In "A War On Jihadism -- Not 'Terror,'" in the National Journal (thanks to M), Jonathan Rauch considers what for him is clearly a new idea:
The point that Bush, Blair, and others understandably finesse is that the ideology of Jihadism traces its lineage to the very beginning of the religion of Islam. It has "roots in discussions about Islamic law and theology that began soon after the death of Muhammad and that are supported by important segments of the clergy (ulama) today," Habeck writes.Two other new books strikingly document the connection. One is The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims. Edited by Andrew G. Bostom, it provides more than 700 pages of source material on jihadist doctrine and practice (including many fascinating translations from Arabic). A second is Islamic Imperialism: A History, by Efraim Karsh, a political scientist and historian who heads the Mediterranean studies program at King's College (part of the University of London).
"The birth of Islam," writes Karsh, "was inextricably linked with the creation of a world empire, and its universalism was inherently imperialist." Karsh cites, for example, the Prophet's farewell address to his followers: "I was ordered to fight all men until they say, 'There is no god but Allah.' " Muhammad, Karsh writes, spent his last decade fighting to unify Arabia under his reign; within a decade of his death, Islamic conquest had already built an Arab-Muslim empire, "one of the most remarkable examples of empire-building in world history."
Now, I am glad to see this. The volume edited by Bostom should be required reading for every member of the Administration and every member of Congress. Karsh's is worth reading too. And Habeck's contains some useful information. But Mr. Rauch, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Robert Spencer. S-P-E-N-C-E-R. I have been documenting the connection between the modern-day terrorists and the Islamic doctrine of jihad every day here at Jihad Watch since October 2003. Before that, I wrote two books that documented that connection in various ways: Islam Unveiled, which I wrote in late 2001 and which reached #10 on Amazon.com's Bestseller List. That book contains a discussion of the same statement of Muhammad that you quote from Karsh's book. After that there was Onward Muslim Soldiers, which I wrote in early 2003 and which documents this connection in greater depth. I did it again from a different angle last year in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), which spent four months on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Now don't get me wrong, Mr. Rauch. I am not claiming to have been the first to have discovered the connection between modern Islamic violence and Islamic teachings on jihad. Others -- most notably Bat Ye'or -- were writing about this long before I began to do this work publicly, and both before and after that others have done it better than I have. I am merely pointing out that this point, which is a crucially important point, and possibly the most important point that policymakers need to grasp today, has been available to you far longer than the time since the Bostom and Karsh books have appeared. I am glad to see you acknowledging this point in the National Journal in 2006 -- it has been ignored and denied almost everywhere in the media for far too long. And that is actually the core of what I am saying: we could have used your help in 2005, and 2004, and 2003, and 2002, and -- you get the idea.
A recent phrase in political discourse is "tippiing point." We can only hope that more and more of the infidel world is saying, "Oh, there IS a problem, and pointing it out is not racism or in any way wrong."
Someone said to me the other day that we can't attack Iran because "the whole Muslim world will be against us." And the truth is that once folks realize that the origins of Islamic disability is Islam... well, one can imagine a collective, open-eyed, "oh NO!" The model of good-hearted acceptance of others' religious beliefs cannot work well in the face of this political system.
Am really disgusted with Bill Clinton's comments the other week, about the dangers (seemingly the falseness) of Islamophobia. Islamophobia is appropriate and just and necessary.
There does seem to be hope for the reaching of a tipping point. I think
writers like Robert, Bostom and others do a great service by not engaging
in emotional editorials, but merely pointing out facts and letting the words
of the muslims point out the reality. Give them enough rope and they will
eventually hang themselves. As world events happen, more and more people will be
drawn to look into this thing called islam. I myself have passed Roberts book to
other curious people, as a way of planting seeds in fertile ground.
As for the charge of islamophobia, I plead guilty to being islamo-aware.
Phobia is an irrational fear.
I believe it was Eisenhower who said, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care about who gets the credit."
Stillbreathing: what did you expect? As long as the core of the Democrat Party is going to be made of Deaniacs and other lunatics - the kind whom I, from my Europan perch, call Zapateristas - Clinton is not going to say anything that might annoy them; he wants, after all, to re-enter the White House as First Gentleman. We have to wait for the moment when a still tippinger tipping points tips most Democrats into understanding that the enemies of democracy are the enemies of Democrats, and that they are not found in the GOP.
Someone said to me the other day that we can't attack Iran because "the whole Muslim world will be against us.
