Addressing Grievances

I have found it quite difficult to write about what I believe concerning our global war against terrorism. Of course we should attempt to militarily destroy groups such as the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist cells akin to these, but the conflict is much larger than that. Without including every particular Muslim, I still want to indict Islam in general. Just as I would condemn Nazi Germany in the '30's and '40's without including many or most of the German people, I would do the same with present day Islam; It is our enemy.

I have understood this long before 9/11. My understanding comes mainly from the situation in Nigeria. The Nigerians have quite a long history of Muslim violence against non-Muslims. There has recently been another large outbreak there, ostensibly due to the Danish cartoon publication. Any excuse, or no excuse, will do.

I cannot claim to understand Islamic doctrine to any depth. I can, however, assess the results produced by cultures immersed in it. A religion of peace it has proven not to be. A religion of great violence marks its history and present. A devout Muslim probably would make an excellent neighbor, but Islamic regimes seldom or never do.

Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese Christian, speaks to her experiences with the religion of peace. Following is one paragraph in a talk that she has given entitled, 'The Plight of the Infidel':

"America cannot effectively defend itself in this war unless and until the American people understand the nature of the enemy that we face. Even after 9/11 there are those who say that we must “engage” our terrorist enemies, that we must “address their grievances”. Their grievance is our freedom of religion. Their grievance is our freedom of speech. Their grievance is our democratic process where the rule of law comes from the voices of many not that of just one prophet. It is the respect we instill in our children towards all religions. It is the equality we grant each other as human beings sharing a planet and striving to make the world a better place for all humanity. Their grievance is the kindness and respect a man shows a woman, the justice we practice as equals under the law, and the mercy we grant our enemy. Their grievance cannot be answered by an apology for who or what we are."

In short, their grievance is that you are not a Muslim. We are given three choices; convert, obediently submit, or die. We, however, will take a fourth option. We must mount a continual, modern-day Crusade against them; militarily, politically, and rhetorically; out-jihad their jihad and fatwas of violence.