Understanding Radical Islam

While a majority of Muslims do not support terrorism and jihad against the West, a sizable minority (10 to 15 per cent) do. Known as Islamists, this minority is bent on the destruction of the West, and the implementation of Sharia law throughout the globe.

Thus it is vital that all of us understand what the Islamists are up to. Plenty of good books have been written on this subject. I have recently offered my own top twenty list:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2006/07/31/top-twenty-recent-books-on-islam-terrorism-and-jihad/

In addition to these books, several good DVDs have recently been produced as well, describing the war we are in with radical Islam. One is Islam: What the West Needs to Know by Gregory Davis and Bryan Daly. This DVD, produced by Quixotic Media, 2006 is a lengthy (98 minutes) expose of the agenda of the Islamists.

Another excellent DVD, also just out this year, is Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West. This documentary by Wayne Kopping and Raphael Shore runs for 60 minutes. Kopping, the director of the film, was recently interviewed on FrontPageMagazine.com, (December 11, 2006). Some of his comments are worth noting here.

When asked about his motivation for this project, this is what he says: “The producer and co-writer of Obsession, Raphael Shore, is really the visionary behind the project. He was the one that first exposed me to the vicious hate speech and propaganda coming out of the Arab world. I remember thinking to myself, ‘the world has got to see this’. This led us to make a film called, Relentless [RelentlessTheMovie.com ] which was about the Arab-Israeli struggle. Obsession is a sequel of sorts that takes a much broader look at the issue of Radical Islamic terrorism, and the threat it poses to practically every country in the world.”

The main reason he gives is his deep concern that the West is just not fully aware of the nature of the threat posed by radical Islam. We have tended to minimise, underestimate or ignore this threat, to our own peril. “We made the film so that people could hear from the Radical Islamic leaders in their own words, on their own Islamic TV networks how they see the struggle. People often tell us that once they’ve seen Obsession, they walk away with a clarity about the true nature of the conflict that they never had before – and that’s why we wanted to make the film.”

Indeed, many of the scenes from the documentary come straight out of Islamic media outlets, such as Al-Jazeera. Muslims are heard and seen pouring out threats and hatred, and the effect is stirring, even if English subtitles are needed on occasion. And these words from the radicals must be heard. It is important to hear what they are saying, and to learn what they are thinking.

“We can’t wrap our heads around a culture that, as we speak, is teaching its men, women and children that the greatest honor and reward a Muslim can earn is by killing the infidel [non-Muslims] – and dying in the act as a martyr. This is part of what we expose in Obsession. We have an impossible time understanding these things because we, in the West, don’t see the world that way.”

And Westerners need to understand the overriding religious component of radical Islam. “People also fail to realize that the Radical Muslims see this conflict with the West as part of a centuries-long, historic struggle with the non-believers. In many ways, it’s as if they see themselves as still fighting the Crusades. The Radicals believe it is their religious duty to cleanse the Muslim lands of the infidels, and to bring the world under the aegis of Islam.”

“We, in the West, grossly underestimate how religion almost entirely forms the Radical’s world-view. In the majority of Islamic countries, there is no separation between ‘church and state’. In Iran, for instance, there are so-called ‘Religious Police’ that closely watch the population and regulate their dress-codes, limit interaction between the sexes and the like. In Saudi-Arabia, for instance, it is haram, forbidden for women to drive a car – let alone vote. The point here is that we are living in a very different world to the majority of the Islamic population.”

An interesting feature of the documentary is the comparison drawn between radical Islam and Nazism. Indeed, the film shows how Islam has purposefully replicated much of the Nazi past. “We see the connection most strikingly, perhaps, in the propaganda the Islamists use, which is, in some cases, directly duplicated from the Nazis. We also see it in the endless hate speech in the Islamic media, which is reminiscent of the Nazis. We also see similarities in the indoctrination of a generation of youth trained to hate and kill without compunction.”

In fact Muslim leaders often had close contact with the Nazis: “We take it a step further, though, and we show that Radical Islam has many of its strategic roots in Nazism. Many people are shocked to learn that Haj Amin Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a close ally of Adolf Hitler. In Obsession, we show rare film footage of a meeting between Hitler and Al-Husseini, where Hitler reveals his secret, genocidal plans to his willing co-conspirator. Today, Al-Husseini is regarded by some as the ‘Great-Grandfather of Modern Terrorism’ and we are left with no doubt as to the Nazi influence in the Radical Islamic world.”

Kopping closes with these words: “Let me be clear about this – we are not in a war against Islam. We are in a war against those who are using Islam to oppress and subjugate their people – and who also seek to subjugate us in the West. The problem is that for hundreds of millions of Muslims subjugation has become a way of life to such an extent that they are even prepared to die and kill to defend it. But we also have to appreciate that it’s against human nature for people to live a life that is wholly oppressed by their religious and political leaders. There will come a time when Muslims everywhere will have to make a choice – either to stand with the oppressive radicals, or to fight for a better life for themselves and their children.”

The need of the hour is for those concerned about freedom and democracy to recognise the various threats arrayed against them. Militant Islam is one such threat that needs to be taken seriously. We need to be informed about this menace, and we need to be aware of how the adversary works. This important DVD is a good place to begin in assessing the threat, and taking the necessary steps to guard against it.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=25900

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