of the ongoing acts of war committed against the free world in the name of Islam.)

Good people who are not Muslims have accidentally helped the cause of terrorism by giving us the impression terrorists are a few crazy extremists who have distorted or reinterpreted the Koran to suit their bloody ends. According to Trifkovic, Christian and Jewish believers feel that Muslims are also believers and that there is something inherently good about being a believer. Trifkovic writes,Exactly the same sentiment drives President Bush's advisor on Islam, a professor at Cleveland-Marshal College of Law, David Forte. He speaks no Arabic and readily admits that he merely "dabbles" in Islamic jurisprudence. Nevertheless, his conviction that Islamic terrorists and Muslim aggressors are, by definition, heretics and not the "real" Muslims has been fully internalized by the president, whose speeches seem to pluck whole phrases from Forte's writings.
...[Forte's] view, however erroneous, boils down to the conviction that believers, no matter their denomination, are better people than nonbelievers, and that a religious outlook — any religious outlook — is preferable to the nihilistic wastelands of postmodern secularism.

If it is true that Islam is inherently a political danger to democracies, Dave Forte's and President Bush's points of view are dangerous. Consider this: Mohammed said the three most important actions a man could take are:

1. Faith

2. War in the path of Allah

3. A blameless pilgrimage to Mecca

Some of the Muslim propaganda says that jihad is an inner struggle against one's own sins. Trifkovic says this interpretation came about much later in the evolution of Islam, after they were almost finished conquering the known world. There is so much in the Koran about waging war, it is obviously an important act of worship, and the devout — searching for a way to wage jihad but without any enemies to fight at the time — came up with the "inner struggle" interpretation. But you have to really stretch your imagination to make the following passages from the Koran mean anything except killing real people:Kill those who join other gods with Allah wherever you may find them.
I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, strike off their heads then, and strike off from them every fingertip.
Let those fight in the cause of Allah who barter the life of this world for that which is to come; for whoever fights on Allah's path, whether he is killed or triumphs, we will give him a handsome reward.
Believers! Make war on the unbelievers who dwell around you. Let them find harshness in you.
O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast men among you, they shall vanquish two hundred; and if there are a hundred, they shall rout a thousand unbelievers, for they are devoid of understanding.
When you meet unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads and when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly.
If you should die or be killed in the cause of Allah, His mercy and forgiveness would surely be better than all the riches that amass. If you should die or be killed, before Him you shall all be gathered.

These are not interpretations from anti-Muslim sources. These are the passages any reader anywhere in the world reads when they read the words of their Prophet. And yet, whenever I hear from a Muslim, they always tell me "Islam is a religion of peace."

The overall message is to make war on unbelievers until the whole world has submitted to Islam. Then there will be peace, I guess. The explicit command is to overthrow man-made governments (read "democracies") and establish Islamic states, and then turn on neighboring countries and make war on them until you turn those countries into Islamic states. Keep going until the world is conquered. That is apparently one's duty as a follower of Muhammad if you read the Koran and take it to heart.

"Between Muhammad's death and the second siege of Vienna," writes Trifkovic, "just over a thousand years later, Islam expanded — at first very rapidly, then intermittently — at the expense of everything and everyone in the way of its warriors. Unleashed as a militant faith of a nomadic war band, Islam turned its boundary with the outside world into a perpetual war zone."

One of the primary barriers to the Islamic takeover of the world has been the Western powers, most specifically, the United States. America supported Egypt in its attempt to keep the terrorists from seizing control of their democratic (man-made) government. America supported Iraq in its fight against the invasion of the Islamic state, Iran. So the "Islamists" (the Muslims who want to carry out the plan in the Koran) have turned their attention to the United States and all its allies, violently attacking U.S. citizens and now the citizens of Iraq who are trying to create a democracy. And perhaps more devastating in the long run, the fanatic Islamists are launching a propaganda campaign to disarm us — emotionally and politically — so we cannot defend ourselves against the relentless push for Islamic domination.

