The more I ready about incidents like that of the Nigerian teacher whose home was burned to the ground for disciplining a Muslim student, or any of the other ways that “radical” Islam is trying to intimidate the free world, the more I keep asking myself, what would I do if they were coming for me? I’ll tell you what I would not do – I would not let myself be slaughtered like a sheep. I keep thinking of the movie The Mission, where Jeremy Irons and Robert Deniro play two Jesuits who have to choose to fight or passively resist – tough choice – it shows the value of both positions (and I think both are valuable and “right.”) I think we need a multi-pronged approach.
1. Take strong pro-active legislative stances
We already have a constitution, but we need to do things like the Dutch have begun doing, including:
- Strip Islamic radicals with dual nationality of their American passports
- Halt immigration from all Islamic countries, except for those seeking asylum
- Monitor and close down all Mosques that promote Jihad, even if only in printed materials
- Refuse to make allowances in public institutions (e.g. schools, government buildings) for Sharia law (e.g. if a school has a rule of no hats, that means no head coverings for Jews or Muslims or anyone else). France, of course, has already tried this.
2. Infiltrate and Prosecute Jihadist Organizations in the US
Just like the Feds took down the Italian mafia, Radical Islamists need to be viewed as criminal organizations, and even more moderate Muslim organizations are suspect, since radicals can hide out in them. Those who promote sedition should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
3. Cooperate with Islamic Reformers
Thankfully, a majority of Muslims realize, at least subconsciously, the insanity of the radical teachings of their prophet, and don’t want to kill us all. We need to work with them to make a better Islam possible. As an aside, I don’t consider CAIR a truly moderate group. We should read their books and engage them. Try these books:
- Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith (Wolfe, ed.) – we need to listen to and encourage the voices of moderation within the Muslim community. Even if we believe that Islam, in its foundational teachings, is murderous, it is not going away, and any encouragement and support that we can give to the majority of Muslims who don’t want to kill infidels is something we should consider.
- Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Ramadan) – ditto on the above book. It will be easier to convince healthy people to abandon radical Islam than to abandon Islam entirely, so lets be knowledgeable and generous to the moderate Islamic cause (without supporting Islam itself, if possible – at the least, we should not be antagonistic towards moderates.)
4. Prepare for Ideological Battle
We will all have to take up the public policy and civil rights issues in our own towns. We need to be ready to defend liberty. Heck, if the ACLU takes up these cases in defense of freedom, I might even support them (on a case by case basis ;). This means arming ourselves with KNOWLEDGE of the principles of freedom and liberty. The following books are what I consider to be good primers (secularists, please chime in with suggestions):
- American Government (Cliffs Quick Review)
- Democracy in America (de Tocqueville)
- The Federalist Papers (Hamilton)
- Liberating the Nations: Biblical Principles of Government, Education, Economics and Politics (McDowell)
- Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures (Miller)
- Winning the Future (Gingrich)
5. Prepare for Spiritual Battle, Service, and Evangelism
Like it or not, we have to reach out to the Muslim community with loving service and gospel preaching. As Christians, we need to educate ourselves on what Muslims believe, including moderate Muslims who don’t buy into the whole Jihad thing. And you thought evangelizing Jews was tough! First, I suggest reading any or all of the following:
- Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities (Gabriel) – I can not recommend this book highly enough. The first appendix has some great advice on how to share Jesus with Muslims (starting with “don’t insult the Koran or Mohammed”)
- The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion (Spencer) – I’ve not read this yet, but am impressed with Spencer, whom you can read on Jihad Watch, and can hear on various podcasts at Hot Air.
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades (Spencer) – this is a little bit of an easier read than the book above, but also covers the liberal revisionist history of the Crusades.
- While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within (Bawer)
Second, I suggest that the church needs to do spiritual work:
- Repentance – for loving our lives, fortunes, and careers more than reaching the lost Muslims. For not being salt and light. We need to return to God with passion and vision.
- Prayer – we need a spiritual awakening in America, not just an evangelism plan.
- Study – as said above, we need to arm our minds
- Outreach – we need to GO, and support those who GO (missionaries)
6. Prepare for Suffering
Any time a great spiritual evil like slavery (or abortion) or radical Islam need to be unseated, there will be anger, violence, and bloodshed. We need to be ready to suffer with a Christlike attitude, loving our enemies and doing good to them, and forgiving. We need to take positive and peaceful social action (like the vast majority of abortion protesters) and demand that government defend freedom and liberty, with the sword if necessary. We don’t want to promote violence with vigilantism. This Herculean task is something Christ asks us to do.
7. Prepare to Defend Ourselves with Arms
I am not a pacifist. If someone tries to come and kill myself and my family, I will shoot to kill, and more than once. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from action movies, it’s make sure the bad guy is really dead. Put an extra bullet through his noggin just in case. In fact, the Christians being killed in Sudan soon realized that turning the other cheek may not apply to those trying to kill you, and they began fighting back.
If you are unsure, try reading Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defence, a book by a Christian, black author who decided to shoot back after seeing many innocents killed in his town in South Africa. If my town gets dangerous, I will buy a handgun, get a license, and practice, and teach my wife to shoot too. I have lots of gun-owner friends, and they are serious about allowing the rule of law to continue, and if they have to, they WILL put bullies in their place. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but it’s a reality we need to consider.
CONCLUSION
The Muslim religion is, IMHO, one of the most significant threats to peace and freedom in our world today. We need to gear up to fight it with vision, character, kindness, firmness, legislation, education, preaching, and arms where necessary. Along with abortion and atheistic Communism (yes, still a threat!), Islam is one of the biggest sources of murder and mayhem, and we need to take it on like men and women of courage. And I am preaching to my wimpy self the most.
