Fort Hood and Separation of
Mosque and State
By William J.
Federer
Thanks to liberal judges everywhere, virtually everyone has heard of
the “separation of church and state.” But what about “separation
of mosque and state?”
Maj. Nidal Malik
Hasan, an outspokenly aggressive Muslim, yelled “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “Allah
is great,” before killing 14 (a victim was pregnant) and 
wounding
31 at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5.
He had reportedly praised Muslim suicide bombers on the Internet; refused,
in the name of Islam, to be photographed with female colleagues; listed his
nationality as “Palestinian,” and dressed as a fundamentalist Muslim when
not in uniform. In 2007, his supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
wrote an evaluation that said of Hasan, “The Faculty
has serious concerns about (Capt.) Hasan’s professionalism
and work ethic. ... He demonstrates a pattern of poor judgment and a lack
of professionalism.” As National Public Radio reports, this memo was sent
to officials at Fort Hood when Hasan was transferred
there.
Before we condemn as ‘hateful’ those who dare ask such questions, it
should be determined what is meant by the term “Islam.”
Is Islam 1) a religious system, 2) a political system or 3) a military
system? The answer is all three, as Muhammad was: 1) a religious leader 2)
a political leader and 3) a military leader.
One may ask, what relevance does Muhammad’s life 1,400 years ago have
today? Well, since Muhammad was the best Muslim, those
striving to be better Muslims are trying to imitate him, just as Christians
try to imitate Jesus (WWJD, or What Would Jesus Do?).
Muhammad’s life is called “the Sunna,” which
means “the way” or “the example.” By examining Muhammad’s life, we can gain
insights into his followers’ motivations.
Muhammad was a religious leader in Mecca for 12 years, beginning in
610 A.D., making around 100 converts before being chased out. In 622, he fled
200 miles north to the predominantly Jewish city of Medina. The Jews rejected
Muhammad, so he went into pagan neighborhoods where he made converts, gained
a political following and, in a sense, acted as a community organizer.
With his new following, he went back to the Jews as a candidate of
change, promising to be objective and fair as he was a newcomer to the city’s
heated partisan politics. The Jews made a treaty with him, and Muhammad became
a political leader in Medina. When Muhammad’s followers back in Mecca were
harassed, chased out and their houses confiscated, he permitted them to rob
caravans headed to Mecca in retaliation. The Meccans
sent 1,000 soldiers to protect their caravans. With just 300 warriors, Muhammad
defeated them at the Battle of Badr in 624 A.D.
This amazing victory while being outnumbered three-to-one convinced Muhammad
that he was to be a military leader. He fought in 66 battles and raids in
the next eight years before he died. In Medina, he slew or enslaved all the
Jews in the city.
Muhammad sent his warrior, Abdullah, in 625 A.D., to lie to gain entrance
into the military base of his enemy, Chief Sofyan
ibn Khalid. When Abdullah had 
convinced
Sofyan of his loyalty, Sofyan
let down his guard. When the moment was right, Abdullah beheaded Sofyan.
Since Muhammad was the best Muslim, those wanting to be better Muslims
gravitate to following his example, religiously, politically – and militarily.
Most Americans are not concerned about someone’s religion, or in which
direction someone prays or if someone believes paradise consists of sex with
72 virgins. But Americans do care if their freedom of speech is taken away,
if their wives and daughters are threatened if they don’t wear veils, if nations
such as Israel face extinction or if terrorists attack our military bases
or civilian targets.
It is political/military Islam that concerns Americans, not the religion
of Islam. When a political/military Muslim bows toward Mecca, he is effectively
pledging allegiance to something other than the United States.
For the sake of discussion, let’s go beyond the religion of Islam and,
for the moment, examine political/military Islam. Political/military Islam
has two features: 1) a global conquest aspect and 2) wherever it takes power,
non-Muslims are not treated equally.
The question is, what other political/military systems has America
faced in the last 60 years that had 1) a global conquest aspect and 2) wherever
they took over, non-adherents were treated unequally?
Answer: Germany, Japan and Italy in World War II, and later the Soviet
Union and other communist countries.
Today, Americans have no problem with Arabs, Indonesians, Turks and
Egyptians, but Americans have to identify and resist the political/military
system of Islam, because it has a 1) global conquest aspect and 2) wherever
Islam takes over, non-Muslims are not equal to Muslims. Unlike Nazism and
communism, political/military Islam has been harder to identify and resist
because it can advance under the cloak of religion.
It’s increasingly obvious that some Muslims in America with a political/military
agenda are taking advantage of the freedoms extended to Muslims who are simply
practicing the religion of Islam.
In order to prevent more tragic episodes, such as the killings at Fort
Hood, more attention should be given to the separation of mosque and state.
William J. Federer
is the author of the best-selling book, What
Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A
History of Islam & the United States, as well as America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations
and Treasury of Presidential Quotations.
