The Islamic Threat to World Peace — Part I
Author’s Note: Although our primary interests at Star Phoenix Base focus on the environmental threats to our planet, we cannot avoid the realization that human conflict is equally threatening to the future of our civilization. We do not intend to cover or comment upon religion in general, but we shall do so when we perceive that religious activities are impacting on the science and politics of human survival. Examples include the anti-scientific efforts of proponents of Intelligent Design, and most poignantly, radical Islam. This is the first in a series through which we will comment from time to time on the impact of radical Islam on world events and the direction of humanity’s future.
By David L. Brown
One of the most serious problems in the world today is the existence of radical Islam with its implacable goals of destroying all non-Islamic civilizations. It is estimated that up to 100 million of the world’s approximately one billion Muslims would actively support jihad against the West. Many others would be passive supporters, in obeyance to the Koran and the teachings of mullahs and other Islamic “scholars.”
Why do we class Islam as a threat to the world? In short, because it has as its goal the suppression of all non-Islamic peoples and the institution of Shari’a, or Koranic, law in every corner of the Earth. This is unacceptable not only from the point of view of the many human beings who do not share the Islamic world view, but also on a more practical level. It is sad but true that Muslim societies are culturally, technologically, and socially backward. In fact, their “religion” has held them frozen in the ways of the Seventh Century when Mohammed launched the wars of conquest that have continued to this day and which are, in fact, a basic element of Islam.
Ill-educated except in the purported word of their deity, many radical Muslims are superstitious, bigoted, self-righteous individuals who are poorly suited to manage a world that has over-populated itself to a point that would have been inconceivable in Medieval times. Putting it bluntly, they appear better prepared as destroyers than as builders. Sadly, Muslim societies have not advanced to create the ability to manage and administrate, to invent and manufacture, and to create art, music, philosophies and all the many fundamental building blocks of a vibrant modern day civilization.
Without Western imports of food and technology, Islamic societies in general would not be able to feed their expanding populations, would not have the advantages of modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity, and, more ominously, would not have the capability to wage modern warfare. At no time in recent history have Muslim peoples created the many things on which they depend for their existence. (A parallel can be found with the Plains Indians during the Westward expansion of America. Sitting Bull’s warriors defeated Custer at the Little Bighorn using modern rifles and pistols that were products of Western technology. On their own, the Sioux remained basically a stone age people who had no possibility of manufacturing such weapons.)
Imagine if Islam were to succeed and control the entire Earth through conquest and submission of all people under the pennants of Allah? In fact, Islam would not be able to take care of their newly won territories and submissive followers and a terrible new Dark Age would surely descend.
Here at Star Phoenix Base we have touched before on the fact that Islam is unlike other mainstream religions. Because of those differences it can hardly be called a “religion” in terms we Westerners can understand. In fact, the case can be made (as you are about to see) that Islam is no religion at all, but rather the world’s oldest on-going extremist political movement having the single-minded goal of world domination, very much in the model of the far shorter-lived Nazi and Soviet movements. In other words, a cult.
I recently ran across a reference to how cults operate, and what distinguish them from true religions, in Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman’s book “Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change.” The authors’ list the distinguishing characteristics of cults as a guide to distinguishing them from true religions. Of course, they were writing about the kind of cults led by Jim Jones or David Koresh, and which spring up like weeds in the Golden State and other happy havens of peaceful meditation (and dare I say it, tolerance). Here is how they describe the distinguishing signs of those kinds of cults. A cult, as distinguished from a religion, has some or all of the following features:
1) A cult forbids you from having friends or even spending much time with relatives who are not members of the cult.
2) A cult features a living figure, or figures, to whom absolute obedience is expected.
3) Cults employ classic hypnotherapy-style brainwashing techniques, to change the personalities of members and encourage absolute obedience.
4) Cults employ malnutrition to weaken a person’s mind (serious long-term malnutrition, not the occasional fast), and also to aid in encouraging absolute obedience to the cult leadership and to alter the personalities of members.
5) A cult gradually takes more and more and more of a member’s income until ultimately they are giving most of their livelihood, or all of it, to the cult.
6) Cults threaten the lives of those who leave the cult.
7) Cults actively hunt down and kidnap escapees to bring them back in for reconditioning.
The authors say that a cult will not necessarily have all of these characteristics, but at least many of them. You would not find such features in any mature, mainstream religion (for example, early Christianity or Old Testament Judaism may have had cult characteristics, but those features have been diluted, modified and wiped away through the centuries).
Well, in reading this I somehow had to be reminded of Islam (which was not mentioned in the context in which I found the information nor was it a subject that the authors’ in any way addressed). I thought it might be interesting to see if the purported Religion of Peace and Tolerance has any of these cult characteristics at all. Of course, if Islam is truly a major “religion,” as most people have been led to believe, according to Conway and Siegelman it should not be possible for it to have any of those qualities … but let’s see, hmmmm? I’ll take it point-by-point:
1— “Forbids you from having friends or even spending much time with relatives who are not members of the cult.” Well, it is plain that the Koran and Islam as it is practiced strongly discourage Muslims from associating with Infidels. Marrying an Infidel is an unthinkable abomination for a strict Muslim, and Islamic communities are adamantly opposed to assimilation into other societies. Muslims are exhorted to remain separate from non-believers and taught to hate them, so Islam can clearly be said to have this cult quality. Just this week it was reported that the Iranian government has passed legislation to require Jews, Christians and other non-Islamic citizens of Iran to wear distinguishing badges to make it easier for True Believers to avoid them. I will award one point in favor of Islam being a cult.
