Diffusing the present dangerous confrontation between Islam and the West demands rational impartial and cool heads to untangle facts from myth, understand the Muslims’ mindset, and redress any grievances on either side.
The Muslims’ perennial complaint is that the imperialist West—all colonial powers of the past, as well as the United States of America—have victimized them for decades and even centuries and continue to do so in every conceivable way. The litany of the alleged wrongdoings by the West is encyclopedic. To begin with, the West has shown utter contempt for the legitimate rights of the Muslim nation by arbitrarily dividing much of the Islamic land into fractured entities, plundering its resources, and topping these crimes by installing in its midst its illegitimate stepchild of Israel—a huge thorn in their side, so they complain.
“A grain of truth is needed to make a mountain of lies believable,” is
an old saw. In fairness to Muslims, there is some substance to their
claims against the West. For now, let us focus on the general mindset of
Muslims which bears heavily on the hostility toward the West—a serious
hostility that may bring about the dreaded Armageddon.
* Patriarchy and authoritarianism: The Muslim’s mind is imprinted with authoritarianism which starts with the supreme authority, Allah, through his one and only prophet, Muhammad, his Caliphs or Imams, and the high-ranking religious divines all the way down to the village clergy. This authoritarian mentality encompasses all aspects of life for the Muslim. The king and his dominion as the viceroy of God, the Emir and his despotic ways, the Khan and his unchallenged rule over the tribe, the village headsman and his extensive power, and finally the father and his iron grip at home over the women and children. All these authority figures are male.
The authoritarian type poses numerous problems and presents many ramifications—ramifications much too important and complex to be comprehensively treated here. For now, it is important to understand that a person with the authoritarian personality is an extremist. He can be docility itself under certain circumstances and a maniacal murdering brute under others. He is the type who would just as happily kill or die, when he is directed to do so. He would, for instance, gladly strap on an explosive vest, in obedience to a superior’s order, and detonate it in a crowd of innocent civilians without the slightest hesitation.
* Blind obedience: A dangerous feature of the authoritarian personality is the relative lack of independent thinking. This deficiency makes the person highly amenable to manipulation. Islam, by its rigidly authoritarian make up, robs a Muslim of independent thinking to the extent that the believer blindly adopts it as his infallible system of belief. Hence, the religion of Islam is guilty of conditioning masses of people as easily manipulatable instruments in the hands of authority figures.
Studies have shown that the authoritarian personality type can be found among all people, including Americans. The important difference is in the degree and prevalence of the condition. Islam breeds vast numbers of extremists, while in America, for instance, the prevalence is significantly lower and less severe.
* Focus on goal: To Muslims, the goal is everything. As religious fascism, Islam condones any and all means to achieve its goals. The ultimate objective of Islam is the rule of the entire world under the Islamic Ummah—never mind that these life-in-hand soldiers of Allah disagree with one another regarding the Ummah itself and who is going to reign over it. That’s a “family dispute” that they will resolve by their usual favorite method—brute force. Each Islamic sect believes that it has the Prophet and Allah on its side and it will prevail over the other. For now they have to work diligently to achieve the intermediary goal of defeating all non-believers. There are countless instances that substantiate Muslims’ “End justifies the means” guiding principle. This policy dates back to Muhammad himself. Muhammad repeatedly made peace covenants with his adversaries, only to violate them as soon as he was in advantageous position to do so. Betrayal, deception and outright lies are fully condoned in furthering the work of Islam. In the present-day world, the work of Islam is defined by a deeply-entrenched and influential clergy who issue fatwa—rulings—that become directives and laws to the faithful.
Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian Islamic state, for one, made extensive use of the fatwa. Widely-known in the west is Khomeini’s fatwa condemning Selman Rushdie to death for his book. A less known fatwa of Khomeini during the last Iran-Iraq war led to the slaughter of thousands of Iranian children. Children, nearly all under 15 years of age, were given plastic keys to paradise as they were commanded by the fatwa of the imam to rush forward to clear minefields for the tanks to follow. The Islamic murderers, in obedience to the fatwa of a bloodthirsty man of Allah, had no problem in deceiving the clueless lads clinching made - in - China plastic keys to paradise.
Such is the existentialistic threat of Islam. It is a rigid stone-age authoritarian system with a stranglehold over many of the nearly one and a half billion people under its command.
