<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; Moderate</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/tag/moderate/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com</link>
	<description></description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2014 07:56:08 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	
	<item>
		<title>‘Muslim Reformers’: Forever Talking the Talk, Never Walking the Walk</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2014 05:29:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sisi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=247569</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Al-Azhar won’t denounce ISIS as “un-Islamic.”]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CP-BTV-21.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-247529" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CP-BTV-21-432x350.jpg" alt="CP-BTV-21" width="316" height="256" /></a>Due to its rarity, it’s always notable whenever a top Islamic leader publicly acknowledges the threat of Islamic radicalism and terror.   And yet, such denunciations never seem to go beyond words—and sometimes not even that.</p>
<p>Thus, in “<a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/15286/bahrain-islamists"><span style="color: #0433ff;">An Arab Prince Denounces Islamism</span></a>,” Daniel Pipes highlights “a remarkable but thus-far unnoticed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIBgsazvaOE"><span style="color: #0433ff;">address</span></a> on Dec. 5” by Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the crown prince of Bahrain.  In his address, the prince “candidly analyzed the Islamist enemy and suggested important ways to fight it.”</p>
<p>After discussing the positive aspects of this speech, Pipes remarks:</p>
<blockquote><p>So far, perfect. But Salman avoids the bitter reality that the “twisted” and “barbaric” ideology he describes is specifically Islamic and the theocrats are all Muslim: “this war that we are engaged in cannot be against Islam, … Christianity, … Judaism, … Buddhism.” So, when naming this ideology, Salman dithers and generalizes. He proffers an inept neologism (“theo-crism”), then harkens back to World War II for “fascist theocracy.” He implicitly rejects “Islamism,” saying he does not want a “debate about certain political parties, whether they’re Islamist or not.”</p></blockquote>
<p>In fact, this sort of equivocation is typical of ostensibly moderate leaders and institutions throughout the Islamic world.  Consider Egypt.   One of the most appealing characteristics of President Sisi has been his outspokenness concerning the need for a more modern, moderate Islam.<b> </b></p>
<p>For example, months before Sisi was elected president, I <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/gen-sisi-religious-discourse-greatest-challenge-facing-egypt/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">reported/translated</span></a> the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>During his recent speech at the Dept. of Moral Affairs for the Armed Forces [in January 2014], Gen. Abdul Fateh al-Sisi—the man who ousted former President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood in response to the June Revolution and who is seen as the nation’s de facto ruler—declared that “Religious discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people, and pointed to the need for a new vision and a modern, comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam—rather than relying on a discourse that has not changed for 800 years.”</p>
<p>Sisi further “called on all who follow the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world, after Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam.”</p></blockquote>
<p>As with the pronunciations of Bahrain’s crown prince, so far so good.  Yet what has Sisi actually <i>done</i> about renewing Islamic discourse since becoming president?  “Absolutely nothing,” says one prominent Egyptian journalist.  Speaking recently on his popular TV show, Ibrahim Eissa said:</p>
<blockquote><p>What is the position of the Egyptian government concerning religious radicalization among the religious parties?  And now I specifically refer to the position of President Sisi concerning this matter.  Five months have passed since he became president, after his amazing showing at elections.  Okay: the president has, more than once, indicated the need for a renewal of religious discourse….  But he has not done a single thing, President Sisi, to renew religious discourse.  Nothing at all.</p></blockquote>
<p>Actually, if anything, it appears the Sisi government has done the reverse, for instance, allowing Salafis—those Egyptian Muslims most similar in ideology to ISIS—<a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/salafis-return-to-egypts-mosques-and-media/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">to return to the podium</span></a>.  One political activist called this move</p>
<blockquote><p>a major setback that will make it that much harder for the government to combat reactionary thinking—and this, after the Egyptian public had made great strides against such thinking….  Permitting the Salafi sheikhs to ascend to the pulpits again revives the bitter experiences of confronting this form of thinking, bringing us back to square one.</p></blockquote>
<p>Individuals aside, what about important Islamic institutions that ostensibly condemn terrorism?  How influential are they?  This last December 5, the embassy of Egypt issued a press release <a href="http://www.egyptembassy.net/news/al-azhar-conference-calls-for-muslims-to-combat-extremist-ideology/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">saying</span></a>,</p>
<blockquote><p>Al-Azhar, the oldest center for Islamic learning, pressed for Muslims to combat extremist ideology at an international conference [possibly the same one that the crown prince of Bahrain spoke at] ….  Delegitimizing the ideology of ISIS is an important pillar of the global effort to combat the group. Egypt’s religious leaders play a critical role in that effort.</p></blockquote>
<p>Good words.  Yet, for all its talk about “combatting extremist ideology,” Al Azhar University—perhaps Islam’s most authoritative voice—will <a href="http://www.vetogate.com/1374000"><span style="color: #0433ff;">not</span></a> even denounce the Islamic State as “un-Islamic.”</p>
<p>When pressed on it, an Al Azhar spokesman, Abbas Shouman, recently said: “As an official entity, Al Azhar has never in all its history proclaimed anyone or any organization as un-Islamic …. [B]eing occupied by this question will not lead to anything,” because “Al Azhar <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/the-islamic-state-and-islam/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">will not judge ISIS or its Islam as un-Islamic</span></a>, for it is not its right, neither concerning ISIS nor anyone else.”</p>
<p>But, as one human rights advocate in Egypt was quick to <a href="http://www.light-dark.net/mobile/post.php?id=198953"><span style="color: #0433ff;">quip</span></a>: “What, didn’t the ulema and sheikhs of Al Azhar denounce as un-Islamic Naguib Mahfouz and Farag Foda and others from among the intellectuals and writers whose activities were stopped and some of whom were assassinated due to Al Azhar’s position?”</p>
<p>Indeed, Farag Foda was a prominent Egyptian professor, writer, and human rights activist who was assassinated after being denounced by none other than Al Azhar.  And although Naguib Mahfouz won the Noble Prize for Literature, his literature was denounced by Al Azhar and, predictably, he was stabbed in the neck with a knife when he was 82-years-old outside his home.</p>
<p>What accounts for this stark double standard—that Al Azhar will vent against secular/humanist Muslims, thus inciting the mob against them, while refusing to denounce the cancerous Islamic State?  Or that it will denounce terrorism, but praise jihad (as in <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/jihad-vs-terrorism-listen-to-what-islams-authorities-say/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">this bizarre article full of twisted logic and semantic quibbling</span></a>)?</p>
<p>Muhammad Abdullah Nasr, <a href="http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject_ar.aspx?id=58518"><span style="color: #0433ff;">coordinator</span></a> of a group of former Al Azhar graduates who support a civil government, explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>The Islamic State can never denounce the Islamic State as un-Islamic.   For the Islamic State is the working, postgraduate project for graduates from Al Azhar.  And after this statement [refusing to denounce IS as “un-Islamic”], Al Azhar’s mask has fallen….  Everything that the Islamic State does exists in the curriculum of Al Azhar and is taught to students, including apostasy [punishing Muslims who leave Islam], <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islamic-jizya-protection-from-whom/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">payment of jizya</span></a>, <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/muhammad-and-islams-sex-slaves/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">sex slaves</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/muslims-sexually-enslaving-children-a-global-phenomenon/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">captivity of women</span></a>.</p></blockquote>
<p>At this late point in the game—as I write, Islamic jihadis are terrorizing Sydney, Australia—all purported Muslim moderates and reformers, individuals and organizations, need to understand—or rather, be made to understand by their Western counterparts—that talking the talk is no longer enough: they must walk the walk before they can ever be taken seriously.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>.</b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/muslim-reformers-forever-talking-the-talk-never-walking-the-walk-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Congressman’s Idea: Hey, Let’s Combat the Islamic State’s Ideology</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/robert-spencer/rep-sherman-combat-isis-with-ideology/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=rep-sherman-combat-isis-with-ideology</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/robert-spencer/rep-sherman-combat-isis-with-ideology/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2014 05:41:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Spencer]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brad Sherman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamic state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[koran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=246779</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brad Sherman (D-CA) is sure that Muslim scholars can refute the caliph.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/120717_brad_sherman_ap_328.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-246791" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/120717_brad_sherman_ap_328.jpg" alt="Black and White Gala for Barack Obama" width="320" height="259" /></a>Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/brad-sherman-state-dept-should-hire-islamic-scholars-to-combat-is-ideology/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">had a great idea</span></a> Tuesday: the U.S. needs to combat the Islamic State not just militarily, but ideologically. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQl819bFR9A"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Speaking at a congressional hearing</span></a>, he said: “We have the outreach–what we don’t have is the research. Keep in mind, the State Department has a thousand lawyers. I think they ought to hire one or two experts in Islamic jurisprudence, whether they be practicing Muslims or others who have the expertise.” He added: “It’s not enough to say, ‘look at what ISIS did, they beheaded somebody, it’s evil.’”</p>
<p>Instead, Sherman said, the jihadis had to be refuted on Islamic grounds. “One must be able to turn to the Quran, to turn to the Hadith and show how ISIS is making a mockery of a great world religion,” he explained. “You cannot appeal to Islamic jurists unless you can cite Hadith, unless you can cite Quran, unless you can do all the things you would do in working before any other jurists anywhere in the world. You need legal expertise to get the Islamic legal scholars to be on our side.”</p>
<p>Sherman has a point. For years now, I have been calling on self-proclaimed moderate Muslims in the West to produce an interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah that would refute Islamic jihadists’ exegesis and blunt their ability to make recruits among Muslims by convincing them that groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State were the authentic exponents of Islamic teaching. Muslim spokesmen have responded to this call with ridicule, scorn, and exegeses of the Qur’an that were riddled with half-truths and telling omissions, such that it was hard to escape the impression that they were produced in order to reassure credulous infidels, rather than to convince jihadis to lay down their arms.</p>
<p>One notorious example of these deceptive pieces came last September, when the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Fiqh Council of North America unveiled with great fanfare what they presented as a refutation of the religious ideology of the Islamic State, in the form of a lengthy “open letter” (not, interestingly enough, a fatwa) addressed to the Islamic State’s caliph Ibrahim, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.</p>
<p>If Sherman knows about this “open letter,” he probably believes that it does what he wants, and shows “how ISIS is making a mockery of a great world religion.” He would probably be pleased if the State Department hired some of its signatories to wage the ideological battle against the Islamic State. State could offer contracts to Professor Mustafa Abu Sway, the integral professorial chair for the Study of Imam Ghazali’s Work, Jerusalem — and a <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2004/01/hamas-in-the-florida-classroom"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Hamas activist</span></a>; Dr. Jamal Badawi, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror funding case; Mustafa Ceric, former grand mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who has <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/08/bosnias-muslim-spiritual-leader-calls-for-incorporation-of-sharia-into-bosnian-constitution"><span style="color: #0433ff;">called for Sharia in Bosnia</span></a>; Professor Caner Dagli, a venomously hateful Islamic apologist at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, who <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/01/why-cant-muslims-debate-again"><span style="color: #0433ff;">traffics in Nazi imagery about “unclean” unbelievers</span></a>; Ali Gomaa, former grand mufti of Egypt, who <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2007/07/egypts-top-cleric-denies-saying-that-muslims-could-leave-islam-without-punishment"><span style="color: #0433ff;">endorses wife-beating, Hizballah, and the punishment of apostates from Islam</span></a>; Hamza Yusuf Hanson, founder and director of Zaytuna College, USA, who <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2007/12/hamza-yusuf-muhammad-teddy-bear-madness-was-our-fault"><span style="color: #0433ff;">blamed the West for Muslim riots over a teddy bear named Muhammad</span></a>; Ed Husain, senior fellow in Middle Eastern Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, who <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/09/uk-moderate-muslim-ed-husain-seizing-jihadis-passports-would-only-increase-jihad-threat"><span style="color: #0433ff;">recently claimed</span></a> that seizing British jihadis’ passports so that they couldn’t return to the UK from the Islamic State would only create more jihadis; Muhammad Tahir Al-Qadri, founder of Minhaj-ul-Qur’an International, Pakistan, who drafted Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy law and <a href="http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/12/24/the-hypocrisy-of-the-fatwa-against-terrorism/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">issued his own disingenuous and hypocritical Fatwa Against Terrorism</span></a>; and Muzammil Siddiqi, chairman of the Fiqh Council and former head of the Hamas-linked Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).</p>
<p>The signers’ unwholesome associations and allegiances were just one indication that there was far <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/09/international-group-of-muslim-scholars-refutes-islamic-states-islamic-case-while-endorsing-jihad-sharia-caliphate"><span style="color: #0433ff;">less to this open letter</span></a> than the mainstream media’s rapturous reception suggested. In fact, the “moderates” who signed on to this open letter by doing so endorsed elements of Islam that most non-Muslim Westerners consider to be “extremist.”</p>
<p>“All Muslims see the great virtue in jihad,” says the open letter. It repeatedly stresses that jihad warfare is strictly defensive. “There is no such thing,” the scholars assert, “as offensive, aggressive jihad just because people have different religions or opinions. This is the position of Abu Hanifa, the Imams Malik and Ahmad and all other scholars including Ibn Taymiyyah, with the exception of some scholars of the Shafi’i school.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Shafi’i school is one of the four great schools of Sunni jurisprudence. If some Shafi’i scholars allow for “offensive, aggressive jihad just because people have different religions or opinions,” can it really be said to be un-Islamic? Are the scholars pronouncing takfir on the Shafi’i school? Or just deceiving gullible non-Muslims? The answer is clear.</p>
<p>What’s more, restricting jihad to defensive warfare looks even worse in light of the fact that in Sunni Islamic law, only the caliph has the authority to declare offensive jihad, but defensive jihad is obligatory upon all Muslims when a Muslim land is attacked, and need not be declared by anyone. So since the caliphate was abolished in 1924 to this day (except for those who accept the Islamic State’s caliphate claim), all jihad attacks, even 9/11, have been cast by their perpetrators as defensive – hence the jihadist tendency to retail long lists of grievances when justifying their actions.</p>
<p>So if 9/11 was defensive jihad, and these “moderate” scholars are endorsing defensive jihad, their “moderation” should send just a bit of a chill up the spine.</p>
<p>“Regarding Arab Christians,” the scholars remind the Islamic State’s caliph, “you gave them three choices: jizyah (poll tax), the sword, or conversion to Islam.” Jizya is the tax specified in the Qur’an (9:29) to be levied on “the People of the Book” as a sign of their dhimmitude, their subjugation and submission to Muslim hegemony. This, the scholars say, was wrong, because “these Christians are not combatants against Islam or transgressors against it, indeed they are friends, neighbours and co-citizens. From the legal perspective of Shari’ah they all fall under ancient agreements that are around 1400 years old, and the rulings of jihad do not apply to them.”</p>
<p>However, then the open letter asserts that “there are two types of jizyah in Shari’ah (Islamic Law)”: the first “applies to those who fought Islam,” but the second “is levied on those who do not wage war against Islam.”</p>
<p>The scholars tell the caliph that the Arab Christians are friends of the Muslims, they “did not wage war against you” and thus should not have been subjugated as dhimmis. But then in the next paragraph they say that “the second type of jizyah is levied on those who do not wage war against Islam.” Thus how is the Islamic State transgressing against Islam by levying the jizya on those who did not wage war against Islam?</p>
<p>In any case, the “moderate” scholars are apparently fine with a religion-based poll tax, a sign of the subjugation of the religious minority, in an Islamic state. In this the authors also contradict their earlier claim that jihad is only defensive; now “those who do not wage war against Islam” are to be made to pay the jizya, which results from Muslims fighting the People of the Book: “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)</p>
<p>Despite all this and more, Brad Sherman would likely be thrilled with this open letter. With so many infidels so eager to be fooled, the work of groups like CAIR and the Fiqh Council of North America is easy. But the great work that Sherman called for – a refutation of the Islamic State on Islamic grounds – that has still not appeared in any genuine form, and that in itself is telling.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/robert-spencer/rep-sherman-combat-isis-with-ideology/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Left’s Lingering Oslo Delusions</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/the-lefts-lingering-oslo-delusions/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-lefts-lingering-oslo-delusions</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/the-lefts-lingering-oslo-delusions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2014 05:40:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ari Lieberman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abbas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oslo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pa.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[palestinians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Two-State solution]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=245176</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why there are no moderate Palestinian factions. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/abbas-resistance-2.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-245183" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/abbas-resistance-2.jpg" alt="abbas-resistance-2" width="300" height="251" /></a>Writing for The Times of Israel, senior staff writer Avi Issacharoff <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/as-attacks-spread-israel-sees-the-perfect-scapegoat-in-abbas/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">criticize</span></a><span style="color: #0433ff;">d</span> Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for scapegoating Abbas as the cause for the recent disturbances in Israel and for failing to point the finger at the real culprits, Hamas. He posits that Netanyahu, in a quest to avoid negotiations with Israel’s “peace partners,” has painted Abbas as a purveyor of violence and thus, an obstacle to peace. He also notes that as a result of the disturbances, “an entire country is in a panic.”</p>