I wish none of this was true. Maybe all these authors are merely fanatics themselves, but since I have started understanding what they are saying, many world events that never made sense before now make complete sense. I have a strong suspicion Trifkovic may be right. Let's explore this together. Talk to your family and friends. Read. Learn. Share web sites and, and write to us here via email, and leave your comments below. The contents of the Koran may be a threat to our survival only as long as we don't know it is.

Editor's Note: If you are a peace-loving Muslim and feel offended by the information above and want to enlighten us about the "true" (and entirely peaceful) nature of Islam, please read this: A Message to Peaceful Muslims.

Read more...

What About The History Of Western Colonialism In The Islamic World?

The following is one chapter of Islam 101:

Following the defeat of the Ottoman army outside Vienna on September 11, 1683 by Polish forces, Islam went into a period of strategic decline in which it was overwhelmingly dominated by the European powers. Much of dar al-Islam was colonized by the European powers who employed their superior technology and exploited the rivalries within the Muslim world to establish colonial rule.

While many of the practices of the Western imperial powers in the governance of their colonies were clearly unjust, it is utterly unwarranted to regard Western imperialism — as it often is — as an endemic criminal enterprise that is the basis of modern resentment against the West. It was only due to the assertive role of the Western powers that modern nation-states such as India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc. came to exist in the first place. Without Western organization, these areas would have likely remained chaotic and tribal as they had existed for centuries.

When one looks at the post-colonial world, it is apparent that the most successful post-colonial nations have a common attribute: they are not Muslim. The United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, India, and the South American nations clearly outshine their Muslim-majority post-colonial counterparts — Iraq, Algeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, etc. — by just about any standard.

[ return to the Table of Contents of Islam 101 ]

Islam 101 was written by Gregory M. Davis, author of Religion of Peace?: Islam's War Against the World, and the producer/director of Islam: What the West Needs to Know.

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Islamic Terrorism

I've heard many people say Islam is a peaceful religion. I had no reason to doubt it. I have read books on most major religions and it seemed to me (up until recently) that advocating peace and tolerance is an obvious requirement of a religion. I thought it must be true what they say — that Islamic terrorism is being committed by extremists who have taken the peaceful teachings of Islam and twisted and reinterpreted them to justify violence.

And yet, in winding my way through the internet I constantly came across references to something else — quotes from the Koran (the Muslims' primary holy book) that shocked me with their violence and hatred. So I was confused. Is it a religion of peace or not? Or is the Koran like the Bible? Is it such a large collection of different writings that you can pretty much quote anything from it — beautiful, compassionate passages, or violence. If that's true, Islamic terrorism is no more significant than the KKK or any other religious terrorism. But it does seem most terrorists these days are Muslims, and proud of it.

Now right here you need to know I'm not a religious person, although I'm not an atheist. I was not raised with any religion or indoctrinated in any religious teachings. And I have not ever joined a religious group or converted to one. So I have no vested interest for or against any religion.

But I wanted to know what's going on with Islamic terrorism. So I went on a learning binge unlike any I have ever done. I have been devouring books and videos and articles until my eyes hurt. I've been staying up late every night reading, taking notes, and thinking. And I'm starting to get a pretty good handle on what's going on. What I have to tell you will clear up the confusion about whether or not Islam is a peaceful religion and it will also clear up the confusion about what is going on in the Middle East. Why is there so much violent revolution there? What's with all the hijackings and hostage-taking and mass slaughter? Why don't Islamic countries do very well financially even though they are sitting on so much oil? And why are there even "Islamic countries?" Do you ever hear about Christian countries? Buddhist countries? That is, countries that are ruled by Christians or Buddhists and enforce the principles of the religion with the courts. What is different about Islam? And why do we have Islamic terrorism?
how it all began

The founder of Islam (Mohammad) started out like any normal prophet, preaching peace and devotion. But as circumstances changed, his revelations from Allah changed. (Read more about that here.) Throughout his life Mohammad added to the collection of revelations. This collection was eventually bound into a book, and that is called "The Koran" (or Qur'an). All Muslims consider this book the most important book in their religion. What does this have to do with Islamic terrorism?

