A Clash of Civilizations?

Do you believe that we are facing a clash of civilizations in our war with militant Islamofascists? I was recently accused of being “over the top” with that claim in a political discussion with an acquaintance. The simple fact is that most Americans don’t believe the threat from the militant followers of Allah is as great as it really is. Or maybe I am just exaggerating the threat.

I repeatedly have compared the necessity of fighting this war to the necessity of fighting the Cold War. In reality, this threat is greater. The Soviets were dangerous because of the nuclear missiles they had and the satellite nations they created in which they could put those missiles. The typical Soviet citizen, though, wasn’t that interested in dying for Communism. Invade the Soviet Union, and the citizenry would defend their homeland as most people, except American leftists, would. However, they were content to leave conquest to their ideological soul mates whom they encouraged to foment civil war in places like Korea, Vietnam and Nicaragua.

The militant Islamist is different, though. Not only will they die for their ideology, they will take as many people with them as possible. Of the world’s one billion Muslims, it is estimated that 100 million follow a militant brand of Islam. Further, it is safe to say that ten million of those are committed enough to die and kill for the greater glory of Allah. Remember, Islamofascism is an ideology fed by clerics, not apparatchiks and bureaucrats.

Of course, it’s easy to dismiss this and claim that the only reason the Islamists are mad is because we support Israel and because we have American troops in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. A dismissal like that is akin to saying that Naziism merely arose in Germany because the Treaty of Versailles was unfair. It completely ignores the underlying beliefs involved.

First, one must recognize the true nature of Islam. Islam doesn’t mean “peace” as moderates tried to claim after September 11. Islam actually means “submission”. They believe in complete and total submission to Allah. Earthly pleasures are to be ignored in order to commit one’s life to the will of Allah. The will of Allah demands a rigid societal structure where no dissent is tolerated and no choice regarding lifestyles deemed “decadent” is countenanced. As a result, McDonald’s, MTV and Coca-Cola are viewed as threats.

Secondly, Islamofascists don’t see national borders the way one would assume. Leftists like to claim that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis. Quite frankly, that is irrelevant. They viewed themselves as Muslim. They had less loyalty to the house of Saud than they did to the clerics that taught them complete submission to Allah.

An Islamofascist views himself as a Muslim, first, last and always. Further, an Islamofascist doesn’t see that as merely a religious statement. It is an ideological one. The outspoken Malaysian Anwar Ibrahim stated, "We are not socialist, we are not capitalist, we are Islamic." Islam must control society.

Of course I’m sure people are saying that we should let them have their societies and stay out of their way. If it were only that easy. We got out of Iran. Still though, as Daniel Pipes noted, “Kalim Saddiqui, the main Iranian polemicist in the West, deems Western civilization ‘not a civilization but a sickness.’ And not just any sickness but ‘a plague and a pestilence’ Belhadj of Algeria's FIS ridicules Western civilization as ‘syphilization.’

Such a pestilence cannot be permitted to survive. Pipes states the struggle this way:

Hatred against the West inspires a struggle with it for cultural supremacy. Fundamentalists see the rivalry as cultural, not military. "It is a struggle of cultures," a Muslim Brethren leader explains, "not one between strong countries and weak countries. We are sure that the Islamic culture will triumph." But how is this victory to be achieved? By producing better music or coming up with a cure for cancer? Hardly, as Saddiqui, the Iranian spokesman in London, vividly makes clear: "American GIs clutching photos of their girl friends would be no match for the soldiers of Islam clutching copies of the Qur'an and seeking shahadah [martyrdom]." Islam will triumph, in other words, through will and steel.

Pipes also recognizes that the ultimate goal of the Islamofascists is the supplanting of the United States as the dominant influence in the world. They do not WANT to be left alone in the Middle East. They want to dominate the entire world. Pipes says:

'Umar 'Abd ar-Rahman, the Egyptian sheikh who guides (the 1993 World Trade Center bombers), stands accused in a Manhattan court of seditious conspiracy, that is, trying to overthrow the government of the United States. However bizarre this sounds, it makes sense from 'Abd ar-Rahman's perspective. As he sees it, the mujahidin in Afghanistan brought down the Soviet Union; so, one downand one to go. Not understanding the robustness of a mature democracy, 'Abd ar-Rahman apparently thought a campaign of terrorist incidents would so unsettle Americans that he and his group could take over. A Tehran newspaper hinted at how the scenario would unfold when it portrayed the February 1993 explosion at the World Trade Center as proof that the U.S. economy "is exceptionally vulnerable." More than that, the bombing "will have an adverse effect on Clinton's plans to rein in the economy." Some fundamentalists, at least, really do think they can take on the United States.

The Islamofascists, Osama Bin Laden among them, really believe that the United States is a paper tiger. Osama said that after Clinton left Somalia. They believe that if they inflict enough damage on us, then we won’t fight. They believe that if they can make life bad enough we will implode and the unified Muslims will take over.

This is a clash of civilizations. The Qu’ran teaches jihad in three stages. The first stage involves purifying oneself. The second stage involves defensive warfare. However, the third stage COMMANDS aggressive warfare against ALL who refuse to become Muslim or pay the taxes imposed by Muslims. Cf. Sura 9:29 and Sahih Muslim 4294. We are now in the third stage. War has been declared upon the United States. The only reason opponents of this war think I’m over the top is because they still have their heads buried.