<p>I submit however, that the only people who are &#8220;in a panic&#8221; are Issacharoff and leftists of like-mind who detest Netanyahu, seek his demise and will stop at nothing to disparage him. Israel has in the past witnessed and endured far worse violence and each time weathered the storm calmly and resolutely. The people of Israel in the instant mini-crisis are neither panic-stricken nor hysterical though many on the left would like to have us think that. What better way to produce an “intifada” than by talking about it incessantly in the hope of producing a self-fulfilling prophecy.</p>
<p>Issacharoff’s analysis is fundamentally flawed on a number of levels. First, it is Abbas and his Palestinian Authority who are primarily responsible for the uptick in violence. No doubt that Hamas shares some responsibility but it is the PA’s continued campaign of incitement, where Jews are compared to the descendants of <a href="http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3928/palestinian_tv_broadcasts_little_girls_calling_jews_barbaric_monkeys_wretched_pigs"><span style="color: #0433ff;">apes and pigs</span></a> and Palestinians are continuously urged in TV broadcasts to confront the “<a href="http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=763&amp;doc_id=12686"><span style="color: #0433ff;">barbaric monkeys</span></a>” and “wretched pigs” aka Jews, that has led to the current state of affairs.</p>
<p>Abbas’s inflammatory rhetoric adds fuel to the fire. Responsible leaders don&#8217;t incite their populace to attack the citizens of another state, and that is precisely what Abbas has done, over and over again. Responsible leaders don’t pay condolence calls to the families of assassins and refer to them as <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-says-glick-shooter-will-go-to-heaven-as-martyr/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">martyrs</span></a> who will ascend to heaven, and that is precisely what Abbas has done. Responsible leaders don’t <a href="http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=679"><span style="color: #0433ff;">name squares and streets</span></a> after people, who in normal societies, would be locked up in institutions for the criminally insane, but Abbas’s Palestinian Authority has done so repeatedly.</p>
<p>Issacharoff refers to Abbas’s recent vitriolic, blood-curdling rhetoric, including the glorification of <a href="http://www.israeltoday.co.il/Default.aspx?tabid=178&amp;nid=25482"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Yehudah Glick’s</span></a> attempted murder as “stupid.” “Stupid” is a term that should be applied to one who texts while driving or chain smokes. Stupid is not a term that one normally associates with visceral anti-Semitism and incitement to murder. When the leader of the Palestinians extolls the virtues of the murderer of Jews, that is incitement to murder and anti-Semitism, plain and simple. To call it anything else is “stupid” and delusional. I wonder if Issacharoff would refer to Goebbels’s propaganda pieces in which he depicts Jews as rats as “stupid.”</p>
<p>Second, contrary to Issacharoff’s assertions, it is Abbas who remains the impediment to negotiations, not Netanyahu. In 2009, Netanyahu agreed to an unprecedented <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/bret-stephens-bibi-and-barack-on-the-rocks-1414451799"><span style="color: #0433ff;">10-month settlement freeze</span></a> in the hopes of spurring on the anemic “peace talks.” Abbas waited nine months before engaging Netanyahu ensuring that there would be virtually no time for any meaningful substantive negotiations.</p>
<p>In the latest round of negotiations, Abbas remained the stumbling block, refusing to budge on the so-called Right of Return issue, refusing to acknowledge that the Jews have some rights here too and in general, maintaining the same tired rejectionist posture of his mentor-in-chief, Yassir Arafat, who in turn adopted his views from the Nazi collaborator, Haj Amin el-Husseini.</p>
<p>Let us call a spade a spade and be honest with ourselves. Abbas is an <a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/palestinian-president-for-life-abbas-begins-10th-year-of-4-year-term/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">autocratic ruler</span></a> whose term of office was supposed to have ended six years ago. He is therefore a leader with absolutely zero legitimacy. He is also a <span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/exposing-abbas-5335">Holocaust denier</a></span>, who, in his doctoral thesis, denied the existence of gas chambers, called the deaths of 6,000,000 Jews “a fantastic lie” and somewhat paradoxically blamed the Holocaust on the evil Zionists, who incited the Germans to hate Jews. In other words, the Jews are responsible for the Holocaust, which, incidentally, never happened. These repugnant views place Abbas in the same category as former “Grand Wizard” David Duke and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p>
<p>The sad truth is that the Palestinians, whether Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Army of Islam or Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, share the same pernicious goals, which is the total eradication and annihilation of the State of Israel. The only difference between the former three groups and the latter is that Abbas and his cronies on the PA payroll wear ties whereas the other groups have adopted the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB117892880341600648"><span style="color: #0433ff;">fashion style of their brethren in the Islamic Republic</span></a>. The sooner the left understands this concept and stops treating Abbas as though he was some toddler, dismissing his deleterious statements as the product of “stupidity” rather than something much more malevolent, the closer we’ll come to a sustainable peace but not before then.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/the-lefts-lingering-oslo-delusions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Is the Islamic State the Islamic &#8216;Reformation&#8217;?</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fjordman/is-the-islamic-state-the-islamic-reformation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=is-the-islamic-state-the-islamic-reformation</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fjordman/is-the-islamic-state-the-islamic-reformation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 04:40:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Fjordman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamic state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reformation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tariq Ramadan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=243079</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What if this is as good as it gets? ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screen-Shot-2014-10-14-at-2.34.22-PM1.png"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-243083" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Screen-Shot-2014-10-14-at-2.34.22-PM1-358x350.png" alt="Screen Shot 2014-10-14 at 2.34.22 PM" width="310" height="303" /></a>The self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has shocked the world with its brutality. The British Prime Minister David Cameron, along with other Western leaders, claims that the Islamic State has “<a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/10/david-cameron-on-eid-al-adha-islamic-state-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-great-religion-of-islam-a-religion-of-peace"><span style="color: #0433ff;">nothing</span></a> to do with the great religion of Islam, a religion of peace.” The former British PM Tony Blair states that IS’ ideology is “<a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/09/tony-blair-islamic-states-ideology-based-in-a-complete-perversion-of-the-proper-faith-of-islam"><span style="color: #0433ff;">based</span></a> in a complete perversion of the proper faith of Islam.”</p>
<p>Notice that both the current and a previous British Prime Minister say virtually the same thing as Tariq Ramadan. He is a Swiss writer of Egyptian origin and is a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University in Britain. Tariq Ramadan suggests that the Islamic State is ”<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2014/10/tariq-ramadan-isil-not-islamic-2014101015462542487.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">not Islamic</span></a>.”</p>
<p>Ramadan is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Banna&#8217;s stated goal was the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate. We now have an Islamic State under the leadership of a Caliph. You could therefore argue that ISIS have fulfilled the original promise of Hassan al-Banna. What Tariq Ramadan is in effect saying is that: &#8220;The Islamic State have fulfilled the promise of my pious Muslim grandfather. Yet this has nothing to do with Islam.&#8221;</p>
<p>The slick Islamic infiltrator Tariq Ramadan has always reminded me of the deceiving manipulator Grima Wormtongue from Tolkien&#8217;s novel <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. It is no wonder that Western ruling elites are clueless about the true nature of the Islamic threat when we allow people such as Ramadan to be treated as experts on Islam in prestigious Western universities and advise Western authorities on matters related to Islam.</p>
<p>Saying that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam or Islamic teachings is false. ISIS propagandists quote authentic Koranic verses or respected hadith literature in favor of their actions. Yes, texts can be interpreted in different ways, but some interpretations have a stronger foundation than others do. A rubber band can be stretched up to a certain point, but not forever. Likewise, texts can be read in several ways, but they are not infinitely elastic.</p>
<p>Maybe what the militant members of the Islamic State are doing is not the only way to interpret Islamic religious texts. Maybe. What should worry us, however, is that it is a perfectly <i>legitimate</i> way to interpret Islamic texts.</p>
<p>The Islamic State now has many supporters, also in Western countries. Their atrocities resonate with quite a few Muslims who recognize something similar from Islamic history. In the earliest days of Islam, Mohammed and his companions raided and pillaged their opponents, massacred and beheaded non-Muslims, enslaved their children, raped their women and forced them to be sex slaves. Suggesting that it has nothing to do with Islam, when militant Muslims today directly copy the behavior of their Prophet as described in Islamic sources, is not credible.</p>
<p>Western leaders and commentators are often shockingly ill-informed about Islam. Tony Blair, then still Britain’s Prime Minister, wrote about Islam for the influential magazine <a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/62271/tony-blair/a-battle-for-global-values"><span style="color: #0433ff;"><i>Foreign Affairs</i> </span></a>in its January 2007 issue. This quote sums up the breathtaking cluelessness of Western leaders:</p>
<p><b>&#8220;</b>To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is. I write with great humility as a member of another faith. As an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, much as reformers attempted to do with the Christian church centuries later. The Koran is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance. Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands were breathtaking. Over centuries, Islam founded an empire and led the world in discovery, art, and culture. The standard-bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.”</p>
<p>Some observers suggest that Islam needs to be reformed. Yet it is arguable that we have already witnessed an Islamic Reformation, and that ISIS/the Islamic State represents a culmination of this process.</p>
<p>In 2007 I published an essay with the title <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2007/05/fjordman-do-we-want-an-islamic-reformation"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Do we want an Islamic Reformation? </span></a>The question of whether Islam can be reformed largely hinges upon one’s definition of “Reformation.” This is often implicitly taken to mean something along the lines of “peaceful, non-sharia-based with respect for individual choice, freedom of speech and the freedom to criticize and leave your religion.” In other words: “Reform” is vaguely taken to mean less Islam, or at least less traditional sharia laws, and no violent Jihad.</p>
<p>However, several observers argue that there are similarities between Martin Luther and the Christian or Protestant Reformation in sixteenth century Europe and the reform movement started by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab in the Arabian Peninsula in the 18<sup>th</sup> century. Wahhab’s alliance with the family of Muhammad bin Saud led to the creation of Saudi Arabia. Using its massive oil wealth, paid for by non-Muslims, that country has for generations funded strict sharia-based Islamic movements worldwide. This Islamic revivalist movement is at the base of the present-day Salafist movement.</p>
<p>Although the Reformation was a turbulent period, it paved the way for more tolerance and religious freedom in Christian Europe over the long run. Christians could return to the example as contained in the Gospels of an early age where Jesus, the founder of their religion, and his disciples led a largely peaceful movement separate from the state. Muslims can find a similar example only in the Mecca period. however, as long as the writings from the very violent Medina period remain in force, when Islam was a state run on religious laws, a return to an “early, Golden Age” of Islam will mean a return to sharia and Jihad violence. As such, one has to ask whether an Islamic Reformation would be desirable from a non-Muslim point of view. The likely answer to that question is no.</p>
<p>There is arguably a direct line from the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 to the Islamic State. The Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb was one if the ideological inspirators for Osama bin Laden&#8217;s Jihadist terrorist network al-Qaida. The Islamic State (ISIS) is an offshoot of al-Qaida that has fulfilled the Muslim Brotherhood&#8217;s desire for a new Caliphate.</p>
<p>If a &#8220;Reformation&#8221; is meant to be a return to the earliest days of the religion, as Martin Luther and John Calvin wanted to achieve in Christian Europe, then what we are looking at now may well be the Islamic Reformation. Seen in this light, al-Qaida and the Islamic State are the culmination and logical conclusion of the Islamic Reformation. This Islamic revival and return to the earliest days of Islam has led to Jihadist terrorism, beheadings, large-scale massacres and mass enslavement because that was what early Islam was all about.</p>
<p>Right now, there are few signs that the unrest in much of the Islamic world will end any time soon. The brutal attacks on non-Muslims in the Middle East continue. The terror warnings about militant Muslims in the West are growing increasingly alarming. Since the Jihadist attacks of September 11 2001, the situation has deteriorated. We now face an extremely well funded terrorist organization in the form of the Islamic State. Through their control over substantial territory and several oil fields in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has access to far more money and resources than al-Qaida ever did during their time in Afghanistan up until 2001.</p>
<p>The historian Dominic<i> </i>Sandbrook worries that the ongoing disintegration of the Middle East could get even worse and more violent in the years ahead. He warns that ”<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732268/The-coming-apocalypse-Last-week-historian-DOMINIC-SANDBROOK-wrote-damning-critique-West-s-failure-halt-Islamic-fanatics-Now-savage-murder-confirmed-worst-fears-looks-future.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">We have</span></a> lived through some of the bloodiest years in human history. But the really frightening thing is that the worst may be yet to come.”</p>
<p>The former Chief of the Australian Army, Professor <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2720431/The-100-years-war-Islam-Dire-warning-former-Australian-military-chief.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Peter Leahy</span></a>, has warned of a century-long war against Islamic militants. Several other commentators indicate that the unrest in many parts of the Islamic world and the Jihadist threat ensuing from it could continue for decades. Even in the very unlikely event that a peaceful version of Islam should emerge at some point in the future, this process would likely take generations.</p>
<p>Regardless of outcome, we are in all likelihood facing many years of continued instability in the Islamic world. This is intensified by the high birth rates in some Muslim countries. Some of this unrest is already spilling into other regions. Several European cities have experienced riots involving Muslim immigrants. Western intelligence agencies warn that the number of militant Muslims and potential Islamic terrorists is so large that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of them all.</p>
<p>It is immensely irresponsible of Western leaders in this situation to continue Muslim immigration. Yes, part of the damage has already been done, but that is no excuse for doing nothing. A firefighter does not let the entire neighborhood burn down just because one house has caught fire. If damage limitation is the only thing we can do at this point, then let us at least do that. When militant Muslims are threatening to behead us, it is simply no longer acceptable to continue mass-importing people from unstable Muslim societies.</p>
<p>Muslim immigration in every form to all European and Western nations needs to be suspended, and any practice of sharia laws banned. Western governments who fail to do this are failing to protect the basic security of their citizens. They should be held accountable for that failure.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/fjordman/is-the-islamic-state-the-islamic-reformation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Not Destroying ISIS</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/nonie-darwish/not-destroying-isis-2/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=not-destroying-isis-2</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/nonie-darwish/not-destroying-isis-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 04:48:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nonie Darwish]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[armies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=242921</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The true reason there are no "moderate" Muslim armies killing ISIS terrorists. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Obama-Ertoganpng.png"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-242954" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Obama-Ertoganpng-450x337.png" alt="Obama-Ertoganpng" width="310" height="232" /></a>Western media, President Obama, all Muslim countries, and myriad groups and individuals have been telling us that ISIS does not represent Islam. Muslims, especially in the West, insist that their beloved faith has nothing to do with the terrorists who are embarrassing the good and peaceful Muslims and who are giving Islam a bad name and dishonoring the real Islam.</p>
<p>It is a fact that Arab/Islamic culture highly values honor and pride and has little tolerance for those who dishonor Islam and Islamic &#8220;family values.&#8221; Because honor is so vital in Islamic culture, a whole section in Islamic law is dedicated to forgiving and not prosecuting certain murders when they are linked to honor, such as the killing of adulterers and apostates. Sharia has harsh punishment for those who dishonor Islam or deviate from its values and commandments.</p>
<p>Because of Muslim sensitivity to dishonor one would think that the majority of moderate Muslims, especially after 9/11, would mobilize their armies, police and legal resources to arrest, punish, imprison or execute those who kill, behead and terrorize in the name of the religion of peace.</p>