I have heard the terrorists quote the Koran. Allah commands them to attack the unbelievers — it says it right there in the Koran, they say. And then you hear moderate Muslims quote the Koran and assure us the Koran teaches only peace.

And they are both right, sort of. In the Koran — which you can read online if you like (start here) — you have both kinds of passages. The passages written earlier in Mohammed's career tend to be about compassion, forgiveness, and tolerance. The revelations Mohammad received later are more about intolerance, bloodshed, conversion by the sword, and hatred, at least according to Mark Gabriel, who spent eleven years at the most respected university in the Islamic world: Al-Azhar. He earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees there studying Islamic history.

So how does a Muslim know which commands to follow? When two passages are in conflict, which is the right one? Gabriel says Muslim scholars have decided the later ones must override the earlier ones. Their logic is that Allah has corrected the previous passages.

So according to the scholars, regardless of what they say in public, the terrorists are following the Koran and the moderate Muslims are not. This sounds like an extreme statement, but you can verify it yourself. It is worthwhile to know this because it is not only the moderate Muslims who are preaching peace and tolerance. People working for the vast Islamic terrorist network in the United States are preaching peace too, hoping we won't find out what's really happening. They apparently preach peace as a cover up.

According to Mark Gabriel, there is a large, long-term plan written in the Koran and commanded to the faithful. Muslims are supposed to overthrow governments and establish Islamic law in those countries. And once they establish an Islamic state, they are to continually make war on any non-Islamic countries. They are supposed to get inside those countries and build up their numbers and deceive the unbelievers until they can overthrow that government, until ultimately the whole world is Islamic. That's the plan. It is written in their holy book. And right now Islam is the fastest growing religion.

If Mark Gabriel and Serge Trifkovic are right (and they seem like reasonable, well-informed people), the entire free world is like a group of naive innocents — about to get their heads cut off without the slightest inkling of what's coming. The Koran tells Muslims to take over countries and take away freedom of speech, religion, and human rights. These are some amazing statements, and very hard to believe, but everything I have read (and it has been considerable) has confirmed it.

Why don't we know about this? Partly because public officials would be committing political suicide to say this stuff outright. Free countries pride themselves in freedom, including freedom to practice any religion, and respect for all religions seems to be part of the culture of most free countries. To criticize a religion is just not done.

Historically, the record of Islam confirms this criticism of Islam. It is a political religion, unlike most other religions the free world is familiar with. Right after Islam began, it was conquering and expanding wildly, growing at at incredible rate as it took over countries by war and converted people by the threat of death. But eventually China and Europe fought back and contained its spread. Islam has been successfully repressed until recently. But something has changed.
a new sword of Islam

"He gave us a way to fight" said the hero in the movie Terminator, speaking of John Connor. And so say the Muslims about Osama bin Laden. The West has more power, more technology, more money, and more political clout, so this religion of war had a lot of frustrated believers.

They sincerely wanted to follow the teachings of Mohammad. They wanted to show their devotion to Allah by fighting for Islam — as the Koran exhorts them to do. And yet they have been thwarted at every turn. The rest of the world, even the majority of Muslims and their own governments, were going in another direction, toward tolerance and democracy and getting along with their non-Muslim neighbors. According to the fanatical believers, this is a violation of Islamic law. This is evil. It is sin.

And allowing it is also a sin for the believer. But when they tried to follow the Koran, their revolts and uprisings in their own countries were repressed, usually by their own governments and aided by democratic countries trying to prevent the formation of an Islamic state. So the Muslims who wanted to follow the plan laid out in their holy book were very frustrated.

Then came Osama bin Laden. He found a way young warriors could fight for Allah. And they have been joining bin Laden's army in droves. Osama bin Laden didn't actually invent these new ways, but he played a part in their popularization.

In an interview with a Muslim who went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviet invasion, the young man was asked, "Why did you go?"

