'Do the Muslims Love Their Children Too?' — Reapplying Sting’s Cold War anthem to a new war

In Europe and America, 

There’s a growing feeling of hysteria…

. . . But what may save us, me and you,

Is if the [Muslims] love their children too.

—Adapted from ‘Russians’, by Sting, 1985.

By Ralph H. Sidway

The Islamic State's Poster Child

June 1 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the launch of Sting’s solo career with his critically acclaimed, jazz inflected hit album, Dream Of The Blue Turtles. Included on this radical departure from the musical stylings of Sting’s former band, The Police, was the sobering meditation, Russians. (Complete lyrics here. Watch his live performance at the 1986 Grammys here.)

Although I disagree with some of Sting’s political sensibilities (after all, Reagan won the Cold War), his use of a simple, rhetorical question was most compelling. (Of course, the Russians love their children!) 

In any case, today, thirty years after Russians was released, we seem to have entered into a new phase of a different war, a very, very old war, with ominous clouds on the horizon. 

Ours is a time of fitful contradictions and spasms of policy incoherence, as the United States, the UK, and the West vacillate between outright denial of the threat of Islam, and ill advised alliances with the very forces seeking to destroy us. Sorely lacking is a clear-headed appraisal of and strategy to meet the mortal threat posed by a globally emboldened, militant Islam, which, after fourteen hundred years, is once again 100% determined to conquer us, through immigration, birth rates, lawfare, politics, stealth, and conversion when necessary, by terrorism wherever possible, and by open warfare whenever the odds are in their favor. 

No doubt you’ve seen the projections: England will be a Muslim majority country in a couple of decades. Europe too. The growth of Muslim populations in major European cities has led to sharia “no-go zones,” where police seldom venture, and from where Muslim youths routinely riot over the slightest offense. Last Spring it was Sweden which burned. In 2005, the outskirts of Paris. This year (so far) it’s Denmark. 

Generational Assimilation among Western Muslims?

We were told that multiculturalism was the way of the future in England, Europe, Canada and America. That any mild inconveniences experienced because of new (Muslim) immigrants having difficulties adjusting to Western paradigms would smooth away as their children grew to maturity, adopting wholeheartedly the Western worldview of prosperity, freedom, tolerance and congeniality.

Rather, the reverse seems to be happening, as numerous reports indicate second and third generation Muslim immigrants are committing far more crimes (218% more in Denmark) and are far more inclined to join the global jihad in Syria than their supposedly less-acclimated parents. There are whole French and German-speaking units in ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the most bloodthirsty jihadist faction among the Syrian “rebels”) made up primarily of second and third generation descendants of Arab immigrants and Muslim converts.

In the Netherlands, 65% of Moroccan Muslim youths have been arrested by police, and a third of that group have been arrested five or more times. 

There are reports, too, of whole Muslim families joining the jihad, as in the case of a British Muslim father who took his five sons across Europe and Turkey in order to wage jihad with them in Syria. 

The Muslim Dad from the UK: Proud of his Jihadi Sons.

Problems within Muslim Culture?

Doesn’t this reveal something about Islamic culture, the message being propagated via mosques, books, videos, and, of course, through core Islamic texts, including the Quran, the Hadiths and the Sira?  Devotion to the example of Muhammad’s victories in battle, the all important Muslim self-image of Islamic superiority over all other religions, supposedly proven by its conquering of the Byzantine Christian Empire in 1453 (celebrated annually by “secular” Turkey), coupled with disdain for the lax and soft European, British and American cultures, breeds contempt for the West and a sense of rightful entitlement.

And that’s just the West.

Media Watch Groups report on Global Muslim views

There are shocking video reports out of the Middle East of Palestinian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian TV programs and videos geared expressly towards children, which portrays Christians and Jews as sub-human, openly calling for their slaughter, and prepping Muslim children for suicide operations. A quick list of examples follows.

