Written by Richard Butrick   

After any act of terror committed in the name of Allah, leaders of Western nations rush forward to proclaim that terrorism is un-Islamic and that the millions of Muslims living in their country are peaceful, law abiding citizens who have contributed to the social and economic fabric of their nation. Fine. Let’s not go overboard and brand all Muslims as crypto terrorists. But let’s not go overboard and deny that Islam hatches terrorist, terrorist organizations and terrorist states. Islam is a breeding ground for terrorism and it doesn’t matter what the scholars say about “authentic” Islam condoning or not condoning terrorism. It doesn’t matter what the leaders of Western nations say about not painting Islam with a broad brush. The fact of the matter is that Islam is the Petri dish for mono-maniacal Mullahs and their hatchlings. No amount of word magic - banning the conjunction of ‘Islamic’ with ‘terrorist’ in government training manuals or public discourse - will erase that reality.

Yet it is almost as if our intrepid leaders think that getting the word out about how un-Islamic terrorism is an important step in combating terrorist acts committed in the name of Allah.

Consider, for example the “conservative” Prime Minister, David Cameron, of the UK. Right after the recent murder and beheading of a British solider by two Muslim men, British Prime Minister David Cameron immediately issued this statement: “This was not just an attack on Britain and on the British way of life, it was also a betrayal of Islam and of the Muslim communities who give so much to our country. There is nothing in Islam that justifies this truly dreadful act.”

Nothing in Islam? Un-Islamic?

Bukhari:V4B52N220 "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been made victorious with terror.'"
Qur'an:8:12 "I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle."
Qur'an:8:57 "If you gain mastery over them in battle, inflict such a defeat as would terrorize them, so that they would learn a lesson and be warned."
Ishaq:326 "If you come upon them, deal so forcibly as to terrify those who would follow, that they may be warned. Make a severe example of them by terrorizing Allah's enemies."

Yes. This can all be discounted and explained away by some of the great Western scholars of Islam. Let me take the recently deceased “eminence grise” scholar of Islam and advisor to President Bush, Bernard Lewis:

At no time did the (Muslim) jurist approve of terrorism. Nor indeed is there any evidence of the use of terrorism (in Islamic tradition). Muslims are commanded not to kill women, children, or the aged, not to torture or otherwise ill-treat prisoners, to give fair warning of the opening of hostilities, and to honor agreements. Similarly, the laws of Jihad categorically preclude wanton and indiscriminate slaughter. The warriors in the holy war are urged not to harm non-combatants, women and children, "unless they attack you first." A point on which they insist is the need for a clear declaration of war before beginning hostilities, and for proper warning before resuming hostilities after a truce. What the classical jurists of Islam never remotely considered is the kind of unprovoked, unannounced mass slaughter of uninvolved civil populations that we saw in New York two weeks ago. For this there is no precedent and no authority in Islam.

Other world leaders have their Islamic scholars advising them on the true nature of Islam. But is that the issue when confronted with terrorist activities of self-proclaimed terrorists in the name of
Allah? Is that the issue when the leadership of Iran is under the control of self-proclaimed Islamic supremacist Ayatolla, Khamenei?

Textual exegesis and debate among scholars concerning “authentic” Islam can go on for ever. Certainly one cannot say there is no basis for the practice of terrorism in Islam but, rest assured, clever scholarly legerdemain can claim that the opposite of what is said is really meant.

Forget all of that.

It is not as if dealing with terrorism is a matter of scholarly exegesis of Islamic texts and final resolution as to what constitutes authentic Islam and then convincing the general public not to blame Islamic doctrines for Islamic terrorists.

Terrorist commit their acts of terror in the name of Islam. It is not as if the self-proclaimed Islamic terrorists, terrorist organizations and even states will relent once the word gets out from the scholarly community that terrorism is un-Islamic. We need to dispatch a team of scholars to Iran to convince Khamenei that he has got it wrong?

The reality is that terrorist and terrorist organizations and states proudly proclaim that their acts and strategy of terror are done in the name of Allah. The leaders of the terrorist cohort publicly proclaim that to die in the process of killing kaffirs for the cause of Islam is considered a good deed for believers, and Allah promises many rewards for it. That is what they believe and that is what that counts - not what Edward Said or Bernard Lewis says or what Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s confidant and Islamic handler, whispers in her ear. Taken at face value, the Qur’an repeatedly promises rewards for those who can kill kaffirs (enemies of Allah and His messenger) and dreadful punishing hellfire for those who refuse to kill kaffirs. And that is what they believe and what they publicly proclaim they believe.

All Islamic terrorists arrested by police in Europe – like Mohammed Bouyeri, the murderer of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam, Netherlands -- readily cited the Qur’an as their teacher to commit their crimes. Bouyeri confessed his guilt and showed no remorse for his act of Islamic slaughter. During the court trial he stated to the victim’s mother: “I don’t feel your pain because I was driven by my religious conviction.” He also said, “If I were released and would have the chance to do it again…I would do exactly the same thing.” At another point he said to the victim’s mother, “I have to admit I don’t have sympathy for you. I can’t feel for you because I think you are a non-believer.”

In the train terrorism incident in Madrid, Spain, the terrorists admitted to police that they were inspired by the Qur’an and the doctrines of Islam to rise up against their adopted host country to kill 191 Spanish innocent citizens.

From individuals to organizations like Hamas and al-Shabbab to the upfront hardliner Islamist Salafists and Whahabbis - terrorist acts are proclaimed to be done in the name of Allah and no amount of learned posturing about what is or is not un-Islamic or authentic Islam makes a damn bit of difference in the mounting terrorist attack against the corrupt infidel world.

After 1400 years of nearly unchecked imperial conquest, with a holy book brimming with commandments to kill, mutilate, tax and enslave those it denominates as “infidels,” with hardliner clerics in control of dogma today, and with terrorist regimes intent on bringing the West to its knees - admonishments about how un-Islamic it all is availith not a whit. Call it what it is. Islamic terrorism - terrorism by self-proclaimed Islamic terrorists. That is the first step in confronting the enemy - Sun Tsu.

It is not what the scholars or Western leadership say is the connection between terrorist acts and “authentic” Islam, it is what the terrorists, terrorist organizations and terrorist states say it is. Deal with that.