* Fatalism: One of the greatest subtle, yet important differences between the Muslim’s mindset and that of the people in the West is the extent to which Muslims are fatalistic. There is hardly a statement that a Muslim makes without being conditional—conditional on the will of Allah. “I shall see you tomorrow, Allah willing,” “You will make it home, Allah willing,” “Things will work out, Allah willing,” and on and on and on. To the Muslim, Allah is on the job—on every job. Allah, with his invisible mighty hand, literally does and runs everything. “Allah’s hand is above all other hands,” adorns every imaginable space in Islamic lands—a telling point about the Muslim’s fatalism and submission to the omnipotent omnipresent hand. If something happens, it is Allah’s will. If it doesn’t, it is Allah’s will. The rank and file Muslim has little will of his own. It absolves him of any and all responsibility. This mentality is in stark contrast with the “take charge” and “can do” mentality characteristic of Americans and others. * Psychological uniqueness: People as a group or as individuals are different and none is perfectly healthy psychologically. We all have a loose wheel or two as we travel the bumpy road of life. Yet, most people manage to stay on course most of the time, with perhaps a stop or two at a repair shop of a mental health professional.
Most psychological disorders are exaggerations, deficits or surfeits of the generally accepted norm—whatever the norm may be. When caution, for instance, is practiced past suspicion, then we have paranoia; when reasonable fear is exercised beyond any justification, then there is phobia. The degree and severity of a condition frequently determine the presence or absence of psychopathology.
Muslims share a common Islamic psychological milieu, they are on an Islamic “diet,” whether they live in Islamic lands or in societies predominantly non-Islamic. The psychological condition of any Muslim group or individual is directly dependent on the kind and amount of Islamic diet they consume. The Islamic diet has numerous ingredients—some of which are wholesome, some are dangerously toxic, and some are between the two extremes.
Over the years, the Islamic leaders have found it expedient to feed the masses mainly the toxic ingredients to further their own interests. Individuals and groups, for instance, have used the immense energizing power of hatred to rally the faithful; the cohesive force of polarization to create in-group solidarity; and, the great utility value of blaming others for their real and perceived misfortunes. Jews have been their favorite and handy scapegoats from day one. To this day, as true fascists, like the Nazis, Muslims blame just about everything on the Jews.
Providing a comprehensive inventory of the psychological profile of the Muslims is beyond the scope of this article. Yet, there is no question that the psychological makeup of a Muslim, depending on the extent of his Muslim-ness, is different from that of non-Muslims. This difference, often irreconcilable as things stand presently, is at the core of the clash of Islam with the West.
* Conclusion. Admittedly, the non-Islamic culture is no panacea. It has, however, one outstanding feature the Islamic lacks—it allows for liberty with all its attendants— good, bad, or indifferent. Those who have experienced liberty, no inducement is likely to make them give it up—particularly not the fictional promises of the Islamists that have failed in the past and are doomed to fail even more miserably in the future.
The best, yet difficult resolution of the conflict is to do what hundreds of thousands of Muslims have already done. They have abandoned the slaveholder Islam: they broke loose from the yoke of the exploitative clergy, renounced Islamofascisim, purged the discriminatory and bizarre teachings in the Quran and the Hadith, and left the suffocating tent of dogmatic Islam for the life-giving expanse of liberty.
Within the emancipating and accommodating haven of liberty, those who wish to remain Muslim can retain and practice the good teachings of Islam but renounce intolerance, hatred and violence. It takes great effort and courage to ascend from the degrading pit of slavery to the mount of emancipation. Yet, it is both possible and exhilarating to do it, since many have done so successfully and happily. As more and more people leave the shackles of religious slavery, more and more will follow, and the long-suffering Muslims, victimized by Islam itself for far too long, will be a free people in charge of their own life and destiny. It is a painful process of growing up, of asserting one’s coming of age, and marching lockstep with the free members of the human race.
Slavery of the mind is as evil as the slavery of the body. Islamofascisim enslaves them both.
What a brilliant and insightful essay. What a brilliant analysis of the Muslim mind, from one who has been brainwashed into that ideology, but had the intellect and honesty to see through its transparent lies. The peace that Islam promises is false. There is no peace in the countries which are most Muslim, which are more like hell than heaven. Islam, being let loose amongst the western democracies, is like letting the cat amongst the pigeons. To fight it we must educate the populace about its evils, through people like you and others. Since this is a political ideology also, we must form political coalitions against it, like the one proposed by Geert Wilders. Unfortunately I do not see anyway out except war against this implacable totalitarian ideology, which classifies humans as Muslim and non-Muslim, the rulers and the ruled. We cannot be like Chamberlain in the face of Hitler. We cannot let our cowardice be the cause of the enslavement of our children, or face nuclear extermination for the sake of some Islamic Valhalla.
