Islam
The world is an unhappy place. Any news bulletin of late will carry pictures of mayhem. The particular catchword that peaks the interest is “terrorism.” One such story spoke of the new phenomena of terrorism. Such a statement is error. Terrorism is by no means new. All my life news bulletins have carried stories of this type. Either of the World Wars could be called terrorism. Hijackings of airliners were commonplace during the 70’s. The Lockerbie disaster in which a Boeing 747 was struck from the sky was certainly terrorism.
Let’s narrow the scope a little. What is it when a person is murdered? What is it when an old lady is attacked in her home and bashed senseless for a few dollars? What is it when a young lady’s life is destroyed by an act of rape? What is it when a family is deprived of their child through gang violence? Are not these all acts of terror?
We would suggest that such acts are nothing short of terrorism. Essentially, an entertainment age in which tragic pictures have been continually broadcast has desensitised us. We have become callous to much of the suffering that exists on our very own doorstep. The rape of a teenager, the bashing of the elderly, or the aborting of a baby are no less acts of terror than is blowing up a plane or a public building.
What makes the acts labelled as “terrorism” different. Generally, terrorism is so-called because it has a religio-political aim. We would again question this. All men are religious. All men have a fundamental belief system that informs their decision making. Even Humanism is a religion. It has nothing to do with a metaphysical god or supernatural being. Essentially, it enshrines man as his own god. Man becomes maker and master of his own destiny. Such a thought process is no less religious simply because it does not refer to a deity outside itself. In this sense, even the act perpetrated by the street criminal against his neighbour is a religious act–the criminal being informed by his base belief system.
What therefore is terrorism? We would suggest that terrorism in every form is simply lawlessness. When governments allow their unborn children to be murdered, it is terrorism. When governments fail to protect their elderly, it is terrorism. When governments allow big business to destroy lives, it is terrorism. When governments fail to punish criminals, thereby encouraging criminality within the culture, it is terrorism. Each of these acts is an act of lawlessness. Law in its very essence is not concerned with restriction, but with freedom. Each act mentioned here, when perpetrated, robs the victim of freedom.
We believe that this is the quintessential definition of terrorism. We must look beyond the “terror” to the loss of freedom that such terror is designed to create. When the bus is blown up it creates terror. People are killed, maimed, and disfigured. What, though, is the real purpose? Is it simply to blow up a bus and thereby cause and incredibly short but intense period of terror or is it to rob the witnesses of their freedom? We would suggest that it is the second. Those directly involved would experience and intense period of anxiety and terror. For those that witness such acts — and the modern television coverage means there are usually millions of witnesses — the terror itself is neither real nor present. The act has passed. What strikes them is the “What if…?” What if that happens here? What if I were on that bus?
The “What if…?” scenario leads to fear and that fear leads to losses of freedom. Those lost freedoms can be as small as not being able to think as we once did. They can escalate to the point where we change our patterns of travel or become reclusive in our lifestyle. Again, this is not unique to the exploding bus scenario. The old lady attacked in her home undergoes this process, as does a young victim of crime. Lawlessness wields terror as a weapon. Lawlessness seeks to destroy freedom and to enslave the people–collectively or as individuals.
Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom, created this world and placed His stamp upon it, including placing His Law in men’s heart. After the fall and the entrance of sin, God restated this Law to Israel and that Law was summarised in Ten Commandments. In ten Laws God ruled on what was acceptable and what was not. These Laws give to man the freedom his God intended him to have.
Some will ask, “How do we have freedom if the Law says, ‘thou shalt not…?:” (It must be kept in mind that not all of the Ten Commandments are stated negatively. Honour thy Father and thy Mother is stated positively, as one example.) The answer to this is simple. First, stating a Law negatively is the easiest way to summarise what a person may do. Think here of a parent. Is it easier to say, “Do not touch the stove, it is dangerous!” or “You may touch the carpet, the bench up to the stove, the cupboard, the pantry …!” To state what the child may touch would be exhaustive. To eliminate it by command, easy. Second, an aspect that is often missing from today’s understanding of law is that the “Do not…” also includes a “You must…!” Now let us apply this. God’s Law summary says, “Do not steal!” Now this is clearly a prohibition against stealing. It is not saying that a person cannot borrow or lend. Its aim is singular. If you do not own it you may not take possession of it, simple. Contrary to the modern expression, “possession is nine-tenths of the law”, God says ‘ownership is everything.’ To possess that which is not yours is to make you guilty of theft. The second element is that of the positive side of the Law. We may not steal, however, we may own, borrow, lend, buy, sell, and otherwise exchange goods. There are numbers of legitimate activities that are countenanced. Similarly, if we see someone stealing an item we are obliged to stop the theft or report it and identify the thief. Thus, “Do not steal!” comes with a community minded spirit. It is a spirit that would see peace in our communities and an ease in our daily life. Remember what we call “the good old days” when people did not have to bolt their doors to leave the house? It was so because the concept of law in society was more reflective of God’s Law–a few precepts designed to restrain evil and promote freedom.
