Tcobb
I am very familiar with the drive for Islamic theocracy. It has been my nemesis all my life. Jihad is the way to establish that theology, and I have been on the forefront of fighting it. But, in doing so I have taken the time to learn what they really want and why – it helps develop a counter strategy. I have also had multitude of debates and conversations with Moslems, some extremely heated with fanatics, others civilized discussions with moderates who oppose the mayhem disposed by the likes of Bin Laden.

And, yes I am very aware of the see and unseen parts of Jihad. I have always explained to anyone willing to listen that Al-Qaida is much larger than those with guns. In fact those withy guns are not Al-Qaida, but only its soldiers. That is why they often operate under different names depending on the country they are in and the conditions of the fight.

Al-Qaida means “The Foundation” it is made up of millions of people all over the world who have never broken any laws. They lead seemingly normal lives. But, they provide the financial, logistical, moral and technical support for their soldiers. I know you do not want to call them soldiers, but they do not believe in any worldly states or countries. They believe there should only be one state – Islam (Al Umma), and they are its soldiers.

Do not tell that to the brilliant minds formulating our policies in Washington. They do not want to hear it. Maybe they fear it will make their life harder as they will need to deal with a complicated issue, rather than simply scream GANG OF THUGS and send a few bombers somewhere? Burying our heads in the sand does not make this problem go away.

Jihad is often interpreted in the west as “war”. It all aims to an Islamic theocracy, which I fought against for a very long time. But, most of it is not violent and thus remains under the radar screen of those who are supposed to stop it.

The word means “strive”, and it is short for “Strive in the name of God”. Jihad includes a whole lot of things from regular prayer to proper action to charity to preaching, etc. War is only a small part of it. And, then again according to Islamic teachings, war must be fought for a specific objective, only as a last resort and within humane limits. Wanton killings, blowing up schools and pizza parlors, etc. is nowhere to be found in Islamic teachings.

Do not tell that to Bin Laden, Muhammad or any of the myriad of fanatical murderers out there. INTERPRETATION is the key. Muhammad and many others seem to interpret their command to spread Islam as a blanket authority to kill anyone they feel like.

This kind of extreme violence is not new to Islam. It has ebbed and flowed throughout their history. There is always someone whose psychotic thirst for blood will find words to justify his actions. And, there are many words in the Koran, Hadith and Sharia that are open for such interpretation, which is why violence has been so much more related to Islam than other religions.

Recent violence is born out of the Madrasas, which are popping up like weeds all over the world, and with increasing frequency in the West, particularly the US. They are teaching this kind of murderous killing as a means to destabilize society and terrorize people into submission.

Many establishments would not allow organizations speaking against Islamic fundamentalism to meet at their facilities, as they fear the reprisal. Someone in this string said they would rather “give up their freedom than their life”. They are succeeding slowly.

In the US, fundamentalists hold seminars, summer camps for the young, retreats and much more right under our noses, and all in the name of religious freedom. Yet, we cannot have Christmas tree in most places. Religious Freedom!!

You can preach hate and justify killing others, but you cannot preach love or simply say “God Bless You”.

When you have an Arabic sounding name, you tend to see a lot more than others. They will search the internet and phone books for people to target with their information. I get to see a lot of things you guys do not, as they often assume I am a Moslem.

Back in the 80’s I even received a mass mailer to go fight the Jihad in Afghanistan, and found the document extremely curious. Bin Laden was still our friend then, and Washington called him a “Freedom Fighter”, armed his men, trained them and provided all sorts of help against the Soviets. They allowed him to recruit in the US.

The document was a single sheet of paper, with English on one side and Arabic on the other. The English side included the standard jargon about fighting communism, freedom, liberty, etc. The Arabic side however was not close to a direct translation. It specifically called for the creation of an Islamic state. It specified the Soviets as the most immediate enemy, but also spoke of the need to carry on the Jihad against all enemies of God including the US, which they listed as only second to the USSR.

I was not the only one receiving that mailer. The authorities knew about it, at least from me. Yet, Washington continued to provide support for Al-Qaida for several years. They discounted all similar preaching as immaterial. They insisted that the fundamentalists will soon fade away. The called it a “FAD”. I heard that myself as I argued for the need to stop the spread of this type fanatism.

That is quite a deadly fad. It is like calling the plague, just a bug and ignoring it.

Back then, they acted as if it was merely a localized problem. They accused us of exaggerating the problem to get the US involved in the Lebanese war. How much easier would it have been, had the West stood its ground in the 80’s?

It should not be Muhammad that we worry about, but the people financing the organizations that produce his type. They need to be stopped.

Sure, we hear a lot about Iran. But, that is a small fraction of the problem. Sunni radicals are much more prevalent and violent. And, there are a lot more Sunnis in a lot more places.