Posted by Richard, on 07/18/2010 at 19:43
Brilliant article in its versatile and simultaneously integral look. But the author`s prospect of Muslim`s liberation in a free society is Utopian by my opinion.The serious transformation of Russian Moslims for example have happened by authoritarian and later totalitarian pressure of the state.
Posted by Benn, on 06/29/2010 at 19:11
The comparison of Islam with Marxism is apt. Both are rigid faiths, intolerant of all others. Christianity has its 10 commandments, one of which is to love thy neighbor. The Quran is a document of 10,000 commandments, down to such details as how deal with fornication with domestic animals and how to mistreat your unbelieving neighbor. Absolute obedience is the central principle. Even the most meek and 'moderate' Muslim truly believes that Islam is destined to rule the world, and wil not protest the most violent Jihad.
To apply 'moral equivalence' and urge tolerance of a faith based on uncompromising intolerance is suicidally stupid.
Remind anyone who tells you Islam represents no threat: Islam is doctrinairally THEOCRATIC. It abhors the idea of separation of religion and state. The Mosque IS the state. Sharia is the only law. This is what the mullah tells the faithful at every service in every mosque. Islam shall rule. All we have to do is love our nice moderate Muslim neighbors until they comprise 40% of our police force and our army and our bureaucracy. Some European countries are lready facing this likelihood.
No Muslim, who by declaring his intolerant faith places it before his country, should be granted citizenship or permitted to serve in our armed forces or any federal government position. We are tolerant nation: we should firmly reject intractable and aggressive intolerance.
Posted by Stuart Williamson, on 06/29/2010 at 19:10
Western leftism and Islam are both totalitarian systems that appeal to immature personalities who don't want to deal with the responsibility that comes with liberty. The elites running them are control freaks who need large numbers of people who want them to do their thinking for them.
Unfortunately, each indoctrinates young impressionable minds into what psychologists call 'learned helplessness' so the numbers of infantile personalities afraid of making choices, accepting accountability and occasional failure multiply. Such people want to be told even how to wipe their butts etc. as Islam specifies.
America is likely at the tipping point of lacking initiative now, judging by 40% of the population not paying taxes. Even a large number of the tax paying public are government union workers who love the 'security' of pedantic bureaucratic rules for themselves and as a way to control free thinkers.
When you have too many people willing to trade liberty for a (false) sense of security, tyranny ensues. The security is false because government dependents eventually learn that government can NOT be all things to all people and will not be there for them when needed despite false promises.
Posted by Drew, on 06/29/2010 at 19:10
GMBoy: 'Christians remodeled their religion becoming more tolerant of other religions and really practicing their Thou Shall Not Kill commandment and moving on.'
=====
No offense intended, but, what planet are you living on? Obviously, you never heard of the absurd Christian belief in blood libels:
'Altogether, there have been about 150 recorded cases of blood libel (not to mention thousands of rumors) that resulted in the arrest and killing of Jews throughout history, most of them in the Middle Ages... In almost every case, Jews were murdered, sometimes by a mob, sometimes following torture and a trial.'
Professor Israel Jacob Yuval of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem published an article in 1993 that argues that blood libel may have originated in the 12th century from Christian views of Jewish behavior during the First Crusade. Some Jews committed suicide and killed their own children rather than be subjected to forced conversions. Yuval investigated Christian reports and found that they were greatly distorted with claims that if Jews could kill their own children they could also kill Christian children. Yuval rejects the blood libel story as a Christian fantasy that was impossible due to the precarious nature of the Jewish minority's existence in Christian Europe; if anyone knows Jewish law they would understand how it would be impossible for Jews to be guilty of blood libel, but it persists to this day in the Muslim world.
Beyond that are the pogroms (too numerous to list in this post), a precursor to the Holocaust. You might like to do some research on the expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsular, all under the Christian auspices.
Then there is the case of Leo Frank: 'Shortly after Frank's conviction, new evidence emerged that cast doubt on his guilt. After the governor commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched by a group of citizens who called themselves the Knights of Mary Phagan. The ringleaders included a former governor, a senator's son, a Methodist minister, a state legislator, and a former state Superior Court judge.'