<p>Muslim legal systems in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan and Yemen, do not hesitate to whip, amputate, stone and behead those who violate Islamic sexual taboos, but never behead, amputate or whip jihadists who terrorize in the name of Islam. Almost all Muslim governments claim to be moderate, but none have apologized for 9/11. They have no interest in rounding up terror groups except those who point their guns at Muslim governments. Why is that? Why is it that many Muslim governments allow the financial support and accommodation of terror groups as long as terrorists do their business elsewhere? Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf countries financed the radical resistance against Bashar Assad for one reason: he is not Sunni. And now when the radical resistance turned into ISIS, these same nations are asking the US to do something.</p>
<p>There are approximately 1.5 billion Muslims divided among 49 majority Muslim nations around the world and all claim to be peace-loving and &#8220;moderate.&#8221; Many of these Islamic nations have some of the largest and well-equipped armies in the Middle East and Africa. Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons. Egypt&#8217;s military has approximately 468,500 active personnel, in addition 1 million reservists. Turkey has 662,719 active personnel. Saudi Arabia&#8217;s military is estimated to have 150,000 active personnel and Pakistan has 550,000 active troops, 500,000 reserves.</p>
<p>Yet the huge armies of the above four Muslim nations are watching the ISIS slaughter and refuse to end it. Has anyone asked why? Where are the 1.5 billion moderate Muslims to save the reputation of Islam and fellow Muslims? Is there even a moderate Muslim army that will not hesitate to kill ISIS beheading their way from city to city? Will Muslim armies fight the alleged bad Muslims?</p>
<p>The answer is simple and I hope the West is ready for the truth. If Muslim governments go to war against ISIS, there is a good possibility that their armies will not kill ISIS but might actually <em>join them</em> against Arab governments. This is why:</p>
<p>The ultimate holy goal of Islam, both &#8220;moderate&#8221; and &#8220;radical,&#8221; is to reestablish the Islamic Khalifate and control the world. That is the goal of jihad. Historically all Islamic States were established by the sword, terror and violence. Even Mohammed himself established his first Islamic political entity in Arabia through the sword, violence and terror. Mohammed himself said in a hadith &#8220;I have been victorious through terror.&#8221; His followers took the sword, terror and beheading throughout Arabia to bring Arabs back to Islam after the death of Mohammed. Historically, Islam never created and maintained a Khalifate without the sword and the cruel punishments of Sharia. So the fact that ISIS is violent does not disqualify it in the eyes of Sharia from doing holy jihad in the name of Allah.</p>
<p>Thus, Muslim heads of state are caught in a quagmire. Sharia dictates that every Muslim head of state must do jihad as an obligation otherwise he is an apostate and must be removed from office &#8212; the old fashioned Islamic way like what happened to Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddafi. Sharia also gives the right to Muslims to wage jihad war against non-Muslim nations, but gives non-Muslim nations no right to reject Islamic jihad and fight back.</p>
<p>That is why Muslim leaders never want to wage serious war against the likes of Al Quaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, Hizbullah, etc. Muslim leaders do not want to be perceived as acting against Sharia by destroying the first budding Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>Thus we see Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Gulf nations and Egypt, who are perfectly capable of destroying ISIS, refuse to move against ISIS and allow the slaughter of fellow Muslims, Christians and Kurds, rather than violate Sharia. All these Muslim governments are begging the US and Western nations to do their dirty work for them, as usual. America is the great Satan, so what more can America lose between friends?</p>
<p>President Obama today refuses to put troops on the ground in Syria and Iraq to destroy ISIS. I hope his refusal is because it is in the best interest of the United States and not because he too, like Arab leaders, does not want to destroy the first budding Islamic State In Iraq and the Levant.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p><em>Don&#8217;t miss Frontpage Editor <strong>Jamie Glazov</strong> discuss <strong>The Roots of Islam-Denial</strong>: </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QsDu8Os3PlA" width="460" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank"><strong>Click here</strong></a><strong>.   </strong></p>
<p><a href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf"><strong>Subscribe</strong></a><strong> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <em>The Glazov Gang</em>, and </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><strong>LIKE</strong></a><strong> it on </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><strong>Facebook.</strong></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/nonie-darwish/not-destroying-isis-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Top Ten Qur&#8217;an Verses for Understanding ISIS</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/david-wood/top-ten-quran-verses-for-understanding-isis/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=top-ten-quran-verses-for-understanding-isis</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/david-wood/top-ten-quran-verses-for-understanding-isis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Sep 2014 04:21:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Wood]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamic state]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[koran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[verses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=240545</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Islamic justification for the wave of atrocities sweeping the Levant.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Visit <a href="http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2014/09/top-ten-quran-verses-for-understanding.html?m=1">AnsweringMuslims.com</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Jihadists fighting for ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) claim that they are following the commands of Allah and Muhammad. Yet Westernized Muslims, politicians, and the media insist that ISIS is violating the principles of Islam. Who&#8217;s right? In the following video, I present the top ten Qur&#8217;an verses you need to know to understand ISIS.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LXBgqa-xQwY" width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/david-wood/top-ten-quran-verses-for-understanding-isis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>25</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Learning to Love Our Terrorist Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/learning-to-love-our-terrorist-friends/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=learning-to-love-our-terrorist-friends</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/learning-to-love-our-terrorist-friends/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2014 04:35:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[al Qaeda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hamas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISIS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=240005</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hamas, Al Qaeda and ISIS are the new moderates.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/a140625-iraq-isis-mosul-street-445a_82f23afee3a82a104ef51a50474e30c6.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-240006" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/a140625-iraq-isis-mosul-street-445a_82f23afee3a82a104ef51a50474e30c6-450x334.jpg" alt="a140625-iraq-isis-mosul-street-445a_82f23afee3a82a104ef51a50474e30c6" width="300" height="223" /></a>Israel was told not to take down Arafat or Hamas would take over. Now Israel is being warned that if it destroys Hamas, ISIS will take over.</p>
<p>The distinction between Hamas and ISIS is obvious. One is a violent Islamic terrorist group that is determined to destroy Israel. And the other is a violent Islamic terrorist group determined to destroy Israel. Hamas is funded by Qatar. So is ISIS. Hamas likes to wear green. ISIS sticks to black and white.</p>
<p>If you have to choose between genocidal Islamic terrorist groups, go with the one that has a wider range of color in its wardrobe. Your civilians will regret it, but at least their killers will look fabulous.</p>
<p>Also ISIS hates Shiites while Hamas accepts Iranian weapons.</p>
<p>Clearly Hamas is moderate and ISIS is extremist. Maybe if ISIS also agrees to accept Iranian weapons with which to kill Jews, we will all be able to breathe a sigh of relief at its new moderate attitude.</p>
<p>The good news is that in the last few months Al Qaeda also became moderate. Numerous news stories tell us that Al Qaeda thinks that ISIS is “crazy”. Al Qaeda has less to say about it than the Western pundits speaking on its behalf, but it’s rumored that Zawahiri beheaded a Western aid worker without inviting Baghdadi which is considered a major snub in the high society codes of top terror groups.</p>
<p>That raises the question, should we have destroyed Al Qaeda in Afghanistan?</p>
<p>Wouldn’t it have been better to leave it intact to prevent ISIS from taking over? Indeed didn’t weakening Al Qaeda make it possible for ISIS to emerge as a dominant global Jihadist force? Look for this to become a major theme of mainstream media foreign policy commentary and of Obama’s new Iraq strategy.</p>
<p>The only way to defeat terrorists is by not fighting them. Only by doing nothing can we hope to prevail.</p>
<p>And who is to say that ISIS is as extreme as it gets? Shouldn’t we be careful not to bomb ISIS too much or it will be replaced by an even more extreme group such as SuperJihad or “Behead Anyone Who Isn’t a Salafi”? It not only could happen, it probably will. Islam is good at replacing one bloody maniac with another bloody maniac. If Baghdadi lives long enough, he’ll end up in a house with three wives, a dozen cans of Viagra and an email account that no serious Jihadi forwards fatwas to… just like Osama.</p>
<p>Every Muslim terrorist is potentially a moderate, not because he moderates his position, but because tomorrow someone will chop off twice as many heads. If Malik has a six-year-old chop off three heads, Mohammed will have a three-year-old chop off six heads and Abdallah will have a one-year-old shelling Kurdish villages. And then Hamid will get his hands on some WMDs and a bunch of two-month- olds and we’ll realize that Malik, Mohammed and Abdallah were really moderate Muslim terrorists after all.</p>
<p>Imagine if we decided that Charles Manson really wasn’t so bad compared to later successors like John Wayne Gacy. We would have to free Manson and set him up with a new cult and a bunch of weapons. And then when the Green River Killer showed up, we would have to reconsider whether maybe Gacy wasn’t the lesser evil. And it’s not like any of them hold a candle to Abdul Djabar who raped 300 men and boys while strangling them with a turban back in 1970s Afghanistan.</p>
<p>But wait, sure Abdul seemed like a bad guy then but compared to the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS, he was really a moderate. It’s a shame he was executed. Maybe we could have negotiated with him in Qatar.</p>
<p>It’s not just a joke; it’s also our foreign policy.</p>
<p>Obama did his best to negotiate with the “moderate” Taliban and they not only raped boys, but they also inflicted horrifying tortures that made Abdul with his turban strangling seem like a nice guy.</p>
<p>We can’t define democracy by the popular vote and we can’t define moderates in relation to the bloodiest murderer on the block. But that’s the kind of common sense that rarely enters the heads of policymakers who keep trying to make friends with Abdul even while he’s strangling them with a turban.</p>
<p>Hamas, we are now told, is the only thing keeping ISIS out of Gaza. But ISIS is already in Gaza since anyone can become ISIS by affiliating with it. The Fort Hood Jihadist announced that he wants to join ISIS last week, but that doesn’t mean much as long as he’s locked up in prison and needs help going to the bathroom.</p>
<p>A practical approach to keeping ISIS out of Gaza would be to ‘Nidal Hassan’ both Hamas and ISIS until they need help going to the bathroom, let alone launching rockets at the Golan Heights or Tel Aviv.  A completely insane approach is believing that we need Hamas to launch rockets at us so that ISIS doesn’t launch rockets at us.</p>
<p>And if SuperJihad ever shows up, we’ll have to turn Gaza over to ISIS before you can say the Shahada six times fast so that it can bomb Tel Aviv before SuperJihad bombs Tel Aviv.</p>
<p>Hamas and Al Qaeda in Iraq have historically enjoyed positive relations. If Hamas decides, it can join ISIS whenever it pleases. Without Hamas, ISIS is unlikely to take over Gaza since it would need to spend decades building a political infrastructure. Without that it would be stuck trying to fight the same kinds of battles as Hamas, but without any local or international support. It would lose and lose badly.</p>
<p>But let’s set aside these practical considerations.</p>
<p>The very notion that we should continually choose to support the lesser terrorist evil to hold at bay the bigger terrorist evil (until it too becomes the lesser evil) isn’t policy; it’s an untreated mental illness.</p>
<p>If you accept the premise that Hamas is the lesser evil, then Israel has to leave it intact, endure the rockets falling on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the huge numbers of civilians packed into bomb shelters, because if ISIS takes over Gaza it will be even worse. And Israel taking over Gaza would somehow be even worse than that, even though there were no rockets falling on Tel Aviv or Jerusalem back then.</p>
<p>This isn’t a strategy. It’s learned helplessness.</p>
<p>Hamas shut down Israel’s international airport, forced residents from its major cities into bomb shelters and dug tunnels meant for major incursions into Israel. Now Hamas has become the buffer zone against ISIS while Abbas is the buffer zone against Hamas and ISIS will one day be the buffer zone against the Martyrs Brigades of Abdul Djabar who strangle and rape their victims; not necessarily in that order.</p>
<p>An Islamic terrorist group that shells your major cities is not a buffer zone.  One serial killer is not more moderate or extreme than another. Neither of them should be on the loose.</p>
<p>The options were always clear and they were laid out during the Disengagement; Israel can be in Gaza or it can be attacked from Gaza.</p>
<p>There is no third option except wishful thinking.</p>
<p>The new moderate reimagining of Hamas and Al Qaeda is the work of the same diseased minds that got us into this mess and can’t wait to drag us in even deeper. It needs to be rejected if we’re ever going to break the cycle of arming and funding the “moderate” terrorists to stop the “extremist” terrorists.</p>
<p>Either that or we can start climbing into bed with the ISIS moderates now.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/learning-to-love-our-terrorist-friends/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>56</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Moderate Islam Is Multiculturalism Misspelled</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/moderate-islam-is-multiculturalism-misspelled/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=moderate-islam-is-multiculturalism-misspelled</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/moderate-islam-is-multiculturalism-misspelled/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:35:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extremism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Terrorism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=240049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why liberals are the real moderate Muslims.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Koran.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-240051" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Koran.jpg" alt="Koran" width="320" height="207" /></a>I have been searching for moderate Islam since September 11 and just like a lost sock in the dryer, it was in the last place I expected it to be.</p>
<p>There is no moderate Islam in the mosques or in Mecca. You won’t find it in the Koran or the Hadiths. If you want to find moderate Islam, browse the newspaper editorials after a terrorist attack or take a course on Islamic religion taught by a Unitarian Sociologist wearing fake native jewelry.</p>
<p>You can’t find a moderate Islam in Saudi Arabia or Iran, but you can find it in countless network news specials, articles and books about the two homelands of their respective brands of Islam.</p>
<p>You won’t find the fabled land of moderate Muslims in the east. You won’t even find it in the west. Like all myths it exists in the imagination of those who tell the stories. You won’t find a moderate Islam in the Koran, but you will find it in countless Western books about Islam.</p>
<p>Moderate Islam isn’t what most Muslims believe. It’s what most liberals believe that Muslims believe.</p>
<p>The new multicultural theology of the West is moderate Islam. Moderate Islam is the perfect religion for a secular age since it isn’t a religion at all.</p>
<p>Take Islam, turn it inside out and you have moderate Islam. Take a Muslim who hasn’t been inside a mosque in a year, who can name the entire starting lineup of the San Diego Chargers, but can’t name Mohammed’s companions and you have a moderate Muslim. Or more accurately, a secular Muslim.</p>
<p>An early generation of Western leaders sought the affirmation of their national destinies in the divine. This generation of Western leaders seeks the affirmation of their secular liberalism in a moderate Islam.</p>
<p>Even if they have to make it up.</p>
<p>Without a moderate Islam the Socialist projects of Europe which depend on heavy immigration collapse. America’s War on Terror becomes the endless inescapable slog that the rise of ISIS has once again revealed it to be. Multiculturalism, post-nationalism and Third World Guiltism all implode.</p>
<p>Without moderate Muslims, nationalism returns, borders close and the right wins. That is what they fear.</p>
<p>If there is no moderate Islam, no moderate Mohammed, no moderate Allah, then the Socialist Kingdom of Heaven on Earth has to go in the rubbish bin. The grand coalitions in which LGBT activists and Islamists scream at Jews over Gaza aren’t the future; they’re the Weimar Republic on wheels.</p>
<p>Flash back to Obama in his tan suit wearily saying that he has no strategy for ISIS. The original plan was to capture Osama alive, give him a civilian trial, cut a deal with the moderate Taliban and announce the end of the War on Terror before the midterm elections.</p>
<p>So much for that.</p>
<p>Moderate Islam is a difficult faith. To believe in it you have to disregard over a thousand years of recorded history, theology, demographics and just about everything that predates 1965. You have to ignore the bearded men chopping off heads because they don’t represent the majority of Muslims.</p>
<p>Neither does Mohammed, who did his own fair share of headchopping.</p>
<p>The real Islam is a topic that non-Muslims of no faith who hold sacred only the platitudes of a post-everything society are eager to lecture on without knowing anything about it.</p>
<p>Their Islam is not the religion of Mohammed, the Koran, the Hadiths, the Caliphs or its practitioners in such places as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq or Indonesia. Their Islam is a religion that does not exist, but that they fervently believe must exist because without it their way of life is as doomed as the dodo.</p>
<p>They aren’t Muslims. They have no faith in Allah or the Koran. Instead they have faith in the goodness of an Islam that exists without resort to scriptures, theology or deity. This may seem strange to actual believers, but after all their own poor tattered scraps of Christianity or Judaism don’t bother paying too much attention to deities or scriptures except when it comes to cherry-picking quotes about tolerance.</p>
<p>Is it any wonder that they treat Islam the same way?</p>
<p>The true moderate Muslims are secular liberals of loosely Christian and Jewish persuasion who have invented and believe in a moderate Islam that doesn’t exist outside of their own heads. This secular Islam, which values all life, is dedicated to social justice and universal tolerance, is a counterpart of their own bastardized religions. And they are too afraid to wake up and realize that it doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>When American and European leaders insist that Islam has nothing to do with the latest Islamic atrocity, they are not referencing a religion practiced by Muslims, but an imaginary religion that they imagine Muslims must practice because the alternative is the end of everything that they believe in.</p>
<p>Their moderate Islam is light on the details, beyond standing for social justice, fighting Global Warming and supporting gay rights, because it is really multiculturalism wearing a fake beard. When a Western leader claims that the latest batch of Islamic terrorists don’t speak for Islam, he isn’t defending Muslims, he’s defending multiculturalism. He assumes that Muslims believe in multiculturalism because he does.</p>
<p>Moderate Islam is just multiculturalism misspelled. Its existence is a firm article of faith for those who believe in multiculturalism.</p>
<p>Dissuading a believer in moderate Muslims from his invented faith by citing the long trail of corpses or the hateful Hadiths that call for mass murder is futile because these are not the roots of his religion. He doesn’t know what a Hadith is nor does he care. As a social justice man in good standing, he attributes the violent track record of Islam to European colonialism and oppression.</p>
