Apologetics

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ISLAM AND THE GREAT SATAN OF UNTRUTH

By Harold A. Gram, Ph.D. and James P. Gram, Ph.D.

Christian ministers, like the Rev. Franklin Graham, who speak unfavorably about Islam, are denounced by the media as racists, intolerant, or bigoted. The media seems to have a wish that the United States fails in Iraq. Some media outlets have a recurring theme about the abuses of the American military, the successes of the rebels and terrorists, and the inability of democracy ever to succeed. A reasoned discussion of creating a democracy in Iraq is not taking place.

Returning military and aid workers often report a reality that is far different from the major media reports. Moreover, much of the media emphasize failure, the body count of American deaths and an underlying condemnation of American policy. Unfortunately people listen to the media and believe their accusations are honest and fair in spite of evidence to the contrary. At times, the media seems to support radical Islam. They select, excuse, downplay and distort the role of terrorists. Why are the media so defensive on behalf of Islam? Why do the media denounce and attack those who speak and write of Islamic abuses? Why do the media refuse to acknowledge progress made in liberating Iraqi society from its former tyranny? Why do the media adopt an apologetic attitude for American efforts while being conciliatory towards the excesses of terrorism?

Some of the accusations and defeatist goals are related to a genuine concern about war, and the use of the American military to create democracy. The media, however, is a mix of idealism, the desire to support the Democratic Party, and getting political advantage. The media, therefore, supports much of the Democratic platform which has no hesitation in promoting their views with a mixture of politics, fact, fiction and distortion. They apparently believe that this is a good way to embarrass the President, to reduce his effectiveness, and to fight the Republican Party. Leaving these issues aside, there are some fundamental truths which need to be understood.

A major problem is that the media shares the same methodology for finding truth as do the terrorists. Terrorists are driven by ideological beliefs, myths, fictions, and religious perversion. The American left-wing media share similar approaches to finding truth. They accept the myth that there is a “the great right wing conspiracy .Their left ideology that any idea or proposal from the right is rabid, anti-American, and against democratic values. They believe that those who want to control abortion for example are trying to interfere with people’s rights, liberty, and freedom. Their views are not subject to discussion and analysis because they are based upon an ideology, and mythology which can only be believed. The reporters who examine Iraq from the perspective of rational analysis and a methodology approaching the scientific method come to different conclusions. These reporters find truth in facts; not in ideology. Much of the American media relies upon quoting and glorifying people whose sole identification is their strong ideological beliefs. An approach to Iraq with some scientific analysis leads to different conclusions.

What is the relationship of Iraq to Islam? Of course the population of Iraq is Islamic. Such a blanket statement covers up more than it reveals. Islam is a fractionalized religion where divisions of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds represent hatreds going back to the 9th century. Within these divisions are Mullahs and religious leaders who issue their own interpretation of the Koran, enforce their wills with fatahs, inflict punishment for religious abuses, and broadcast their contradictory opinions. Individuals tend to select and follow one of these myriad lower level Mullahs or teachers.

Militias are endemic to Iraqi society. These militias protect Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish divisions but also enforce the rules and laws of Islam. They assure that women wear the burka, do not go to school, and remain in a low social and economic position. The will of Mohammed is enforced with cruelty, power, and armed guards. Islam is not a religion which permits democracy, freedom, or choice.

The average Iraqi has a multitude of religious and cultural relationships. They are part of a tribe with membership in a local mosque, familial relationships, and historical identifies. Tribal loyalty is enforced by a mixture of expulsion or punishment, and the ideology that they are surrounded by enemies. Not all the enemies are American; many are historical and religious. Smaller tribes, or offshoots of larger tribes, relate to larger units controlled by a strong Mullah and his militia.

Adding to the complexity of Iraqi society are the political provinces. A major problem is that political borders do not exactly correspond to religious divisions. This complicates the efforts of the Constitutional Assembly in trying to establish an over-all government to rule the country and enforce law and order. Adding to the problem is the ownership of oil reserves. Oil resources tend to be concentrated in provinces controlled by Shiites and Kurds. The Kurds are in the North, the Sunnis are in the West, and the Shiites are in the East and South. Oil revenues currently accrue to the Kurds and Shiites because oil is found on their territories. The Sunnis are farmers and desert dwellers. Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, took oil revenues from the Shiites and gave them to the impoverished Sunnis. Now the Shiites want to get those lost revenues and are unwilling to join in a constitution in which Sunnis share in their oil revenues. The demands of the United States for oil have nothing to do with this part of the controversy.

