by Professor Moshe Sharon
The war has started a long time ago between two civilizations - between the civilization based on the Bible and between the civilization based on the Koran. And this must be clear.
There is no fundamental Islam
"Fundamentalism" is a word that came from the heart
of the Christian religion. It means faith that goes by the word
of the Bible. Fundamental Christianity, or going with the Bible,
does not mean going around and killing people. There is no fundamental
Islam. There is only Islam full stop. The question is how the
Koran is interpreted.
All of a sudden we see that the greatest interpreters of Islam
are politicians in the western world. They know better than all
the speakers in the mosques, all those who deliver terrible sermons
against anything that is either Christian or Jewish. These western
politicians know that there is
You see, so much is covered by politically correct language that,
in fact, the truth has been lost. For example, when we speak about
Islam in the west, we try to use our own language and terminology.
We speak about Islam in terms of democracy and fundamentalism,
in terms of parliamentarism and all kinds of terms, which we take
from our own dictionary. One of my professors and one of the greatest
orientalists in the world says that doing this is like a cricket
reporter describing a cricket game in baseball terms. We cannot
use for one culture or civilization the language of another. For
Islam, you've got to use the language of Islam.
Driving Principles of Islam
Let me explain the principles that are driving the religion of
Islam. Of course, every Moslem has to acknowledge the fact that
there is only one God.
But it's not enough to say that there is only one God. A Moslem
has to acknowledge the fact that there is one God and Mohammed
is his prophet. These are the fundamentals of the religion that
without them, one cannot be a Moslem.
But beyond that, Islam is a civilization. It is a religion that
gave first and foremost a wide and unique legal system that engulfs
the individual, society and nations with rules of behaviour. If
you are Moslem, you have to behave according to the rules of Islam
which are set down in the Koran and which are very different than
the teachings of the Bible.
The Bible
Let me explain the difference.
The Bible is the creation of the spirit of a nation over a very,
very long period, if we talk from the point of view of the scholar,
and let me remain scholarly. But there is one thing that is important
in the Bible. It leads to salvation. It leads to salvation in
two ways.
In Judaism, it leads to national salvation -- not just a nation that wants to have a state, but a! nation that wants to serve God. That's the idea behind the Hebrew text of the Bible.
The New Testament that took the Hebrew Bible moves us toward personal salvation. So we have got these two kinds of salvation, which, from time to time, meet each other.
But the key word is salvation. Personal salvation means that each individual is looked after by God, Himself, who leads a person through His word to salvation. This is the idea in the Bible, whether we are talking about the Old or the New Testament. All of the laws in the Bible, even to the minutest ones, are, in fact directed toward this fact of salvation.
Secondly, there is another point in the Bible, which is highly important. This is the idea that man was created in the image of God. Therefore, you don't just walk around and obliterate the image of God. Many people, of course, used Biblical rules and turned them upside down. History has seen a lot of massacres in the name of God and in the name of Jesus. But as religions, both Judaism and Christianity in their fundamentals speak about honouring the image of God and the hope of salvation. These are the two basic fundamentals.
The Essence of Islam
Now let's move to the essence of Islam. Islam was born with the
idea that it should rule the world.
Let's look, then, at the difference between these three religions. Judaism speaks about national salvation - namely that at the end of the story, when the world becomes a better place, Israel will be in its own land, ruled by its own king and serving God. Christianity speaks about the idea that every single person in the world can be saved from his sings, while Islam speaks about ruling the world. I can quote here in Arabic, but there is no point in quoting Arabic, so let me quote a verse in English. "Allah sent Mohammed with the true religion so that it should rule over all the religions."
The idea, then, is not that the whole world would become a Moslem world at this time, but that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam. When the Islamic empire was established in 634 AD, within seven years - 640 - the core of the empire was created. The rules that were taken from the Koran and from the tradition that was ascribed to the prophet Mohammed, were translated into a real legal system. Jews and Christians could live under Islam provided they paid poll tax and accepted Islamic superiority. Of course, they had to be humiliated. And Jews and Christians living under Islam are humiliated to this very day.
Mohammed Held That All the Biblical Prophets Were Moslems
Mohammed did accept the existence of all the Biblical prophets
before him. However he also said that all these prophets were
Moslems. Abraham was a Moslem. In fact, Adam himself was the first
Moslem. Isaac and Jacob and David and Solomon and Moses and Jesus
were all Moslems, and all of them had writings similar to the
Koran. Therefore, world history is Islamic history because all
the heroes of history were Moslems.
