Part IV. Abul Kasem: An Insider’s View of ‘Moderate’ Muslims’ (cont’d)

By Paul Eidelberg, President, Israel-America Renaissance Institute

To have moderate Muslims [says Kasem], there must be moderate Islam….For the existence of moderate Muslims, there must be a ‘moderate’ Qur’an, since the life force of Islam is the Qur’an. If the Qur’an cannot be ‘moderated’ (i.e., a moderate Qur’an) then how is it possible to have a moderate Islam, and consequently moderate Muslims? What we perceive as the so-called moderate Muslims may be classified into three groups:

? The first group, the vast majority, probably around 90% of global Muslims, are Muslims by name only. They have no idea about the contents of the [core scriptures of the] Qur’an, Hadith, and Sharia. It is a misnomer to term them as moderate Muslims. Strictly speaking, if we go by the Qur’an, they are not Muslims at all. According to Sharia law, they might even be sentenced to death for not adhering strictly to Islam.

? The second group, I would call them “pretend” Muslims. They are probably around 5% of all Muslims. They occasionally go to mosques on Fridays and … and sometimes pray and fast at home. These Muslims are also hypocrites. When the dark side of Islam is illustrated to them, they are disturbed, become defensive and justify the evil nature of Islam by alluding to historical contexts. This is simply nonsense, as the Qur’anic verses are valid for eternity and must be acted upon by Muslims at all times. These so-called moderate Muslims discover in Islam what Islam is not meant to be. They resort to twisted meanings of those numerous brutal verses, and attempt to transform them into loving and kissing ones. How can we call this group of Muslims moderate?

? The third group (another 4% of Muslims) is the Islamists who have no guts to blow themselves up but resort to intellectual Jihad and academic and philosophical terrorism. They are the spiritual foundations of the real Islamist terrorists. They regularly visit mosques, organize Islamic seminars, and send e-mails to gullible non-believers and design Islamic websites. Many of them are Imams in mosques. They are diehard ritualists—never missing a single prayer, always patronizing halal eateries (while living in infidel lands), soliciting funds and Zakat (Islamic alms) money to finance Jihad in Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir and so on. They exhort other not-so-good Muslims to hate the non-Muslims. So, you see, there is no such true thing as moderate Muslims.

These fake ‘moderate’ Muslims are similar to the spectators in a stadium. They cheer (in silence) the jihadists who are combating the infidels in the arena. Therefore, it is foolhardy to depend upon these ‘moderate’ Muslims to reform and regain Islam from the hands of the extremists. ‘Moderate’ Muslims and the jihadists (extremists) are just the two faces of the same coin. They are the same—one group is in silent actions, the other group is in violent actions.

Therefore, I regret to say that your use of the ‘moderate’ Muslims to develop a counter-jihad approach is truly misplaced. The current policies of the Western governments to appease the ‘moderate’ Muslims, extolling Islam as a religion of ‘peace,’ and hunting the jihadists to stop Islamist terrorism is just wrong. This policy is bound to fail.

So long as the Muslims are energized, motivated, and instructed according to the core scriptures of Islam, there will be no end to Islamist terrorism. Please remember that terrorism is just a tactic employed by the jihadists to advance their agenda, which is to conquer the globe and enforce Islamic laws. You might laugh or pooh-pooh such a chutzpah of the Islamists. But bear in mind that Islamists have unshakeable belief in the ultimate victory of Islam through terror. They have already conquered the Muslim world and now want to conquer the West. It is because Muhammad himself has declared that Islam will be victorious through terror and plunder (see Bukhari Hadis, 1.7.331).

FP: Can you expand a bit on the theological roots of Islamist terrorism?

Kasem: I have already mentioned that Islamist terrorism is the direct application of the Qur’an, Sunna, Hadith, and Sharia. Let me demonstrate from the Qur’an that Islamist terrorism is rooted in the theology of Islam.