2 — “A living figure, or figures, to whom absolute obedience is expected.” Well, Islam abounds with figures of absolute authority, including a myriad of Ayatollahs, Imams and Mullahs. Also to be found are Osama bin Laden and his ilk, Jihadist leaders who also demand absolute devotion. And, of course, followers are expected to live in absolute submission to Allah, a non-living figure by our understanding, but who is imagined by any believing Muslim to be quite real and whose word (as interpreted by Mohammed, various Ayatollahs, Imams and Mullahs, and Jihadist leaders) absolutely must be obeyed. And, of course, though he is no longer a living person, Mohammed has written down his instructions in the Koran, to be followed to the letter and with serious consequences for failing to do so. So, on this second criterion, once again, Islam qualifies as a cult. One point.
3 — “Classic hypnotherapy-style brainwashing techniques…to encourage absolute obedience.” There is no question but that Islam uses these methods, although not clothed in the modern terms used by the authors. To the best of my understanding, a major thrust of Islamic preaching in many mosques and teaching in conservative madrassas is this very goal of brainwashing the true believers. What goes on inside every mosque and Islamic school falls very nicely into the described cultish activity. Again, Islam qualifies as having this characteristic of a cult. One point.
4 — “Use of malnutrition to weaken a person’s mind…also to aid in encouraging absolute obedience to the cult leadership and to alter personalities.” Well, it might be a cheap shot to mention Ramadan, a long-term fasting event which is the most important feature of the Islamic year. More generally, Muslims may not be controlled by malnutrition, so we cannot assign a complete match here, although there may be some similarities. Having to eat sheep’s eyes and similar garbage may be mentioned in this context, but again the average Muslim probably has a full belly most of the time. There are other methods applied by radical islam to retain control over the believers, however, such as the requirement for men to wear beards like that of the Prophet’s and of women to dress like black spooks and remain second class members of the Islamic society. Half a point, then.
5 — “Gradually taking more and more and more of a member’s income until ultimately they are giving most of their livelihood, or all of it, to the cult.” For true believers, those devout Muslims who join the Jihad, become terrorists or suicide bombers, or in other ways fully engage in the program of expanding Islam to world domination certainly give their all. Other, less devoted Muslims are expected to tithe heavily (although this is also true of some mainstream religions) and contribute in other ways to the great effort. The authors have stated this in economic terms, but to place it in a non-economic framework, clearly the goal of Islam (at least of the Wahabbist and extremist Shia varieties) is certainly to completely dominate and take over the lives of its followers. The very word Islam means “submission,” so I think we can give Islam a full point in this area.
6 — “Threatening the lives of those who leave the cult.” Here, there is no doubt. The official word of the Koran is clear: To turn away from Islam is an irredeemable sin, punishable by death. It is the duty of every true Muslim to kill any who turns Infidel. It is completely forbidden for any other religion to be practiced or taught in Islamic societies (in Saudi Arabia it is against the law to possess a Bible or to be a Jew). Absolutely deserving of one point, and should get a bonus point for ruthlessness.
7 — “Kidnapping escapees to bring them back in for reconditioning.” Well, certainly Muslim behavior could fall into this area, except for one problem: As mentioned above, apostasy is irredeemable, and punishable by death. So, there is never an attempt to capture and “recondition” a former Muslim; generally they simply become the subjects of fatwas ordaining death. The only way to avoid that fate is to return voluntarily to the faith. So, in this area, Islam actually goes beyond the qualities associated with cults, for it pursues the apostate with the intention of causing his death. Once more, not only a full point, but also a bonus point for extra ruthlessness.
So, in conclusion, out of seven characteristics intended to distinguish a cult from a religion, by my informal and non-scientific assessment Islam fully qualifies as a cult on six of the items, and has been assigned a half point on the seventh. Plus, I have assigned two bonus points in areas where Islam goes far beyond the pale, earning it a total of 8.5 points out of a possible 7.
Hmmm, it would seem that Islam not only is NOT a religion, it is an uber-cult of which its believers are slavish pawns. So too were the followers of the Nazi cult and the Soviet cult. Many other examples abound through past and present history. Like those other cults, Islam is a clear and present danger of the first order.
So, not only can Islam be described as the world’s oldest movement of world conquest, it is clearly NOT a religion and is indeed a cult devoted to the destruction of every other society or belief system on Earth. Case closed.
Now, if we can just get some Western leaders with enough common sense to recognize the true nature of Islam, perhaps we can start to fight back against the vast threat this represents. Imagine if David Koresh had had one billion followers, instead of about 80? That’s pretty much what we’ve got here, and it is going to take a lot more than an ATF raid to solve the problem.
Nice essay. It truly captures the concept and practice of Islam.