Saving Western Civilization Demands That We Study Islam~ Presenting a simple resource guide to gain a clear understanding of the REAL Islam May 12, 2019   Why do Westerners need to study Islam? The answer is very simple. If Islam were “just a religion,” studying it would not be necessary unless one simply wanted to learn about the religion.  The Flag of ISIS However, Islam is not just a religion. It is also a political ideology that, when put into practice, results in loss of freedom, violence, and ultimately mass slavery of its populations. To many, this statement may seem “intolerant.” However, those who study Islam in-depth, without apology for Islam, and those who study Islam’s historical record, will indeed find that Islam poses an existential threat to free civilizations. This does not mean that “Muslims are bad.” That would be bigotry because one must assess a person based on his or her character, heart, and actions, not based on race, color, or creed. Just to clarify, Muslims come from all races, and thus expressing discontent with Islam is not “racist.” It is also not “Islamophobic” because it is not an “irrational fear” to be concerned about the loss of freedom under totalitarian ideologies. “Islamophobic” is a nonsense (but very clever) word, coined by Islamists to shut down criticism of Islam by impugning the mental state of those discussing it. Many Muslims don’t study their own doctrines. Others ignore their doctrine and just try to lead good lives. Many feel trapped by Islam and, in fact, are Islam’s first victims—especially among women. Some support Islam’s goals but don’t take direct action. At the end of this essay, there is a link to a fourteen-minute video called By the Numbers, which reports on what Muslims around the world actually believe. Thus, because of Islam’s political ideology, I believe that Westerners must study Islam. If we do not, preserving Western civilization with all of its freedoms and values will be very difficult. In addition, it’s critically important to not only know one’s “enemy” but to also name one’s enemy. The cartoonist (and former Albanian-American Muslim) Bosch Fawstin wrote in an April 29, 2019 article for JihadWatch.org, titled “Bosch Fawstin: No More Misnomers: We Need to Stop Playing Name Games with Islam”:
Based on Fawstin’s comments, I believe it’s a reasonable approach to define an “Orthodox Muslim” as a believer in, or active supporter of, Islam’s core tenets, which mandate Jihad and Sharī‘ah law. With that definition, an Orthodox Muslim is not a friend of freedom. Non-orthodox Muslims could also be referred to as “cultural Muslims,” “casual Muslims,” or some other moniker that clarifies that they are not orthodox.  Cartoon of Mohammed by Bosch Fawstin. Click on image to see larger version. Image used with permission. Bosch Fawstin is directly challenging Islam’s prohibition on criticizing Islam and drawing images of Mohammed—as a defense of freedom of speech. His bravery in the face of numerous, real, Islamic death threats is truly praiseworthy. In 2015, Fawstin won First Place in the “Draw the Prophet Muhammad Contest” in Garland, Texas, which was sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. In Andrew C. McCarthy's excellent article in National Review on January 2, 2016, titled “Why ‘Draw Mohammed’? The Artist Explains,” McCarthy wrote:
These topics are new for many Westerners because they have not been exposed to Islam in any depth. I can say, because of my own experiences a number of years ago, and then later, as I independently studied Islam, based on the resources of many experts as well as the source texts, that the Western world suffers from vast ignorance about Islam. I was in that category of ignorance. If one doesn’t embark on at least an introductory study of these things but instead only relies on Orthodox Muslims or Islamapologists to tell them “the scoop,” they will be deceived. In this case, for the Western world as a whole, ignorance most certainly will be fatal. Yet, too many Westerners have bought into Islamic propaganda that Islam is a religion of peace and that anyone who thinks otherwise is an Islamophobe. The article “How Islam Apologists Like John Esposito Dupe Americans About Sharia,” written by Raymond Ibrahim, an expert on Islam, directly refutes the Islamapologists’ contention that Islam is a religion of peace. Here's a graphic that I put together that summarizes—based on actions, not doctrine—why Islam is not a religion of peace.
Below are my resource recommendations to anyone interested in really finding out about the truth of Islam. I owe a tremendous debt to many experts, including, but not limited to Bill Warner, Jamie Glazov, David Horowitz, Raymond Ibrahim, and Robert Spencer. Islam’s Source Texts and Islam’s History of Violent JihadThere are two primary methods to understand the real Islam:
Studying the source texts first gives one an understanding of why Islam has engaged in violent jihad over 1,400 years and is still engaged in it today. As these resources make clear, jihadi violence has everything to do with Islam. As a Republican, I voted for George W. Bush. But now, in hindsight, I can see how inaccurate and ignorant it was for him to say, one week after 9/11:
I was ignorant then too, but Bush was the President of the United States. One would think that US intelligence services would know all these things, but that's another grim story. President Obama’s view of Islam was even worse, articulated by him on September 25, 2012, at the United Nations, when he stated:
The absolute best book to study Islamic jihad is Robert Spencer's new book The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS, linked to below. It is a meticulously researched book that should be required reading in every high school in the world. (I can say the same about all of the resources listed here.) The last two paragraphs on the final page of Spencer’s book issues a warning that must not be ignored:
Start with the source texts:Note that the key point in a study of Islam’s doctrines is to read Mohammed’s biography (the Sira) first, then read the Hadith (his traditions, words, and actions) and then read the Qur’an. Doing so puts the Qur’an in perspective. Also, the Qur’an needs to be read in historical chronological order to make sense. (The Caliph Uthman ordered the Qur'an to be rearranged, from the longest chapter to the shortest, so there is no continuity to the text.) This is more fully explained in the books authored by Dr. Bill Warner, listed below.
Sample Verses from the Qur’an:Here are just three verses of many that express Allah’s hatred and condemnation of—and calls to violence toward—anyone who does not believe in Islam. There is no freedom of religion in Islam. Criticism is blasphemy. Leaving Islam is apostasy. Both are severely punished, including the punishment of death. This includes children born into Islam. They cannot leave. The numbers next to the verses below are the Chapter (Sura) and Verse, and the names in parentheses are the translators. An excellent resource for comparing translations of the verses of the Qur’an is here:
Study Islam’s history and actions:The websites below are just a small sampling of the many resources on the web. I highly recommend the ones below, listed in no particular order (they’re all great).
Additional resources include:
There are, of course, mountains of additional resources. However, if you digest the resources above, you will have read 99.999% more about Islam than 99.999% of all Westerners—and many Muslims, who have not necessarily read their own source texts. If enough Westerners study Islam in this way, then it will not only be of benefit to Western civilization but will also benefit the millions of Muslims who want to leave Islam but cannot. “Enabling Islam” does not help Muslims—the first and continuous victims of Islam.
Peter Falkenberg Brown is passionate about writing, publishing, public speaking and film. He hopes that someday he can live up to one of his favorite mottos: “Expressing God’s kind and compassionate love in all directions, every second of every day, creates an infinitely expanding sphere of heart.”
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