<p>He has never read the Koran. He has read a thousand articles about how Muslims are oppressed at the airport, in Gaza, in Burma and in Bugs Bunny cartoons. They are his new noble savages and he will not hear a word against them. Having colonized their identities in his imagination (despite the marked up copy of Edward Said’s Orientalism that he keeps by his bedside) he treats them as reflections of his ego.</p>
<p>When you say that moderate Muslims don’t exist, you are calling him a bad person. When you challenge Islam, you are attacking multiculturalism and he will call you a racist, regardless of the fact that Islam is as much of a race as Communism, Nazism or the Mickey Mouse Fan Club were races.</p>
<p>The moderate Muslim is an invention of the liberal academic, the secular theologian, the vapid politician and his shrill idiot cousin, the political activist. Like the money in the budgets that underpin their plans and the scientific evidence for Global Warming, he does not exist.</p>
<p>And it is not necessary that he should exist. It is only necessary that we have faith in his existence.</p>
<p>The degraded lefty descendants of Christians and Jews wait for a moderate Muslim messiah who will reconcile the impossibilities of their multicultural society by healing the conflicts between Islam and the West. Until then they find it necessary to believe, not in a divinity, but in the moderate Muslim.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/moderate-islam-is-multiculturalism-misspelled/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>204</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rouhani&#8217;s One-Year Anniversary</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/rouhanis-one-year-anniversary/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=rouhanis-one-year-anniversary</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/rouhanis-one-year-anniversary/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:20:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islamic  Republic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[negotiations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[one year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rouhani]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=238643</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A good year for the rogue Islamic Republic. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Rouhani.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-238675" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Rouhani-433x350.jpg" alt="Rouhani" width="288" height="233" /></a>At this time last year, Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian regime insider, assumed the office of presidency in the Islamic Republic. Rouhani was approved to run by the constitutionally-mandated and appointed 12 members of the Islamist and hardline Guardian Council, and after he gave empty promises of bringing &#8220;<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/06/13/shoulder_to_shoulder_canada_foreign_minister_iran_rouhani_human_rights"><span style="color: #0433ff;">dignity</span></a>” to the nation,  freeing political prisoners, promoting civil rights, normalcy, reintegrating Iran in the world economically and politically.</p>
<p>Other crucial reasons behind his election included his <a href="http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/hassan-rouhani-reformer-or-loyalist/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">loyalty</span></a> to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s Islamist revolutionary principles, his background profile as a government insider and chief nuclear negotiator, the blessings of Supreme Leaders for him, and the low standards that the hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad set.</p>
<p>The purpose of having Rouhani as the president was evident from the beginning: for the first time, Ayatollah Khamenei and the senior cadre of the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards Corps deeply felt that their hold on power was being threatened. This was due to international economic and political sanctions, Iran’s nuclear defiance, along with disenfranchisement and discontent of Iranian youth (for reasons such as unemployment, human rights violations, suppression of freedom of press, expression, assembly, high inflation).</p>
<p>How has Rouhani served his regime? Under the first year of his presidency, Rouhani and his nuclear technocrat team were unprecedentedly and unexpectedly successful at reaching the regime’s objectives. He was capable of achieving the ideological, economic, and geopolitical goals of the Islamist agenda of the ruling clerics.</p>
<p>It is crucial to point out that, in the first year, Rouhani&#8217;s goal was to merge the Islamic Republic’s ideological and Islamist principles with its economic, strategic and geopolitical interests. Rouhani wanted to ensure the survival of the Islamist regime.</p>
<p>The game that Rouhani and his team played with the West and particularly the United States was anchored in utilizing softer tones while exploiting the fragile and weak position of the Obama administration.</p>
<p>First, by striking the nuclear interim deal with the P5+1 (the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, plus Germany), Rouhani and his technocrat nuclear team were successful in obtaining sanctions relief&#8211; <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-20/iran-hails-long-day-as-it-starts-curbing-nuclear-work.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">worth</span></a> between $6 and $7 billion – and suspending certain sanctions on some Iranian industries including the automotive sector, gold and precious metals trade, and petrochemical exports.</p>
<p>On the other hand, currently, the Islamic Republic’s economy has been stabilized according to the <a href="http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930120000786"><span style="color: #0433ff;">International Monetary Fund</span></a>, and oil exports have increased by approximately <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/31/uk-asia-iran-crude-idUKKBN0G00C320140731"><span style="color: #0433ff;">25 percent</span></a>, specifically to Asian countries, in the first six months of the year 2014.</p>
<p>While Rouhani has spent a considerable amount of his political capital on the international arena, nuclear talks, attempting to empower the Islamic Republic in the world affairs and economy, and removing economic sanctions, Iran’s fundamental foreign policies in the region, internationally and domestically remain ideological and intact.</p>
<p>For example, President Hassan Rouhani <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/irans-new-president-hassan-rouhani-vows-to-support-syrian-regime-as-president-assad-vows-to-crush-rebels-with-iron-fist-8745857.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">voiced</span></a> his support for the Syrian government, as Iran’s <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/irans-new-president-hassan-rouhani-vows-to-support-syrian-regime-as-president-assad-vows-to-crush-rebels-with-iron-fist-8745857.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">support</span></a> for the Syrian government financially, militarily, politically and advisory continues. Even after the use of chemical weapons against the civilians in Syria, Rouhani’s administration has not shifted its support and policies towards President Bashar Al Assad.</p>
<p>In addition, under Rouhani’s administration, the Islamic Republic continues to support non state actors such as Hezbollah and Hamas. In addition, the Islamic Republic’s <a href="http://forward.com/articles/184240/iranian-president-hassan-rouhani-criticizes-israel/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">foreign policies</span></a> towards Israel remain intact as well.</p>
<p>On the other hand, billions of dollars gained by the ruling cleric, are tightly distributed among the top officials. Millions of ordinary Iranian people still encounter hardship economically. In addition, the unemployment rate remains to be in <a href="http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/08/06/ineffective-economic-stewardship/hk2b?reloadFlag=1"><span style="color: #0433ff;">double digit</span></a><span style="color: #0433ff;">s</span> for millions of Iranian people.</p>
<p>When it comes to human rights and freedoms (assembly, press and speech),  Rouhani has supported the status quo of repression. According to the Human Rights Watch, there has been <a href="http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/iran?page=3"><span style="color: #0433ff;">“no sign of improvement”</span></a> and the Islamic Republic continues to violate human rights under Rouhani.</p>
<p>On March 11, Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights conditions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, released his <a href="http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/iran?page=3"><span style="color: #0433ff;">second annual report</span></a> to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), pointing out that there exists an “apparent increase in the degree of seriousness of human rights violations” and he expressed his concern at the “rate of executions in the country, especially for crimes that do not meet serious crimes standards.”</p>
<p>In addition, in October, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released his annual report expressing concerns with regards to the continuing human rights violations in the Islamic Republic under Rouhani. Human Rights Watch <a href="http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/iran?page=3"><span style="color: #0433ff;">points out</span></a> that “The government continued to block access to Shaheed and to experts with other UN rights bodies.”</p>
<p>It is an illusion to believe that any political figure in the Islamic Republic, who rises to power, will shift the Islamist, radical, and ideological perspective of this regime. Loyalty to the Islamist principles, antagonism towards Israel, and supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, or other Islamists groups, are the underlying and basic rules that each Iranian politician believes in and has to pursue, in order to survive and rise the political ladder in Iran. The higher an Iranian politician is in his political life and position, the more loyal he is to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the more he voices his antagonism towards the state of Israel publicly or covertly, and the more he views the United States as a Great Satan. This underlying rule is the political formula for survival and promotion under the Islamist and ideological regime of the Islamic Republic.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/rouhanis-one-year-anniversary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>88</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Obama&#8217;s Secret Directive Supporting Global Islamism</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/obamas-secret-directive-supporting-global-islamism/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=obamas-secret-directive-supporting-global-islamism</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/obamas-secret-directive-supporting-global-islamism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2014 04:55:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[egypt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[islamism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mubarak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[muslim brotherhood]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=235571</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Buried in documents, the facts are all there.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/obama-is-a-terrorist-.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-235576" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/obama-is-a-terrorist-.jpg" alt="obama-is-a-terrorist-" width="270" height="237" /></a>A <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/region/libya/us-document-reveals-cooperation-between-washington-and-brotherhood-1.1349207"><span style="color: #0433ff;">recent Gulf News report</span></a> sheds some light on how and why the United States helped bring the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies to power, followed by all the subsequent chaos and atrocities in the Mideast region.</p>
<p>Large portions of the report follow with my commentary interspersed for added context:</p>
<blockquote><p>Dubai: For the past decade, two successive US administrations have maintained close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Libya, to name just the most prominent cases.</p>
<p>The Obama administration conducted an assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2010 and 2011, beginning even before the events known as the “Arab Spring” erupted in Tunisia and in Egypt. The President personally issued Presidential Study Directive 11 (PSD-11) in 2010, ordering an assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood and other “political Islamist” movements, including the ruling AKP in Turkey, ultimately concluding that <i>the United States should shift from its longstanding policy of supporting “stability” in the Middle East and North Africa (that is, support for “stable regimes” even if they were authoritarian), to a policy of backing “moderate” Islamic political movements </i>(italics added for emphasis throughout).</p></blockquote>
<p>And we have certainly witnessed this shift.  Chaos and the Islamic ascendancy in the Middle East and North Africa never flourished as under the Obama administration—and precisely because the administration shifted from supporting stability under secular-minded autocrats.</p>
<p>The most significant example of this is how the Obama administration threw Hosni Mubarak—a U.S. ally for three decades—under the bus in order to support the Islamists, most specifically the Muslim Brotherhood.  And we saw how that ended—with another revolution, hailed as the largest revolution in human history, with the average Egyptian accusing Obama of being a terrorist supporter.</p>
<blockquote><p>To this day, PSD-11 remains classified, in part because it reveals <i>an embarrassingly naïve and uninformed view of trends in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.</i></p></blockquote>
<p>“Embarrassingly naïve and uninformed view” is synonymous with the “orthodox and mainstream view pushed forth by Mideast studies professors and academics,” especially those with political influence, such as the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University, in Washington D.C.  Such programs, which I’m only too well acquainted with, begin with false—that is, “embarrassingly naïve and uninformed”—premises, namely: that the source of all the region’s woes are (formerly) U.S.-propped autocrats (reality is that dictators don’t create such societies but rather are the natural outcome of Islamic societies and are the ones most prone to keeping law and order—compare Iraq under Saddam and Iraq now, as a “democracy,” with “ISIS” proclaiming a caliphate).  Mideast academics have also long spearheaded the idea that there are “moderate” Islamists and “radical” Islamists, and that the U.S. should work with the former (in reality they are all radical—to be an Islamist is to be radical—the only difference is that the “moderate” Islamists don’t wear their radicalism on their sleeves, even as they work toward the same goals that the more open “radicals” work for, namely, a Sharia-enforcing caliphate).</p>
<blockquote><p>The revelations were made by Al Hewar centre in Washington, DC, which obtained the documents in question.</p></blockquote>
<p>This too is significant. As Daniel Greenfield writes: “Al-Hewar, which actually got hold of the documents, is linked to the <a href="http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=6180"><span style="color: #0433ff;">International Institute of Islamic Thought</span></a>… which is a Muslim Brotherhood front group.  Figures in the Muslim Brotherhood had threatened to leak understandings with Obama Inc. This is the next best thing. It warns Obama that if he tries to forget about them, they can prove that the relationship was official policy.”</p>
<p>To be sure, after the ousting of the Brotherhood in Egypt, several Brotherhood members made, sometimes not so veiled, threats to the Obama administration if it turned its back on them, including top ranking Brotherhood member, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcD3DyrbkPw"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Khairat al-Shatter’s son</span></a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>Through an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, thousands of pages of documentation of the US State Department’s dealings with the Muslim Brotherhood are in the process of being declassified and released to the public.</p></blockquote>
<p>If and when these thousands of pages are released, they should be combed through, as no doubt answers to many of the Obama administration’s hitherto inexplicable policies in the Middle East will be found—to wit:</p>
<blockquote><p>US State Department documents obtained under the FOIA <i>confirm that the Obama administration maintained frequent contact and ties with the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood</i>. At one point, in April 2012, US officials arranged for the public relations director of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Gaair, to come to Washington to speak at a conference on “Islamists in Power” hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.</p></blockquote>
<p>Indeed, despite the administration’s later insistence that it did not favor the Islamists over other parties, anecdotes implying otherwise were constantly on display.  In Egypt alone, U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson, due to her close ties not just to President Morsi, but the Muslim Brotherhood in general, became <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/u-s-ambassador-to-egypt-muslim-brotherhoods-lackey/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">such a hated figure</span></a> in the months before last year’s anti-Brotherhood revolution.</p>
<blockquote><p>A State Department Cable classified “Confidential” report says the following: “Benghazi Meeting With Libyan Muslim Brotherhood: On April 2 [2012] Mission Benghazi met with a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood steering committee, who will speak at the April 5 Carnegie Endowment ‘Islamist in Power’ conference in Washington, D.C. He described the Muslim Brotherhood’s decision to form a political party as both an opportunity and an obligation in post-revolution Libya after years of operating underground.</p></blockquote>
<p>These documents on the Obama administration’s connections with the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya are especially disturbing in the context of <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/behind-benghazi-muslim-brotherhood-and-obama-administration/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">earlier revelations</span></a> made in Arabic media, including that the Brotherhood’s Libyan wing was very much involved in the 9/11 Benghazi U.S. consulate attack.</p>
<blockquote><p>Another State Department paper marked “Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU)” contained talking points for Deputy Secretary of State William Burns’ scheduled July 14, 2012 meeting with Mohammad Sawan, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who was also head of the Brotherhood’s Justice and Construction Party. The document is heavily redacted, but <i>nevertheless provides clear indication of Washington’s sympathies for the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood as a major political force in the post-Gaddafi Libya.</i><b> </b>The talking points recommended that Secretary Burns tell Sawan that<b> </b>the US government entities “share your party’s concerns in ensuring that a comprehensive transitional justice process is undertaken <i>to address past violations so that they do not spark new discontent</i>.”</p></blockquote>
<p>“To address past violations so that they do not spark new discontent” is another way of stating another popular position among Mideast professors, namely that whenever Islamists engage in violence or terrorism, that is proof positive that they have a legitimate grievance, hence the US must “appease” lest it “spark new discontent” (perhaps the true backdrop of Benghazi).</p>
<blockquote><p>The Burns paper described the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood: “Prior to last year’s revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood <i>was banned for over three decades and its members were fiercely pursued by the Gaddafi regime</i>.</p></blockquote>