There was a free election, people were chosen, but the Constitutional Assembly is bogged down by the oil controversy and the division of powers. If the Sunnis take control the Shiites will lose their oil revenues and be back where they were pre-Saddam Hussein. If the Shiites take control the Sunnis will remain impoverished. If the Kurds take control they may import cultural pollution from Turkey or elsewhere.

How do negotiations take place to solve these problems? The weapons of choice are destruction, death, murders and bombing. The militias are sources of arms, support and training. These groups have access to weapons and trained soldiers who have experience in forcing their wills upon people. The Sunnis blow up a Mosque, and the Shiites follow with another blast. The legion of suicide bombers, militias, terrorists, murderers, and thugs are not independent. They are connected with one of the major religious divisions, the enforcing militias, or politicians. This is the dirty truth about Iraq.

Neither the news media nor the politicians want to tell Americans the truth about Iraq. It is easy to blame the American thirst for oil as the cause of the ongoing conflict. It is easy to ignore deep-seated religious, geographical, traditional and tribal divisions in Iraq. Can reason, compromise, and tolerance prevail so peace and a unified country emerge? The history of Islam and its allegiance to ideologies does not give us confidence. Islamic history is one of intolerance, hatred of Christianity, and systems of dictatorship as the preferred style of government. Islamic history is also marked by a strict enforcement of edicts as well as by the tyranny of punishment, force, and death.

What can be done to resolve the problems in Iraq? One can only overcome ideology with education, training, and conversion. A democracy requires that people are willing to tolerate differences, negotiate conflicts, and resolve complaints. A democracy functions on an overall acceptance of these principles. In Iraq there is no such acceptance nor is there a history of such acceptance. Democracy requires a toleration of differences; but Iraq is an intolerant society. Islam demands absoluteness, hatred of opponents, and accepts a dictatorship over culture, morals, and behaviors. The dirty secret about Islam is that there is no democratic government in any Islamic society. When given a chance, the people exchange one dictatorship for another as in Palestine. Christianity cannot be accepted and permitted to flourish because it speaks of love, compassion, mercy, and freedom. Islam has none of these characteristics.

There are several choices available for Americans. The first is to adopt the Saddam Hussein model and crush dissidents with a strong military in order to create peace. This model was also used in Yugoslavia and Soviet Russia. Such a model is not part of American history and would not be tolerated in American society.

One could train, educate, negotiate, and let the Iraqis control their own destiny. This is the present American plan. Train the police and military to control dissidents, terrorists and the militias. This process will take time, but in the interim people are being killed, and suicide bombers become the violent arms of militias on all sides. There is no assurance that this will succeed.

Walk away and let the terrorists and gangs take over the country as they have done in Lebanon and offer aid from outside. Nature abhors a vacuum and some hope that new dictator will arise who hopefully will be indigenous and benevolent. This was the American failure in Iran, and Lebanon.

Attack the root cause directly and that means to oppose Islam. The history of Islam is that it is militaristic, anti-West, and prone to violence. It is a military and political movement disguised as a religion. As a military and political movement it must be resisted. This is not a religion which demands American style tolerance. It is more like a virus or disease which needs to be destroyed. Christians beware! If given a chance to gain control as Islam has done in sections of France, Christian practices and the Christian religion will be destroyed. The tolerance and freedom of western societies are its greatest weaknesses in combating the worse face of Islam. Radical Islam does not understand, nor is it willing to consider, that peaceful co-existence is possible. If given a chance Islam will destroy Christianity.

No sane person would advocate a return to the days of the Crusades. All-out war against Islam would be intolerable to most people in the west. Still, a war is already ongoing between the culture and ideals of Islam versus those of the west. Not only are traditional western values in danger, the replacement of western society by Islamic culture and values is a distinct possibility. This will happen step by step, slowly and inexorably as we relinquish control of our democratic and Christian values in the name of tolerance, compromise and politically correctness. Without a renewal of our commitment to Christian values and democratic processes we will slowly be eroded by the passion of radical Islam. This is the real and present war.

There are secret terrorists in America. They preach compromise, political correctness and tolerance exactly when we need firmness and a dedication to our western ideals. They dismiss the first skirmish in the new war in Iraq as useless, incompetent and wrong. They decry the use of force to attack murderers and terrorists. They fail to see that their speech and actions give aid and comfort to the enemy. They fail to see that the real gains of the new war against the west and Christianity is not about territorial gains but rather about the hearts and minds of people. They fail to see that by their actions they are helping this to happen. The war in Iraq is a small, but vitally important and violent symptom of the greater war which is to come. Without complete dedication to democracy, traditional western values and democracy we may well lose the war.

This essay is adapted from “The Secret Terrorists”, by Harold A. Gram, Ph.D., and James P. Gram, Ph.D. Published by Gram Publishing and available from www.gram-books.com

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