How to Radicalize Moderate Muslims?

By William J. Federer

Britain’s Daily Mail, Jan. 29, 2007, reported in the article Multiculturalism drives young Muslims to shun British values: “Multi-culturalism has alienated an entire generation of young Muslims and made them increasingly radical, a report has found. In stark contrast with their parents, growing numbers sympathize with extreme teachings of Islam, with almost four in ten wanting to live under Sharia Law in Britain. The study identifies significant support for wearing the veil in public…and even punishment by death for Muslims who convert to another religion. Most alarmingly, 13 per cent of young Muslims said they ‘admired’ organizations such as Al Qaeda which are prepared to ‘fight the West.’”

Germany’s Spiegel, Dec. 20, 2007, reported in the article Interior Ministry Warns of Radicalization of Muslims: “A new study released by Germany's Interior Ministry has added new fuel to the debate about integration of Muslims in Germany, with the report warning about the danger of radicalization of Muslims. According to the study...40 percent of Muslims surveyed had a ‘fundamentalist orientation’...6 percent of those surveyed were classified as having ‘violent tendencies,’ while 14 percent of respondents had ‘anti-democratic’ tendencies...The report also concluded that religious beliefs are becoming increasingly important for young people.”

Europe is wondering why fundamental Islam is not assimilating, but history may reveal why.

A Little History

The word “Islam” means submission to the will of Allah, and a “Muslim” is someone who has submitted. A “dhimmi” is an inferior non-Muslim coerced to submit.

Mohammed divided the world into two parts: those who have submitted and those yet to submit. He called these two parts the House of Islam and the House of War, pronounced in Arabic “dar al-Islam” and “dar al-harb.”

Within 100 years of Mohammed's death in 632 AD, fundamental Islamic Caliphs with cavalry armed with scimitar swords subjugated vast areas of the world: Arabia, Persia, the Holy Land, North Africa, Spain, Southern France, Sicily, Central Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

General Amr ibn al-As conquered Egypt and General Khalid ibn al-Walid was called the “Drawn Sword of Allah” for being undefeated in nearly 100 battles.

In the next 1000 years, Sultans subdued Indonesia, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Byzantine Empire, Balkans, Armenia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Wallachia, Moldova, Serbia and regions of China, Tibet, Bengal, Mongolia, India, Russia, Hungary and Poland.

In 1529 and 1683, they even attacked Vienna and Austria, with over 100,000 soldiers.

Whereas ‘world peace’ in the West means peaceful coexistence, ‘world peace’ in Islam means the whole world submitting to the will of Allah.

Three Types of Muslims

Since there is no one theological body governing all of Islam, faithful Muslims have developed differing views.

Moderate Muslims think the remaining area of the world will submit to Allah in the distant future, maybe at the Hour of Judgment. Therefore, since it is so far off, it is acceptable to get along with non-Muslims in the present.

Fundamental violent Muslims think the rest of the world is submitting to Allah now and feel it is Islam’s ‘manifest destiny’ to make it happen. They would just as soon fight moderate Muslims, considering them backslidden from obeying the commands and example of Mohammed.

Moderate Muslims are hesitant to speak out against fundamental violent Muslims, as occasionally one does and they are threatened, intimidated, forced to change their names for protection, have ‘fatwas’ put on them and even killed.

So there could, in a sense, be three groups of Muslims: a minority of fundamental violent ones; a majority of moderate ones who are afraid of the fundamental violent ones; and the courageous dead ones who were not afraid of the fundamental violent ones.

The West may be inadvertently fueling the problem by not understanding that fundamental Muslims interpret their ‘politeness’ as weakness or submission.

Textbook Intolerance

Saudi Arabia was pressured to revise its fundamental textbooks supplied to Muslim schools around the world, including the U.S., because they contained intolerance.

The Washington Post, May 21, 2006, published excerpts of these textbooks in an article This is a Saudi textbook (after the intolerance was removed):

4TH GRADE “True belief means...that you hate the polytheists and infidels.”

5TH GRADE “It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in Allah and His Prophet.”

8TH GRADE “The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus.”

9TH GRADE “It is part of Allah’s wisdom that the struggle between the Muslim and the Jews should continue until the hour [of judgment].”

11TH GRADE “Do not yield to Christians and Jews on a narrow road out of honor and respect.”

One may have to read that last line again: “DO NOT YIELD to Christians and Jews on a narrow road out of honor and respect.” In other words, when a Christian or Jew thinks they are being polite by letting a Muslim go first, the fundamental student is taught that they are simply acknowledging Islam’s superiority.

The Dilemma

If the West naively promotes tolerance of a belief system that does not promote tolerance, it is effectively promoting intolerance. If the West refuses to promote an intolerant belief system, it is accused of being intolerant.

Muslims still sees the West, and particularly America, as predominately Judeo-Christian. Newsweek Magazine (Sept. 2005) reported America as 85% Christian (58% Protestant, 22% Catholic, 5% other Christian); 2% Jewish; 1% Atheist; 0.5% Buddhist; 0.5% Hindu; 10% other/non-reporting; and 1% Muslim.

So the question is - what goes through the mind of a moderate Muslim, who thinks the world will submit to Allah in the distant future, when they see this predominately Judeo-Christian nation going to great lengths to tolerate Islam now? For example:

* 1991 - Imam Siraj Wahhaj was the first Muslim to offer prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives.