Posted by: StillBreathing
I have heard similar statements before, I respond with "what segment of the muslim population is with us now?"
l think the Saudis will be more than pleased if Iran is attacked. but going back to the case in point of having more books, information getting out, we do read in the West, and it will trickle up to the GOP sooner than we think it will. prol has, but in this PC environment even Winston Churchill would be put in jail for islamophia. we give enough rope to Iran and the rest of the islamatic formentors they will hang themselve with a few well placed bombs down their nukes.
Lulu, I would think the Saudis are just doing the old wait and see. If Iran wins and gets to keep the nukes, then the Saudis will want some for "protection". They will do nothing to stop iran nor will any muslim nations. The most you will get is bland statements against it but no action. Hmmm, that is what we are doing.
Bostom's book and Robert's Onward Muslim Soldiers are superbly documented with the original source materials and are part of the many books that I loan to friends and family here and abroad.
I intend to order Karsh soon. It's refreshing to hear and read balanced voices growing in the media, no matter how infrequently. I sound like a broken record to my family, saying it's the ideology, and we don't have a problem with Islamic fundamentalists, but the fundamentals of Islam.
Slowly this "meme" is getting around.
All the best,
Mac
I tried to get the word out, and yesterday I got a visit from my employer's Thought Police.
From time to time, I pull news articles down from the internet, and supplement them with a brief essay I compose. I always put my name to them ("nail it to the mast"), and I don't push them. I stack 'em, only 20 copies, on a table in the break room.
Last week, my topic was Ahmedinejad. I wanted people to know that he's not crazy, militant, extremist, etc., but that he's the very epitome of the Islamic true believer.
Someone made a copy, and turned me in. (I can't help but laugh.) These Gestapo said that my essay was ambiguous, and wanted to know if I was a racist (as I sat there in my salwar kameeze), or an Islamist (guess they didn't see my little cross on my neck).
They gave me a hard time, and I was very upset. Yes, I even broke into tears. (I have a small problem with authority figures, coming down on me.)
Guess I should begin my own blog. You folks who already have them, may I have permission to link?
Thanks,
Cindy
Girlfriend, dry those tears, you're doing them a favor when you educate them. They probably get their news from the MSM and we all know they don't tell the story.
They may be PC for the moment, but they'll thank you in the future. Unless of course, they are muslims.
Awesome Link:
http://www.forest.ws/WeSupportU.htm
-Cindy (Abscedere)
Popularity and righteousness seldom go hand in hand. At least you have the courage to make your position known, even when you are aware the herd won't like it.
Each 'crank on the wheel' churns out a little more common sense. Keep cranking, folks. It's working.
In fact, virtually the entire muslim world is against us. The sooner we recognize this fact, the better.
It is not necessary for the West to destroy all of islam. But, I do believe our own survival requires that we segregate ourselves from islam and muslims. islam Has no place in Western culture - and we owe islam/muslims, precisely, nothing.
If we can end the uninformed tolerance of "one of the world's great religions" ... we will have accomplished a great deal. Ignorant, backward superstitions should be treated as such - up front and without apology.
Always.
Cindy - If I could speak with you direct, I would hug you. As it is, let me assure you of my admiration, and my certainty that, whatever tears or problems with authority figures you may have, you will find the courage and strength to do what is right. Keep it up, you are better than they are, and will remain so until they become as good as you are - that is as educated, as brave, and as unafraid of the truth.
Mr. Ape Pig asks, "What segment of the Muslim population is with us now?"
As with much else on JW, the best answer is to let the hard facts speak for themselves. Here are the results of a Gallup poll taken in the Muslim world only a few months after 9-11 and long before the Iraq War started, when we supposedly had the "sympathy" of the civilized world over that terrorist attack:
February 26, 2002 Posted: 7:54 PM EST (0054 GMT)
PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) --Residents of nine Muslim countries called
the United States "ruthless and arrogant" in a new poll, with most
describing themselves as "resentful" of the superpower.
The Gallup poll found that by a 2-to-1 margin, residents in these
nations express an unfavorable opinion of the United States, and a
majority also indicated their displeasure with President Bush.
Most Muslims surveyed expressed the view that the September 11 terrorist
attacks on the United States were not justified morally, but larger
majorities labeled U.S. military action in Afghanistan "morally
unjustifiable."
Sixty-one percent said they did not believe Arab groups carried out the
September 11 terrorist attacks.
Researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with 9,924 residents of
Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Kuwait, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia to gauge public opinion in those countries following the
September 11 attacks. About half of the world's Muslim population lives
in those nine countries. Not every question was asked in every nation.