Islam is at perpetual war with the non-Islamic world (the Qur’an 4:76, 60:4). Those who read the Qur’an and Hadiths (Muhammad’s deeds and traditions) and want to emulate them cannot but be terrorists. They must hate the non-Muslims, humiliate them, distrust them, deceive them at every opportunity, and kill them when the situation is appropriate. This is the stipulation of the central doctrine of Islam. A Muslim who does not emulate this cardinal premise of Islam is not a Muslim at all. The Qur’an says that Allah has purchased the lives of Muslims (9:111-112) in exchange for booty and Paradise so that they are obliged to sacrifice their lives or become martyrs (like suicide bombers) when they go on a killing mission (5:94). This is a business contract with Allah. Allah strictly binds all Muslims with this contract. That is why the Qur’an stands solidly behind the Islamist terrorists. They are simply fulfilling their contract with Allah. These terrorists are not an aberration of Islam. They are, in reality, Islam as it was during Muhammad’s time, and as it should be, and not what the not-so-good Muslims think Islam to be—a religion of peace and unbound love for humanity.

Killing, assassination, terrorism and bloodshed are the DNA codes of Islam. Even if the whole world converts to Islam, the true Muslims will continue perpetrating bloodshed. If they don’t get the blood of infidels, they kill one another. This is the legacy of 1,400 years of Islamic rule. The best example is Pakistan, (or Iraq) where 97% of the population is Muslim, yet there is bloodshed of Muslims by Muslims. Look at the recent assassination of Bhutto. Previous to that, a Pakistani suicide bomber killed at least fifty Muslim (worshippers) while they were praying in a mosque on the occasion of [the festivity of] Eid-ul-Azha. This is the stark proof that violence and killing are inseparable from Islam.

Terrified, many non-Muslims often ask: what do the Islamist terrorists want? They want to convert the entire world into an Islamic Paradise. There is no surprise in this. During his days, Muhammad had asked the Muslims to terrorize the world until Islam rules supreme (Quran 3:85, 5:3, 5:33). Qur’an exhorts the Muslims to keep fighting (with swords, not spiritually) until they perfect the world through Islamic purification and domination (Qur’an 9:5, 9:29, and 9:33). In reality, it means imposing on the non-Muslims (or the non-Arabs) the Arabic and Bedouin culture (also known as Islam) by force, murder and terrorism. Even Caliph Umar had admitted that Bedouins are the raw materials of Islam (reference: History of the Arabs by Phillip K. Hitti).

FP: How do we most effectively combat this threat?

Kasem: Islamic terrorism is not going to end soon—not at least before a few more 9/11s, Madrids, Balis, [London] 7/7s take place. Its demise will depend upon how resolute the world becomes in the coming days. As long as there are PC politicians, and as long as the world depends upon the so-called moderate Muslims to extinguish this menace, nothing will happen, rest assured on this.

The world must not follow this path of least resistance. This method will only ensure the defeat in the hands of the clever and cunning Islamist terrorists and their supporters, the so-called moderate Muslims. America, UK, Australia, the forefront nations in the fight against terror, have limited resources. They are spending billions of dollars to face this challenge. This cannot go on forever. These nations will soon get tired, their money exhausted, their population will soon rebel and refuse to send their children to join the army and be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for a cause that has very little to do with their lives. Soon, there will be loud voices in these nations to pull out. The Islamists are just waiting for this moment. Their war on the unbelievers cost them next to nothing.

Mind you, life is so cheap in Islam. With one suicide bomber they kill hundreds and thousands of people. Do your math and you will realize why the Islamists are capable of carrying out their act for decades, if not for centuries. We must recognize that the real enemy is not the terrorists. Rather, it is Islam. As long as the world does not internalize and comprehend this truth, and as long as wrong PC policies are pursued, this war will continue and the defeat of the non-believers is guaranteed.

Just think if we could convince the suicide bombers that there are no 72 virgins waiting in Paradise to provide them with unlimited sexual orgy. Just think if we could convince the Islamists that Islam is barbaric, false, and imperialistic.

The bottom line is: The focus of war should be shifted from Iraq or Afghanistan to Islam. No doubt, it is necessary to fight this war militarily, but it should also be fought doctrinally. It is an ideological war. We need to expose Islam to the world. This will force the so-called vast majority of the not-so-good Muslims to discard, at least the violent part of it. They would remain contented with the ritual part of Islam, like prayer, fasting etc. These rituals do not harm others. When this happens, the Jihadists will find it extremely difficult to recruit new suicide bombers and Islamist killers. That is how Islamist terrorism should be fought. It will take time.

FP [Jamie Glazer]: Quite a task we have in front of us. Abul Kasem, thank you for joining us and thank you for your courage to tell the truth.

Kasem: Thank you.