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Deceptive Language and Islamic ‘Fundamentalists’

FoeDestroyerJan 2, 2018, 2:04:53 AM
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All conversation and debate is mediated by the language used; and when that language is deceptive right from the start, we get corralled into limited and false ways of thinking.

The terms Islamic ‘fundamentalists’ and ‘extremists’ so often used by the False Left to describe terrorists create a double bind. Followers of the politically correct False Left are taught to respect and tolerate all religions; nonetheless ‘Muslim’ terrorists are a clear threat by all standards (however controlled they may be in reality). The result is that the False Left is paralyzed in a state of both tolerance and enmity towards these heinous groups. Fortunately, it is not difficult for any leftist to see the folly in this double-think. The bad news however is that most who do see the illogicality turn towards the far-right views of ethnic and religious segregation, and anti-immigration as solutions.

At the root of the problem is of course the grossly erroneous association of terrorism with Islam and its fundamental teachings. Although adherents to the far-right and the False Left bear opposite positions towards solving the problem of terrorism, both have been duped into believing that these so-called ‘Muslim’ terrorists are representatives of Islamic faith, when taken to its utmost culmination. Muslims are then invariably viewed with caution and aversion, as they are thought to be dancing with a dangerous religion. Those Muslims who appear peaceful enough are said to have downplayed their religion and its scriptures in favor of Western values, or else merely have a more chivalrous attitude of self-restraint.

The faith of Islam itself has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism or unprovoked violence. An overview of the true teachings of Islam is really beyond the scope of this article, but a few points of consideration might be raised here. Unless taken glaringly out of context, neither the Quran nor the Hadith teach cruelty or the unjust murder of innocents. To begin with, when the overwhelming majority of Muslims not only claim that theirs is a religion of peace, but are also peaceful people themselves, declaring Islam to be at heart a violent religion is problematic to say the least. Take into account the five pillars of Islam being faith in God, prayer, charity, fasting (i.e. anti-indulgence), and pilgrimage, and it becomes quite clear that any sweeping claims declaring Islam to be inescapably violent are, at the very least, not unmet with clear counter-indications from the religion’s most basic pillars. The far-right finds this view of Muslims as inherently violent particularly convenient towards its cause, as it can then further justify marginalizing all Muslim minorities in the name of protecting its own ‘identity.’

The False Left on the other hand doesn’t see all Muslims as being necessarily terrorists, but rather that the religion of Islam, when taken in its most literal, fundamental form, teaches unprovoked violence; hence the terms Muslim ‘fundamentalists’ and ‘extremists.’ But this claim is also easily disputable. The so-called ‘sword-verse’ of the Quran, which has been the main target of criticism, does not preach terrorism, cruelty, or any other unjust violence of any sort. When interpreting Islamic rules of behavior as set out in the Quran, it is also important to understand the historical context of wartime in which they were written. Indeed the sword verse of 9:5 says:

“Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush.”

But about which idolaters is the Quran speaking? It is not hard to read just the previous few lines of the passage and find the answer:

“And give thou good tidings to the unbelievers of a painful chastisement; excepting those of the idolaters with whom you made covenant, then they failed. You naught neither lent support to any man against you. With them fulfill your covenant till their term; surely God loves the god-fearing.”

The idolaters of 9:5 are only those idolaters who violate peace treaties with the Muslims. All other unbelievers are to be given ‘good tidings.’ Additionally, this passage of the Quran actually only applied specifically to the Arab pagans during the early Muslim wars, according to mainstream Islamic scholarship. Interesting to note also is the next verse which reads:

“But if they repent, and perform the prayer, and pay the alms, then let them go their way; God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate. And if any of the idolaters seeks of thee protection, grant him protection till he hears the words of God; then do thou convey him to his place of security — that, because they are a people who do not know.”

We should not therefore even have to quote Don Marquis’ assertion that “an idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it” as some sort of vindication of Islam, because it is quite clear that anyone who commits acts of terrorism cannot also be a Muslim.

Granted, Islam is not a pacifist religion—but this does not mean that it isn’t a peaceful religion, nor does it mean that it should be held to a standard of unconditional pacifism. Pacifism unavoidably results in tolerance of brutality and discrimination, leaving them unrestrained. Just as Christ says in the oft quoted verse of Matthew: “I am not come to bring peace, but to bring a sword,” so in Islam idleness is not supported in the face of oppression.

Unfortunately, one of the by-products of this pernicious association of terrorists with Islamic ‘radicalism’ is that true Muslims are made to feel that they should be pacifists or hide behind their faith when their lands and people are being savagely annihilated, for fear of being called a terrorist.

We need to draw a firm distinction between genuine and honorable jihad, and those vile hypocrites who slaughter innocents in the name of Islam and defile its image.

ISIS and other terrorist organizations have nothing to do with true Islamic faith. In their pursuit of re-establishing the Caliphate and an Islamic empire, thousands of Muslims are first among the death toll, and many thousands more have been forced to flee their homeland. ISIS tries to justify these crimes against dissidents by labeling them as unbelievers. But as is clearly stated in the Quran, the Hadith, and expressed by Muslim authorities, no Muslim has any right to deem another Muslim as ‘kafir,’ or unbeliever, and in doing so they should be considered Takfiri and unbelievers themselves. While the response of ISIS would be that they are in fact Salafi jihadists, and that they are justified in their takfir accusations because they are a perfect likeness of the original society of Mohammed, this claim is also clearly false on the basis of war crimes alone.

“[You] have misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder … this is a great wrong and an offence to Islam, to Muslims and to the entire world” —126 Sunni imams and Islamic scholars to Islamic State leader al-Bagdadi in an open letter (Sept. 2014)

Many researchers of the subject have noted the conspicuous lack of religious devotion among members of terrorist organizations. They do not pray regularly, they take drugs and alcohol, and visit prostitutes. And among ISIS members (though they are not strictly alone in these) we might add instituting slavery, torture, and the murder of civilians.

*Thankfully, ISIS has just issued a fatwa on how to properly rape their slaves, in accordance with their utterly false and contradictory form of Sharia law*

It’s terribly frustrating and disappointing to see so many people getting roped into thinking that ISIS actually is an state of Muslims and somehow represents the implementation of common Islamic beliefs worldwide, due to the fact that they are called the ‘Islamic State,’ along with all of the other so-called ‘Muslim’ terrorists we have seen. The True Left does not confine itself to any pre-determined terminology. It deals only with realities and designates them according to their actual character. By restoring the language used to describe terrorists to a state of accuracy, and purging it of all serious association with true Islamic beliefs and genuine Muslims, we can rid ourselves of any hesitation in the task of eliminating these groups. Muslims in the West may be exonerated and the image of the Muslim faith may be freed of any conflations with violence. The far-right may then be discredited in its discrimination against Muslims. Additionally, and quite importantly, the broader focus of attention may be redirected away from the non-issue of Islam as a religion and towards much more real and pressing problems.

https://trueleftblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/deceptive-language-and-islamic-fundamentalists/