Islam and Terrorism (4 page)

The radical sees himself as surrounded by infidels who are hostile to him and his message of faith. In their writings radicals put great energy into arguing that nearly all societies are infidel—both those who call themselves Muslims and the others.

Islam means submission, and to be a Muslim you must submit to Islamic law, the radicals say. They repeatedly appeal to this Quranic verse:

But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.

—S
URAH
4:65 (
SEE ALSO
S
URAH
5:44
AND
3:32)

Radicals use these verses to sweepingly condemn nearly the whole world as infidel.

The radicals see Islam as an all-or-nothing faith. An individual must follow all of the regulations of Islam (according to the radical’s understanding), or that person is an infidel. You cannot accept some and reject some. For example, during Muhammad’s time a group of new Muslim converts wanted to keep charging interest (
usury
) for loans, even though the Quran prohibited it. At this point Muhammad received the following revelation from Allah: “The Exalted said ‘O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers. If ye do it not, Take notice of war from Allah and His Messenger’” (Surah 2:278).

In other words, Allah required Muhammad to go to war against those who would not give up
usury
(charging interest), even though they were following other teachings of Islam. This is known in Islamic teaching as “accepting some, rejecting some.” The Quran says:

Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His apostles and (those who) desire to make a distinction between Allah and His apostles and say: We believe in some and disbelieve in others, and desire to take a course between (this and) that. These it is that are truly the unbelievers, and we have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement.

—S
URAH
4:150–151, S
HAKIR
T
RANSLATION

Another example of this philosophy is when Abu Bakr took charge after Muhammad’s death, a group of new Muslim converts refused to continue to pay the tax to the Islamic state. Abu Bakr sent his best general to fight them, and he killed eighty thousand people in three bloody months. Because Abu Bakr was the closest companion to Muhammad, this proves to the radicals that there must be no tolerance of partial obedience.

In conclusion, the radical is convinced that he is surrounded by infidels who must be fought to preserve Islam. His ultimate goal is to restore the caliphate: “Islam must rule.” This is the focus of the third pillar, which you will read next.

P
ILLAR
3: I
SLAM
M
UST
R
ULE

Westerners see the news about bombings and terrorism in Muslim nations and in the West. Many times they throw up their hands in frustration and ask, “What do these people want? What are they trying to get?”

The answer is this: these terrorists want the caliphate back, and they ultimately want Islam to rule the entire world.

Muslims in general are very proud of the history of the caliphate in Islam. For thirteen centuries the caliphate united Muslim lands both spiritually and politically.

Turkey’s action to end the caliphate in 1924 caused great emotional pain to Muslim individuals. The radical sees the establishment of the caliphate as a matter of submission to
Allah. The Quran says that the caliphate is promised to the believers (Muslims):

Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them . . .

—S
URAH
24:55, A
LI TRANSLATION

The verse goes on to describe the characteristics of the caliphate—that it will make it easy for Muslims to practice their religion and will give them security in place of fear.

He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me.

Islam is a religion and a state. After Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina, he set up a political government, established laws, and established Islam as a system of belief that covers every aspect of life.

S
TRATEGY TO
E
STABLISH
G
LOBAL
I
SLAMIC
A
UTHORITY

The radical plans to restore the caliphate by accomplishing three goals:

1.   Establish Islamic states.

2.   Join these states together under the caliphate.

3.   Use the caliphate to submit the entire world to Islamic authority.

To a committed radical who is fighting for his faith, the caliphate means everything and nationality means nothing. His nationality is now belief in Islam.

P
ILLAR
4: J
IHAD
I
S THE
O
NLY
W
AY TO
W
IN

The Islamic radical is a fundamentalist—he wants to practice Islam the way Muhammad practiced Islam. So his definition of jihad is based on Muhammad’s—both in word and by example.

The Quran contains a tremendous amount of teaching about jihad. In fact, I estimate that 60 percent of the Quran is related to the concept of jihad.

Radicals believe non-Muslims who oppress them cause all their problems. Therefore, they readily identify with verses such as these:

And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.”