So, what does this have to do with a web page titled ISLAM READERS? What has been said here is relevant for three reasons. First, whilst terror and terrorism are not new nor confined to certain types of attack, there is a type of terrorism, prominent for decades, that has become the focus of attention for many. Second, this terrorism is openly religious and goes by the name of Islam. Third, these people perpetrate lawlessness in the name of God.
As we have seen, God’s Law promotes freedom for the righteous. God’s Law promotes a society where freedom is paramount. Those who perform wicked and evil acts are those who should fear, not the righteous. Therefore, it is a shameful thing that this religion condones the mass murder of civilians world-wide and all in the name of God–and that supposedly of the God of the Bible. As Christians we reject this absolutely. Allah is not the God Who speaks in the Bible. Islam claims a common heritage in the Bible through Ishmael and therefore claims that their religion speaks of the same God. Such is not the case. Islam claims to have new revelation through Muhammed. Islam denies huge pieces of the Bible. Islam claims certain characters of the Bible, but then basically denies anything attributed to those people.
We have set this page apart because we seek to waken people to the danger that lawlessness is to any culture. More over, in the current climate we seek to draw attention to the Islamic lawlessness that has much of the globe fearful. We need to understand that this Islamic lawlessness is a threat to our culture such as we have not seen in our lifetime. Islam seeks to dominate the world. It is a religio-political movement that seeks to impose its will upon all cultures. This is not our claim, this is the stated aim of Islam’s god! It is a lawless religion that knows nothing of freedom. It wields terror in a mighty way. However, what most commentators are not saying or drawing attention to is the flip side of this rising horror. Many other cultures have governments that seek to rule with an iron fist. Even in the democratic West we see governments involved in tyranny against there own people. Now the really nefarious aspect of modern terror, is that our own governments will use the fear created by the Islamiscs to further reduce our freedom.
Certain popular philosophies abound in government circles which, in one form or another, point to the fact that man cannot be trusted and that he must therefore be governed (ruthlessly if necessary). That government is legitimate is not our contention. Our point is that when men with philosophies of slavery gain power, they will use all means in their power to enslave. Think about your average Western nation. Why is it that the justice system is almost nonexistent? When someone perpetrates a crime, the government puts the squeeze on the mainline law abiding citizen. They certainly do not punish the criminal. When some deranged person takes up a firearm and commits an evil, who is punished? Certainly in this country the answer must be, the mass of law abiding people. When the hundreds and thousands are deprived of certain rights and privileges — read, freedoms — for doing nothing wrong, then we cannot say justice is being served.
The current climate of fear created by Islam is encouraging some governments to press ahead with new laws. However, these laws are really lawlessness. If a terrorist commits a crime, punish them. We do not need new laws. Murder is murder whether committed with a knife, an axe, a motor car, or a backpack full of explosive. Find the perpetrator and punish them. Remember that we spoke of the positive side of the law a little earlier. This is where it is relevant. Our government says, rightly so, that murder is wrong. Echoing God’s Word, they say, thou shalt not murder! The positive side of this is that life and freedom must be promoted. This means that it is right, acceptable, and necessary to stop anyone who is complicit in a murderous act. In short, if you discover a plan to murder, you stop it.
In the current context this means that new laws are totally unnecessary, especially laws that say that suspects have no right to a lawyer or judge and that there is no limit on the time they can be held. These laws, supposedly promulgated by the good guys, are lawlessness, for they are one more way of destroying freedom. We would also add that many of the new laws are totally ineffective. Will Osama Bin Laden sign the front of his parcel to say that it does not contain explosives? Will the bomber stop at a security check and instruct the guard to search carefully because he is not a nice person?
The multiplication of laws and the erosion of freedom. Law books grow. Parliamentarians make new laws for supposedly new situations. Meanwhile, the good honest citizen suffers. He is chained. He is gagged. His freedom is swept away on the current of fear.
We must reject lawlessness wherever we find it. At present we must be so very careful that we are not so distracted by bombings that we miss our own government’s attempt to take freedom from us. Similarly, we must be aware of the lawlessness that Islam is creating around the world. We must fight both. Our internal freedom is under threat, full stop. However, that freedom is all the more in jeopardy as the Islamic hordes unleash destructive measures upon the world which are then seized upon by opportunistic governments with their own agendas.
Our call is that we as a society, and especially as Christians, would wake up and see what is happening. We must stop the rot. How do we do this? In one sense it is simple. We must arm ourselves with the truth and then oppose the evil forces wherever they are found. We must begin with knowledge. Do not sit back and accept decisions. Do not accept a priori that the government has your best interest at heart. Certainly do not believe the media hype that Islam is peaceful and that it has been hijacked by a handful of fanatics.
If you are serious about freedom you must oppose lawless men who would steal your freedom. In the current climate we must expose Islam and take away this foil that our governments would use against us.
To this end we have put together the following readers, including a covering letter. As that letter explains, these readers are not great academic works. They are nothing more than a collection of news articles. They have been roughly collated under various headings.