Posted by FRS, on 06/29/2010 at 19:09
islams absolute ambition is word domination, in any way they can get it ,murder ,lie ,cheat and out breed the indigenous population,allowing moslems to live in your country is suicide for a nation, the horrors of their social habits should have told us we were stupid , but our own lacks laws in the west has allowed our own destruction in generations to come, only the most stringent action against these thugs might hold up their advance, always remember there is no such thing as a moderate moslem ===only moslems that consider you a non person unless your a moslem.
Posted by londoner432, on 06/29/2010 at 19:08
This is one of the best articles I've ever read at AT and it was followed by some of the most informed and insightful comments I've ever read. The first few comments are masterpieces all on their own. I am a Christian...I suppose. I have never had such a bitter hatred for ANY religion until I became aware of Islam. I know folks of all sorts of belief; atheist, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, various and sundry native American beliefs, Wiccan and Muslim. As far as I know, only the Muslims preach hatred and utter intolerance.
I believe we're overdue for a return of the Crusades. I have a couple of Muslim friends...but they ain't very 'Muslim'. One is a Shiite from Iran, the other is a Sunni from Pakistan. They both drink like fish and neither pray 5 times a day. As far as I know neither has gone home for a visit since coming to this country over 30 years ago. About a decade ago I had a boss who was Jewish. I asked him how 'Jewish' he was. Well...he didn't keep kosher and he loved pork so I guess he wasn't all that Jewish (except he voted Democrat).
One of my favorite lines is 'Doctor, I don't care what you believe, this is science, not religion.' OK...this usually goes over like the proverbial turd in punchbowl but it IS significant. I don't care what you BELIEVE. The rest of us live in the real world.
Posted by Dr. Dave, on 06/29/2010 at 19:06
It is my understanding that Mohammad was subject to seizures. I've heard from epileptics that a seizure is a hallucinatory bright light that blasts the brain followed by a blissful high, resounding with ecstatic revelations. I had a seizure once from a prescribed medication I was taking for neuropathy. There was a strobe flash in my head and I came to on the bathroom floor. I immediately ran out and started a religion that worships the Divine Glazed Donut Hole of Infinity. I preach to my wife's stuffed animal collection in ancient mysterious tongues every Tuesday and lie about my beliefs to infidels. This is what Islam is based on.
We will soon be hearing the Call to Prayer (music to Obama's ears) in Lower Manhattan at Ground Zero. 9/11 was their Pearl Harbor to open the war of occupation. Our government officials may be lily-liveried pussy cats but We the People sure aren't.
Posted by Ranger Joe, on 06/29/2010 at 19:05
The religion of Islam and its bible (the Koran) is a LIE and a DECEPTION authored by a single angel that 'appeared in a bright light' to the man Muhammad. As long as the Muslim believes that this angel was legitimately sent by God, and that the message the angel delivered was truly God's Word, the Muslim mind can NEVER be reconciled with any other religion. The fundamental message of Islam (the declared message of this angel) is that the followers of Muhammad are now the CHOSEN of God, and that Israel and the Christians have become the enemies of God. The angel declared that God sent him with this new religion because Israel had become corrupt, and the Christians are idolatrous in worshiping Jesus as the Son of God when he is only a man like Muhammad. For the Muslim, these 'facts' can NEVER be reconciled with Islam, and the duty of every Muslim will eventually require him to perform God's will by destroying the Jews and Christians in 'the end time'.
Those that have the 'eyes to see, and ears to hear' will recognize.... 'Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light', and the antichrist is he who denies that Jesus is God in the flesh.
Islam will NEVER be reconciled with the Jew and Christian. The appearance of being peaceful is simply that... only an appearance.
Posted by tlsparkman, on 06/29/2010 at 19:03
If the Muslims put down their guns and bombs there will be peace. If the free world put down their guns...we will all be Muslims living in Mohammed's 6th century hell on earth. Oh, wait... the free world IS surrendering to the Muslim barbarians... But don't worry...maybe if we allow the Muslims to take over our lands and we sacrifice Israel to them, just maybe they might let us live some kind of Dhimmi existence? Maybe.
