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By Erez Winner and Jon Sutz
SaveTheWest contributing writer Erez Winner spent 25 years in the Israel Defense Forces, and retired as a colonel. Jon Sutz is SaveTheWest’s consulting editor and videographer.
We are daily informed of a brutal terrorist attack, in a Western or Arab country, directed mostly at innocent civilians. Immediately after each attack, the news media, pundits and intellectuals begin their predictable wrangling:
Why?
Who was behind the attack?
What are their reasons?
These questions will be raised, cautiously, often with an intent or hope that it was not an act of Islamist terror. This is usually followed up with a statement by ISIS or an allied group, that attempts to justify their brutal terrorist attack against innocent civilians:
- Western forces hit a senior terrorist target or stronghold
- Other Allied successes in fighting against ISIS
- A Western politician’s statement that they found offensive
- The publication of an article or book that allegedly violated the “sanctity” of Islam
Occasionally, influential Western figures embolden and help to justify the narratives employed by ISIS and allied terror groups. For example, several Hollywood celebrities denounced the U.S. military’s April 2017 air strike on an ISIS stronghold in Afghanistan, and claimed such attacks will only produce more terrorism. Instead, they said, we should employ “love and tolerance” as a better means of protecting ourselves. (In response, SaveTheWest created a petition that calls for these celebrities to go lecture ISIS on this philosophy, instead of America, via a “Celebrity Love Jihad.”)
The question that should have been asked, was: Why are we even allowing ourselves to be distracted with this kind of excuse-making, instead of dealing with the core, underlying motivation of all the Islamist terror attacks?
The correct explanation is much simpler, and does not require in-depth, philosophical discussions. We will save time, energy, broadcast hours and lives, if we speak out, loudly and clearly, about the obvious:
Sunni and Shiite Islamists (Muslim supremacists) are responsible for the vast majority of terrorism and wars in the world today. They have openly and repeatedly admitted that they are doing this all in their relentless pursuit to conquer the world for Allah, and place all its inhabitants, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, under shariah law. In its totality, this cultural jihad is known as political Islamism — relentlessly using violence, intimidation and legal mechanisms (“lawfare”) to achieve their ultimate, self-stated objective, of absolute, totalitarian rule by Islam.
For those who may recoil at such a stark terminology, see the recent blockbuster documentary, “The Third Jihad,” which is hosted by Zuhdi Jasser, MD, an American Muslim reformer (more on him below):
https://youtu.be/4XUub1no1qw
Simply stated, Islamists alone are responsible for the slaughter and the killing, for poverty and famine, and for most of the conflicts around the globe in the past decades. They alone are responsible for the arduous inspection processes we must endure at airports, and for the need to arrive 1-3 hours before our flights. They alone are responsible for the increasing fees in air travel, and the waste of billions of hours of our time, that we will never have back. And they alone are responsible for the deaths and injuries of thousands of American and allied soldiers and intelligence personnel.
Instead of universally and relentlessly attacking and blaming these Islamists’ behavior and its consequences, we instead waste our effort on navel-gazing, asking what we did wrong, or could have done differently, as if we were dealing with a problematic child.
It is important that we understand and know clearly that this terrorism is not the result of a “cruel occupation or terrible poverty.” The proof of this is the identity of many terrorists, residents of Western countries who have not experienced “occupation” or poverty.
What they have experienced, in contrast, is systematic religious and political brainwashing and indoctrination, in mosques, on the Internet (hello, YouTube), and in their own homes, that has led them to commit these abominable acts, in the name of their religion.
Some say that these terrorists are a small and non-representative minority, which is true in terms of quantity. But several recent videos, including one hosted by Raheel Raza, a devout Muslim, expose just how radicalized this significant minority actually is, in terms of the belief systems that are the invariable prerequisite to acts of terrorism:
Another video, hosted by attorney and author Ben Shapiro, expands the scope of analysis of this “tiny minority,” using data from reputable sources including Pew Research:
Some will say that these terrorists misrepresent and distort the interpretation that is not as the religiously intended.
If so, why don’t we hear the voice of the Muslim “silent majority?” Where is the statement by Muslim leaders and scholars that will defend and explain the error in the religious interpretation of those terrorists who act in the name of Islam?
Sadly, this is not their voice at all. With few exceptions, the only dominant voice we hear is the voice of the extremists. One notable, courageous exception is Zuhdi Jasser, MD. (bio), founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, and of the Muslim Reform Movement (of which Raheel Raza is a fellow member). Here is an archive of Dr. Jasser’s recent TV appearances; below is his appearance on Fox News, in the wake of the ISIS bombing of the Ariana Grande’ concert in Manchester, England:
The simple fact is that the quotations from the Muslim holy scriptures and the call to jihad are often heard on a daily basis, in both Islamic nations and in Muslim enclaves within Western ones, and there is no voice of opposition heard, or allowed to be heard.
The obvious conclusion is that these extremists are the ones who act in the name and spirit of the Islamic religion/political movement, and represent the values of those who radicalized them. Their terror and oppression and misogyny and holding of rape slaves is not due, as some influential voices in the West would have you believe, to a lack of job training, or employment opportunities, or critical backlash for the volley of the most recent wave of jihad-driven attacks.
Rather, this terrorism is driven by, and is an expression of, the supremacist, violent, separatist, messianic ideology in which they have been indoctrinated, many from the cradle on up. If you doubt the urgent need to do this, consider what these leading British Islamists say, in their own words, as to their intentions and motivations:
Of course, this is not the voice of all Muslims, or even most Muslims.
But it is important to say, clearly, loudly and consistently, that this Islamist ideology is the driver of the terrorism and repression that we are seeing with such increasing frequency, around the world. It is just as important that we stop trying to explain away their justifications, or to seek excuses for these insane and vile acts.
To run over, to stab with knives, and/or shoot civilians, women, children and old people – is despicable murder, and there is no excuse to justify it.
The fear of clearly stating the obvious will not prevent the next attack, nor will it calm these Islamist extremists.
On the contrary, the silent majority and especially the religious/political leadership should be compelled to choose their civil affiliation.
If the acts of those extremists are indecent to them, they should arise and say so. If they consider such terrorists to be acceptable, it is good for the world to know that they are our enemies, and accept the fact that we are in the midst of World War III — which, put simply, is the war that political Islamists have declared, and are fighting, against Western societies.
The sooner that we recognize this basic fact, the sooner and better we will be able to provide a suitable response to the threat, and stop burying our heads in the sand.
Addendum: Below is a compilation of clandestine video clips taken by, and interviews with women and girls who were held captive by ISIS in Raqaa, Syria. It reveals in stark terms what the world will look like if the political Islamists are successful in their mission, to place the entire Earth under shariah law — one nation, one city, one town at a time.
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