Islam’s long war

Michael Cappi, who got interested in Islam after being near Ground Zero on 9/11, has written what looks like a must-read book called A Never Ending War. Jamie Glazon interviews Cappi at Front Page Magazine, and Cappi has some very interesting things to say about the nature of Islam, the Koran, War and the West:

If anyone takes the time to read the Qur’an the answer to your question is simple and very obvious. For accuracy purposes I read three versions. They all agree in principle. The Qur’an is nothing like the Bible or New Testament. In no way and certainly not in substance or intent is it similar. By the way any belief system can be perverted to nefarious ends but if the system itself is fundamentally benign or moral any perversion of its philosophical premises can be righted. However, when the belief system itself is corrupt or evil no good can come from it. The Qur’an is just such a belief system: it is a “blueprint for war” and for the subjugation of the non-believer. To the extent it deals with any aspect of morality it is similar to the Judeo-Christian ethic but only if this ethic is not in conflict with the goals of Islam’s spread and world conquest.

The Qur’an is filled with endless directives compelling Muslims to convert, conquer or kill non-believers and to conquer the non-Islamic world. Further Islam dictates that the Qur’an must be accepted and followed literally. Apostasy is heresy and punishable by death. It is this belief system that throughout history has caused Muslims to endlessly embark on conquest. In 1400 years of history the only time the West has been at “peace” with Islam was from the end of the Ottoman Empire early in the 20th Century through the end of World War ll. The reason for Islam’s dormancy during this brief period was the overwhelming superiority of the West technologically and economically along with the impoverished and largely uneducated Islamic world. The difference made it impossible for Islam to confront the West in any way. The vast quantity of money flowing into the Middle East from the sale of oil after WWII has allowed Islam to buy what it needs to once again begin its quest. The modern jihad was born.

The oil money has funded the terrorists, the construction of endless mosques and madrassas- Islamic religious schools – throughout the West. Both school and mosque almost all preach the most extreme form of Islam – Wahhabism. Our “friends” the Saudis fund most of these activities.

Perhaps that was a long-winded way of saying that Islam itself is the enemy, not a number of terrorist groups. Terrorism is one of Islam’s tools but it is the religion of Islam that is at war with us. One might ask how can a religion be at war with countries? The brief answer lies in the fact that there is no separation of church and state in Islam. The law of Islam is Shari’ and it is derived from the Qur’an and Haddiths. Every Muslim country in the world is governed by Shari’a. (Turkey is an exception but even it does not violate Shari’a and in fact is suffering an internal struggle to adopt overthrow its secular laws in favor of Shari’a.)

The central theme found throughout the Qur’an and embodied in Shari’a is a concept of a very definite world order. There can exist, according to Islam only two states in the world: dar al Islam – the realm of Islam and dar al harb – the realm of war. If you are not part of Islam you are at war with Islam. The war can take any form, be it terrorism, subversion or economics.

Through Shari’a the religion of Islam and the state of Islam are one. For a Muslim there is no conflict in this regard. The absolute essential theme of every action of every Islamic nation and practicing Muslim is the establishment of Shari’a in every country in the world just as Mohammed commanded through the Qur’an. This has been a driving force for 1400 years.

And for those of you who insist on linking Mormons to Islamists as a way to defeat Romney’s candidacy — stop that right now.  I’m perfectly willing to concede that Mormon doctrine is strange to the uninitiated and that it is unforgivably derivative to Christian purists.

People also complaint about Mormonism’s subjugation of women, something that is certainly true for the more bizarre polygamists but that is not true for the mainstream Mormons.  (And I say this as someone who knows many, many Mormon families.)  The fact is that the Mormon approach to wives, although wrapped up in an admittedly peculiar afterlife doctrine, is in keeping with all Judeo-Christian religions that see a defined role for the woman that is separate from the man’s, and that gives the man pride of place in the family unit.  The most explicit statement of this doctrine I’ve ever seen was at the very beautiful wedding of super-fundamentalist Christian friends.  There the minister was at pains to remind the new wife that, just as Christ is the head of the Church, so her husband would be the head of the family. He also reminded the new husband, though, that whether in the Christian faith or the Christian family, a head with no body, or a head with a maltreated body, is ineffective at best and meaningless at worst.

To get back to Mitt — his Mormon faith believes in conversion through words and love, not through the sword which is the single most important distinction between it and Islam.  There are a few other important distinctions, though, and we’d do well not to forget them.  Mormonism it does not advocate the overthrow of the US government in favor of a Mormon theocracy; it does not advocate the subjection of Western women; it does not advocate the mass conversion of all Americans; and it does not consider Jews and other Christians to be inferior people who deserve death and slavery.

I could go on and on, but I hope you get my point.  You may not like Mormonism (I don’t myself), but please do not fall in the prejudiced fallacy of likening a solid American Mormon to a wild Islamic fundamentalist.