Islam claims to look favourably upon the People of the Book, namely Jews and Christians. Is this true? In the work Islam – At Peace with Jews and Christians we look at whether this is indeed the case. Islam – The Politics of Guilt is a look at how governments seem to be side stepping important issues. Another in the collection, Islam – Its Destructive Wake, looks at how Islam has been prominent in so much of the heartache unleashed upon the world in recent times. Islam – A Call to Arms investigates the nature of Islam and its links to terror. Last , Islam – The Christian Response or Lack of It! is a critical look at how Christians have caved when confronted with this challenge. Instead of being at the forefront of the battle and helping elucidate the issues clearly for the general populous, most have run away with their tail between their legs. Now is not the time for such cowardice. The Lord Jesus Christ asked His people to be salt and light. Now is not the time to allow the light to be extinguished or allow the savour to be washed away.
The last comments that need to be made are to those who will be critics of what has been written. Ten points if we may:
First, we do not hold to a particular conspiracy theory. We believe in the sinful heart of man which is capable of conceiving all types of evil.
Second, not all Islamics may be terrorists. Granted. The fact remains, however, that most, if not all, the acts of terror committed on the world’s stage in recent years have been committed by Islamics.
Third, one cannot continue to hide behind the ‘extremists have hijacked a great religion’ line any longer. Hitler was an extremist, yet he garnered a nation to unleash untold lawlessness upon the world. The Japanese militarists were extremists in the eyes of most, yet they gained power and led a nation into a war which took thousands of lives. Iraq and Iran were led by extremists and they carried out a bloody war for near on ten years which claimed the lives of an estimated one million.
Fourth, the Iraq – Iran war was carried out by two Islamic nations. The Quran may be a bit unclear on suicide, but it is unequivocal in its statement that Muslim should not kill Muslim. If such a clear injunction can be ignored, how easy is it to ignore other teachings or reinterpret a teaching to suit one’s position?
Fifth, we in Australia have been subject to the erroneous teachings and outbursts of Islamic clerics. One such foul piece stated that our “women deserved to be raped.” Yes, you read it correctly. Sadly, it was not just one voice. When a news crew interviewed a relative of a Muslim charged with rape, this issue was raised, and a similar statement was forthcoming. Almighty God, Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, states that rape is such an abhorrent act that the perpetrator should be put to death. These people claim to speak for God and yet they utter falsehood. How could any God who is just and merciful condone rape?!!?
Sixth, of recent days our televisions have carried news out of Iraq to the effect that suicide bombers are targeting civilians in a hope to start a civil war. Once more, Muslim killing Muslim. This is not new. We have already seen attacks against Iraqi soldiers and police. The question that must be asked, and which no Muslim will answer, indeed cannot answer, is where will the bloodshed stop? Let’s be fair. The West is not perfect. We may be guilty of some of the things we have been charged with. In fact, let’s say that we are. This concession made, how does this in any way amount to a justification for killing your own soldiers and police, let alone your own civilians? These categories are arbitrary for the Islamic, so we ask, how does any of this justify the murder of another Muslim?
Seventh, if Muslim does not respect the life of Muslim, then what respect will they have for the life of the Kafir (that’s you and me by the way)?
Eighth, as we are the Kafir, that is, the infidel (outside of Allah and his people therefore open to destruction) why do Islamics come to our country? They do not come here to assimilate, in fact they cannot. Recently, Australia was subject to a visit from a cleric who, on camera, told a gathering of Islamics that they could not have us as a friend. We could be an associate, but not a friend. If this is the case, why are they here? After all, they are leaving an Allah sanctioned and blessed society to come live amongst the infidel, there must be something in it for them, what is it? With this question in mind, we add the comment of another Australian cleric who said, on camera, that he could see the day that Australia would be Muslim. Scarier than that statement was his reasoning. We didn’t choose to come to this country, he did. That therefore, through some wayward thinking, gives him more right and entitlement to this land than I, who was born here. If that is not a case of giving someone shelter in your house only to find that he runs of with the title to your property…!
Ninth, why is it that outlandish claims like this are not condemned by the so-called moderate Islamics? The answer is very simple. What these people all have in common is “Islam.” It is their belief system that binds them together across cultures. One might even say that the system itself is a binding force. It is for this reason that we do not distinguish so-called moderate from so-called extremist. They are all on the same team. Some may carry the drinks; some may be on the bench in reserve; some may man the ticket box; still others play the main game. Bottom line. They are all members of the same club and work for the success of that club. If this is not the case, why will not the majority of fun-loving moderate Muslims come forward and condemn, without reservation, the minority extremist element? More over, why does this silent majority tolerate leaders who speak such shameful things? I wonder what they would say if we passed a law that said “Islamic women deserved to be raped”. Would we hear voices then? Would there be an outcry? Would we hear some more on religious vilification?
Tenth, thus says the Lord God, Ishmael is a wild donkey of a man who shall raise his hand against everyone (Genesis 16:12).