<p>In light of all the chaos the Islamists have been responsible for in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, et al—is it now obvious why Arab autocrats like Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak, and currently Bashar Assad have always “banned” and “fiercely pursued” the Brotherhood and its affiliates?</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/obamas-secret-directive-supporting-global-islamism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>86</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Video: Raymond Ibrahim Discusses &#8216;Islam&#8217;s Protestant Reformation&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/video-raymond-ibrahim-discusses-islams-protestant-reformation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=video-raymond-ibrahim-discusses-islams-protestant-reformation</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/video-raymond-ibrahim-discusses-islams-protestant-reformation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2014 04:20:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Frontpagemag.com]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protestant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=235335</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Those hoping for an “Islamic reformation” need to look elsewhere…]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Raymond Ibrahim, a Shillman Fellow at the Center, recently appeared on Sun News’ Byline with Brian Lilley discussing his recent article, &#8220;<a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/islams-protestant-reformation/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Islam&#8217;s &#8216;Protestant Reformation</span></a>.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sLDGl-ccJIE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/video-raymond-ibrahim-discusses-islams-protestant-reformation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Saba Ahmed Unveiled</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/deborah-weiss/saba-ahmed-unveiled/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=saba-ahmed-unveiled</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/deborah-weiss/saba-ahmed-unveiled/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2014 04:43:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Deborah Weiss]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brigitte Gabriel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslim]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saba Ahmed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taqiyya]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=235165</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The curious background of a "moderate" Muslim. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/saba-ahmed.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-235242" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/saba-ahmed-1024x537.jpg" alt="saba-ahmed" width="294" height="154" /></a>During a recent Heritage Foundation event on Benghazi’s unanswered questions, Brigitte Gabriel, President of Act! for America, proclaimed that the peaceful majority have been irrelevant to history’s outcome when tyrannists have had the power and motivation to destroy freedom. But a Muslim audience member whose question prompted Brigitte’s comments, insists she’s not irrelevant.</p>
<p>On June 16, 2014, The Benghazi Accountability Coalition, spearheaded by Ginni Thomas, held a half-day seminar with a series of speakers to raise issues regarding unanswered questions about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of four American patriots at Benghazi.</p>
<p>Brigitte Gabriel was one of three speakers on the first panel. During Q&amp;A, a hijabbed Muslim woman standing in back of a packed audience complained, “Salam Alechim, peace to you all. We portray Islam and all Muslims as bad, but there are 1.8 billion followers of Islam. We have 8 million plus Muslim Americans in this country and I don’t see them represented here.” She asked how the jihadist ideology can be fought with weapons and stressed the need to bring Muslims to the table in order to solve the problem.</p>
<p>After one panelist asserted that nobody on the panel thinks all Muslims are the problem, Brigitte responded to the question. She noted in her emphatic and dynamic voice how interesting it was that the panel had not discussed Islam or Muslims, but the murder of those at Benghazi and yet the questioner asked about Islam out of context. “Of course not all [Muslims] are radical, but it’s 15 &#8211; 25% according to all the world’s intelligence, which equals 180 – 300 million people dedicated to the destruction of western civilization.” Brigitte went on to explain that we should worry about the radicals because it is they who kill, behead and massacre. Throughout history it was the radicals that drove the agenda and “the peaceful majority were irrelevant”. This was true in Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, China, and pre-World War II Japan. Additionally, on September 11, 2001, it took only 19 hijackers out of 2.3 million Arab Muslims living in the U.S. to bring America to its knees and kill almost 3000 Americans. “I’m glad you are here” Brigitte said, “but where are the others speaking out?”</p>
<p>Additionally, Brigitte pointed out that instead of showing concern about Benghazi, the questioner took the limelight to make a point about peaceful, moderate Muslims. “It is time we take political correctness and throw it in the garbage where it belongs!” The woman replied “as a peaceful American Muslim, I would like to think I’m not that irrelevant.” Moderator Chris Plante, jokingly asked “[W]ho is head of the Muslim peace movement?” to which the woman replied “I guess it’s me right now” and the audience applauded.</p>
<p>So who is was the Muslim woman in the audience and is she irrelevant?</p>
<p>As it turns out, the woman’s name is Saba Ahmed and she was not just some innocuous audience member who happened to show up at a Heritage Foundation event.</p>
<p>Saba was born in Pakistan and moved to Portland Oregon at age 12. She has numerous academic degrees and a particular interest in protecting the Islamic Ummah from America’s “useless wars.” She feels so passionately about this that while in Portland, she became very active in Democrat politics for years, even making an unsuccessful bid for congress in 2012. As a candidate, her priority was to bring home all American troops and cut military spending. “There is no need for them to be in foreign countries”… “Drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan are hurting our long term national security and will come back to haunt us.”</p>
<p>After obtaining less than ½ percent of the vote, Saba switched her registration to Republican. But her ideology hadn’t changed. She marched in Occupy Portland, which had a large anti-Israel component, and was a featured speaker. She argued that the Muslim world hates America and therefore America should change her policies. She explained that Muslims in foreign countries are suffering as a result of U.S. policies and don’t have a voice. “We are their voice here in the United States”, she proclaimed.</p>
<p>Despite claiming to be Republican, she was banned from the Oregon Tea Party and the Washington County Republicans, not for her “Islamic views” as she claims, but for false accusations of death threats.</p>
<p>Saba made an appearance at Glenn Beck’s 9/12 meeting in Oregon, and while clinging onto a Koran, proclaimed that her faith is all she has. In TV interviews with Sean Hannity and others, she refuses to denounce any portion of Sharia law, arguing instead that “there are good and bad things everywhere.” She dodges, deflects and avoids addressing the human rights violations and tyranny committed in the name of Islam. When she’s unable to duck a question, she always has an excuse. Hannity, for example, asked Saba if she would denounce the law in Saudi Arabia that disallows women outside the home without being accompanied by a male relative. Saba replied, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable going outside alone in parts of Afghanistan. I wouldn’t want to.” Yet, she whines that, “especially in America, it’s a very harsh environment [for Muslims] due to the bias.”</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Saba denies the right of Israel to have its current boundaries and argues that the boundaries for Israel after 1948 have caused “division among people all around the world.” And in an interview, when confronted with the fact that there’s nothing in Christianity comparable to Islamic terrorism, she replied, “[T]he United States Military and CIA are the most well-funded Christian organizations that regularly conduct crimes against humanity all around the world. Currently we are killing and murdering people in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq. etc. with our drones, missiles, bombs, etc. What is the practical difference between a soldier who kills and an Al-Qaida operative the kills??? Both in God’s eyes are taking sacred life…”</p>
<p>Yet, as someone who insists she is against all killing, Saba still has ties to Mohamed Mohamud, a Somali born Islamic terrorist who attempted to bomb a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon in 2010. She even showed up at his trial to provide him support. When a mosque was torched in response to the bomb attempt, Saba blamed the U.S. government for “inciting violence” and warned, “[W]e will take very serious action – politically and legally – against the government for this.”</p>
<p>It’s no wonder coming from a woman who has attended CAIR’s Iftar dinner and was a member of the Islamic Society of Greater Portland (an outgrowth of ISNA). Both CAIR and ISNA are Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, whose mission is to destroy western civilization from within. They were also unindicted co-conspirators in the largest terror financing trial in the history of the United States.</p>
<p>Saba claims that she was Co-Chair of the Oregon Muslims Citizens Alliance, which, if it exists, has no website and appears to have had no activities except one “cancelled” event, which research confirms was never planned to begin with.</p>
<p>Saba has interned for Democratic politicians including Governor Ted Kulongoski, Senator Leahy and Representative Earl Blumenauer. She currently has an LLC or at least a website which appears to represent an LLC. According to blogger Ernest Dell, originally the website indicated that Saba Ahmed, LLC represented a global investment and intellectual property research service, with its corporate office in Portland, Oregon and its research center in New Delhi, India. The site stated that the company had a high end financial research team comprised of experts on a variety of asset classes, and provided services to investment banks, equity firms, asset management firms, financial advisory firms, and additionally had an “intellectual property team” that serviced law firms, in intellectual property firms, in-house IP corporate counsels.</p>
<p>Now Saba states that her LLC is a firm from which she lobbies Congress to stop all wars, claiming “expertise” in national security matters, despite any objective training or experience. The current site indicates no employees other than Saba and lists no clients. And despite her Republican registration, she is seeking a political appointment with the Obama Administration. Though insisting that she’s in “discussions” toward this end, there is no evidence that the interest is mutual or that it is anything more than Saba expressing her self-aggrandizing desire to land a plumb political position.</p>
<p>Brigitte Gabriel never denounced the peaceful majority of any country when she asserted their irrelevance. Clearly, what she meant is that the focus needs to be on the problem. And the problem is always the radical minority who may have less numbers, but has the power to undermine freedom and security.</p>
<p>Saba appears to be worming her way into politics, not to represent Americans or U.S. interests, but to represent the Muslim world. She says she doesn’t want to be irrelevant, but given her pro-Sharia apologetics and her advocacy for peace at the cost of freedom, let’s hope that she is.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank"><strong>Click here</strong></a><strong>.   </strong></p>
<p><a href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf"><strong>Subscribe</strong></a><strong> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <em>The Glazov Gang</em>, and </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><strong>LIKE</strong></a><strong> it on </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><strong>Facebook.</strong></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/deborah-weiss/saba-ahmed-unveiled/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>101</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Islam’s ‘Protestant Reformation’</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/islams-protestant-reformation/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=islams-protestant-reformation</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/islams-protestant-reformation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jun 2014 04:22:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protestant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reformation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=235187</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why radical Islam is the “reformed” version of Islam.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><i><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hg.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-235188" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hg.jpg" alt="hg" width="262" height="222" /></a>Originally published by PJ Media in </i><a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/islams-protestant-reformation/?singlepage=true"><span style="color: #0433ff;"><i>two</i></span></a><i> </i><span style="color: #0433ff;"><i><a href="http://pjmedia.com/blog/islams-protestant-reformation-part-2/?singlepage=true">parts</a>.</i></span></p>
<p>In order to prevent a clash of civilizations, or worse, Islam must reform.  This is the contention of many Western peoples.  And, pointing to Christianity’s Protestant Reformation as proof that Islam can also reform, many are optimistic.</p>
<p>Overlooked by most, however, is that Islam <i>has been</i> reforming. What is today called “radical Islam” <i>is</i> the reformation of Islam.  And it follows the same pattern of Christianity’s Protestant Reformation.</p>
<p>The problem is our understanding of the word “reform.”  Despite its positive connotations, “reform” simply <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/reform"><span style="color: #0433ff;">means</span></a> to “make changes (in something, typically a social, political, or economic institution or practice) in order to improve it.”</p>
<p>Synonyms of “reform” include “make better,” “ameliorate,” and “improve”—splendid words all, yet words all subjective and loaded with Western references.</p>
<p>Muslim notions of “improving” society may include purging it of “infidels” and their corrupt ways; or segregating men and women, keeping the latter under wraps or quarantined at home; or executing apostates, who are seen as traitorous agitators.</p>
<p>Banning many forms of freedoms taken for granted in the West—from alcohol consumption to religious and gender equality—can be deemed an “improvement” and a “betterment” of society.</p>
<p>In short, an Islamic reformation need not lead to what we think of as an “improvement” and “betterment” of society—simply because “we” are not Muslims and do not share their reference points and first premises.  “Reform” only sounds good to most Western peoples because they, secular and religious alike, are to a great extent products of Christianity’s Protestant Reformation; and so, a priori, they naturally attribute positive connotations to the word.</p>
<p>&#8212;-</p>
<p>At its core, the Protestant Reformation was a revolt against tradition in the name of scripture—in this case, the Bible.  With the coming of the printing press, increasing numbers of Christians became better acquainted with the Bible’s contents, parts of which they felt contradicted what the Church was teaching.  So they broke away, protesting that the only Christian authority was “scripture alone,” <i>sola scriptura</i>.</p>
<p>Islam’s reformation follows the same logic of the Protestant Reformation—specifically by prioritizing scripture over centuries of tradition and legal debate—but with antithetical results that reflect the contradictory teachings of the core texts of Christianity and Islam.</p>
<p>As with Christianity, throughout most of its history, Islam’s scriptures, specifically its “twin pillars,” the Koran (literal words of Allah) and the Hadith (words and deeds of Allah’s prophet, Muhammad), were inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of Muslims.  Only a few scholars, or <i>ulema</i>—literally, “they who know”—were literate in Arabic and/or had possession of Islam’s scriptures.  The average Muslim knew only the basics of Islam, or its “Five Pillars.”</p>
<p>In this context, a “medieval synthesis” flourished throughout the Islamic world.  Guided by an evolving general consensus (or <i>ijma‘</i>), Muslims sought to accommodate reality by, in medieval historian Daniel Pipes’ <a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/13033/can-islam-be-reformed"><span style="color: #0433ff;">words</span></a>,</p>
<blockquote><p>translat[ing] Islam from a body of abstract, infeasible demands [as stipulated in the Koran and Hadith] into a workable system. In practical terms, it toned down Sharia and made the code of law operational. Sharia could now be sufficiently applied without Muslims being subjected to its more stringent demands…  [However,] While the medieval synthesis worked over the centuries, <i>it never overcame a fundamental weakness: It is not comprehensively rooted in or derived from the foundational, constitutional texts of Islam. Based on compromises and half measures, it always remained vulnerable to challenge by purists</i> (emphasis added).</p></blockquote>
<p>This vulnerability has now reached breaking point: millions of more Korans published in Arabic and other languages are in circulation today compared to just a century ago; millions of more Muslims are now literate enough to read and understand the Koran compared to their medieval forbears.  The Hadith, which contains some of the most intolerant teachings and violent deeds attributed to Islam’s prophet, is now collated and accessible, in part thanks to the efforts of Western scholars, the Orientalists.  Most recently, there is the Internet—where all these scriptures are now available in dozens of languages and to anyone with a laptop or iphone.</p>
<p>In this backdrop, what has been called at different times, places, and contexts “Islamic fundamentalism,” “radical Islam,” “Islamism,” and “Salafism” flourished.  Many of today’s Muslim believers, much better acquainted than their ancestors with the often black and white words of their scriptures, are <i>protesting</i> against earlier traditions, are <i>protesting</i> against the “medieval synthesis,” in favor of scriptural literalism—just like their Christian Protestant counterparts once did.</p>
<p>Thus, if Martin Luther (d. 1546) rejected the extra-scriptural accretions of the Church and “reformed” Christianity by aligning it more closely with scripture, Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab (d. 1787), one of Islam’s first modern reformers, “called for a return to the pure, authentic Islam of the Prophet, and the rejection of the accretions that had corrupted it and distorted it,” in the words of Bernard Lewis (<i>The Middle East</i>, p. 333).</p>
<p>The unadulterated words of God—or Allah—are all that matter for the reformists.</p>
<p>Note: Because they are better acquainted with Islam’s scriptures, other Muslims, of course, are apostatizing—whether by converting to other religions, most notably Christianity, or whether by abandoning religion altogether, even if only in their hearts (for fear of the apostasy penalty).  This is an important point to be revisited later.  Muslims who do not become disaffected after better acquainting themselves with the literal teachings of Islam’s scriptures and who instead become more faithful to and observant of them are the topic of this essay.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>How Christianity and Islam can follow similar patterns of reform but with antithetical results rests in the fact that their scriptures are often antithetical to one another.   This is the key point, and one admittedly unintelligible to postmodern, secular sensibilities, which tend to lump all religious scripture together in a melting pot of relativism without bothering to evaluate the significance of their respective words and teachings.</p>
<p>Obviously a point by point comparison of the scriptures of Islam and Christianity is inappropriate for an article of this length (see my “<a href="http://www.meforum.org/2159/are-judaism-and-christianity-as-violent-as-islam"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam</span></a>” for a more comprehensive treatment).</p>
<p>Suffice it to note some contradictions (which will be rejected as a matter of course by the relativistic mindset):</p>
<p>•The New Testament preaches peace, brotherly love, tolerance, and forgiveness—for all humans, believers and non-believers alike.  Instead of combatting and converting “infidels,” Christians are called to pray for those who persecute them and turn the other cheek (which is not the same thing as passivity, for Christians are also called to be bold and unapologetic).  Conversely, the <a href="http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/023-violence.htm"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Koran and Hadith</span></a> call for war, or jihad, against all non-believers, until they either convert, accept subjugation and discrimination, or die.</p>
<p>•The New Testament has no punishment for the apostate from Christianity.  Conversely, Islam’s prophet himself <a href="http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/084-sbt.php"><span style="color: #0433ff;">decreed</span></a> that “Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.”</p>