He answered that it was the only place he could practice jihad. Here he was, a devout Muslim, commanded by the Koran to take up a weapon and make war on the unbelievers (in this case, communists), and there were no opportunities to practice his religion and prove to Allah he was a worthy Muslim. Then came the war in Afghanistan. He packed up his belongings and left his home country. Happily.

Making war on unbelievers is an act of devotion. It's an act of worship. And it is an act of worship that particularly appeals to frustrated young men.

Terrorists could potentially be of almost any religion or nationality. Islam, however, is particularly fertile for the development of terrorism. There are direct commands to kill unbelievers in the Koran. There is even implied permission — direct from the supreme being himself — that killing the women and children of unbelievers is okay. And these are all later revelations, which must override the earlier peaceful passages.

I haven't finished reading the entire Koran. But I took notes when I read one long chapter, called the Surah Al-Baqarah. Here are a few choice quotes I found:

96. And verily, you will find the Jews the greediest of mankind for life and even greedier than those who ascribe partners to Allâh and do not believe in Resurrection — Magicans, pagans, and idolaters, etc. Everyone of them wishes that he could be given a life of a thousand years. But the grant of such life will not save him even a little from due punishment. And Allâh is All-Seer of what they do.

190. And fight in the Way of Allâh those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allâh likes not the transgressors.

191. And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And renouncing Islam for polytheism is worse than killing. And fight not with them at the sanctuary at Mecca, unless they first fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.

192. But if they cease, then Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

193. And fight them until there is no more disbelief and worshiping of others along with Allâh and fight until all and every kind of worship is for Allâh alone. But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against the polytheists and wrong-doers.

215. Jihâd (holy fighting in Allâh's Cause) is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not know.

This is not anti-Muslim propaganda. I got this off a site that promotes Islam. They have the entire Koran online. This is one of the Muslims' official versions. Check it out for yourself.

Understanding what is written in the Koran makes some previously confusing facts perfectly comprehensible. Like why there is so much fighting going on. We have been blinded by our own ideas. For us, we would need a really good reason to fight and kill people. But the Koran commands Muslims to fight non-Muslims, whether they like it or not.

According to the Koran, there is only one way a man can be guaranteed of going to Paradise when he dies. He must die while fighting for Islam. If a Muslim relies on being a good enough person, it will be a judgement call at the end of his life. But if he dies fighting for Islam, all sins are wiped clean and he goes straight to Paradise.

But I think human nature is essentially good, and what has happened is that most Muslims have learned to ignore the violent commands of the Koran. And that's good news. The only thing that seems necessary at this point is for people in democratic nations to know what is in the Koran, to know about the violent and vengeful parts. And to know that the Koran encourages believers to take over countries by any means, including deception and revolt. Believers are patient, intelligent, and totally committed. This is not something to remain ignorant about. They are inside The USA right now (see Terrorists Among Us), building up their numbers, their political clout, and storing up weapons. They are not few in number, and every success they have brings more believers to their cause, willing to do anything to fight and die for Allah.

When you read a quote from the Koran that promotes tolerance, it is quite possible (and likely) that a revelation later in the book cancels it out. This is not a call to religious intolerance. It is only a call to be aware of what the Koran says, and to be wary of what the hard-line Muslims are up to. Their game plan is written down and publicly available. If we're aware of it, they can't pull the wool over our eyes. The deceptive ones won't be able to hide behind positive quotes from the Koran. One thing you can do about terrorism, then, and a very important thing indeed is to share this information with people you know.

If you feel you are helpless to influence world events by any actions you take, you need to first cure yourself of that. Start here.

Genuine, good people who are Muslims also quote the good parts of the Koran so people will know it isn't bad. But I think it would be better (if you are a good Muslim who is reading this) for you to publicly acknowledge the bad parts of the Koran and say, "We don't follow this. We reject this as outdated," or whatever. I know this will take courage. The extremists will try to silence you and may even threaten your life. That also needs to be said.

The thing that makes this all so sticky is that the Koran tells followers that it (the Koran) is the absolute last word of Allah and anyone who says otherwise is an enemy, so anyone who tries to modify or modernize the Koran is killed or is afraid he will be killed.