Raymond Ibrahim: Islam More ‘Like the Mafia’ than Bill Maher Knows

The following is Part One of a three-part series examining the many parallels between Islam and the mafia.

by Raymond Ibrahim, Front Page Mag — October 17, 2014

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Friedman Rosen Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum and a CBN News contributor. He is the author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (2013) and The Al Qaeda Reader (2007). 

During a recent debate on HBO’s Real Time, host Bill Maher declared that Islam is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f***ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.”

[See also this article discussing Maher's follow-up show in which he uses Pakistan's death penalty for blasphemy to prove his point.]

Maher was apparently referring to Islam’s “blasphemy” laws, which ban on pain of death any “insult”—as found in a statement, a picture, a book, etc.—to Islam and especially its prophet, Muhammad.

While Maher has been criticized for his “Islamophobic” assertion, he and others may be surprised to learn that the similarities between Islam and the mafia far exceed punishing those who say, draw, or write “the wrong thing.”

In the following three part article, we will examine a number of these similarities.

In this article, Part One, we will look at the relationship between Allah, his messenger Muhammad, and the Muslims, and note several parallels with the relationship between the godfather, his underboss, and the mafia.

In Part Two (forthcoming), we will examine the clannish nature of the mafia and compare it to Islam’s concept of “Loyalty and Enmity”—including how in both Islam and the mafia, those members who wish to break away, to “apostatize,” are killed.

In Part Three (forthcoming), we will examine how both the mafia and Islam have historically both profited from the “protection” racket.

Allah as Godfather; Muhammad as Underboss

The padrino of larger mafia organizations and families—literally, the godfather or “boss of bosses”—has absolute control over his subordinates and is often greatly feared by them for his ruthlessness.  He has an “underboss,” a right-hand man who issues his orders and enforces his will.  The godfather himself is often inaccessible; mafia members need to go through the underboss or other high ranking associates.

Compare this with the relationship between Allah and his “messenger” Muhammad (in Arabic, Muhammad is most commonly referred to as al-rasul, “the messenger”). Unlike the Judeo-Christian God—a personal God, a Father, that according to Christ is to be communed with directly (Matt 6:9)—Islam’s god, Allah, is unreachable, unknowable, untouchable.  Like the godfather, he is inaccessible.   His will is enforced by his messenger, Muhammad.

If the Judeo-Christian God calls on the faithful to “come now, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18), Allah says “Do not ask questions about things that, if made known to you, would only pain you” (Koran 5:101).  Just follow orders.

Raymond Ibrahim: Sharks and Islamists: Equally Misunderstood?

"We need to respect their ways and be tolerant... it’s our fault we get attacked."

by Raymond Ibrahim, August 19, 2014

I recently spent some time watching Shark Week on television.  Being fascinated with large predatory fish, I’ve watched many shark programs throughout the years.  And I’ve reached one conclusion: the “liberal” response one is accustomed to when the topic of Islam and Islamists come up—that they are misunderstood, that we need to respect their ways and be tolerant, that it’s our fault we get attacked—has become so embedded in the Western psyche that it now colors our understanding of the animal world as well.

Almost every shark program follows the same pattern: the large predators are portrayed in all their grandeur, roaming the seas; then we hear of several anecdotes of shark attacks on humans, often with the survivors recounting their experience.

The prevalent theme is this: it’s not the shark’s fault that it attacked and maimed this or that surfer, swimmier, or kayaker.  Rather, humans are responsible for entering the shark’s domain, the ocean.  If anything, then, it’s the human’s fault for getting attacked.  Even great whites, so we are assured, only attack humans by mistake, never intentionally. Finally we get the speech about how sharks are in fact the one’s being mistreated by humans, etc.

To those familiar with the way liberal talking heads constantly whitewash the violence and intolerance of Islam, does this not all sound familiar?  From the notion that “it’s our fault” we got attacked, and we “had it coming,” to the idea that we need to be more “understanding and respectful,” the “progressive” memes are all there.

