“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16)
What is ‘Real Islam’? Is it the ‘Religion of Peace?’ Or does it belong to the beheadings of the realm of ISIS and the terror of al-Qaeda? How does the world view this? What do their actions say? What do the Imam’s say? We’ll look.
Judging from his own words, Pope Francis views Islam as a Religion of Peace. In 2014 he said: “Islam is a religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence.”[i] But there’s a bit of some very real evidence with which to contend. On several occasions, ISIS has threatened to murder Assyrian Christians living in Sweden. “Graffiti that read ‘the caliphate is here’ and ‘convert or die’ was painted on two stores owned by Assyrians earlier this week, as was the Arabic letter ‘N,’ short for Nazarene, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reports.” ISIS released a video of 3 Assyrian Christians being murdered in Syria and threatening to kill 150 more.[ii] “Palestinian children are taught that Jews are descended from apes and pigs and must be killed before their ‘filthy feet’ desecrate the holy places of Islam — in the words of President Abbas.”[iii] But we already know the deeds of Islam in action. They give us stabbings in Jerusalem, suicide bombings, 911, the Westgate Mall attack in Kenya that killed nearly 70 people, beheadings and rapes on a grand scale by ISIS thugs and threats to eradicate Israel and on and on. That is there fruit. But what of their words. Are the perpetrators acting within the confines of Islamic thought? For the answer let’s turn to Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ahmad al-Baghdadi, the leading Shia cleric in that country.
In a recent televised interview, the Grand Ayatollah explained the nature and theory and practice of jihad in the Muslim faith. First there is “Defensive Jihad” which calls for the liberation of territories once deemed to Muslim because they were once conquered or influenced by Islam. Raymond Ibrahim explains why certain European countries will always be considered to by rights, belong to Islam. These include “Portugal, Spain, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Armenia, Georgia, Crete, Cyprus, and parts of Russia. The reason these European nations are included in the Islamic State’s map is simple. According to Islamic law, once a country has been conquered (or ‘opened,’ as it’s called in the euphemistic Arabic), it becomes Islamic in perpetuity.”[iv] Next the good-Ayatollah talked about Offensive Jihad. As reported in Front Page Magazine: “If they are people of the book [Jews and Christians] we demand of them the jizya—and if they refuse, then we fight them. That is if he is Christian. He has three choices: either convert to Islam, or, if he refuses and wishes to remain Christian, then pay the jizya [and live according to dhimmi rules].
But if they still refuse—then we fight them, and we abduct their women, and destroy their churches—this is Islam!”
Offensive Jihad then is an ancient duty. 15th Century Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun points out that “jihad is a religious duty because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force.” And when explaining jihad, the Encyclopedia of Islam tells us that the “spread of Islam by arms is a religious duty upon Muslims in general … Jihad must continue to be done until the whole world is under the rule of Islam … Islam must completely be made over before the doctrine of jihad can be eliminated.”[v] So there you have it – in word and in deed – the Religion of Peace.
[i]Pope says Islam is religion of peace, then begs Muslims to condemn violence, Jihad Watch, December 25, 2014
[ii] ISIS to Christians in Sweden: ‘The Caliphate Is Here’, Now ‘Convert or Die’, Town Hall, October 16, 2015
[iii] Richard Kemp, Palestinian and Western Leaders: Blood on Their Hands., Gatestone Institute, October 16, 2015
[iv] Raymond Ibrahim, Muslim History vs Western Fantasy: The ‘Refugee Crisis’ in Context, Islam Translated, October 1, 2015
[v] Raymond Ibrahim, “Abducting Women” and “Destroying Churches” is “Real Islam”—Iraqi Grand Ayatollah,
Front Page Magazine, October 15, 2015
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