A publisher of a Muslim newsletter in America called the Voice of Peace has had his life threatened many times. Sometimes people who try to modify the teachings of Islam are killed right here in America. Like Malcolm X. So at least part of the reason you don't hear a lot of Muslims coming out speaking against terrorists is they fear for their lives.

Another reason is that they don't really have a leg to stand on. According to their religion, the Koran is the word of Allah. And Allah says quite clearly that to be a good Muslim, you should fight the non-Muslims. You should kill them or subjugate them to Islamic law. Any Muslim who has read his Koran knows this. But most people don't want to do that. Of course. So they ignore some of it. Maybe they even feel guilty for willfully overlooking passages in their holy book. Who are they do edit the Supreme Being? So how can they in good conscience speak out against what terrorists are doing? If all this is true, the terrorists are the only ones really following the quite clear instructions written in the Koran.

It says in the Koran those Muslims who renounce the faith or criticize it are worse than unbelievers. The Koran says these people should be killed. So it will take courage, but if you (good Muslims of the world) can speak up about it — and if the people in democratic countries come to understand fully what's going on — people will rally around you and protect you. Find strength in others who have renounced Islam (read about that here).

The rest of us non-Muslims need to be wary of anyone who says only positive things about Islam or the Koran. One of the things the terrorist network is doing is trying to keep their activities under the radar by pouring millions of dollars in to what amounts to a public relations campaign — promoting Islam, getting spokesmen on television saying how peaceful Islam is, lambasting anyone who criticizes Islam, and so on. It's an all-out war as far as they are concerned and they are using propaganda, weapons, intimidation — whatever it takes. I'll talk about that in a minute. But first, a question...
what do moderate muslims say?

What do you think pro-Islam people say about the violent, hate-filled passages of the Koran. I've been reading a lot of pro-Islam books to find out. They either don't say anything about those passages, or they try to explain them away (unconvincingly, now that I've actually read some of the Koran). Probably some of these authors are sincere believers and good people who have figured out a way to think about the bad parts so they can ignore them in good conscience. But some of these authors might be putting on a nice face for the unsuspecting non-Muslims so preparations for jihad can continue without any hitches.

Here's one example. This site promotes a beginner book about Islam. The format is question-and-answer and one of the questions they answer is, "What does Islam say about terrorism?" They answered: "Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism." To prove this, they quoted the Koran. Check out the quote they used. This is the best they could come up with? So far this quote is the most convincing confirmation that these anti-Islam books I've been reading are telling the truth about Islam. This is the quote: God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers.

I don't know about you but that strikes me as almost pathetic. Out of a good size book, that's the best passage they could use to convince people the Koran doesn't permit terrorism? If you want to see this for yourself, check out their site here.

Right now we in the free world are vulnerable because we are blind to what's happening. We don't know much about Islam. We've believed the often-repeated statement, "Islam is a religion of peace" and we are then confused by what is happening in the world.

We all need to know what's going on and to apply some ingenuity to the situation. Creating democracy and freedom is one good way to fight terrorism. People want freedom, including Muslims (except for the militant fundamentalists). If you want something concrete to do, help people in Muslim countries win their freedom. Freedom of speech, women's rights, human rights, freedom of religion — these should be the birthright of every human on the planet. But these rights are in direct opposition to Islamic law and the Islamic state (assuming the Koran is an unalterable communication from Allah).

Why is it important to know that the seeds of our destruction may be written in the Koran? Because these are not stupid people. They know our laws. They know our naivete and they use these — as Mohammed himself used pretense and trickery against the enemies of Islam — to get inside countries, build up their numbers and power, and then overthrow the government, establish an Islamic government, and give everyone the option of converting to Islam or being a second class citizen.

It can't happen, you say? It is already happening. Muslims from all over the Islamic world have been moving to America for a long time. They come here and gain converts, unite them, train them, brainwash them, and build up their political clout, slowly but steadily, until now Muslims are a significant minority in America. Some of this is apparently part of the grand plan, part of jihad. Read more about that here.

