The Battle only we can win: Aggressive Jihad or Religion of Peace?

I now put it to you that Islam is a more than a religion that can be followed privately in a multicultural society, on equal terms with Christianity or Hinduism.  In essence, Islam is as follows:

• a totalitarian system of government
• it has its own legal system called Sharia
• Under Sharia Law, it is possible for men to marry up to four wives, a woman’s testimony is worth a half of that of men,
• it either kills or subjugates followers of other faiths
• it kills members of its own faith that are either seen as hypocrites or heretical or who leave Islam
• it is not open to debate and it outlaws all criticism or mockery of its beliefs
• it seeks to forcefully convert or kill all unbelievers and take over the whole world.
• In particular, Muslims have stated that they plan to take over Europe, including Great Britain

The popular narrative presented by the media would claim that the above is only an extremist ideology, a perversion of true Islam.  I would put it to you that the above description is, in essence, mainstream Islam.  I explain why I think so, not by looking at the human rights records and treatment of Christians in of Muslim Majority countries, the incidence of warfare involving Muslim majority countries, current scholarship among respected Islamic scholars (though I could).

I will call four witnesses, as follows:

• The Quran
• The life of Muhammad
• History
• The current profile of mosques in the UK

The Qur’an

Here are some quotes from an English translation of the Qur’an:

"Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and hypocrites and deal rigorously with them." (9:73)

"Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God’s religion shall reign supreme." (8:39)

"Fight against such of those ... who ... do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (9:29)

Whilst it would be true to say there are some verses in the Quran (far fewer in number) that suggest that Muslims should be peaceful, my point would simply be that there is abundant material in the Quran (which is regarded as the unchangeable, inerrant word of Allah) to justify violence in the name of Islam.

The life of Muhammad

It would be helpful if it could be said that the founder of Islam, to Muslims the greatest of the prophets, was a peaceful, holy man.  However, a brief summary of some of the things he said and did would strengthen the argument that Islam is an aggressive religion.

According to the most reliable sources within Islam, the founder of Islam:

• Supported his religion by robbing people (Ibn Ishaq 281-289)
• Started a war with Mecca when he had a chance to live in peace in Medina (Ibn Ishaq 289-321)
• Had people assassinated for criticising his religion (Ibn Ishaq 675-676)
• Beheaded hundreds of Jews for trying to defend themselves (Ibn Ishaq 464)
• Ordered his followers to execute anyone who leaves his religion (Bukhari 6878)
• Tortured people for money ((Ibn Ishaq 515)
• Bought, sold, owned and traded black African slaves (Bukhari 6161)
• Had sex with a nine year old girl (Bukhari 3895, 5133)
• Married the wife of his own adopted son after causing the divorce (Qur’an 33:37)
• Had sex with his slave girls (Qur’an 33:50)
• Allowed his followers to rape their female captives (Qur’an 4:24)
• Told his followers they could beat their wives into submission (Qur’an 4:34)

History

It is not in dispute that after the death of Muhammad, the Muslims gradually conquered Iraq, Syria (635), Palestine (637), Egypt (642), Persia (Iran), parts of India and Southern Europe (up to 750AD). The process of converting the populations to Islam would then gradually follow.  In essence, Islam, throughout its history, has been a religion of military conquest and subjugation of non-Muslims through either death or domination.

Profile of Mosques in the UK

It is not disputed that there are types of Islam which focus on spirituality, are peaceful and do not want to kill or violently subjugate non-Muslims.  So what is the current profile in the UK – how many of our mosques promote an aggressive form of Islam?

About 45% of our mosques are known as Deobandi.  The Deobandi sect of Islam originated in India and spawned the Taliban in Afghanistan.  They believe that women should cover their heads and faces, Muslims should separate as much as possible from mainstream society.  They are the most active group in terms of training Muslim leaders and running Islamic schools for children.  80% of new Islamic leaders are trained by this group.  Their links with and support for numerous terrorist groups and sympathisers is beyond dispute.

Anyone who wants to look into this a little further may want to listen to the two BBC Radio analysis programmes focusing on this group.

Another 6% are Salafi (what we would call Wahabi) mosques linked to Saudi Arabia, another very radical group.  We’re above 50% already.