—S
URAH
4:75

March forth, whether you are light (being healthy, young and wealthy) or heavy (being ill, old and poor), strive hard with your wealth and your lives in the Cause of Allah. This is better for you, if you but knew.

—S
URAH
9:41

O you who believe! What (excuse) have you that when it is said to you: Go forth in Allah’s way, you should incline heavily to earth; are you contented with this world’s life instead of the hereafter? But the provision of this world’s life compared with the hereafter is but little. If you do not go forth, He will chastise you with a painful chastisement and bring in your place a people other than you, and you will do Him no harm; and Allah has power over all things.

—S
URAH
9:38–39, S
HAKIR
T
RANSLATION

This verse was revealed while Muhammad was preparing his people to go fight in the Campaign of Tabuk. Some Muslims hesitated to go and fight, so this verse warned them that Allah would punish the ones who refused to go and replace them with better people.

In battle, smite the necks

The world was horrified by videotapes of beheadings in Iraq. People wondered why religious radicals would commit this grisly act. The answer is in the Quran:

Therefore, when you meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; at length, when you have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them) . . .

—S
URAH
47:4, A
LI TRANSLATION

P
ILLAR
5: F
AITH
I
S THE
R
EASON

You will never understand the mind of the Muslim terrorist unless you accept that their foremost motivation is faith. In secular Western society a discussion of a person’s
faith is practically considered inappropriate and, in certain circumstances, illegal. But it is ridiculous to try to understand a Muslim radical unless you fully accept that he is acting on the basis of faith.

I run the risk of being accused of oversimplifying the motives of radicals as exclusively based on faith. So I will acknowledge that circumstances in addition to faith can push a person toward radicalism. In other words, if a person is unemployed and suffering under a corrupt government that claims to be Islamic, radicalism will look like the solution to his problems. But these external motives alone will not grip his heart to the point that he would strap on a bomb and blow himself up in the name of the cause. It is the faith factor.

As radical groups are subdued or broken up, it is the faith factor that germinates new groups all across the Islamic world. To help you understand their rationale, here are the primary principles that underlie their actions.

I
F
Y
OU
B
ELIEVE IN
A
LLAH
, Y
OU
W
ILL
O
BEY

The Quran says, “Therefore fear not men, but fear Me” (Surah 5:44, A
LI TRANSLATION
). If you believe in Allah, then you are obligated to follow the command of jihad, the radicals say, even if it means jail, loss of your job, or worse. If you don’t follow the commands of Allah, then you don’t believe in Allah.

I
F
Y
OU
B
ELIEVE IN
F
ATE
, Y
OU
W
ILL
O
BEY

One of the most important Islamic teachings is about fate. Islam teaches that Allah controls a person’s fate—whether
a person experiences good or evil and the hour of death. No amount of human effort can change fate. The Quran says, “No person can ever die except by Allah’s Leave and at an appointed term” (Surah 3:145). Therefore, say the radicals, death is nothing to fear because it is under Allah’s control.

I
F
Y
OU
B
ELIEVE IN
J
UDGMENT
, Y
OU
W
ILL
O
BEY

Radicals use a Muslim’s fear of the Last Day, or judgment, as a very effective motivation for jihad. According to Islamic theology, judgment is followed by “eternal fire or eternal bliss.” If a Muslim believes hell is as bad Allah says it is, radicals argue, then the Muslim will do anything the Quran commands in order to avoid going to hell.

I
F
Y
OU
A
RE
M
ARTYRED
, Y
OU
W
ILL
W
IN
P
ARADISE

Martyrdom is reassurance; the ultimate sacrifice receives the ultimate reward. Islam teaches that on Judgment Day a man’s deeds are weighed, and then Allah decides if he may enter Paradise. If you live as an infidel, you may be sure of going to hell, but if you live the best Muslim life you possibly can, you still have no guarantee of entering Paradise, as the quote from the Quran explained. There is only one guarantee—martyrdom.