It’s the Islamic State, Stupid!
I’m not trying to be disrespectful when I use Bill Clinton’s line “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” with a current twist. The original phrase was coined by a United States president and aimed at another president (George H.W. Bush).
Now, our current president has said something that deserves the same rebuttal.
On September 11, 2014, Barack Obama uttered the following words in a prime time television address:
“Now let’s make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state.”
ISIL is not Islamic? ISIL is not a state? He’s wrong. Deadly wrong.
It’s the Islamic State, stupid.
Here’s why.
Politicians say a lot of things to please the masses or to put a twist on their remarks to send signals to various groups of people. But sometimes they simply say ridiculous things that are not backed up by reality.
I’ve said quite a few things in my life that are stupid–but never before millions of people who are depending on me to protect them.
That’s why President Barack Obama’s words need to be examined. He is the leader of the free world which is currently being threatened and publicly humiliated by a group of jihadists who may be more evil than the infamous Nazis.
This group is called various names: 1) ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), 2) ISIL (The Islamic State of the Levant – a larger geographic area that includes parts of Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and southern Turkey), and 3) The Islamic State–which is their own chosen moniker.
They are a part of historic Islam, and they are
Islamic
I have chosen the words “historic Islam” carefully. They should be used in media interviews, government speeches and press releases about this subject because they are the closest to the truth.
The historical origins of Islam and their leader, Mohammed, were bloody and violent. Mohammed was essentially a robber baron who lived off the booty of stealing from the Arabian trade caravans. He committed at least twenty raids in his lifetime, personally slaughtered hundreds of people with the sword, and established a religion that was built on the premise of “convert or die.”
That is historic Islam. It is backed up by Mohammed’s “recitations” found in the Koran–which contain over 100 “war verses” that encourage good Muslims to kill infidels (all non-Muslims) to advance their religious cause.
Yes, Mr. President, at least one religion does condone the killing of innocents (infidels).
Islam.
That’s a historical fact.
They also kill other Muslims with impunity who don’t meet their demands. Sunnis and Shias have been killing each other for centuries.
I have a copy of the Koran on my desk. Everyone should get one and read it. My copy is open to two of those 100 war verses that are found in Surah 8. Here they are, and they describe what ISIS is doing:
“O you who believe! When you meet those who disbelieve marching for war, then turn not your backs to them. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”
Now you know why we call it the War on Terror. That’s what Allah of the Koran says he will bring through savage beheadings and the like. Think of Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff. Most recently, think of British citizen David Haines.
ISIS is thoroughly Islamic–the true historical version. It’s doing what committed Muslims have always done.
(If you want to read all of the Koran’s 109 war verses, you should purchase Don Richardson’s Secrets of the Koran and turn to Appendix B for a complete listing. Richardson’s list does not include mention of war in story-telling eg. “David slew Goliath” in Surah 2:251, nor are the verses included in which Allah afflicts infidels himself–just the verse where devout Muslims do the killing.)
Yes, it is true that there are Muslims who do not practice the 100 war verses. Why? Because a lot of people who are moderately or culturally Muslim are peace-loving and non-violent folks who overlook those sections of the Koran. That’s true in every religion. People pick and choose what they feel comfortable doing.
But if you are a true believer in Islam–a radical believer (getting to the root), then you are fully justified in using horrific violence to bring the entire world under sharia law and a global caliphate.
The Koran demands it.
Thus ISIS, or the Islamic State, is perfectly Islamic.
(As this column went to press, I received an e-mail from a person doing humanitarian aid work in Iraq. The aid worker said that the town next to his had just fallen to ISIS and he was fearful for his staff (they live ten minutes away). He also said that to plant fear in the hearts of the townspeople, ISIS had started beheading children. That’s a fact from the ground.)
For some historical context, here’s a brief history of Islam’s three attempts at taking over the world through violence and force.
The first jihad started with Mohammad when his armies conquered all of Arabia. In the hundred years after his death, they subjugated most of the Middle East, North Africa and Spain. The first jihad lasted from 622 AD until 750 AD. Scores of thousands of innocent people were killed in the name of Islam.
The second major jihad started in 1071 AD. Islamic armies toppled Constantinople and spread into Europe, India, and further into Africa. The second jihad began to decline when the Muslim army was stopped on September 11th, 1683 at the gates of Vienna, Austria. (Notice the interesting date of 9-11-1683.)
Its remnants lived on until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. During the second jihad, hundreds of thousands were killed to advance the religion of Allah.
After that, there was a sixty year lull in Islamic expansion which ended when oil was found in Saudi Arabia. This launched the Wahhabiism era of the third jihad in the 1980s. Funded by petro dollars, militant Islamicists flexed their muscles once again, trying to remove Israel from Palestine and igniting a barrage of terrorism which continues to this day.
Think Osama bin Laden, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, and numerous others.
During the past thirty years, thousands more have died at the hands of jihadists and millions of people have been displaced. If those who practice historic Islam have their way in the 21st century, then millions will die and billions will be forced under global sharia law.
The big bully of the third jihad right now is ISIS–the Islamic State.
A State
President Obama spoke like a nuanced college professor when he also said that ISIS is not a state because they are not recognized by other governments or the United Nations.
Hello? Is there anybody home?
ISIS has declared themselves an Islamic state by taking over territory in Syria and Iraq that is geographically the size of Belgium. They have an organized and trained military that has grown into the thousands, control scores of cities including the Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul, have a caliph (Islamic president or dictator) Ibrahim ibn Awwad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai, more commonly known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and they are making 1-3 million dollars a day to fund their government and holy jihad through oil revenues.
It doesn’t matter what the UN thinks. It doesn’t matter whether we “recognize” them diplomatically. That’s goverment-ese gobblety-gook.
ISIS has established an Islamic STATE. They have land, leadership, military and money. No amount of nuancing can take away that fact.
One of the first rules of warfare (confronting and defeating evil) is to be able to clearly define your enemy. If you can’t define them (their motivation, strengths, geography and plans), then you can’t defeat them.
It’s time to stop being stupid in foreign affairs.
The Islamic State has declared war on the Middle East and the world. Because nuclear weapons exist and can get into the wrong hands, we do not have the luxury of saying this is a regional war, we can’t afford to have boots on the ground, or that others should take the lead.
As the world’s lone superpower, the United States must have the clarity and the will to lead a coalition of free nations that will fight tyranny just as we did during World War II. Sixty years ago we defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan and helped rebuild and revive both Europe and Asia.
During this new era, we must defeat historic Islam and its most recent expression–the Islamic State.
That’s the role of government–to protect people from evil.
The rest of us should pray for the Muslim world, support missionaries in those nations, and help Muslims everywhere reject the false teachings of the Koran and come into a saving relationship with one of the Koran’s leading figures–Isa (Jesus)–who is the Prince of Peace.
That’s wouldn’t be stupid–it would be wise.
It would bring salvation.