There is plenty of material on, for example YouTube, discussing these issues.  As a small taster, I will leave you with the thoughts of a young man who converted to Islam, studied the religion, travelled extensively in Islamic countries before leaving Islam and becoming a Christian.

The Battle only we can win: The Deluded British

It was, to quote Churchill, our finest hour.

We are proud of our success (along with our allies) in defeating Nazism 70 years ago.  Winning the Second World War was a wonderful achievement.

It is still firmly in our collective memory and it makes us proud.  Hundreds of World War II films have been made since the 1950s and the War is taught about to all of our school children.

But we are quick to forget to what degree we called upon the Lord at that time.  During key moments in World War II, encouraged by King George, national days of prayer for our nation were held.  Here is an interesting article linking the nation in prayer with key successes in the war.

The fact that we still regard ourselves quite highly is illustrated by the attached clip.  One of our best political interviewers, Andrew Neill, had these tough words to say to the Jihadi fighters in our midst.

Andrew’s words are inspiring, and for sure there are wonderful, courageous people around in our armed services and police.  

Andrew Neil cites our victory over the German air force, the Luftwaffe, to illustrate how our bravery has enabled us to defeat a powerful enemy.  An extract from the above article gives an interesting angle on the Battle of Britain...

The second Day of Prayer was on Sunday, August 11th, 1940. This was a national youth call to prayer. The King had called all the young people to pray. I was walking past a large area of tennis courts on the way to church. The tennis courts were deserted except for a perplexed young man holding a tennis racket. He was completely alone.

'Where have they all gone?' he exclaimed.

'They're all in church praying for national deliverance,' I said. 'Why don't you go!'

'I can't believe this! My pals have never gone to church even once in their lives!'

The Answer

Britain could not know that within the week that followed, the overweight Nazi, Air Field Marshall Goering, commenced the first stage in the Battle of Britain. It failed. The relatively small British force of Spitfires and Hurricanes shot down 180 Nazi bombers over South-east England. The rate of interception excelled by far anything that could be expected or explained by radar, said our air commander.

The next national Day of Prayer was only a month later on September 8th, 1940. Calling for another Day of Prayer so soon showed how desperate Parliament knew the situation to be.

The answer again was immediate and it was during this period that people in the streets began to see angels in the sky. A more determined Nazi air attack was made by sending five fighter planes to accompany every single bomber during the week following. Yet against all odds, as many as 185 Nazi planes were shot down. It was sad for us padres to see the empty canteen tables of those who did not return, but they had shot down a far greater number than our own losses. In fact Air Chief Marshall Dowding said: 'I will say with absolute conviction that I can trace the intervention of God . . . Humanly speaking victory was impossible!'

And that was during the week following our third National Day of Prayer, and the newspapers were not afraid to print that statement by Dowding.

Goering, the Nazi commander, expected success and in anticipation Hitler had prepared invasion barges at Bremen. But I see in my notes taken at the time that a terrific storm in the channel and North Sea blew away those invasion barges. The result was that the invasion of Britain was postponed. This was vital, for it gave Britain more time to manufacture armaments to re-equip our depleted forces.

I put it to you that we are a shadow of what we once were, not least in the area of our spirituality.  The freedoms we have are hard won.  I believe that when we abuse those freedoms to indulge in immorality, we will soon lose them.  There are exceptions of course, but I see the UK as largely a nation of cowards.

We are proud, we are godless and we are deluded.  We are soon going to find this out.

The battle only we can win: The Gentle British

There's a battle going on in Europe, including the UK.  We're in a deep, deep crisis.  Some people are waking up to it, most have not.  Militant Islam has declared war on Europe.  We don't know how to fight it.  Culturally, politically and spiritually, I believe we have as good as lost the battle.  In the next few posts I will explain why I think this.

But there is good news.

The good news is, I believe that the church of Jesus Christ through his name, through the triumph of his shed blood on the cross and by the power of the Holy Spirit, will win the war.  To quote a song.

Yet O Lord, your glorious cross shall tower triumphant in this land
Evil confounding
Through the fire, your suffering church display the glories of her Christ
Praises resounding

It won't be won without much suffering, it won't be won by cowards or the faint hearted.  But I firmly believe that through Christ, his church will be triumphant in the end.

Years ago, one of my best friends went travelling abroad for a few months.  On returning, he told many tales of his adventures.  But his conclusion was to this effect.

