Give Us Liberty

Understanding Islam and its political system

By Stuart Kaufman

January 14, 2016

The dictionary defines a “tautology” as “needless repetition of the same sense in different words. Redundancy.” That is the theme of this month’s column. The use of the term “radical Islam” is a tautology, because Islam is itself, by definition, radical. Islam is an extremist ideology when compared to the norms of western civilization. Those Muslims who adhere to violent jihad (holy war) are far from Islamic outliers. They are practicing Islam as it is meant to be practiced. Just about anyone who would be defined by our media as a “moderate” Muslim, would be considered a heretic by Islamic authorities.

Some of the above terms are cast about so freely that I decided that it would be worthwhile to provide my readers with a primer listing a few definitions and broad concepts that would assist them in wading through the chaff that passes for political analysis.

Islam is primarily a political system, not a religious faith. Also, Sharia is the absolute law to which all Muslims must adhere because it codifies the teachings of Mohammed (the Koran and the Hadith). Understand that Sharia governs every aspect of human life, morning to night, birth to death. There are certain principles under Sharia that are immutable; the call for a world caliphate, under the governance of a Caliph, whose word is supreme under all circumstances, as long as he governs in accordance with the Sharia. The most recent ostensible iteration of this is ISIS (the “Islamic State,” with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the titular Caliph); the requirement that all systems of law must be subordinated to the Sharia.

A Muslim who follows Sharia must, at heart, reject the Constitution; the obligation of every Muslim to pursue jihad (the war against non-believers), if not personally, then by supporting those who do pursue jihad. Jihad can take many forms. There is militant jihad, practiced by ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. And there is stealth jihad, pursuant to which “moderate” Muslims attempt to infiltrate other societies and gradually subvert their practices and customs; the religious obligation of every Muslim is to like to benefit and further the interests of Islam. This obligation, called taqqia is the basis of stealth jihad; the requirement that all non-Muslims living in the Caliphate be put to death unless they either convert to Islam or pay a tribute tax called a jizyah, which will allow them to continue living, at the discretion of the Muslims.

The above principles render Islam completely incompatible with the U.S. Constitution and the proper and accepted order of American society. The fact is that intolerance or worse is the rule not the exception in Muslim society; that is what they have already successfully imported into Europe and are attempting to import here. Undoubtedly, many, if not most, American Muslims do not subscribe to all of these precepts, but the doctrine of taqqiya, described above, makes it impossible to know which of these people is a true, believing Muslim (i.e., an enemy of Western civilization) or a heretic according to the law of Islam.

There is another point that bears mentioning. Islam is a triumphalist doctrine. Believers seek to demonstrate the primacy of Islam in every way possible. One particularly in-your-face method that they use to demonstrate the triumph of Islam over all other religions is by building mosques and monuments directly on ground that is sacred to others. That is why the Al Aqsa Mosque is located on the Temple Mount, the ground that is most sacred to Jews as the site of the first and second Temples. That is why the Hagia Sofia Mosque in Istanbul was located in the former Sancta Sophia Basilica, which was the grandest church in Christendom. That is why an attempt was made to build a 13-story “Islamic Center” around the corner from Ground Zero in New York, on the site of a building that was destroyed when the engine from one of the jets that flew into the World Trade Center fell through its roof.

Peter Hammond, in his book, Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat, has offered an interesting thesis worth investigating in detail. A few edited and condensed comments below are extracted from this volume:

“Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called ‘religious rights.’ When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to ‘the reasonable’ Muslim demands for their ‘religious rights,’ they also get the other components under the table.

“When the Muslim population remains around one percent of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone.

“At two percent and three percent, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

“From five percent on … they will push for the introduction of halal food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply. [This is happening already in the United States.]

“At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. [This has happened in the United Kingdom.]

“When Muslims reach 10 percent of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (for example, think about the car-burnings in Paris). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats [i.e., Mohammed cartoons]:

“After reaching 20 percent, rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning are to be expected [Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan Theater killings in Paris].

“At 40 percent, widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare [India].

“From 60 percent, unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels [e.g., Syria, Sudan, Iraq]

“After 80 percent, state-run ethnic cleansing and genocide will ensue [most Middle Eastern countries with the exception of Israel are at least 90-100 percent Muslim].”

It is my hope that these facts will begin to enlighten you as to the existential danger that Islam presents. These unpalatable facts too often go unsaid because people are afraid to recite them, out of fear of being ostracized for being politically incorrect, or because they are afraid of being physically attacked. 

We must lose that fear. We must recognize that, if it is possible to “reform” Islam, it will not be from the outside. Islam can only become civilized through the efforts of Muslims. If it can be done at all, it will take decades, if not centuries. In the meanwhile, we cannot fight an enemy whom we don’t understand. It is past time for us to stand up against the evils of Islam. Not “radical” Islam … Islam!

Stuart Kaufman is a retired lawyer, investment banker and businessman. He relocated from New York to Mount Pleasant in 2012. A friend recently told him that he has been a South Carolinian all of his life ... but he just didn’t know it.