God and Government: Islam and West Are Incompatible -- By Amil Imani
Western policymakers and elites in government, academia, and the media suffer from an extraordinary ignorance about the true nature of Islam. This ignorance was on display following the murder of thirteen American troops at Fort Hood, Texas by Nidal Hasan, a devout Muslim who held the rank of Major in the U.S. Army. Hasan is said to have shouted "God is Great" in Arabic as he gunned down his unarmed fellow troops.
Gen. George Casey opined that if Hasan's actions caused "diversity" in the Army to suffer, it would be a greater tragedy than the murders of his troops. President Obama stated that "no faith" justifies such actions. And Bob Schieffer of CBS News wondered if Hasan was merely a "nut," just like many of the "nuts" within Christianity.
These comments reflect a belief that Islam should be treated no differently from the various sects within Christianity. Some people go to Baptist churches, some attend Lutheran services, some attend Catholic mass, some play golf -- and some attend their local mosque. After all, we have "freedom of religion" guaranteed by the Constitution, don't we? Doesn't that extend to Islam as well?
The truth is that the Constitution's treatment of religion is premised upon concepts originating from within Christianity that are irreconcilable with the Islamic worldview. The Constitution prevents the "establishment" of a state religion. But the very idea that the state cannot or should not establish a religion is unique to Christianity. There is no parallel for this idea in Islam. The Constitution also prevents Congress from impeding the "free exercise" of religion. But the "free exercise" clause also assumes compatibility with Christian styles of worship -- for instance, one cannot engage in ritualistic human sacrifice to appease the gods and successfully claim immunity under the free-exercise clause.
Any honest evaluation of the history of Islam will indicate that it cannot be pigeonholed as if it were merely a different sect that utilizes a crescent rather than a cross as a symbol. Islam is fundamentally incompatible with Western attitudes toward religion and society.
Jesus, the founder of Christianity, explicitly rejected political and military methods to spread his religion. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was not only a prophet, but a warrior and political leader as well. Christianity was formulated as a condition of conscience outside the realm of the state and of politics, while Islam is inherently political and spiritual.
Jesus was born a Jew in Roman-occupied Judea. The Jews understood Israel to be the Promised Land, according to the terms of the Mosaic Covenant in Exodus. They interpreted Jewish history as follows: when in violation of the Covenant, God punished the nation of Israel by sending its enemies to conquer it; conversely, when Israel complied with the terms of the Covenant, God allowed Israel to defeat its enemies and reclaim political control of the Promised Land. During the life of Jesus, the Jews were waiting for God to send a leader to militarily defeat the Roman conquerors.
Jesus rejected this interpretation. He promoted the idea of a New Covenant that included the possibility of salvation for the Roman occupiers. This was a blasphemy of the Jewish religion, so Jesus was executed as a heretic.
Jesus rejected political and military methods because he knew they would be ineffective against the Romans. His tactic was to preach and proselytize, not to seek political power. Rather than choose either religion or politics, Jesus instructed the Jews to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto to God what is God's." When the Romans came to arrest him, he instructed his disciples to put away their swords.
From a tactical perspective, history proved Jesus correct. The Jews revolted against the Romans twice, and were crushed both times. After the second revolt, the Jews were exiled by the Romans, and many remained in exile until the founding of modern Israel in 1948.
Meanwhile, Christianity, utilizing Jesus's tactic of proselytizing, developed as a social system parallel to but independent of political authority. In the fourth century, Augustine theorized that politics was the "City of Man" and religion was the "City of God" -- two entirely independent realms with different goals and purposes. Augustine argued that Rome was merely a "great robbery." Christians should reject the goals of the "earthly city" -- power, money, and political overlordship. In Augustine's view, the only permissible reason for Christians to go to war or to kill was self-defense against an aggressive enemy.
It is from Augustine's distinction between the City of God and the City of Man that the West came to uphold "freedom of religion" apart from the control of the state.
The origins of Islam could not be more different. Its history is filled with political bloodletting and violence. Islam was founded in the seventh century when Mohammed believed that he was instructed by the angel Gabriel to convert the pagan Arabs and remedy the "errors" of Christianity and Judaism. Mohammed's preaching failed to make converts, and he was exiled from Mecca. He fled to Medina, raised an army, and returned to Mecca to convert the Meccans by force. Quite unlike Jesus, Mohammed then established himself as a political ruler. Indeed, the term "Islam" is Arabic for "submission."
Upon Mohammed's death, fitna, or civil war for control of Islam, erupted between his son-in-law Ali and Ali's rival Uthman. Both factions formed armies and engaged in open warfare and political assassination. Both Uthman and Ali were assassinated, Ali's son Hasan was poisoned, and Hasan's brother Hussein died in battle. The feud created the split between the Sunni and the Shiite factions that exists to this day. ( THE REST ) http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/god_and_government_islam_and_w.html
Posted by Storagemanager at 11/21/2009 9:30 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Islam rage hate Texas jihad Obama
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Islam rage hate Texas jihad Obama
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