They are recruiting like mad and gaining converts to Islam. It is the fastest growing religion in the world. They are converting people, killing off non-Muslims (in countries like the Sudan), and having lots of children.

Read about some of the concessions they have wrested from the western world.

Another part of jihad is controlling the Muslim image with the general public in democratic nations. So we see Muslims on television and interviewed in newspapers, and they tell us what we want to hear. Or when anyone speaks out against them, they cry "religious persecution!" Or "racism!" Or whatever else can discredit the speaker and silence him. (Read more about that below). And they continue to build their numbers.

I know this sounds extreme and maybe even fanatical. But it is a situation we will have to deal with eventually, and we should start now to understand the situation and start thinking of solutions. Obviously, many people are already doing just that. But you can help. You can inform others of what you know, and you can come up with ideas to solve the many problems.
the two faces of Islam

One of the most interesting books I've read during my learning binge is called The Two Faces of Islam. The author, Stephen Schwartz, makes a very good argument that Islam is not necessarily anti-Jew or anti-Christian and bases this assertion on the historical record of Muslims. There have been Islamic societies that did not persecute non-Muslims, according to Schwartz.

Schwartz tries very hard in the first chapters of the book to prove that Islam is a peaceful religion. He clearly has good intentions for doing so. He's trying to help us distinguish between those who live the Muslim life in peace and harmony with others, and those who follow the Koran's commands to fight infidels and Jews and Christians and slay them.

His attempt is weak but well-meaning. It is a valuable distinction. There are many Muslims around the world who practice tolerance and goodwill to people of all faiths and who do good works with their lives (read more about them here). But I think it is a disservice to try to explain away, as Schwartz tried to do, the quite clear and direct commands written into Islam's most important holy book, to make war on non-Muslims until they are either slain or converted to Islam. You can't explain that away. That's what it says. Non-Muslims should know that's what it says. The answer is not to slay all Muslims. But ignorance isn't the answer either.

In a later chapter of Schwartz's book, however, is an excellent review of what Saudi Arabia has done to control politics and media in the United States. The Wahhabis (a sect of Islam that takes the Koran's teachings literally) is a rich and powerful group in Saudi Arabia, and they have opened hundreds of mosques in the United States. They've formed The Council On American-Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Council, The American Muslim Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America, and have infiltrated and are exerting control over the Islamic Circle of North America, The Islamic Association for Palestine, and the Muslim Students Association. These are powerful lobbying and public relations organizations, providing speakers at rallies, providing "expert commentary" for the media, distributing literature, holding rallies, and influencing American politics.

Through these organizations, the Wahhabis have had a powerful influence on the information that makes it to the airwaves in the United States because they have established themselves to the media as "the voice of Islam in America." They are extremely well-funded by an opulently rich group in Saudi Arabia. And they are well-organized, fully maximizing the freedom of speech and religion enjoyed in the United States.

They are infiltrating and influencing everywhere they can. They have the money and manpower and they are effective as long as we don't know what's going on.

Certain actions by the United States are vigorously criticized, like deposing the Taliban. The criticisms are coming from legitimate organizations as far as newspapers and television stations know — organizations who represent the Muslims in America, or so it seems. And their public relations campaign has helped to form a negative public opinion of military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Obviously, it was not in the best interests of Islamic terrorism for the Taliban to be taken from power. It was a major setback in the Islamic quest for increasing power. So the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have been hampered and criticized all along.

Anyway, this chapter (called Religious Colonialism) in Schwartz's book is worth reading. Schwartz tells you exactly how the Wahhabis operate within the United States. And some of the organizations he mentions are the subject of a documentary published in 1993. Steven Emerson secretly filmed large Islamic rallies in the United States. The speakers were promoting jihad. Read more about this important documentary here.

People have found ways to live in peace. But that is not what is commanded in the later passages of the Koran (I mean passages written later, not later in the book, because many of the passages written later are strewn throughout the book). Whenever Muslims have lived in peace with non-Muslims, it has been in spite of the Koran, not because of it.