Furthermore, Moslems accept the fact that each of these prophets brought with him some kind of a revelation. Moses, brought the Taurat, which is the Torah, and Jesus brought the Ingeel, which is the Evangelion or Gospel -- namely the New Testament.
The Bible vs. the Koran
Why then is the Bible not similar to the Koran?
Mohammed explains that the Jews and Christians forged their books. Had they not been changed and forged, they would have been identical to the Koran. But because Christians and Jews do have some truth, Islam concedes that they cannot be completely destroyed by war [for now].
Nevertheless, the laws a very clear - Jews and Christians have no rights whatsoever to independent existence. They can live under Islamic rule provided they keep to the rules that Islam promulgates for them.
Islamic Rule and Jihad
What happens if Jews and Christians don't want to live under the
rules of Islam? Then Islam has to fight them and this fighting
is called Jihad. Jihad means war against those people who don't
want to accept the Islamic superior rule. That's jihad. They may
be Jews; they may be Christians; they may be Polytheists. But
since we don't have too many Polytheists left, at least not in
the Middle East - their war is against the Jews and Christians.
A few days ago, I received a pamphlet that was distributed in the world by bin Laden. He calls for jihad against America as the leader of the Christian world, not because America is the supporter of Israel, but because Americans are desecrating Arabia with their filthy feet. There are Americans in Arabia were no Christians should be. In this pamphlet there is not a single word about Israel. Only that Americans are desecrating the home of the prophet.
Two Houses
The Koran sees the world as divided into two - one part! which
has come under Islamic rule and one part which is supposed to
come under Islamic rule in the future. There is a division of
the world which is very clear. Every single person who starts
studying Islam knows it. The world is described as Dar al-Islam
(the house of Islam) - that's the place where Islam rules - and
the other part which is called Dar al-Harb - the house of war.
Not the "house of non-Muslims," but the "house
of war." It is this house of war which as to be, at the end
of time, conquered. The world will continue to be in the house
of war until it comes under Islamic rule.
This is the norm. Why? Because Allah says it's so in the Koran.
God has sent Mohammed with the true religion in order that the
truth will overcome all other religions.
Islamic Law
Within the Islamic vision of this world, there are rules that
govern the lives of the Moslems themselves, and these rules are
very strict. In fundamentals, there are no differences between
! schools of law.
However, there are four streams of factions within Islam with
differences between them concerning the minutiae of the laws.
All over the Islamic world, countries have favored one or another
of these schools of laws.
The strictest school of law is called Hanbali, mainly coming out
of Saudi Arabia. There are no games there, no playing around with
the meanings of words. If the Koran speaks about war, then it's
war.
There are various perspectives in Islam with different interpretations
over the centuries. There were good people that were very enlightened
in Islam that tried to understand things differently. They even
brought traditions from the mouth of the prophet that women and
children should not be killed in war.
These more liberal streams do exist, but there is one thing that
is very important for us to remember. The Hanbali school of law
is extremely strict, and today this is the school that is behind
most of the terrorist powers. Even if we talk about the existence
of other schools of Islamic law, when we're talking about fighting
against the Jews, or fighting against the Christian world led
by America, it is the Hanbali school of law that is being followed.
Islam and Territory
This civilization created one very important, fundamental rule
about territory. Any territory that comes under Islamic rule cannot
be de-Islamized. Even if at one time or another, the [non-Moslem]
enemy takes over the territory that was under Islamic rule, it
is considered to be perpetually Islamic.
This is why whenever you hear about the Arab/Israeli conflict,
you hear - territory, territory, territory. There are other aspects
to the conflict, but territory is highly important.
The Christian civilization has not only been seen as a religious
opponent, but as a dam stopping Islam from achieving its final
goal for which it was created.
Islam was created to be the army of God, the army of Allah. Every
single Moslem is a soldier in this army. Every single Moslem that
dies in fighting for the spread of Islam is a shaheed (martyr)
no matter how he dies, because - and this is very important -
this is an eternal word between the two civilizations. It's not
a war that stops. This was is there because it was created by
Allah. Islam must be the ruler. This is a war that will not end.
Islam and Peace
Peace in Islam can exist only within the Islamic world; peace
can only be between Moslem and Moslem.
With the non-Moslem world or non-Moslem opponents, there can
be only one solution --- a cease fire until Moslems can gain more
power. It is an eternal war until the end of days. Peace can only
come if the Islamic side wins.
The two civilizations can only have periods of cease-fires. And
this idea of cease-fire is based on a very important historical
precedent, which, incidentally, Yasser Arafat referred to when
he spoke in Johannesburg after he signed the Oslo agreement with
Israel.
