Islam's War - Part Two
"Say: 'If you love God, follow me, and God will love you,
and forgive you your sins; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.'
Say: 'Obey God, and the Messenger.' But if they turn their backs,
God loves not the unbelievers." (1)
Koran, Sura (Chapter 3) Verse 29
"An evil man seeketh only rebellion:
therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him."
Proverbs 17:11
The world's three monotheistic religions all claim the Book of Genesis as a common source of divine revelation. Yet it is here in Genesis, that Islam departs from "the Book" and follows the path of Ishmael. It is here in Genesis, that Islam's war begins. This point of departure provides us with a clear picture of Islam's god -- a god born out of rebellion. Despite any claims to the contrary, the god of the Muslims is not the God of the Jews or of the Christians. Consequently, many Jews and Christians have died by the sword for their faith in the God of the Bible.
History has shown that when the opportunity existed for Islam to be spread by the sword, it was. Arabia was the seedbed from which the Islamic war sprang. This war grew as lands in Arabia, Persia and the Middle East were conquered for Islam. Egypt and northern Africa were the next to be overcome by the Islamic forces.
War against the European continent was launched from the south in 711, when the Muslim army from North Africa landed in Gibraltar. Over the course of centuries, the warriors of Islam overtook Spain, Portugal, parts of Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Hungary, and attacked even as far inland as Vienna. Most of Portugal and Spain and parts of Italy were subsequently conquered for Islam. Rome, itself was attacked in 846 A.D. and sacked. Centuries later, the Muslim forces of the Saracen and Ottoman Empire took Constantinople and moved farther inland, striking deep into the heart of Europe. A conquered Athens once saw a mosque inside it's Parthenon. And so went the Roman Empire, east and west. Major changes took place on European soil, but Christianity was still strong in Europe, and it people fought back and eventually won under leaders like Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, and Charles Martel. These were leaders who understood the threat, and they met the Islamic threat with force.
Major changes are taking place on European soil today, as European countries grapple with the modern-day Islamic invasion. Many believe Europe is in a post-Christian era. The continent that once sent explorers like Columbus, colonists like the Pilgrims and Puritans, and missionaries all over the world, struggles today to find its own soul. We could argue that Europe's post-Christian decline started when the Pilgrims sailed to the New World. Cold, formalistic Christianity has birthed a cold secularism in Europe. This secularism has created a spiritual vacuum so great, that even Pope Benedict the XVI is calling Europe back to its Christian roots.
When in Turkey a few weeks ago, the Pope spoke about "The process of secularization" in Europe. "In the face of this reality, we are called, together with all other Christian communities, to renew Europe's awareness of its Christian roots, traditions and values, giving them new vitality," he said. But secularism has taken a firm grasp on Europe. And although Europeans are starting to wake up to the dangers of Islamization, they are fighting this false religion with secularism. A secular Europe will not stand the spiritual deluge that is about to come upon them.
Every false religion requires its followers to earn their righteousness by the works of their own hands. We need only to look at the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition to see false Christianity at work. This is also true of Islam. Islam requires its followers to obey the God of the Koran (Allah) and the prophet Mohammed (the Messenger). The Koran teaches that humanity must be converted to Islam, or at least come under the jurisdiction of Shari'ah (Islamic law) for God's will to be done on earth. Muslims are required to work toward this goal either through Jihad or through the use of gradualism. It is important to understand that both are tools of the Islamic war. Mohammed himself used both methods to effect his jihad. Although we easily recognize the jihad of violence, we must also recognize and come to understand the jihad conducted through gradualism.
Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), and the president of The International Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS) describes the Muslims use of gradualism.
"Being a divine law, gradualism is to be followed on the political level nowadays. That is to say, gradualism is to be observed when it comes to applying the rulings of the Shari'ah in today's life when Muslims have been socially, legislatively, and culturally invaded.
If we want to establish a real Muslim society, we should not imagine that such an end can be achieved by a mere decision issued to that effect by a king or a president or a council of leaders or a parliament.
Gradualism is the means through which such an end can be fulfilled. Gradualism here refers to preparing people ideologically, psychologically, morally, and socially to accept and adopt the application of the Shari'ah in all aspects of life, and to finding lawful alternatives for the forbidden principles upon which many associations have been founded for so long." (2)
While the world battles violent jihadists, it also finds itself battling jihadists that use gradualism in order to conquer. And although conversion is the preferred outcome of jihad, gradualists accept the fact that there will be those that do not convert to Islam. These are the dhimmis, who live under the rule of Shari'ah, but who are never equal to Muslims in the eyes of Shari'ah law. And it is Allah himself, that makes this distinction between those who love him and those who do not.
The Koran is clear when it states that Allah does not love those that refuse to adhere to Islam.
"Say: 'If you love God, follow me, and God will love you, and forgive you your sins;' God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.' Say: 'Obey God, and the Messenger.' But if they turn their backs, God loves not the unbelievers." (1)
Koran, Sura (Chapter 3) Verse 291
It is no wonder that all Muslims will share this view on some level. Mohammed and Allah are to be obeyed. But the god of the Koran is not the God of the Bible.
"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
1-Koran Interpreted, Arberry, A.J., MacMillan Publishing Company,
copyright 1955
2-http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/Shariah
AndHumanity/Articles/2005-04/16.shtml
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