The majority of human beings want to live in peace. Muslims included. It is a human desire. Muslims in Egypt and elsewhere have tried to modify the Islamic teachings by de-emphasizing the violent parts — ignoring them — and teaching the good parts. But there will always be those young men who read the rest of the book and want to follow General Mohammad into battle. They want to fulfill their desire to reach Paradise, as written in the Koran, to which so many people in their culture give absolute authority.

Good people who happen to be Muslim have ignored the violent exhortations in their holy book. But if it keeps spreading, especially by these good people who want to share the good word with others, it is like sharing something great with an embedded Trojan virus in it.
what needs to happen

Democracies must band together and help other democracies form. We must make human rights and free speech our holy mission. We don't need a mandate by a holy book. Human rights and free speech are right. Ask any sane human. Nobody wants their rights removed. Nobody wants to be silenced. Helping others have basic human rights is the right thing to do. That is enough.

We must also make women's rights and freedom of religion a worldwide right. Because it is right.

What do I believe in? I believe in freedom. I'll bet you do too.

I believe in women's rights, human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, democracy, and freedom of religion. None of these rights and freedoms are possible in an Islamic state (a country that follows Sharia law).

Muslims were given a mandate by Allah himself. The mandate is to stay at war with non-Muslims. There is no reason a fanatic needs other than "it is the will of Allah."

However, terrorists continually come up with reasons. And the free world tries to address these reasons — but the reasons don't matter. It is a pretext. The U.S. could pull all its troops out of the Middle East. All Jews could leave Israel. The U.S. could stop giving aid to Egypt and doing business with Saudi Arabia. But the jihad would not stop. It would probably grow stronger because they would be encouraged by their successes, and they would be able to consolidate power by overthrowing the Middle Eastern governments, eliminating human rights, womens' rights, free speech, freedom of religion, and establishing an Islamic Empire.

Becoming informed and spreading this information is the most important thing you can do.
the long view

In an Islamic state there are, by law, horrible violations of human rights. So ultimately, Islamic states must be abolished. Moderate Muslims themselves have been trying to do this for a long time in many Middle East countries, and the local fundamentalists have constantly fought against it.

Islamic states can be dismantled piece by piece by not even concerning ourselves with any religious issue but by simply preventing human rights violations, which prevents the application of Islamic law, which means some parts of the Koran cannot be applied, which means people will have to stop following it to the letter, which is going to make some people mad, but many more people will be glad because it is a very repressive system of law. Read more about this: The Girl Effect.

It's going to be a tough row to hoe for sure, but the most important thing to happen now is for people to realize that Islam is a religion of war if you take the Koran at face value. Not just a warlike religion, but the religion itself gives people a definite purpose: Make war on nonbelievers until the world is Islamic. The first step for us is to know this — for this knowledge to become widespread.

Learning about Islamic terrorism is frightening for most people. They don't want to talk about it. They don't want to think about it. Obviously if you've read this far, you are not one of these people and I salute you. I have often found this subject upsetting myself, but it was more frightening before when I didn't know what was happening. The Koran is unique as a holy book. It makes unequivocal war commands and it has political aspirations.

Not only that, but there are direct instructions from Allah himself for the Muslims to trick the enemy, to use subterfuge, to hide, lie, cheat, in order to defeat the enemy of Allah. Read more about this: Taqiyya: Religious Deception.

We in democratic countries need to know this. If people in general were less frightened about terrorism, they would be able to learn more. Then at least we'd know what we're dealing with. This will make us more competent at solving the real problem.
clearing confusion

Part of the reason I never used to try to follow the news in the Middle East is it was confusing. Why is there so much hate and strife and violence aimed in so many different directions?

But with the understanding of what the Koran says, much of that confusion clears up. The Koran teaches its believers to fight for Islam, kill nonbelievers or convert them by force, and take over governments and establish Islamic law. Some Muslims want to follow a more moderate, updated, reasonable version of Islam. Others want to follow the teachings of Mohammed, who did not mince words and said very clearly what a true Muslim should do.