<p>•The New Testament teaches monogamy, one husband and one wife, thereby dignifying the woman.  The <a href="http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/017-polygamy.htm"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Koran</span></a> allows polygamy—up to four wives—and the possession of concubines, or sex-slaves.  More literalist readings <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/islamic-fatwa-husbands-should-abandon-wives-to-rapists-in-self-interest/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">treat women as possessions</span></a>.</p>
<p>•The New Testament discourages lying (e.g., Col. 3:9).  The Koran <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/taqiyya-about-taqiyya/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">permits it</span></a>; the prophet himself often deceived others, and permitted lying to one’s wife, to reconcile quarreling parties, and to the “infidel” during war.</p>
<p>It is precisely because Christian scriptural literalism lends itself to religious freedom, tolerance, and the dignity of women, that Western civilization developed the way it did—despite the nonstop propaganda campaign emanating from academia, Hollywood, and other major media that says otherwise.</p>
<p>And it is precisely because Islamic scriptural literalism is at odds with religious freedom, tolerance, and the dignity of women, that Islamic civilization is the way it is—despite the nonstop propaganda campaign emanating from academia, Hollywood, and other major media that says otherwise.</p>
<p>&#8212;-</p>
<p>Those in the West waiting for an Islamic “reformation” along the same lines of the Protestant Reformation, on the assumption that it will lead to similar results, must embrace two facts: 1) Islam’s reformation is well on its way, and yes, along the same lines of the Protestant Reformation—with a focus on scripture and a disregard for tradition—and for similar historic reasons (literacy, scriptural dissemination, etc.); 2) But because the core teachings of the scriptures of Christianity and Islam markedly differ from one another, Islam’s reformation has naturally produced a civilization markedly different from the West.</p>
<p>Put differently, those in the West uncritically calling for an “Islamic reformation” need to acknowledge what it is they are <i>really</i> calling for: the secularization of Islam in the name of modernity; the trivialization and sidelining of Islamic law from Muslim society.</p>
<p>That would not be a “reformation”—certainly nothing analogous to the Protestant Reformation.</p>
<p>Overlooked is that Western secularism was, and is, possible only because Christian scripture lends itself to the division between church and state, the spiritual and the temporal.</p>
<p>Upholding the literal teachings of Christianity is possible within a secular—or any—state.  Christ called on believers to “render unto Caesar the things of Caesar (temporal) and unto God the things of God (spiritual)” (Matt. 22:21).  For the “kingdom of God” is “not of this world” (John 18:36).  Indeed, a good chunk of the New Testament deals with how “man is not justified by the works of the law… for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Gal. 2:16).</p>
<p>On the other hand, mainstream Islam is devoted to upholding the law; and Islamic scripture calls for a fusion between Islamic law—Sharia—and the state.   Allah decrees in the Koran that “It is not fitting for true believers—men or women—to take their choice in affairs if Allah and His Messenger have decreed otherwise. He that disobeys Allah and His Messenger strays far indeed!” (33:36).   Allah tells the prophet of Islam, “We put you on an ordained way [literarily in Arabic, <i>sharia</i>] of command; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who are ignorant” (45:18).</p>
<p>Mainstream Islamic exegesis has always interpreted such verses to mean that Muslims must follow the commandments of Allah as laid out in the Koran and Hadith—in a word, Sharia.</p>
<p>And Sharia is so concerned with the details of this world, with the everyday doings of Muslims, that every conceivable human action falls under five rulings, or <i>ahkam</i>: the forbidden (<i>haram</i>), the discouraged (<i>makruh</i>), the neutral (<i>mubah</i>), the recommended (<i>mustahib</i>), and the obligatory (<i>wajib</i>).</p>
<p>Conversely, Islam offers little concerning the spiritual (sidelined Sufism the exception).</p>
<p>Unlike Christianity, then, Islam without the law—without Sharia—becomes meaningless.   After all, the Arabic word <i>Islam</i> literally means “submit.”  Submit to what?  Allah’s laws as codified in Sharia and derived from the Koran and Hadith.</p>
<p>The “Islamic reformation” some in the West are hoping for is really nothing less than an <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Islam without Islam</span></a>—secularization not reformation; Muslims prioritizing secular, civic, and humanitarian laws over Allah’s law; a “reformation” that would slowly see the religion of Muhammad go into the dustbin of history.</p>
<p>Such a scenario is certainly more plausible than believing that Islam can be true to its scriptures in any meaningful way and still peacefully coexist with, much less complement, modernity the way Christianity does.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/islams-protestant-reformation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>24</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The False Dichotomy: Moderate Muslims vs. Radicals</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/the-false-dichotomy-moderate-muslims-vs-radicals/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-false-dichotomy-moderate-muslims-vs-radicals</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/the-false-dichotomy-moderate-muslims-vs-radicals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2014 04:05:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extreme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mohammed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=222641</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Qur'an is not open to interpretation. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/islam-will-dominate-the-world.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-222642" alt="islam-will-dominate-the-world" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/islam-will-dominate-the-world-450x319.jpg" width="315" height="223" /></a>The liberal mainstream media has long portrayed a picture of moderate (&#8220;good&#8221;) Muslims versus extremist Muslims. This narrative has been institutionalized in the thinking of Western Muslim scholars, who advocate for Islam as well. This has led to the thought that Islam is an ideology and religion of peace, because a majority of Muslims fall in the category of moderate or good Muslims.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">If we analyze this dichotomy in depth, we can see how this understanding of Islam develops. Besides analytical and theoretical frameworks, I will also draw on my own experience growing up in the Muslim world.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We were taught in school that the Qur&#8217;an has descended, word for word, from the creator Allah, through Muhammad. This is accepted throughout the entirety of the Islamic word. If we take this speculation as accurate information of Islam, then every Muslim is supposed to follow Allah’s verses exactly in order to be a good Muslim and to be considered a representative of the real ideology and religion of Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Secondly, if we take the assertion that the Qur&#8217;an is made up of Allah’s words as being true, then Qur&#8217;anic verses should be followed for eternity, as long as human beings exist in this universe. No changes are allowed to Allah’s rules and words because Allah, as Muslims say, is perfect and his knowledge is absolute. As a result, his words cannot be relative and every word he utters or reveals should apply in any time of human history.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In fact, even Muhammad himself repeatedly said that two things a Muslim should follow are the Qur&#8217;an (words of Allah) and the Hadith (Muhammad’s teachings). </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Considering this information and based on these standards, a true Muslim, who represent the real Islam, should be the one who follows and obeys Allah’s words (from the Qur&#8217;an) completely.  As a result, anyone who ignores some of the rules is not, and cannot be, considered a reflection of Islam, a good Muslim, or even a Muslim. Accordingly, Allah’s words and rules are not a basket of vegetable to choose from, meaning that one cannot obey some orders and disregard others.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Following this reasoning, it is clear that the whole dichotomy of good Muslims vs. extremist Muslims, as portrayed by the mainstream media, must be altered. By this definition, real, true, and good Muslims who represent Islam are people such as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Khomeini (the founder of Iran’s political theocracy), Osama Bin Laden, Hassan Nasrullah (the leader of Hezbollah), Ayman Alzawaheri, Hasib Hussein, Mahmoud Ahmadinjead, and the like, because they follow the Qur&#8217;an and Allah’s social and legal rules word for word. All these people, who have committed crimes against humanity, will be considered to be the real Muslims, representing the actual ideology of Islam, the Qur&#8217;an, Allah’s words, and Muhammad’s teachings, because they follow the rules of Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">To give you a concrete example, during a speech I gave that criticized the underlying philosophy and ideology of Islam and that argued that Islam is not a religion of peace, a young American-British Muslim man stood up and responded by interrupting. Some of his points, which echoed what other Western Muslims usually state, were that Islam is the religion of peace, millions of Muslims like him do not commit those violent acts, and that they represent Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">When he finished, I asked him if he believed that he should beat his wife after she disobeys him one time, two times or three times. He said no. Then I conveyed to him that one cannot be representative of the true philosophy and ideology of Islam, a good or real Muslim, if he or she doesn’t follow Allah’s words stated in Qur&#8217;an.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Allah specifically says, &#8220;Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.” (Qur&#8217;an 4:34)</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A real and “good” Muslim, who represent the ideology of Islam, would follow Allah’s words in Qur&#8217;an regarding this specific rule. Therefore, he or other Muslims like this young British-American man cannot introduce themselves as a real reflection and representation of Islamic ideology or speak on behalf of Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This verse is not open to interpretation. It clearly says what a man must do with a disobedient wife. I cannot imagine that this verse can have another meaning than what it exactly states. Many Muslims use the interpretation card to legitimize and defend Islam and call themselves the real reflection of Islamic ideology. Growing up in Islamic societies, I am aware that many Muslims in the West or East have not even read Allah’s words in the Qur&#8217;an completely, and are not following the real Islam. (A blessing that they have not read it and that they are not following the real Islam!)</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The underlying reason for considering people such as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Khomeini, Osama Bin Laden, Hassan Nasrullah, Ayman Alzawaheri, Hasib Hussein, Mahmoud Ahmadinjead, and others as the real image of Islam is that these people follow Allah’s verses and orders word for word. They also have hundreds of thousands of followers who consider them as the true Muslims. If Muhammad was alive, these people would be considered the real spokespeople for Islam, the best, true, and real Muslims, for following Allah’s rules exactly. So what about other Muslims?</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Other Muslims who obey some of the verses and disregard others cannot be called good Muslims, representatives of Islamic ideology, or even true followers of Islam, based on the Qur&#8217;an and Muhammad’s teachings. Therefore, they cannot in fact, represent any categories. Every word of Allah should be obeyed.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">These people who call themselves the representatives of real Islam are in fact a representative and reflection of certain socio-political, socio-economic and cultural traditions mixed with some glimpses of Islamic teachings, not the real truth of Islam. Their identity and character is a mixture of these aforementioned qualities rather than the actual ideology of Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This means that those Western Muslim scholars — who claim that Islam is a religion of peace and that people like Khamenei, Khomeini, Bin Laden and the like, are not true Muslims— cannot introduce themselves as representatives of real Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Usually, when a terrorist or suicide attack by a Muslim occurs, a women is raped and forced to marry the rapist, a woman is stoned for having sex with another man (namahram), a woman is beaten for disobeying her husband or father, the Western Muslim scholars who were born, raised, or educated in the West excitedly point out that the majority of “Muslims” do not conduct these acts and people who carry out these acts are minimal. As a result, they argue that those few people cannot represent Islam.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But the paradox is that those people who commit such inhumane and brutal acts are the actual Muslims who represent the real Islam because they follow Islam, Allah’s words, the Qur&#8217;an, and Muhammad’s principles word for word. The rest of Muslims are the ones who do not represent real Islam and its truth. In other words, for Muhammad and Allah, those Muslims who commit such criminal acts will be considered totally good Muslims because they obey the rules stated in Qur&#8217;an in full detail.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Muslims argue that Allah’s words in the Qur&#8217;an are open to interpretation. Below are some samples of Allah’s words that are not open to any interpretation. A real Muslim, and a representative and reflection of real ideology of Islam, should follow and full-heartedly accept these social rules word for word. Otherwise, he or she cannot claim that they represent the truth of the ideology of Islam, Muhammad, and Allah.</span></p>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">Execute Those Who Wage War Against Allah and His Messenger:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter” (Qur&#8217;an 5:33).</span></p></blockquote>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">Men Can Marry Four Wives:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice” (Qur&#8217;an 4:3).</span></p></blockquote>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">Men Can Have Sex with Captives:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#8220;O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful&#8221; (Qur&#8217;an 33:50).</span></p></blockquote>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">A Man Can Marry Wife of Adopted Son:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#8220;Allah has not made for any man two hearts within him; nor has He made your wives whose backs you liken to the backs of your mothers as your mothers, nor has He made those whom you assert to be your sons your real sons; these are the words of your mouths; and Allah speaks the truth and He guides to the way&#8221; (Qur&#8217;an 33:4).</span></span></p></blockquote>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">A Woman Inherits Only Half as Much as a Man Does:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#8220;Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; then if they are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half; and as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and (only) his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has brothers, then his mother shall have the sixth after (the payment of) a bequest he may have bequeathed or a debt; your parents and your children, you know not which of them is the nearer to you in usefulness; this is an ordinance from Allah: Surely Allah is Knowing, Wise&#8221; (Qur&#8217;an 4:11).</span></p></blockquote>
<p><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">Fight with Those Who Do not Believe in Islam</b></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#8220;Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.&#8221; (Qur&#8217;an 9:29)</span></p></blockquote>
<p><em><b>Witness Testimony of a Woman Is Half of That of a Man in Court:</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;O you who believe! when you deal with each other in contracting a debt for a fixed time, then write it down; and let a scribe write it down between you with fairness; and the scribe should not refuse to write as Allah has taught him, so he should write; and let him who owes the debt dictate, and he should be careful of (his duty to) Allah, his Lord, and not diminish anything from it; but if he who owes the debt is unsound in understanding, or weak, or (if) he is not able to dictate himself, let his guardian dictate with fairness; and call in to witness from among your men two witnesses; but if there are not two men, then one man and two women from among those whom you choose to be witnesses, so that if one of the two errs, the second of the two may remind the other; and the witnesses should not refuse when they are summoned; and be not averse to writing it (whether it is) small or large, with the time of its falling due; this is more equitable in the sight of Allah and assures greater accuracy in testimony, and the nearest (way) that you may not entertain doubts (afterwards), except when it is ready merchandise which you give and take among yourselves from hand to hand, then there is no blame on you in not writing it down; and have witnesses when you barter with one another, and let no harm be done to the scribe or to the witness; and if you do (it) then surely it will be a transgression in you, and be careful of (your duty) to Allah, Allah teaches you, and Allah knows all things&#8221; (Qur&#8217;an 2:282).</p></blockquote>
<p><em><b style="line-height: 1.5em;">A Man Can Marry Girls Who Have Reached Puberty Age or Have Not Reached Yet. (As Muhammad married Aisha before puberty age):</b></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&#8220;Such of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the prescribed period, if ye have any doubts, is three months, and for those who have no courses (it is the same): for those who carry (life within their wombs), their period “is until they deliver their burdens: and for those who fear Allah, He will make their path easy.&#8221; Qur&#8217;an 65:4</span></p></blockquote>
<p>These are only a few examples of Allah’s words, which are not open to interpretation, according to the definition of the religion and its explicitly set eternal rules.</p>
<p>In sum, my argument is that those real and good Muslims and representatives of the philosophy of the religion are those who follow the Qur&#8217;an, Allah’s words. If they do not agree with some of these rules and do not wholly follow them, they are not good Muslims and they cannot represent the real truth of Islam. In fact, based on Muhammad’s teachings and the Qur&#8217;an, if a person does not believe in one of the previous verses or any of Allah’s words, he cannot call himself a Muslim.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">And finally, as long as the ideology of Islam, as long as the Qur&#8217;an exists and is considered to be the words of Allah, people like Osama Bin Laden will resurface in human history and ideology of Islam, Allah’s words in the Qur&#8217;an will create such criminals, real and good Muslims, who represent the true ideology and philosophy of Islam.</span></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/majid-rafizadeh/the-false-dichotomy-moderate-muslims-vs-radicals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>34</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Raymond Ibrahim Discusses Why ‘Moderate Islam’ Is an Oxymoron</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/raymond-ibrahim-discusses-why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=raymond-ibrahim-discusses-why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/raymond-ibrahim-discusses-why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2014 04:10:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Frontpagemag.com]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extreme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oxymoron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=222365</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Controversy brews over a truth-teller's assessment of the "religion of peace."]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Raymond Ibrahim’s recent article, “<a title="" href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/" target="_blank">Why Moderate Islam Is an Oxymoron</a>,” has provoked controversy and many responses, including from <a title="" href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/374539/moderate-islam-possible-daniel-pipes" target="_blank">Daniel Pipes on NRO</a>, who believes in the possibility of Islam’s reform.  Earlier, Ibrahim—a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center—discussed the topic of his article on CBN News. It follows:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://cbn.com/tv/embedplayernews.aspx?bcid=3389858191001" height="380" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">*</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Don&#8217;t miss Raymond Ibrahim on <em>The Glazov Gang</em> discussing his book, <em>Crucified Again</em>:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/i-UBjuUOBHw" height="380" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