'Captain Phillips' and the Somali Pirate Jihad

I had the opportunity to watch the Tom Hanks film, Captain Phillips, the other day, and thought it provides a good opportunity to briefly comment on pop culture, as well as to correct some of the imprecisions of the movie. After my comments, I am re-posting an article on Somali piracy as an aspect of Islamic jihad.

Oh, and by the way, Spoiler Alert...

The film is named after a real person, the heroic merchant marine Captain Richard Phillips, and is based on his book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea. Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean in Spring 2009. Phillips was abducted off the ship into the Alabama's lifeboat, and was eventually liberated by a team of U.S. Navy SEAL snipers, who took out three of the Somalis with three simultaneous shots.

The film is brave and gritty in its depiction of the harrowing events, and Hanks gives an incredibly convincing performance, so immersing himself in the role that he disappears. The American view is balanced by an earnest attempt to present the Somalis' backstory and motivations. We are given a glimpse into the impoverished world of a village of fishermen, whose desperation to survive makes them easy prey for a thuggish crime lord, who gets a gang of young men to go on another pirate raid to rake in some big money for him, and some loot for themselves.

And here is where the filmmakers frame their narrative, fastening brazen criminal acts on the high seas to poverty and African organized crime, all the while ignoring the real motivations for the huge sums of money sought in the hijacking and kidnapping.

Is Monty Python's Michael Palin an Islamophobe for Admitting He's Scared to Make Fun of Islam

Some black humor for us to ponder early in the New Year.

by David Wood, Answering Muslims — 12/30/2013

Trey Parker and Matt Stone received death threats after announcing that Muhammad would be appearing on an episode of South Park, so the network scrubbed the episode of anything remotely offensive in order to avoid becoming a target.

The writers for that week's episode of The Simpsons sympathized with Stone and Parker, acknowledging that criticizing Islam is simply too dangerous:

Likewise, Penn Jillette (of the comedy duo "Penn and Teller") said that he and Teller won't mock Islam because they "have families." 

Now the great Michael Palin is admitting that he's afraid to make fun of Islam.

Charlie Brown, the Cross, and the Lonely Walk of Faith

Regular readers of this blog, and those who have some working knowledge of Islam, will appreciate the importance of "standing for Christ crucified, of taking up the tree of the Cross, and walking past those who deride us." Islam hates the Cross (see here and here), denies that Jesus was crucified, and claims when Isa (the bizarro anti-Jesus of Islam) returns, he will "smash the crosses" and abolish Christianity. The simple lesson of A Charlie Brown Christmas unpacked by Fr Lawrence Farley goes right to the core of our faith:

"Charlie Brown picked up his little tree and walked out steadily and unashamed before the rest of the wordless and wondering crowd... Faith allows us to stand for Christ crucified, even if it means standing alone.  We can take up the tree, the tree of the Cross, and calmly walk past those who deride us."

Charlie Brown and the Lonely Walk of Faith
by Fr. Lawrence Farley — OCA.org — 12/28/2013

If you are at all like me, it is not Christmas until you have seen the holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas, which has been shown seasonally every year since it first appeared in 1965.  I have watched it faithfully every year since I can remember, and have the whole wonderful thing more or less memorized by heart.  Who can forget Charlie Brown taking his seat at Lucy’s outdoor doctor’s office (the sign announcing “The Doctor is Real In”), or his complaining to Linus that he feels depressed every Christmas season?  Or who can forget Snoopy doing his famous dance of joy on the top of Schroeder’s piano, or Charlie Brown and Linus going to look for a tree for their Christmas pageant and finding in the middle of a forest of large pink metallic trees a pathetic little tree which just needed a little love?  Or Linus’ spot-lit soliloquy, wherein he quotes the Gospel of Luke for a then unprecedented forty-five seconds on national television?  The images and dialogue have become imbedded in North American culture to the point that they are instantly recognizable, even when affectionately satirized on The Simpsons.

