Since the beginning of 2008, I have been teaching a class at the Advanced Training Unit of the Philadelphia (PA) Police Department titled "Radical Islam", and it has been an eye-opening educational experience.
I have learned a great deal in the teaching of this class, as well as during a course that I took a few years back at the Community College of Philadelphia on the topic of terrorism with its text "Terrorism and Homeland Security" by Jonathan R. White.
In addition, my own personal reading done since 9/11 of books such as "American Jihad" by Steven Emerson, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East" by Martin Sieff, and "Holy War on the Homefront" by Harvey Kushner (all of which I highly recommend), the fact that Islamism is perhaps the overall biggest threat to American society in today's world has been driven home to me.
Just as eye-opening has been what I perceive to be an incredible lack of recognition of this fact by the American public, lulled back to sleep by the American media's political agenda, in the wake of the historically outrageous and devastating attacks that occurred just seven short years ago.
Islamism is defined as a set of ideologies that holds Islam, the Muslim faith, is not only a religion but also should be considered as a political system. Islamists would say that to call it a political system is to trivialize it, that the truth is that Islam should be a "complete way of life."
However you want to slice it, and by whatever words you want to associate it, Islamists believe that Islamic law (Sharia) must be the primary source of law and cultural identity within a state. Islamists believe that there can indeed by peace on earth: when Islam dominates and controls the world, and anyone who refuses to accept Islam is either subjugated under it or is killed.
There is a naive belief of some that we should either ignore this threat to the world, or that we should try to negotiate with it. Those who feel this way take the position of Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama, that we need to "bring home the troops" and "end the war" in the Middle East.
The fact is, this war was declared on us, not by us. It was declared on us by an enemy who will not stop fighting until they control the world. If we come home, only one side has stopped fighting in the war, which will continue without us, and we will ultimately reap the tragic consequences of our failure to stomach this true battle of civilizations.
Perhaps the first lesson that the American public needs to learn is this: Islamism only allows for what they term the 'Three Choices'.
First, they invite you to Islam, to join or convert. If you do so, they will have no problem with you.
However, fail to convert, the second choice given to you is to pay a tax, what they term the 'Jizya', and you need to do so "with willing submission". This means that you as an individual and a society will pay some type of financial and material tax to the Muslim world in order to continue practicing your faith under their "protection", but you will be subjugated under their ultimate control as a 2nd-class citizen of the Muslim world.
If you do not wish to either convert or pay the tax, then your third option is to fight. Period, end of story. There is not fourth option. There is no "live and let live", no "you go your way, I'll go mine." Islamism leaves no option to individuals or to nations other than to join, be subjugated, or be destroyed.
Choose not to believe this? Then you are simply ignorant. That is not meant as a slander against you, it is meant that you simply are not educated enough on the subject of Islamism to have a valid opinion.
My advice would be, rather than simply choosing to not believe based on nothing other than some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, that you should begin to read and educate yourself on this topic.
Following these Islamism Series postings will be one good way. I will point out many different facets of Islamism along the way, relating to terms that you have heard but perhaps do not fully understand, such as Jihad and Abrogation.
I will discuss specific groups such as Hamas and al Qaeda and Hezbollah. I will discuss individuals such as Muhammad, Osama bin Laden, Sayyid Qutb, Ayatollah Khomeini, Hassan Nasrallah, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad among others.
Also, I will discuss specific attacks against the United States and the West, including the 9/11 attacks, the London and Madrid subway bombings, the Beslan school takeover, and others.
There will be ideology, religion, politics, history, and much more along the way. If you miss an excerpt, click below on the "Islamism Series" label to find all the postings.
Most importantly, through this series, the books recommended earlier, and any other source you wish to use, get yourself educated. Just a small look into it will awaken you to just how big a problem we face.
I have learned a great deal in the teaching of this class, as well as during a course that I took a few years back at the Community College of Philadelphia on the topic of terrorism with its text "Terrorism and Homeland Security" by Jonathan R. White.
In addition, my own personal reading done since 9/11 of books such as "American Jihad" by Steven Emerson, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East" by Martin Sieff, and "Holy War on the Homefront" by Harvey Kushner (all of which I highly recommend), the fact that Islamism is perhaps the overall biggest threat to American society in today's world has been driven home to me.
Just as eye-opening has been what I perceive to be an incredible lack of recognition of this fact by the American public, lulled back to sleep by the American media's political agenda, in the wake of the historically outrageous and devastating attacks that occurred just seven short years ago.
Islamism is defined as a set of ideologies that holds Islam, the Muslim faith, is not only a religion but also should be considered as a political system. Islamists would say that to call it a political system is to trivialize it, that the truth is that Islam should be a "complete way of life."
However you want to slice it, and by whatever words you want to associate it, Islamists believe that Islamic law (Sharia) must be the primary source of law and cultural identity within a state. Islamists believe that there can indeed by peace on earth: when Islam dominates and controls the world, and anyone who refuses to accept Islam is either subjugated under it or is killed.
There is a naive belief of some that we should either ignore this threat to the world, or that we should try to negotiate with it. Those who feel this way take the position of Democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama, that we need to "bring home the troops" and "end the war" in the Middle East.
The fact is, this war was declared on us, not by us. It was declared on us by an enemy who will not stop fighting until they control the world. If we come home, only one side has stopped fighting in the war, which will continue without us, and we will ultimately reap the tragic consequences of our failure to stomach this true battle of civilizations.
Perhaps the first lesson that the American public needs to learn is this: Islamism only allows for what they term the 'Three Choices'.
First, they invite you to Islam, to join or convert. If you do so, they will have no problem with you.
However, fail to convert, the second choice given to you is to pay a tax, what they term the 'Jizya', and you need to do so "with willing submission". This means that you as an individual and a society will pay some type of financial and material tax to the Muslim world in order to continue practicing your faith under their "protection", but you will be subjugated under their ultimate control as a 2nd-class citizen of the Muslim world.
If you do not wish to either convert or pay the tax, then your third option is to fight. Period, end of story. There is not fourth option. There is no "live and let live", no "you go your way, I'll go mine." Islamism leaves no option to individuals or to nations other than to join, be subjugated, or be destroyed.
Choose not to believe this? Then you are simply ignorant. That is not meant as a slander against you, it is meant that you simply are not educated enough on the subject of Islamism to have a valid opinion.
My advice would be, rather than simply choosing to not believe based on nothing other than some pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, that you should begin to read and educate yourself on this topic.
Following these Islamism Series postings will be one good way. I will point out many different facets of Islamism along the way, relating to terms that you have heard but perhaps do not fully understand, such as Jihad and Abrogation.
I will discuss specific groups such as Hamas and al Qaeda and Hezbollah. I will discuss individuals such as Muhammad, Osama bin Laden, Sayyid Qutb, Ayatollah Khomeini, Hassan Nasrallah, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad among others.
Also, I will discuss specific attacks against the United States and the West, including the 9/11 attacks, the London and Madrid subway bombings, the Beslan school takeover, and others.
There will be ideology, religion, politics, history, and much more along the way. If you miss an excerpt, click below on the "Islamism Series" label to find all the postings.
Most importantly, through this series, the books recommended earlier, and any other source you wish to use, get yourself educated. Just a small look into it will awaken you to just how big a problem we face.
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