Posted by alaska2010, on 06/29/2010 at 19:02
I would like to thank the author for a thoughtful and pretty wide-ranging description of the problem posed to the non-Muslim world by Islam and its 'our way or the grave' mindset. There is a hint of tragedy in our situation, is there not? The United States was not party to the European agreements to slice and dice the Middle East. One reason for that is our idealism and isolationist strains kept America at arm's length in the post-WW I period; another reason is we did not need foreign precious metal or energy sources. We do have the participation of the U.S. in a post-WW II plot to overthrow an Iranian politician, not because of anything to do with Islam, but because of our fear and need to defeat Soviet Communism (which we sometimes saw under our beds at night given the heightened fears the cold-war engendered.) When the Soviets invade Afghanistan, however, we belatedly respond with arms and assistance to Mujahadim Afghan fighters. The eventual success is a tribute to the determination of Afghans to be free of foreign influence and to their toughness. Some of the fighters know America is their friend.
However, we withdraw attention from Afghanistan, and a resulting conflict within, succored by Russia, Saudi money, and Pakistani ambition, leads to the rise and control of the country by the Taliban. These primarily native Afghan people adopt a particularly devout and ignorant man rising from their ranks as top commender, Mullah Omar. Their success at driving more openminded Afghan forces out is due in no small part to Pakistan and to money and fighters imported by none other than Osama bin Laden. Our later year demands for his rendition run smack dab into traditions of loyalty and honor to protect those given shelter.
One hopes that the Afghans as a nation can decide to find a middle way---one that recognizes the Taliban are unwanted extremists, that the Americans are well-meaning, if quixotic--and that by building a confederation from within, they can be a proud and independent nation .
Posted by Fearless Bear, on 06/29/2010 at 19:01
Mr. Imani, Let me be the first commenter to rightfully congratulate you for a brilliant, concise and cogent analysis of the underlying pathology which motivates the greatest existential threat the world has ever seen. I'm used to reading thoughtful and civil comments at the American Thinker site; giving credit where credit is due for articles offered -- but as evidenced by the previous comments, this is changing [perhaps a result of AT becoming more popular, attracting those who only wish to vent and rant; ignoring the content of the article to which they are commenting on.]
I will be forwarding the hyperlink for your article presented here at AT to everyone that I know as a 'must read'.
Posted by Maccabee, on 06/29/2010 at 18:59
I am not so sure that too many muslim are leaving their Qur'anic Hadithic slavery. Overwhelming majority is comfortable in it especially when Islam is in the phase of revival.
Posted by gibor, on 06/27/2010 at 13:05
'The Muslims' perennial complaint is that the imperialist West -- all colonial powers of the past, as well as the United States of America -- has victimized them for decades and even centuries and continue to do so in every conceivable way.'
Let's be a little clearer here, its because the colonial powers and U.S. are considered CHRISTIAN powers that the muslims claim such abasement. The Turks (Ottomans) abused the denizens of the M.E. for centuries, but since it was Islamic rule of the Caliphate, well, its forgivable. The fact that 'Christians' dominated them exposed the flaw of Islamic supremacy.
Posted by clarityrisin, on 06/27/2010 at 13:03
From a psychological standpoint, the perennial victim complex with which many Muslims cast themselves and indeed cite as justification for their violent acts (terrorism and otherwise) speaks to a deep-rooted insecurity and resentment that have little to do with the U.S., Israel, or any other country for that matter. Look, Muslims, fanatics or not, are endlessly creative at conjuring up perceived grievances against the West, and the U.S. in particular. Islam is a religion that NEEDS perpetual conflict in order to find meaning and purpose; indeed, I would postulate that the religion defines itself through conflict and violence. This is not a religion that is capable of peaceful co-existence with other religious faiths or even the absence of faith. That, my friends, is the fundamental flaw of this religion (in addition, of course, to the fact that its scriptures are steeped in explicit sanctions of the use of violence against the 'other' -- 'infidels,' 'apostates,' etc...).
If the U.S. gave no material support to Israel and had no troop presence in Iraq or Afghanistan, the jihadists would still come after us, citing our love of R-rated movies, our consumption of pork and the presence of gay people in our population. The point is, the fanatics' purported laundry list of grievances are a mere pretense to fulfilling a primal need to engage in conflict. My diagnosis -- Islam needs to have a 'bad guy' against which to cast itself in perpetual struggle; without a boogeyman, the religion loses its purpose, because, theologically and morally speaking, it's a pretty hypocritical and crude religion. By this I mean the following -- Islam imposes a slew of conduct restrictions on its followers -- prohibitions against alcohol and tobacco consumption, against dance and music in the super-extreme sects, requirements to pray five times a day, etc., but deems it permissible to cut the throats of 'infidels' and kill innocents in the name of 'jihad.' That's the very definition of theological hypocrisy and perversion. I'm an atheist, but it is self-evident that Islam poses severe threats to believers and non-believers alike.