The point of the story of course revolves around the need to transcend the materialism of the Christmas season by returning to “what Christmas is all about”.  Charlie Brown’s agonized and poignant cry asking that question showed that he had no clue what Christmas was all about.  It was Linus, his friend and the voice of creator Charles Schulz, that provided the answer to his question and the antidote to the materialism of his friends.  Linus’ forty-five second reading of the Nativity story from Luke’s Gospel not only made television history.  It also brought the Gospel to the open and trembling heart of Charlie Brown.

So far, so good.  When I watched the show this year, it was exactly like every other blessed year before.  Charlie Brown and Linus had brought to their pageant the pathetic little tree which seemed to be dying before the eyes of all.  He had clearly failed in his assigned task, revealing that he had no appreciation for the commercialism so dear to everyone else waiting for him to return with a big, splendid, pink tree.  When he returned with the little tree everyone laughed at him, mocking him, disdaining him, making him feel even more of a failure and outcast than he already was.  He cried out, asking whether anybody could tell him what Christmas was all about, and Linus answered by reciting from the Gospel of Luke.  Then Charlie Brown got the true meaning of Christmas.  He had his epiphany, his conversion.  A Methodist might say that his heart was strangely warmed.

That was when I saw it, something I had never noticed before — Charlie Brown picked up his little tree and walked out steadily and unashamed before the rest of the wordless and wondering crowd.

A Tale of Two Songwriters: Cat Stevens, "Turn to Allah," and Dan Fogelberg's Christ-Centered Christmas Album

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg
1951-2007

The 'Peace Train' songwriter endorsed a death fatwa on Salman Rushdie, and writes of "victory over the kuffar,"  whereas Dan Fogelberg creates a deeply reverent, traditionalist Christmas recording, including original songs praising "Christ the King."

Robert Spencer has an extensive exposé over at Jihad Watch on the artist formerly known as 'Cat Stevens'. After converting to Islam, Cat Stevens changed his name to 'Yusuf Islam', and in addition to adopting a new moniker, he seems to have adopted many of the darker, more odious aspects of his new religion.

Following Mr. Spencer's piece, I am appending a brief essay of mine about Dan Fogelberg's 1999 CD, The First Christmas Morning, a charming, traditional Christmas album, which openly praises the Nativity of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. The contrast between these two songwriters/recording artists couldn't be more stark.

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) named to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

by Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch — 12/17/2013

Funny how they never mention "Yusuf Islam" in this article [USA Today on the R&R HOF Inductees, see below]. I do hope that at the ceremony Yusuf will play the nasheed seen here. A nasheed is a song praising Allah or Islam in some way. Nasheeds are usually sung a cappella or with percussion accompaniment only, and according to most Islamic authorities they're the only kind of music allowed under Islamic law. At minute 2:02, Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens, sings:

What are you saying?
What are you saying?
I'm praying to Allah
To give us victory
Over the kuffar.

"I'm praying to Allah to give us victory over the kuffar" (unbelievers)? When have you ever heard a Jew or a Christian praying for victory over the unbelievers?

Uproar Over Rolling Stone Cover Missed the Real Story

In more than 10,000 words of intrigue and victimization, almost no credence was given to the intoxicating role of global Islamist ideology.

by Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser - The Clarion Project

Rolling Stone’s August cover story on Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, elicited a surprising public furor largely focused on the “rock star” treatment of Tsarnaev in its cover photo.

Did 19-year-old Tsarnaev look “too cool or too glamorous” for someone suspected of committing a terror attack?

Did the accompanying story balance that by revealing the real workings of his radical mind?

The coverage fixated on the glamour shot instead of the substance lacking in the story itself, but our nation needs to have a deeper conversation about how Muslims “next door” become our enemies.

In more than 10,000 words of intrigue and victimization, Janet Reitman wove a narrative that Tsarnaev was a victim of a mentally ill older brother and, worse yet, that America may have failed these poster boys of Islamist radicalism. She gave little to no credence to the intoxicating role of global Islamist ideology — political Islam — upon his radicalization.