The overall view was not a positive one for the United States: 53
percent of the people questioned had unfavorable opinions of the United
States, while 22 percent had favorable opinions.
Most respondents said they thought the United States was aggressive and
biased against Islamic values. Specifically, they cited a bias against
Palestinians.
They also view American values as deeply materialist and secular and
American culture as a corrupting influence on their societies, the poll
found.
Residents of Lebanon had the highest favorable opinion of the United
States, at 41 percent, followed by NATO ally Turkey with 40 percent. The
lowest numbers came from Pakistan, at 5 percent.
Twenty-eight percent of Kuwaitis, 27 percent of Indonesians, 22 percent
of Jordanians, 22 percent of Moroccans, 16 percent of Saudi Arabians and
14 percent of Iranians surveyed had a favorable view of the United States.
On Bush, 58 percent of those surveyed had unfavorable opinions, compared
with 11 percent who had favorable views.
Of those surveyed, 67 percent saw the September 11 attacks as morally
unjustified, while 15 percent of the respondents said they were morally
justified. But 77 percent said the U.S. military action in Afghanistan
was morally unjustified, compared with 9 percent who said it was morally
justified.
The interviews were conducted between December and January. The
respondents were randomly selected and did not know a U.S. firm was
sponsoring the poll.
Gallup said the sampling error was plus or minus 1 percentage point for
questions asked in all nine countries and plus or minus 4 percentage
points for questions broken down by individual nations.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/02/26/gallup.muslims/
There was never much sympathy, much less support, for the U.S. even in the weeks and months immediately after 9-11. If we didn't have any support then, we sure as hell don't have it now after the Iraq War.
Robert said
I am greatful that they got it, now. I won't quibble over who was the quickest to see the truth. Really, to hear the words "the ideology of Jihadism traces its lineage to the very beginning of the religion of Islam" is music to my ears. Fantastic!
-Cindy (Abscedere)
I admire your effort at outreach. Personally, I would not mess with my ability to pay the bills though. How about setting out your writings at your church? Does your church have interfaith meetings with Muslims? Might be helpful to inform your fellow parishioners how Christians and Jews and Hindus are really treated in Islamic lands and in Islamic theology.
A blog is another fine idea. There are sites that will host your blogs for free, so you don't have to mess with setting up your own website.
Good for you for not bowing to their claims of "racism".
Robert
On a related, but different note, how's your book on Mohammed coming along?
Cindy, the solution is simple. Bring a suicide bomber's vest with you to work and send them all to paradise. We must wage war against the unbelievers.
There is nothing wrong in this. According to my "koran", the Thinkers Ranting, verses 12:13
'For they that reject the message of jihadwatch.org, must be slaughtered. Turn their offices into debris, their flesh into charred bone, let not one office worker live.'
See how easy it is to write your own religious manifesto? LOL
http://www.islam-watch.blogspot.com/
Cindy (Abscedere),
For what it's worth, you have this fellow poster's full moral support.
If your employers criticize you for criticizing a man, Ahmedinejad, who said that Israel should be wiped off the map, and who denies the previous holocaust (yet promises another), and who proposed a holocaust cartoon contest, and whose government has drawn up plans to "destroy Anglo-Saxon civilization," maybe your employers need to be educated in regards to the fact that they are racists (and worse, they are suicidal idiots) for defending the Iranian Hitler.
I have compiled some notes and quotes on the Ultimate Goal of Islam, here.
http://islamwatch.forumup.in/about252-islamwatch.html
"Beginning to catch on..."
Oh for Pete's sake. I don't even own a cell phone (last hold-out on the planet?) and even I comprehend the glaringly, obvious fact of the global Islamic jihad.
Says Rauch:
Does anybody have a citation for the farewell address that contains these words of Muhammed? I haven't been able to find the farewell address that contains these words. I have seen three hadith that are similar:
Sahih Bukhari 1:8:387
Sahih Bukhari 1:2:24
Sahih Muslim Book 1:33
Does anyone know if these hadith were connected with a farewell address? - Omar
To all, especially freewoman, Eisenhund, Paolo, special guest, the thinker, and Archimedes:
Thanks so much for your support! I'm not giving up, but it looks like I'm going to have to change my "tack".
The more I think of the two visitors I had from that "other planet", the more absurd they seem, and my sense of humor is coming to the rescue.
Thank you all so much!
Cindy
Joseph Schumpeter, the economist, analyzed Arab-Islamic imperialism about 60 years ago.
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism_16.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism-part.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism_20.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism_24.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperialism_28.html
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2005/11/sociology-of-arab-imperial_113322064172217787.html