Radical Baloney

Radicals? Or fundamentalists?

Unless the western world faces up to the reality that there's no such thing as radical Islam, then western civilization is finished.

What is "Radical Islam?" Radical Islam is a horse manure expression invented by the western world to differentiate between so-called mainstream Islam and the Islam practiced by "extremists" who commit mayhem and mass murder in the name of Allah.

There are indeed two types of Islam; traditional Islam and fundamental Islam. A traditional Muslim is a person who identifies as a Muslim for cultural reasons because his or her family comes from an ethnic group that's been associated with Islam for many centuries. A cultural Muslim may acknowledge some or many tenets of the Quran, but seldom takes that book literally.

A fundamental Muslim is a person who takes the Quran and the Hadith (teachings of Muhammad) literally and is obedient to what those books teach. Such as the teachings that command Muslims to persecute and kill those who resist Islam's founding prophet Muhammad by refusing to convert to that religion. There's nothing extreme about that at all.

An extremist either goes beyond or finds hidden meanings in the teachings of a religious text. If you agree with this Quranic verse, then how could you go beyond what it says by doing what it says? "Those who disbelieve follow falsehood, while those who believe follow the truth from their Lord... So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives)... If it had been Allah's will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost." (Sura 47:3-4)

That Quranic verse exhorts Muslims to fight in the way of Allah and kill the infidels. Muhammad implored his followers to cut off the heads of the unbelievers. Was he exaggerating? Was he an extremist? Of course not. He founded Islam and he preached what he claimed he received directly from his god. And those who commit murder in the name of Islam are merely being obedient to what Muhammad taught.

Nevertheless, there are those who count on the ignorance of non-Muslims to believe that a band of "radicals" has tarnished Islam's peaceful reputation by committing violence in the name of that religion. One of those persons is Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the famous basketball player who converted to Islam many years ago during his early days in the NBA.

Here's what he said in response to Donald Trump's recommendation to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. after the deadly terror attack in San Bernardino, California: While Trump is not slaughtering innocent people, he is exploiting such acts of violence to create terror here to coerce support. As I have written before, his acts could be interpreted as hate crimes. He sounds the shrill alarm of impending doomsday even though since 9/11, about 30 Americans a year have been killed in terrorist attacks worldwide — as The Atlantic pointed out, “roughly the same number as are crushed to death each year by collapsing furniture.” Trump’s irresponsible, inflammatory rhetoric and deliberate propagation of misinformation have created a frightened and hostile atmosphere that could embolden people to violence. He’s the swaggering guy in old Westerns buying drinks for everyone in the saloon while whipping them up for a lynching. 

And so, who's the radical here? Is it Donald Trump, for recommending that a moratorium be instituted on Muslim immigration until the U.S. can better vet those who are coming here from nations where terrorism is a problem? Or is it Jabbar, for portraying Trump as a bigoted hater because Trump sees the connection between Islam and terrorism?

Jabbar isn't the only celebrity Muslim athlete who's trying to defend Islam by painting jihadists who commit murder as radicals. Former boxing champion Muhammad Ali said this: I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world. True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.

True Muslims are fundamentalists, and they know that violence has been an essential proselytizing tool of Islam since its inception in the 7th century A.D. True Muslims are familiar with this verse in the Quran: "And kill them (infidels) wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing...but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshiping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone." (Sura 2:191-193)

And this one from the Hadith: Allah said, "A prophet must slaughter before collecting captives. A slaughtered enemy is driven from the land. Muhammad, you craved the desires of this world, its goods and the ransom captives would bring. But Allah desires killing them to manifest the religion." (Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 484)

That's not radical Islam. That's fundamental Islam. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of Islam knows that. Thankfully, most of the world's nearly two billion Muslims are cultural and not fundamentalists. But it doesn't take much for one to become the other.

And so, what's the solution? Bombing ISIS in Syria and Iraq will never defeat fundamental Islam because fundamentalism exists all over the planet. And certainly, the west will never outlaw Islam because of political correctness and cowardice. The west has a significant Muslim population that would erupt if western nations tried to abolish their religion. Besides, the west lacks the will to do that.

The only solution is to present the true Prince of Peace Jesus Christ. Only Christ can bring true peace into the hearts, souls and minds of human beings. Only Christ can end the turmoil in one's heart by bringing the peace and presence of God through faith in the Son of God.

As the apostle Paul so aptly wrote: ^"But what does it (scripture) say? 'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:8-13)

That's how you defeat Islamic fundamentalism. Or as Paul put it: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." (2 Corinthians 10:4)

And certainly, there's nothing radical about that at all.