So they fight. With each other and especially with anyone who is not a Muslim. Fighting is one of their most important religious practices. Buddhists meditate. That's their practice. Catholics pray and go to Mass. Muslims pray five times a day and fight nonbelievers. Killing infidels is part of their faith. That's how they show Allah they deserve Paradise in the afterlife.

When you know that, many of the confusions clear up.

True believers want the Islamic law (Shari'a) to be implemented the way the Koran commands. The believers have been attacking the leaders of Muslim countries for a long time, killing them and harassing them. Why? Because these leaders (and the people who voted them in) want to be part of the rest of the world, trading with other countries, enjoying human rights, etc. Western countries have helped these governments. When there was an extremist uprising (trying to overthrow the legitimate democratic government and establish an Islamic state) inside Egypt for example, the U.S. helped that country suppress the revolt.

The most important western ally is the U.S. So now the terrorists are thinking if they can weaken or scare off or take over the U.S., they will have removed their biggest barrier to an Islamic world. Or if they can provoke the U.S. into making mistakes or defending itself too harshly, this could unite Muslim countries together to fight the U.S.

The ultimate goal is a Muslim world.

People have asked me, "What's the ultimate goal? After they make the entire world Islamic, then what?" The answer is, there is no then what. That's it. They will have fulfilled Allah's command. Then they can live in peace, enforcing (with the threat of death) everyone everywhere to follow the rules of the Koran, praying five times a day, etc. If you'd like to see what an Islamic state looks like from the inside, watch the excellent movie, Osama.

There are two kinds of conversion recommended in the Koran and illustrated by Mohammed's example. The first is what you do when you don't have any power. When you are a minority in the country, you convert people gently, presenting teachings of Mohammed's earlier writings. You talk about compassion, forgiveness, prayer, and fasting. People are attracted to this. They become believers. They decide the Koran is the word of God. They eventually find out the rest of the message. Then they either abandon Islam, ignore the rest of the message, or think, "Well, this is the word of God. I should do my best to follow it."

So if they're in the Middle East, they join a terrorist group. Or if something like the USSR invasion of Afghanistan is happening, they pack their bags and go. If someone is trying to create a democracy in Iraq, they are glad to have a place they can go and fight for Allah. If they're in the U.S., they go get some terrorist training in Algeria, or they try to raise money for the terrorists, or they help push for concessions, or they work to get more converts by teaching compassion, forgiveness, etc. And/or they try to have lots of children to raise the numbers of Allah's Army.

I'm neither a Christian nor a Muslim and as I've learned about Islam and shared the violent passages with Christians and atheists, they are quick to say, "But there are violent passages in the Bible and atrocities were committed using that book too." This is an admirable attitude of not allowing anyone to say one religion is better than another. It is a natural defense when it sounds like one religion is being picked on. Everyone has a right to believe and practice what they want. That's what democracies were founded on.

And that's fine, but it still doesn't make it right. And it still makes it dangerous when a group like the Ku Klux Klan tries to use the violent parts of a holy book to commit atrocities. They should be stopped. Most people already know about the Ku Klux Klan and they are not a threat to world peace at the moment. Muslim fundamentalists are the largest group of dangerous religious fanatics right now.

To defeat terrorism, there is much that needs to be done. And you can help by sharing this information with others.

Read more articles on Islamic Terrorism.

Editor's Note: If you are a peace-loving Muslim and feel offended by the information above and want to enlighten us about the "true" (and entirely peaceful) nature of Islam, please read this: A Message to Peaceful Muslims.

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Helping Children Deal With Their Fears About Terrorism

This is a Purdue University Extension for helping parents and teachers help children to deal with news about terrorism: Terrorism and Children.

Food for Thought:

Sixty children who were traumatized by Hurricane Andrew got a massage twice a week for a month. Thirty minutes of massage, twice a week. The control group merely watched a relaxing video for the same amount of time. The kids who got the massages had significantly less cortisol in their blood stream. Cortisol is a stress hormone. And on measures of depression, the kids who got a massage were less depressed than the kids who didn't get a massage.

- STUDY BY TIFFANY FIELD OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF MIAMI'S TOUCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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