<p><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf" target="_blank"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"> it on </strong><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang" target="_blank"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/frontpagemag-com/raymond-ibrahim-discusses-why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why ‘Moderate Islam’ Is an Oxymoron</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Mar 2014 04:05:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extreme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jihad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[koran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Muslim]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=222043</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The West's invention of the notions of  “moderate” and “extreme” Islam.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/PHO-06Aug03-46228.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-222112" alt="ATTACK AFGHANISTAN" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/PHO-06Aug03-46228-431x350.jpg" width="259" height="210" /></a>Reprinted from <a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/ibrahim/archive/2014/03/24/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron.aspx"><i>CBN News.</i></a></strong></p>
<p>At a time when terrorism committed in the name of Islam is rampant, we are continuously being assured—especially by three major institutions that play a dominant role in forming the Western mindset, namely, mainstream media, academia, and government—that the sort of Islam embraced by “radicals,” “jihadis,” and so forth, has nothing to do with “real” Islam.</p>
<p>“True” Islam, <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/cia-chief-jihad-a-product-of-injustices-economics-and-ignorance/">so the narrative goes</a>, is intrinsically free of anything “bad.”  It’s the nut-jobs who hijack it for their own agenda that are to blame.</p>
<p>More specifically, we are told that there exists a “moderate” Islam and an “extremist” Islam—the former good and true, embraced by a Muslim majority, the latter a perverse sacrilege practiced by an exploitative minority.</p>
<p>But what do these dual adjectives—“moderate” and “extremist”—ultimately mean in the context of Islam?  Are they both equal and viable alternatives insofar as to how Islam is understood?  Are they both <i>theologically</i> legitimate?  This last question is particularly important, since Islam is first and foremost a religious way of life centered around the words of a deity (Allah) and his prophet (Muhammad)—the significance of which is admittedly unappreciated by secular societies.</p>
<p>Both terms—“moderate” and “extremist”—have to do with <i>degree</i>, or less mathematically, <i>zeal</i>: how much, or to what extent, a thing is practiced or implemented.  As <i>Webster</i>’s puts it, “moderate” means “observing reasonable limits”; “extremist” means “going to great or exaggerated lengths.”</p>
<p>It’s a question, then, of doing either too much or too little.</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that mainstream Islam offers a crystal-clear way of life, based on the teachings of the Koran and Hadith—the former, containing what purport to be the sacred words of Allah, the latter, the example (or <i>sunna</i>, hence “Sunnis”) of his prophet, also known as the most “perfect man” (<i>al-insan al-kamil</i>).   Indeed, based on these two primary sources and according to normative Islamic teaching, all human actions fall into five categories: forbidden actions, discouraged actions, neutral actions recommended actions, and obligatory actions.</p>
<p>In this context, how does a believer go about “moderating” what the deity and his spokesman have commanded?    One can either try to observe Islam’s commandments or one can ignore them: any more or less is not Islam—a word which means “submit” (to the laws, or <i>sharia</i>, of Allah).</p>
<p>The real question, then, is what do Allah and his prophet command Muslims (“they who submit”) to do?  Are radicals “exaggerating” their orders? Or are moderate Muslims simply “observing reasonable limits”—a euphemism for negligence?—when it comes to fulfilling their commandments?</p>
<p>In our highly secularized era, where we are told that religious truths are flexible or simply non-existent, and that any and all interpretations and exegeses are valid, the all-important question of “What does Islam command?” loses all relevance.</p>
<p>Hence why the modern West is incapable of understanding Islam.</p>
<p>Indeed, only <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjTgk_AQcedUAeBtq3sJE07VaRbQ?docId=7ecf51d4-238b-4787-86d9-1e4ffdfd2c1a">recently</a>, a Kenyan mosque leader said that the Westgate massacre, where Islamic gunmen slaughtered some 67 people, “was justified.  As per the Koran, as per the religion of Islam, Westgate was 100 percent justified.” Then he said: “Radical Islam is a creation of people who do not believe in Islam. <i>We don’t have radical Islam, we don’t have moderates, we don’t have extremists. Islam is one religion following the Koran and the Sunna</i>” [emphasis added].</p>
<p>Note his point that “Radical Islam is a creation of people who do not believe in Islam,” a clear reference to the West which coined the phrase “radical Islam.”  Ironically, the secular West, which relegates religious truths to the realm of “personal experience,” feels qualified to decide what is and is not “radical” about Islam.</p>
<p>Consider one example: Allah commands Muslims to “Fight those among the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth [i.e., Islam], until they pay the <i>jizya</i> [tribute] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued”  [Koran 9:29].</p>
<p>How can one interpret this verse to mean anything other than what it plainly says?  Wherein lies the ambiguity, the room for interpretation?  Of course there are other teachings and allusions in the Koran that by necessity lend themselves over to the fine arts of interpretation, or <i>ijtihad</i>.  But surely the commands of Koran 9:29 are completely straightforward?</p>
<p>In fact, Muhammad’s 7<sup>th</sup> century followers literally acted on this and similar verses (e.g., 9:5), launching the <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/the-historical-reality-of-the-muslim-conquests/">first Muslim conquests</a>, which saw the subjugation of millions of Christians, Jews, and others, and the creation of the “Muslim world.”  Such jihadi expansion continued until Islam was beaten on the battlefield by a resurgent West some two or three centuries ago.</p>
<p>Western scholarly works, before the age of relativism and political correctness set in, did not equivocate the meaning of jihad.  Thus the authoritative <i>Encyclopaedia of Islam</i>’s entry for “jihad” states that the “spread of Islam by arms is a religious duty upon Muslims in general …  Jihad must continue to be done until the whole world is under the rule of Islam … Islam must completely be made over before the doctrine of jihad [warfare to spread Islam] can be eliminated. Islamic law expert and U.S. professor Majid Khadduri (1909-2007), after defining jihad as warfare, wrote that “jihad … is regarded by all jurists, with almost no exception, as a collective obligation of the whole Muslim community.”</p>
<p>(As for the argument that the Bible contains similar war verses, yet Jews and Christians are not out to conquer the world—so why say Muslims are?—see “<a href="http://www.meforum.org/2159/are-judaism-and-christianity-as-violent-as-islam">Are Judaism and Christianity as Violent as Islam</a>” for a detailed breakdown of the similarities and differences.  Also see “<a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/islamic-jihad-and-the-doctrine-of-abrogation/">Islamic Jihad and the Doctrine of Abrogation</a>” to understand how the Koran’s more tolerant verses have been abrogated by its more militant ones, such as 9:29.)</p>
<p>In short, how can a sincere Muslim—by definition, one who has submitted to the teachings of Allah—“moderate” verses like 9:29?  How can he “observe reasonable limits” vis-à-vis these plain commands to combat and subjugate non-Muslims?</p>
<p>Must Muslims not, at the very least, admit that such teachings are true and <i>should</i> be striven for—even if they do not personally engage in the jihad, at least not directly (but they are encouraged to support it indirectly, including <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/from-barbary-wars-to-somali-piracy/">monetarily or through propaganda</a>)?</p>
<p>Just recently, reports appeared telling of how Islamic groups in Syria were following Koran 9:29 to a tee—<a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/western-ignorance-of-the-conditions-of-omar/">forcing Christian minorities to pay them jizya</a>, i.e., extortion money, in exchange for their lives.  In fact, all around the Islamic world, Christians and other minorities are <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/brotherhood-imposes-jizya-tribute-on-egypts-christians/">regularly plundered by Muslims</a> who justify their actions be referring to the aforementioned verse.</p>
<p>Are all such Muslims being “extreme” in light of the commands of Koran 9:29—which specifically calls for the taking of money from Christians and Jews—or are they simply upholding the unambiguous teachings of Islam?</p>
<p>One may argue that, if Muslims are to take Koran 9:29 literally, why are Muslim nations the world over not declaring an all-out jihad on all non-Muslim nations, including America? The ultimate reason, of course, is that they simply <i>can’t</i>; they do not have the capability to uphold that verse (and Islamic teaching allows Muslims to <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/top-muslim-cleric-qaradawi-urges-western-muslims-to-liberalize/">postpone their obligations</a> until circumstances are more opportune).</p>
<p>It would obviously be silly, if not suicidal,  for, say, Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, to issue a statement to the West saying either accept Islam, pay jizya/tribute, or die by the sword.  But just because Muslim nations <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/how-circumstance-dictates-islamic-behavior/">do not currently have the capacity to actualize Koran 9:29</a>, does not mean that they do not acknowledge its veracity and try to actualize it in <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/16/syria-s-saudi-jihadist-problem.html">other places when they can</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/surreal-and-suicidal-modern-western-histories-of-islam/">quick survey of history</a> before the meteoric rise of Western military might put Islam in check makes this especially clear.</p>
<p>Bottom line: If Islam teaches X and a Muslim upholds X—how is he being “extreme”?  Seems more logical to say that it is <i>Islam itself</i> that is being “extreme.”  Similarly, if a self-professed Muslim does not uphold Islamic teachings—including prayer, fasting, paying <a href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/the-dark-side-of-zakat/"><i>zakat</i></a>, etc.—how is he being a “moderate”?  Seems more logical to say that he is not much of a Muslim at all—that is, he is not submitting to Allah, the very definition of “Muslim.”</p>
<p>It’s time to acknowledge that dichotomized notions like “moderate” and “extreme” are culturally induced and loaded standards of the modern, secular West—hardly applicable to the teachings of Islam—and not universal absolutes recognized by all mankind.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>.   </b></p>
<p><b>Make sure to </b><a href="http://horowitzfreedomcenter.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=caa6f67f1482e6214d83be62d&amp;id=c761755bdf"><b>Subscribe</b></a><strong> to Frontpage&#8217;s TV show, <i>The Glazov Gang</i>, and </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><b>LIKE</b></a><strong> it on </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/glazovgang"><b>Facebook.</b></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/why-moderate-islam-is-an-oxymoron/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>75</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Abbas the &#8216;Moderate&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/abbas-the-moderate/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=abbas-the-moderate</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/abbas-the-moderate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Feb 2014 05:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ari Lieberman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[abbas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Denial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extremist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holocaust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[palestinians]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=218205</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Despite his polished appearance, the Palestinian leader’s words betray his true intentions.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/abbas-resistance-2.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-218206" alt="abbas-resistance-2" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/abbas-resistance-2.jpg" width="300" height="237" /></a>Holocaust denial is not the sort of thing one normally associates with moderation. It is associated with unbridled hatred, ignorance, irrationality and xenophobia. Deniers usually fall into two groupings. There are the crass boors who spew forth whatever refuse enters their vapid minds without even the slightest attempt to provide empirical data to substantiate their odious views. And then there are the more sophisticated types whose denials are generally accompanied by fabricated evidence and couched in terms of scholarly pursuit and historical review.</span></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mLKzzW-t4g&amp;feature=c4-overview-vl&amp;list=PLD94E630BF1C97436">rantings</a> of “Dr.” Issam Sissalem, a Palestinian academic who claimed on Palestinian Authority TV that Auschwitz and other death camps merely served as “disinfection” facilities, provides a clear example of the former grouping. The unelected, autocratic “president” of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas provides a good example of the latter.</p>
<p>In the 1980s Abbas <a href="http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/exposing-abbas-5335">authored</a> a Ph.D. thesis in which he referred to the systematic murder of 6 million Jews as a “fantastic lie” and claimed that the actual death toll was barely a sixth of that amount and that in any event, their murder was provoked by the “Zionist movement.” He further alleged that gas chambers were never utilized to murder Jews.</p>
<p>So there you have it. The leader of the Palestinian Authority shares the same beliefs and values as the likes of former Islamic Republic president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former grand wizard, David Duke. This is the man that Israel is expected to trust with signed treaties. This is the man that Israel is expected to cede its ancestral land to. And this is the man entrusted by John Kerry to end Palestinian incitement.</p>
<p>It is beyond astonishing that neither the EU’s Catherine Ashton nor John Kerry have addressed the disconcerting issue of Holocaust denial with Abbas. The matter is even more pressing when one considers that Holocaust denial is pervasive among Palestinians due to systematic efforts by Palestinian Authority officials (often facilitated by Western financing) to promote incitement and hatred. Even more disturbing is the fact that Abbas, who is hailed as a “moderate” by Ashton and Kerry, continues to spew forth repugnant and highly revisionist views that are incongruent with peace-making and coexistence.</p>
<p>In a telling <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17abbas.html?ref=opinion&amp;_r=2&amp;">op-ed piece</a> for the New York Times, Abbas bemoans the loss of his purported homeland but forgets to mention the inconvenient truth that it was the Palestinian Arabs who rejected partition and who fired the first shots of aggression. He also reaches the zenith of mendacity when he claims that “Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened.”</p>
<p>The vast majority of Palestinian Arabs left on their own volition with the belief that they would return once Arab forces were triumphant. That of course never materialized because despite all odds, it was the Jews who were the victors. It is also noteworthy that among the first of the Palestinians to flee were the leaders and more affluent, who had the means to do so. This flight further demoralized the Palestinian Arab peasantry and middleclass and adversely affected the Palestinian economy, leading to further flight by the masses.</p>
<p>Abbas’ stubborn adherence to a false and misleading narrative and continued refusal to accept responsibility and to acknowledge even the slightest culpability for the current Palestinian predicament is indicative of one who will never relinquish his claims to the whole. Abbas is intent on using the peace process as a tactic with the overall strategic goal of eliminating Israel. Should Israel ever decide to succumb to John Kerry’s pressure and relinquish Judea &amp; Samaria, Abbas would be one step closer in attaining this pernicious objective.</p>
<p>Abbas has in the past expressed <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjEO_eoX594">deep admiration</a> for Haj Amin el-Husseini, an evil and deeply anti-Semitic character whose <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbP2EyF8d34">past Nazi connections</a> are well documented. He has <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-authority-gives-freed-prisoners-50000-each/">provided cash</a> and cushy government jobs to murderers convicted of the most barbaric crimes, courtesy of the American and EU taxpayer. But most telling of all was an incident which occurred last year and represents one of the clearest examples yet of why Abbas cannot be trusted.</p>
<p>Abbas was present and seated in the front row during a sermon given by PA Religious Endowments Minister, Mahmoud al-Habbash. Habbash <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=Q86jQX6GJKA">compared</a> the current negotiations with Israel to a medieval pact signed between Muhammad and his rivals, the Quraysh, which Muhammad subsequently violated once achieving military parity. Abbas offered no rebuke or condemnation of his minister. On the contrary, the views expressed by Habbash are consistent with those of his boss.</p>
<p>John Kerry and many of his allies on the hard left are placing enormous pressures on Israel to engage in mammoth concessions and vacate strategic areas vital to Israel’s security. Moreover, they are asking Israel to surrender land to those sworn to her destruction. Abbas has proven to be a duplicitous, forked-tongue leader, slightly more polished than his predecessor but sharing the same ideology and genocidal aims. The cause of peace is noble and just but should not come at the cost of national suicide.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/abbas-the-moderate/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>27</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Myth of Islamic Extremism</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-myth-of-islamic-extremism/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-myth-of-islamic-extremism</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-myth-of-islamic-extremism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Nov 2013 04:47:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel Greenfield]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civilization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extreme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sharia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=210510</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Searching for the meaning of moderate oppression.]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Koran.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-210523" alt="Koran" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Koran.jpg" width="263" height="194" /></a>The question of Islamic extremism has more relevance to Muslims than to non-Muslims. It&#8217;s mainly Muslims who are obsessed with Islamic extremism. And with good reason. As they so often point out; they tend to be its leading victims.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not that Islamic extremism doesn&#8217;t exist. Islam, like every ideology, has its gradations. It&#8217;s that for Muslims, there is a great deal at stake in the battle over Islamic extremism. That battle will determine whether they can listen to music, play chess or watch soccer games. Whether men can shave their beards, women can drive cars, little girls can go to school and little boys can grow up learning anything except Koranic verses.</p>
<p>Non-Muslims however remain unequal no matter which brand of Islamic theocracy is in charge. And either way they remain fair game in their own countries.</p>