* 1992 - Imam Warith Deen Mohammed was the first Muslim to offer prayer in the U.S. Senate.

* 1993 - Abdul Rasheed Muhammad became the first Muslim U.S. Army Chaplin (Imam), spiritually instructing about 5,000 Muslim soldiers.

* 1996 - Monje Malak Abd Al-Muta-Ali ibn Noel, Jr. became the First Muslim U.S. Naval Chaplin (Imam).

* 1996 - First Lady Hillary Clinton hosted a White House reception for Muslims on Id al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan.

* 1999 - New York City Police Department appointed its first Muslim Chaplain, Imam Izak-El M. Pasha.

* 1999 - U.S. Post Office published its first stamp honoring a Muslim leader, Malcolm X.

* 2001, August 1 - U.S. Post Office issued the Islamic postage stamp, “Eid Mubarak.”

* 2001, September 11 - Fundamental Muslim terrorist attacks.

* 2001, November 16 - Muslim chaplain of Georgetown University prayed in the U.S. House of Representatives, followed by a dinner hosted by President Bush to honor the occasion.

* 2001, November 19 - President Bush was the first President to invite 50 ambassadors from Islamic countries to celebrate Ramadan, where, for the first time in the White House, Muslims knelt and touched the floor with their foreheads in a formal ceremony.

* 2002, December 5 - President Bush was the first President to take off his shoes to visit an Islamic Center.

* 2005, January 20 - President Bush was the first President to mention the Qur’an in an Inaugural Address.

* 2007, January 4 - Nancy Pelosi stood next to Keith Ellison as he swore upon a Qur’an to become the first Muslim U.S. Congressman.

* 2007, April 5 - Highest member of the U.S. Congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, went to Syria and submitted to Islamic Law by covering her head with a Muslim Hijab (veil).

* 2007, April 17 - President Bush was the first President to appoint a Muslim U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad.

* 2007, June - First Muslim prayer meeting began in the U.S. Capitol building, bowing toward Mecca.

* 2008, January 9 - President Bush was the first President to call for fulfilling the Muslim dream of pressuring Israel to give up sole sovereignty of Jerusalem.

* 2008 - Barak Hussein Obama, the first Presidential candidate whose middle name is that of Mohammed’s grandson, told the French magazine Paris Match, Jan. 31, 2008: “Once I’m elected, I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state.”

So the question again is: What goes through the mind of a moderate Muslim, who thinks the world will submit to Allah in the distant future, when they see this predominately Judeo-Christian nation going to great lengths to tolerate and accommodate Islam now?

Unintended Consequences 

Though America’s actions are done in hopes that tolerance of Islam will result in Muslims being more tolerant of non-Muslims, an unintended consequence is emerging, namely, that these actions are actually radicalizing some moderate Muslims by providing proof that their goal of the world submitting to Allah is happening - not in the distant future - but right now before their eyes! They become persuaded that their long awaited desire of the non-Muslim world “dar al-harb” (House of War) becoming “dar al-Islam” (House of Islam) is imminent.

The excitement many Muslims feel is akin to what Christians and Jews felt in 1948. For centuries, Old Testament verses about Israel being gathered from the nations to their homeland (i.e. Ezekiel 36:24, Isaiah 66:8) were taken figuratively or thought to occur in the distant future. When Israel suddenly became a nation again in 1948, there was great excitement in Jewish and Christian circles at the possibility these Old Testament scriptures had literally been fulfilled.

Islamic excitement can be understood in the context of honor or pride. In a football analogy, if a team has many seasons of poor performance, they are dishonored and made fun of in jokes. Fans are humiliated, embarrassed and become passive. But if the team suddenly has a winning streak and is headed toward the playoffs, fans are filled with pride. They come out of the woodwork, put on the team’s jerseys, fill stadiums, paint their bodies, mascots are lifted high, and when the opposing team fumbles, the cheering mob roars with enthusiasm. They become radicalized.

Like a Nature Channel video of a lion chasing an antelope, when the antelope becomes exhausted, the pursing lion charges harder. This is similar to a Presidential candidate no one takes seriously suddenly winning a few primaries. The increased media coverage energizes supporters to work harder, thus catapulting the candidate to a frontrunner.

Islam’s rapid growth exhilarates Fundamental Muslims. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (Oct. 2005) reported: “Islam is already the fastest-growing religion in Europe. Driven by immigration and high birthrates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the last 30 years. Most demographers forecast a similar or even higher rate of growth in the coming decades.”

Could it be the more the West exhibits hyper-tolerance, the more it turns some moderate Muslims, who believe the world will submit to Allah in the distant future, into fundamental violent Muslims, who view this tolerance as evidence the world is submitting to Allah now?

Though ‘personal’ tolerance in the West is rooted in Judeo-Christian concepts like “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek,” Franklin D. Roosevelt warned regarding “national” tolerance in a Fireside Chat, Dec. 29, 1940: “No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.”

William J. Federer is a nationally-known speaker and best-selling author. His latest book is What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur’an-A History of Islam & the United States. To order the book or learn more about William Federer visit his website at www.AmericanMinute.com or call 1-888-USA-WORD (1-888-872-9673). Mr. Federer is also available for speaking engagements.