Radical Islam Revealed, Part 3: What do they want?

Islamic jihadists have a simple ultimatum: convert or die. That's it. That's the nutshell. Their mission is to establish Islam as the supreme controlling religion all over the world. To do that, they have to either convert or kill all non-Muslims in the world (or allow second-class citizens, called 'dhimmis', who willingly submit to the laws and ways of Islam, including Sharia law). Assuming Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslims don't accept their conversion coercion, they are then given permission by the Koran to kill us. Yes, it is sanctioned by the Koran.

So, you could say that they want us to die, simply because we exist. To Western ears, this may sound harsh, provocative, or even simplistic, and I believe that's one of the reasons people in Western democracies have a hard time understanding where they're coming from. People who want to negotiate with jihadists are projecting their own Western views on their adversaries, completely missing the fact that those adversaries think in a totally different way than Westerners. We think in terms of compromise, concessions, and political advantages; they think in terms of religious absolutes. Whereas we may give in on certain points of negotiation to win others, they will always eventually come back for more because their fervent belief requires it of them until they achieve complete victory (i.e. conversion or death of all infidels). Just ask Israel, who has been giving away land for years, supposedly in exchange for 'peace', although a lasting peace has never been established that way.

This mindset difference is a hard concept to accept, but a critical foundation of the understanding of jihadists and their motivations. If you don't believe me, listen to them - they're the ones saying it.

Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda: The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam. If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran: "Israel must be wiped off the map...The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran: "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism."

Maulana Inyadullah, who began fighting the Soviet invasion in 1982 at the age of 16: "War is our best hobby. The sound of guns firing is like music for us. We cannot live advertisement without war. We have no other way except jihad. The Americans love Pepsi Cola, we love death."

Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda: "The war is for you or for us to win."

Victor Davis Hanson posts an article by Bruce Thornton called In Their Own Words. If there is nothing else that you read out of this entire series of blogs, read this. It is the single most damning piece of evidence supporting the claim that Islam is the root of radical jihadist terrorism. Why? Because it's the words of Osama bin Laden and Aymin al Zawahiri themselves. If they claim their jihad against the West is based on Islam, and if they make extensive use of the Koran in their writings to justify jihad, shouldn't we believe them?

History shows that bin Laden has the better understanding of Islam than do Western apologists; as Ibrahim summarizes the argument, "'radical' Islam is Islam — without exception." In this same vein, Zawahiri argues in his "Loyalty and Enmity" that the only relationship one can have with the infidel is enmity. Zawahiri buttresses this argument with numerous quotations from Islamic theology, the most important coming from the Koran 60:4: "'We disown you and the idols which you worship besides Allah. We renounce you: enmity and hate shall reign between us until you believe in Allah alone.'" On this authority comes the necessity to wage jihad against the infidel.

So, that's who they are and what they want. Once you understand that, you're over the biggest hurdle - everything else becomes significantly easier to understand. The next blog in this series will address what happens if they achieve their goal of Muslim domination in the Western world.



References:
In Their Own Words
The War Is For You Or For Us To Win
The Road To Cultural Surrender
Exploring Islam's Death Cult
Bin Laden's Letter To America
Wipe Israel Off The Map
Iranian Leader - Wipe Out Israel
The Americans Love Pepsi Cola, We Love Death