<p>Every leading form of Islam agrees that an Islamic society is perfect, that its laws perfect man and that imposing those laws on society is a religious duty. They may differ on whether those laws allow Muslims to vote or fly kites; but that is small consolation to the non-Muslims who lose their civil rights either way.</p>
<p>Islamic societies are built around an Islamic law that makes non-Muslims second class citizens. Whether Islamic law is the basis of all legislation, as tends to be written in the constitutions of most &#8220;moderate&#8221; Muslim countries, or whether it actually is the legislation, makes a great deal of difference to Muslims who fear losing the ability to sing or play chess at the snap of a fatwa; but has less impact on non-Muslims who are still doomed to an unequal status.</p>
<p>What Western secular liberals insist on describing as extremism is really a reform movement seeking to purge innovations from the modern Islamic admixture absorbed from the cultures and peoples whom they conquered.</p>
<p>Reform means major changes for the descendants of the Islamic conquerors who have learned to like the living standards of Islamic empires and don&#8217;t care for going back to the ways of their many times great-grandfathers. It doesn&#8217;t change things nearly as much for the non-Muslim minorities who were conquered by those Islamic empires. Life for them would become worse if the Salafists were to take over. But the difference lies in degrees of subjugation.</p>
<p>There is no Islamic option for equal rights.</p>
<p>The dilution of Islam through secularism made life more livable for the Muslim conquerors who wanted to enjoy life in their new dominions in Egypt, the Persian Empire, Byzantium or India. They were less concerned with the comfort of the conquered; the Christians, Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians and others groaning under their rule.</p>
<p>None of the gradations of Islam are friendly to the idea of non-Muslims ruling themselves. They may differ over tactics, but even the non-violent immigration and missionary tactics of supposed moderate Islamic majoritarians would still end in a theocracy in which Western Christians and Jews would become slaves in their own countries.</p>
<p>This may perhaps be more merciful than a prolonged campaign of slaughter, but it is still oppression by any other name. (Not to mention conquest and invasion). And there is no such thing as moderate oppression.</p>
<p>The Arab Spring posed the question to middle class Muslims whether a non-violent political conquest by the Muslim Brotherhood was better than an armed conquest by its Islamic Group splinter movement. The answer that came in the Tahrir Square protests was a resounding, &#8220;No!&#8221;</p>
<p>A political conquest may be less messy for the conquerors and the conquered, but it still takes away the rights and freedoms of the conquered. If even the urban Muslims of Egypt didn&#8217;t want Islamization on that scale, even on peaceful terms, why would any non-Muslim accept an Islamization that would remove far more of his civil rights?</p>
<p>A moderate theocracy is still a theocracy. Moderate inequality is still inequality.</p>
<p>Western liberals associate moderation with secularism. Islam is indeed as moderate as it is secular. Like proofs of alcohol, Islam becomes more toxic and flammable the higher the percentage of &#8220;Islamic law&#8221; it contains. The purer the Islam, the more violent, oppressive, reactionary and brutal it becomes.</p>
<p>But the point that so many liberals miss is that even its diluted forms are still violent, oppressive and reactionary.</p>
<p>Distinguishing moderate and extreme Muslims is as useful as making distinctions between moderate and extreme Communists. These distinctions did and do exist, but they are less relevant in the context of an overall ideology whose goals are war, dominance and subjugation.</p>
<p>A moderate Communist was still a pretty terrible person. Likewise, a moderate president of Iran is still a political force in a theocracy that discriminates against non-Muslims, engages in regional religious wars and denies many civil rights to half the population.</p>
<p>Western liberals obscure this basic fact in their obsession with finding moderates to talk to. Moderate Muslims are still extreme by the standards of the West. They still support violence; the only difference is that they are more willing to try non-violent methods of conquest first.</p>
<p>In the long run, how much difference is there between the moderate slave owner who tricks his slaves into putting on their own chains and the extremist slave owner who makes them do it at gunpoint?</p>
<p>The end result is still the same. And that is the problem.</p>
<p>Post 9/11 concerns about extremism were focused on tactics with those who threatened the most immediate violence branded as extremists while everyone else was accepted as allies. Islamic terrorism triage turned Saudi Arabia into an ally because its double game of working with us and the terrorists meant that it was somehow more moderate than the actual terrorists. The Muslim Brotherhood is likewise considered an ally because it is less overtly violent, at the moment and in our general vicinity, than its Al Qaeda branch.</p>
<p>Focusing only on the most immediate threats is a sensible tactic for law enforcement in an emergency, but is a disastrous strategy for political leaders who cannot afford to become so caught up in trying to stop the next attack that they can only see single terrorists instead of mass movements that utilize a variety of strategies and tactics for the same end.</p>
<p>Islamic terrorism is not reducible to Islamic extremism. It is reducible to Islamic law. Islamic terrorism is just one means of imposing it on us. Immigration is another. Political pressure is a third.</p>
<p>During the Cold War, we understood that Communism was a multifaceted threat. The Red Army and domestic Communist organizations were just two means of accomplishing the same ends. Likewise the Megamosque and the plane hijackers are two means of reaching the same goals.</p>
<p>It will not matter much if the civilization we know is lost and if the freedoms we are familiar with are taken away by the moderates who play the long political game or the extremists who play the short and violent game. It will make a difference to the great-grandchildren of our conquerors who will be able to play chess or fly kites; but our great-grandchildren will still be as fundamentally unequal as the Copts of Egypt or the Jews of Yemen.</p>
<p>An Islam that allows chess playing, but mandates the inequality of non-Muslims should be viewed as just as extreme as any other kind.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p><em>Don&#8217;t miss <strong>Jamie Glazov&#8217;s</strong> video interview with <strong></strong> <strong>Daniel Greenfield</strong> about Obama&#8217;s Destructive Agenda, his Muslim Brotherhood Romance, the Anthony Weiner-Huma Abedin saga, and much, much more:</em></p>
<p><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hpyoCFF-iL8" height="315" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>.   </b></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/the-myth-of-islamic-extremism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>125</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Money Flows Back to the Mullahs Thanks to Obama</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/money-flows-back-to-the-mullahs-thanks-to-obama/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=money-flows-back-to-the-mullahs-thanks-to-obama</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/money-flows-back-to-the-mullahs-thanks-to-obama/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2013 04:15:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rouhani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wealth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=209146</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How the West's appeasement of Iran is already setting back human rights in the region. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1623441389.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-209147" alt="1623441389" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1623441389-450x342.jpg" width="270" height="205" /></a>Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s government could not have possibly expected, or wished for, a better American government to work with than the Obama administration. The Iranians could not have imagined that an American administration could so easily buy their argument and image of a “moderate” government, allowing Iranian leaders to pursue their own Islamist and meddling foreign policies.</p>
<p>The Obama administration is attempting to persuade Congress, the international community, and its Western and European allies, that Rouhani’s government is moderate and different than Iranian governments of the past. While the American government has sent strong signals to the international community and multinational corporations that the Iranian government is moderate, the Islamic Republic of Iran is gleefully rebuilding its crippled economy. The Obama administration is also trying to prevent Congress from enacting further sanctions on Iran. As the Obama administration is attempting to halt further pressure on Iran, and is considering loosening and easing current economic sanctions (it is worth noting that it has already loosened some non-economic sanctions), Iran is getting back on the track.</p>
<p>First of all, Iran’s major economic lifeline, its oil industry, has rapidly begun to recover. According to <a href="http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/news/2012/october/name,32248,en.html">International Energy Agency</a> (IEA) reports, in September, Iran has already increased its oil exports by 180,000 barrels per day as compared to the previous year, equivalent to a 26 percent increase.</p>
<p>An adviser to Iran’s oil minister, Mehdi Hosseini, was quoted in the Financial Times saying that the Iranian government is developing a “win-win” form of contract, which could benefit leading Western and Eastern companies alike.  The Iranian government is trying, according to Hosseini, to also change the current system of “buyback” contracts, which currently do not permit foreign companies to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian oil, gas, or other projects. This is can be viewed as a considerable shift in Iran’s oil industry, which has previously been exposed to little foreign investment in its oil and gas fields due to the international sanctions and pressure.</p>
<p>As the theocratic and Islamist government of the Ayatollahs and clerics are again observing the flow of wealth and cash into their government, thanks to the Obama administration loosening its policies on Tehran, the ruling Islamists in Iran are feeling more confident in their abilities to ratchet up their crackdown on minorities, oppositional groups, along with political and human rights activists.</p>
<p>Despite Rouhani’s moderate image and American outreach to Iran, the religious persecution of minorities—particularly Christians and Sunni Muslims— is increasing and continuing. According to a Christian advocacy group and international news outlets, just this week a court in Iran has sentenced four Christian men to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during a communion ceremony. This sentencing is part of the government crackdown on so-called “house churches.” House churches are unofficial locations where Christians meet in Iran in order to practice their faith while trying to not be recognized, detected, and persecuted. Several other political and human rights activists have also been sentenced to jail in the last few weeks.</p>
<p>According to a new UN report made in October by Ahmed Shaheed, a UN special reporter on human rights in Iran, such persecution of Christians is common in the country despite new President Rouhani&#8217;s pledge to be a moderate.  “At least 20 Christians were in custody in July 2013,&#8221; Shaheed reported, adding, &#8220;In addition, violations of the rights of Christians, particularly those belonging to evangelical Protestant groups, many of whom are converts, who proselytize to and serve Iranian Christians of Muslim background, continue to be reported.”</p>
<p>Additionally, the UN report noted that Iran’s “Authorities continue to compel licensed Protestant churches to restrict Persian-speaking and Muslim-born Iranians from participating in services, and raids and forced closures of house churches are ongoing,” and that “More than 300 Christians have been arrested since 2010, and dozens of church leaders and active community members have reportedly been convicted of national security crimes in connection with church activities, such as organizing prayer groups, proselytizing and attending Christian seminars abroad.” Furthermore, this past Saturday, Iranian authorities executed 16 Sunni insurgents. These executions were reportedly conducted as retaliation for an attack carried out a day earlier, by other groups.</p>
<p>Recently, Iran’s press watchdog has imposed a ban on a major reformist newspaper <i>Bahar</i>, because it published an article viewed as raising questions about the beliefs of Shi’ite Islam. The <i>Bahar</i> newspaper published an op-ed article in which the author casted doubts on whether the Prophet Muhammad had appointed a successor (Ali). The newspaper was banned because this statement contradicts the beliefs of Shia Muslims, Iran’s ruling clerics and Ayatollahs.</p>
<p>As the Islamist state of Iran is becoming more confident about its economy and its reopening of oil contracts, it is also further finding itself more capable of funding its proxies in the region including Hamas and Hezbollah.  Meaning that Iran is increasing its geopolitical and foreign policy influence across the region. These are some of the recent highlights and consequences of the Obama administration’s softening policies towards Iran. When foreign policies are not calculated and informed meticulously, the repercussions will be severe, not only for one nation but for security and peace regionally and internationally.  As the United States is loosening its pressure on Iran and urging other countries to do the same, more oil companies are investing in Iran, allowing Tehran to feel more confident in their persecution of minorities and political activists, along with their funding of proxies and meddling in the affairs of other countries.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/money-flows-back-to-the-mullahs-thanks-to-obama/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Iranians Chant Death to America and to Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/iranians-chant-death-to-america-and-death-to-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=iranians-chant-death-to-america-and-death-to-israel</link>
		<comments>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/iranians-chant-death-to-america-and-death-to-israel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2013 04:20:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Majid Rafizadeh]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hardliners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Moderate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tehran]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=207241</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Obama's outreach to a fanatical regime and its consequences. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/6a00d8341c60bf53ef019affd52da6970d-700wi.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-207295" alt="6a00d8341c60bf53ef019affd52da6970d-700wi" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/6a00d8341c60bf53ef019affd52da6970d-700wi.jpg" width="266" height="208" /></a>Though the Obama administration believes that they have scored a victory by reaching out to the radical Iranian government of Hassan Rouhani, along with the famous phone call between Obama and Rouhani on mending economic, diplomatic, and political ties with the West, the actual facts on the ground and the nuances of the situation in Iran have revealed a different picture.</p>
<p>Despite Obama’s efforts to reach out to the new president of Iran, and despite the current hope in mending political, economic, and diplomatic ties between the United States and Iran, as soon as President Hassan Rouhani reached Tehran, Islamic radicals and principalists— who are extremely loyal to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei— walked on an American flag and spat on Obama’s image in various cities throughout Iran. One of the media outlets of the Revolutionary Guard, Mashregh, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/07/as-us-touts-thaw-in-iran-relations-iranians-spit-on-obama-image-prepare-for-death-to-america-day/#ixzz2hFkR42dU">published</a> a photo showing these actions.</p>
<p>Amir Muhammad, a 23-year-old student of management at Tehran Islamic Azad University, stated, “Our government and our principles should be based on Imam Rooh Allah Khomeini’s and Khamenei’s ideals. We should never surrender to the Great Satan. I am very upset because Rouhani talked to the US president on the phone. This violates our Islamic ideals and Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini’s] principles.”</p>
<p>In order to show that President Obama and the United States are the ones that have initiated steps to mend relationships with Iran— and in order to project the image and buttress their argument that the United States is in political, economic, strategic, and geopolitical decline— Rouhani pointed out in several interviews, after returning to Tehran from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, that the White House had requested to talk with Rouhani several times before he finally agreed to talk to them on his way back to the airport. By announcing that American diplomats requested to speak with Rouhani five times— something that has not been mentioned in the liberal media— the Iranian government and their allies like Russia have been spreading the narrative that the United States is in a weak position, begging the Iranian government to befriend them. This is particularly damaging to the global power, prestige, and credibility of the United States in the international arena.</p>
<p>Though the liberal mainstream media and President Obama portrayed the phone call, letter and Twitter exchange between Obama and Rouhani as evidence of the reparation of the relationship between the United States and Iran, the website of the Quds cyber officers— which belongs to the most powerful military institution of Iran, which is extremely loyal to the regime and Islamist theocracy— posted an image of President Obama, depicted as wearing a Nazi field marshal’s uniform while surrendering with his hands on his head. The text below the image can be translated as: “Not in the too distant future… One (Gen. Qasem) Soleimani is enough for all the enemies of this country.” <a href="http://www.afsaran.ir/link/361481"><br />
</a></p>
<p>The hardliners and conservatives are also planning to walk over an American flag and to spit on Obama’s image on their way to prayer this upcoming Friday. Last week, several threw eggs and hurled objects, including a shoe, at President Hassan Rouhani as he returned to Tehran from New York.</p>
<p>We should not believe that Rouhani is against the ruling establishment, though. As I mentioned in one of my previous articles on the details of Rouhani’s political career and hypocrisy, Rouhani emerged to power from within the radical Islamist political structure of Iran. Rouhani’s outreach to the West is a mere political game. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu eloquently pointed out in his speech, they all follow and support the same Islamist ideologies and political system with regional and nuclear hegemonic ambitions. The new policies are aimed at deluding the West politically and diplomatically, to have them believe that Iran has fundamentally changed, and to lead the West to ease sanctions on Tehran, giving the nation time to obtain its nuclear bomb.</p>
<p>The fundamental fact is that since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has created deeply ingrained radical Islamist governmental institutions— such as Sazmane Basij-e Mostaz&#8217;afin, the Ministry of Intelligence and Sercurity (Mois), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Mostazafan Foundation of Islamic Revolution (which owns and manages approximately 350 subsidiary and affiliate companies in several fields and industries including industry, transportation, commerce, agriculture, and tourism), the Supreme National Security Council, the regular army, and the Expediency Council, among others— that believe the United States and Israel should be wiped off the map of the earth.</p>
<p>These institutions believe, and are based on, the fundamental principle that was laid out by the Ayatollah Khomeini, Khamenini, and their inner circle. The principles have been clearly articulated, that they should oppose détente and advocate for no compromise with the West. These institutions are anchored in the chants of “Death to America, the Great Satan” and “Death to Israel, the little Satan.” It is the time to analyze and look more deeply on the domestic nuances of the Islamist theocratic system.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Adavid+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank">Click here</a>.</strong></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/majid-rafizadeh/iranians-chant-death-to-america-and-death-to-israel/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>17</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

<!-- Performance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/

Object Caching 1397/1405 objects using disk
Content Delivery Network via cdn.frontpagemag.com

 Served from: www.frontpagemag.com @ 2014-12-31 03:58:12 by W3 Total Cache -->