Let me remind you that the document speaks of peace -- you wouldn't believe that you are reading! You would think that you were reading some science fiction piece. I mean when you read it, you can't believe that this was signed by Israelis who are actually acquainted with Islamic policies and civilization.
A few weeks after the Oslo agreement was signed, Arafat went to Johannesburg, and in a mosque there he made a speech in which he apologized, saying, "Do you think I signed something with the Jews which is contrary to the rules of Islam?" (I have obtained a copy of Arafat's recorded speech so I heard it from his own mouth.) Arafat continued, "That's not so. I'm doing exactly what the prophet Mohammed did."
Whatever the prophet is supposed have done becomes a precedent. What Arafat was saying was, "Remember the story of Hodaybiya." The prophet had made an agreement there with the tribe of Kuraish for 10 years. But then he trained 10,000 soldiers and within two years marched on their city of Mecca. He, of course, found some kind of pretext.
Thus, in Islamic jurisdiction, it became a legal precedent
which states that you are only allowed to make peace for a maximum
of 10 years.
Secondly, at the first instance that you are able, you must renew
the jihad [thus breaking the "peace" agreement].
In Israel, it has taken over 50 years in this country for our people to understand that they cannot speak about [permanent] peace with Moslems. It will take another 50 years for the western world to understand that they have got a state of war with the Islamic civilization that is virile and strong. This should be understood: When we talk about war and peace, we are not talking in Belgium, French, English, or German terms. We are talking about war and peace in Islamic terms.
Cease-fire as a Tactical Choice
What makes Islam accept cease-fire? Only one thing -- when the
enemy is too strong. It ! is a tactical choice.
Sometimes, he may have to agree to a cease-fire in the most
humiliating conditions. It's allowed because Mohammed accepted
a cease-fire under humiliating conditions. That's what Arafat
said to them in Johannesburg.
When western policy makers hear these things, they answer, "What
are you talking about? You are in the Middle Ages. You don't understand
the mechanisms of politics."
Which mechanisms of politics? There are no mechanisms of politics where power is. And I want to tell you one thing - we haven't seen the end of it, because the minute a radical Moslem power has atomic, chemical or biological weapons, they will use it. I have no doubt about that.
Now, since we face war and we know that we cannot get more than an impermanent cease-fire, one has to ask himself what is the major component of an Israeli/Arab cease-fire. It is that the Islamic side is weak and your side is strong. The relations between Israel and the Arab world in t! he last 50 years since the establishment of our State has been based only on this idea, the deterrent power.
Wherever You Have Islam, You Will Have War
The reason that we have what we have in Yugoslavia and other places
is because Islam succeeded into entering these countries. Wherever
you have Islam, you will have war. It grows out of the attitude
of Islamic civilization.
What are the poor people in the Philippines being killed for? What's happening between Pakistan and India?
Islamic Infiltration
Furthermore, there is another fact that must be remembered. The
Islamic world has not only the attitude of open war, but there's
also war by infiltration.
One of the things which the western world is not paying enough
attention to is the tremendous growth of Islamic power in the
western world. What happened in America and the Twin Towers is
not something that came from the outside. And if America doesn't
wake up, one day the Americans will find themselves in a chemical
war and most likely in an atomic war - inside the U.S.
End of Days
It is highly important to understand how a civilization sees the
end of days. In Christianity and in Judaism, we know exactly what
is the vision of the end of days.
In Judaism, it is going to be as in Isaiah -- peace between nations,
not just one nation, but between all nations. People will not
have any more need for weapons and nature will be changed -- a
beautiful end of days and the kingdom of God on earth.
Christianity goes as far as Revelation to see a day that Satan himself is obliterated. There are no more powers of evil. That's the vision.
I'm speaking now as a historian. I try to understand how Islam sees the end of days. In the end of days, Islam sees a world that is totally Moslem, completely Moslem under the rule of Islam. Complete and final victory.
Christians will not exist, because according to many Islamic traditions, the Moslems who are in hell will have to be replaced by somebody and they'll! be replaced by the Christians.
The Jews will no longer exist, because before the coming of the end of days, there is going to be a war against the Jews where all Jews should be killed. I'm quoting now from the heart of Islamic tradition, from the books that are read by every child in school. They Jews will all be killed. They'll be running away and they'll be hiding behind trees and rocks, and on that day Allah will give mouths to the rocks and trees and they will say, "Oh Moslem come here, there is a Jew behind me, kill him." Without this, the end of days cannot come. This is a fundamental of Islam.
Is There a Possibility to End This Dance of War?
The question which we in Israel are asking ourselves is what will
happen to our country? Is there a possibility to end this dance
of war?