You can’t beat England!  It’s just the best country in the world!  Peaceful, secure, orderly.  The people are polite, funny, civilised, kind.  I am so glad to be home!

We have enjoyed over 70 years of relative peace here.  World War II is only a very distant memory.  In fact we live on an island surrounded by a huge moat consisting of the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.  Nobody has successfully invaded our land for over 950 years.

Our country oozes with imposing historic buildings, quaint churches, village ponds and greens, country houses.  A galaxy of great inventors, engineers, thinkers, scientists, leaders, entertainers, writers, preachers, missionaries, soldiers, musicians and artists grew up here over that period.  Our health system is gloriously free, the benefits system at least keeps people out of the abject poverty we see in some countries.  The weather is mild, if a little rainy and the fields are green.  Our police are unarmed.  Nobody owns a gun apart from a few farmers and eccentric enthusiasts.  It’s a great place to live.

Over the years, we have also learned to basically trust our institutions.  So most of us, without really thinking very hard about it, carry the following assumptions:

1. People generally tell you the truth.  Lies are ‘white’
2. News coverage from the BBC, Sky and ITV can be trusted
3. University education helps you to ‘get on’ in life
4. Religious people are harmless, though a little odd
5. School teachers, college and university lecturers, teach the truth
6. ‘The system’, consisting of hospitals, police, the courts, parliament, banks, chemists, the benefits system, my local MP, social workers, the family doctor, will take care of me if things go wrong.

The people?   Polite, understated, humorous.  We like making fun of each other.  There is still a bit of a class system, which we take constant delight in laughing at.  ‘Posh’ people still talk differently from the ordinary folk.  Anyone who lives north of Peterborough or west of Oxford could speak one of an endless range of accents and dialects.  We are modest in manner.  We don’t like shouting and we will generally avoid getting into fights, especially over religion and politics.

Do we get passionate about anything?  Yes.  Sport!  It seems that we invented most of them.  Football (soccer) arouses the strongest emotions.  But we also love our cricket, rugby, tennis, motor racing and golf.  What else?  Some, a minority, are keen enough to have passionate political views.  What about our churches?  Our main established church, the Church of England, reformed in doctrine, but ‘Catholic’ in its procedures brings out a succession of pleasant, well-spoken, intellectual, mild-mannered leaders who rarely get heated about anything.  They are loved by some, passed over as irrelevant or weird by most except when we need christenings, weddings and burials.  Religious zealots, though disliked, are still quietly tolerated.

One thing the English are bad at is getting angry and speaking effectively.  The Scots, Welsh and Irish are a bit better at it.  We quietly seethe, complaining bitterly under our breath. 

So, what’s been happening lately in this mini-paradise?

Well, here’s is a sample of social trends.  Things going on ‘under the radar’, suggesting that not everything is rosy.

• 185,000 unborn babies aborted every year.  68,000 of those were repeat abortions.  That’s a lot of lives.

The blood of the innocents cry out to God.  If he was to do nothing to Britain for this reason alone, he would have to apologise to Sodom.

• Men and women don’t commit themselves to one another any more.  Now, over 50% of our children are born to unmarried mothers.
• A million of our children are growing up without any contact with their father.
• One in 11 adults on antidepressants
• 9% of adults have no close friends at all
• 13% of adults live alone

I could add some words about the culture of debt, especially among young people, the widespread occult inspired or sexually explicit song lyrics, TV dramas and addiction to pornography, the STDs among 18-24 year olds.  I could say something about how our elderly are being marginalised.  Do you get the picture?

As a parent, I can tell you that it’s extremely hard to find wholesome entertainment for our children (or for us), without looking like an oddball.  Many of our teenage children at school classes are made to feel ashamed if they are still virgins at 16 or 17.  The most popular shows on TV are either occultic or little short of pornographic.

I put it to you that we have abandoned the God who gave us our greatness, and we don’t care.  One of the most blessed nations on the face of the Earth.  And we have, on a massive scale, pushed him out of almost every area of public life.

We are destroying ourselves as a society, and much of the above issues do not hit the headlines.  We can safely sweep them under the carpet.  Are we just going to lay down and die, a once great country, without hope and without God?

What will jolt us out of our complacency?