Will Washington work up the nerve to ask our “friends” the Saudis to stop financing and building new Madrasas and radical mosques? Will Washington shut down the existing ones? Will it curtail fundamentalist teachings in prisons that recruit our vilest elements into their cause?

Check out the following website for real info on what Islamic Fundamentalists are doing in the US. Do this on an empty stomach. http://www.actforamerica.org

Cadmus

Of course neither one of them actually wrote the speech so you can’t accuse him of doning the full Joe Biden and plagiarizing the thing. Obama is as cynical as they come and it’s all “just words” to him. Power is the elixir that makes it worthwhile.

Sorry Wretchard, but you’re mistaken about this. The murder of Tiller will be about words and their consequences. The murder of Long will be just an individual criminal act (not even a tragedy).

No, they always liked the gross stuff it is just that now they can attest to their likes. Sorry, whiskey, you are not being internally consistent.

Mark @ 41: “Christians have a commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” ”

Actually the way I have seen the proper translation is that it is “Thou shalt not murder.” There is a big difference. Context, context. Remember, our society is really the first one where the members did not have to be under constant vigilance to protect their lives. And even that does not hold true in all cases. Oops, I just read R Reilly’s comment but I will let mine stand.

I do agree with you, partly, about Gov. Palin’s comment perhaps limiting her future chances. But, you know, maybe that is something that us libertarian/conservative types have to work on. We must change that narrative so that what she says can be seen in the right light. To quote one of my favorite characters: “I aim to misbehave.”

Just a nitpick, Mark. The commandment, which is Judeo-Christian, and not merely Christian, is “Thou shalt not commit murder.” It was mistranslated either from the original Aramaic to Greek, or Greek to English. There is an important difference between the two phrasings. By its actual meaning, the commandment does not forbid individuals to use deadly force, so does not restrict the right to such use of force to the authorities only. It only forbids the unjustifiable use of deadly force.

If our government would be unwilling to use brain suction as a means of executing terrorists, one wonders why our government would sanction the practice on other occasions.

There, Sarah, just say it (and, sad to say, further sink your political career): ‘J-I-H-A-D-I-S-T.’

Tiller’s killer violates basic Christian teaching. Christians have a commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” Government authorities may decide that war or capital punishment is necessary. In a Christian scheme of things, authority is delegated to Caesar, and in a Christian country that Caesar is accountable to a Christian electorate.

The Muslim killer is following a fundamental strand of Islamic teaching. His actions are not in tension with Islamic teaching.

There’s a difference between the two religions, and Sarah does not do the country much service in equating the Christian and Islamic teachings.

Tiller’s killer is a son-of-a-b***ch, but he’s a John Brown crazy American one, a familiar dog in an old fight. I hate the murder, but I understand the fight, and I get that people are going to get hurt in the rumble. The Muslim dude is bringing a new dog into a new fight. The triangulation is going to be trouble.

“The stories of two very different lives with similar fates crossed through the media’s hands yesterday – both equally important but one lacked the proper attention. The death of 67-year old George Tiller was unacceptable, but equally disgusting was another death that police believe was politically and religiously motivated as well.

William Long died yesterday. The 23-year old Army Recruiter was gunned down by a fanatic; another fellow soldier was wounded in the ambush. The soldiers had just completed their basic training and were talking to potential recruits, just as my son, Track, once did.

Whatever titles we give these murderers, both deserve our attention. Violence like that is no way to solve a political dispute nor a religious one. And the fanatics on all sides do great disservice when they confuse dissension with rage and death.”

~Governor Sarah Palin

Congratulations on your Son’s enlistment and please Thank him for his service to this great country. I was in the USAF for one enlistment and those were four of the best years of my life.

I mentioned something about recruiters being armed on Ace of Spades yesterday. Obviously not in the sense that they are as I know that they’re forbidden from having weapons at the station. However I can’t help but wonder, since we now know that this was a Jihad attack, will that give an individual pause before he goes to work? Especially a combat vet like most recruiters are? I know it sure would me, regardless if this was a “lone wolf.” Who would bet he’ll be the last? What if he’s just the first? My quote on Ace was basically that I would personally be compelled to at least consider taking the risk of losing my career and even my freedom as opposed to losing my life.

#35 Dan

Yes, it’s stunning and since we’re still “in” the moment, what impact this has on those two sides can’t be known. I do agree with the sentiment that the media will treat the two crimes completely differently. “They” are on the side of the deceased doctor, at least philosophically. They are also on the “side” of the jihadi, though they’d never admit it and some probably don’t even realize, literally, why they are. That symmetry in itself blows my mind. I’m not saying that the media supports the murder of the soldier and I don’t support the murder of the doctor. However, though the media’s complicity in weakening this country and diminishing the jihadi threat didn’t directly lead to the death of the young soldier, they are nonetheless still enemy propagandists and agitators, either willingly or naively.