The answer is, "No. Not in the foreseeable future." What we can do is reach a situation where for a few years we may have relative quiet.
But for Islam, the establishment of the state of Israel was a reverse of Islamic history. First, Islamic territory was taken away from Islam by Jews. You know by now that this can never be accepted, not even one meter. So everyone who thinks Tel Aviv is safe is making a grave mistake. Territory, which at one time was dominated by Islamic rule, now has become non-Moslem. Non-Moslems are independent of Islamic rule; Jews have created their own independent state. It is anathema.
And (this is the worse) Israel, a non-Moslem state, is ruling over Moslems. It is unthinkable that non-Moslems should rule over Moslems.
I believe that Western civilization should hold together
and support each other. Whether this will happen or not, I don't
know. Israel finds itself on the front lines of this war. It needs
the help of its sister civilization. It needs the help of America
and Europe. It needs the help of the Christian world. One thing
I am sure about, this help can be given by individual Christians
who see this as the road to salvation.
From: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1064285/posts.
December 24, 2003.
Dennis Prager
Golly gee, Muslim terrorists tried to attack Madrid again. How can that be? Wasn't Muslim terror in Spain supposed to end once Spain appeased the terrorists by voting in the socialists?
Only those who do not understand Muslim terror could fool themselves into believing that.
So, to better understand the subject, I offer three conclusions I drew about terror during my week of broadcasting from Israel last month.
First, Islamic terror is caused by Muslims, not, as Islamic and leftist apologists would have it, by the non-Muslims against whom it is directed. In our morally confused world, Spain, Israel and America are blamed for having their men, women and children blown up: What did these countries do to arouse such enmity among otherwise tolerant Arabs and Muslims?
Palestinian terror provides the answer. About 25 percent of Palestinians are Christian, yet if there are any Palestinian Christian suicide bombers, I am unaware of them. Now why is that? Don't Muslim and leftist apologists incessantly tell us that the reason for Palestinian terror is "Israeli occupation and oppression"? Why, then, are there no Palestinian Christian terrorists? Are Christian Palestinians less occupied?
The answer is obvious. There is Palestinian terror for the same reasons there is Muslim terror elsewhere. A significant part of the Muslim world wishes to destroy those non-Muslims Ð Americans, Israelis, Filipinos, Nigerians, Sudanese blacks Ð who prevent Islam from violently attaining power.
Palestinian Muslim terror emanates from a desire to destroy Israel, not to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Other Muslim terror is aimed at weakening the West, America in particular, so that militant theocratic Islam can dominate Muslim-majority societies and then take over other societies, as it is slowly doing in Western Europe.
Second, despite the Spanish cave-in to terror, in the long run, terror doesn't work. By any rational calculation, to take the Palestinian example, it has become the most self-destructive policy Palestinians could pursue. Palestinian terror has convinced almost all Israelis outside of academia that the moral gulf between them and the Palestinians is so wide that there is presently no hope for peace.
Nor has Palestinian terror terrorized Israelis. In what will surely be recorded as among the most impressive behaviors of a national group, Israelis have decided to live as normally as possible among people who aim to murder and maim as many of them as possible. In fact, I learned, many Israelis are now concerned that they have done this too well, that there is not enough mourning and rage after each atrocity.
Palestinian terror is self-destructive because it has morally, economically, religiously and politically destroyed Palestinian society and led to its present state of chaos. The mayor of Nablus resigned two months ago, declaring that gangs of thugs now govern Palestinian society. Any society that encourages terror ends up consumed by it. Ask the Saudis.
Third, there is a terrible long-term price that Muslims Ð Arabs and Palestinians in particular Ð are paying for the minority that engages in terror and for the majority that says nothing about it or supports it.
They may wish to reflect on the fact that with every act of terror they engage in, their people and religion are increasingly identified with cruelty. Can anyone anywhere name any Palestinian contribution to humanity other than innovative forms of terror and cruelty? On my radio show, the spokesman of Zaka, the Israeli rescue squad that attends to terror victims, told me that at various times Palestinian terrorists have laced the screws attached to their bombs with rat poison, and that at least one of the Palestinian terrorists was injected with the AIDS virus in the hope that his blood would transmit AIDS to wounded Israelis.
Just as the German nation, fairly or not, has had to grapple with the moral legacy of Nazism, and the name of Christianity still suffers (unfairly) because of medieval persecutions of non-Christians, so, too, Islam, Arabs and Palestinians will have to struggle for generations to shed their identification with murdering innocents.
While it is Americans, Israelis and other targets of terror who most suffer individually from Palestinian and other Muslim terror, those with the most to lose are Palestinians, Arabs and Islam. (4/6/04)