Category Archives: Opinion

Understanding Islam

One of the comments often heard about the building of an Islamic mosque at ground zero goes something like this, “I think they have a right to build it there, but is it wise for them to do so?” Let me tell you, it’s not just wise, it’s brilliant!

What’s missing from the debate over the Mosque is a clear understanding of Islam and the muslim religion of Mohamedism. There is a good reason why the Islamic sponsors of the Mosque have chosen the name Cordoba House, why they want to build it where they do, and why they want to have a dedication ceremony on Sept 11^th. At Random Thots we think it is vitally important to have a basic knowledge of some of the history and core beliefs within the muslim world. For many years there was no need, there is now.

Islam is more than a religion. It is the law of the land, it is territorial, it is Jihad, it is a nation. It is a nation without borders, not because its location is not defined but because its location is limitless. It encompasses the entire world. Other religions recognize religion and government as two different things, no matter how closely tied they may be. In Islam they are one and the same.

The goal of Islam is the establishment of the religion/government of Mohamedism worldwide. The first concern is to purify the Holy Land (all of the Mid-East) of kuffa (non-believers) then to rule the world beyond. Once that has come to pass, peace will prevail throughout, and not before. This is the peace Islam so earnestly seeks. Jihad is the struggle to complete the work that will bring about that time of peace. Christians and Jews also envision a time when the world will be at peace, but believe there is nothing they can do to determine or hasten the time.

Islam divides the world into two realms. dar al Islam (the world of submission to and acceptance of Allah) and dar al Harb (the world of war). To an Islamist you are either a believer or an abject enemy, an enemy of God and man and standing in the way of peace.

Jihad in dar al Harb, the realm of war, is fought on two fronts, both well understood in the muslim world. The first is the militant front, the flying of planes into the WTC towers, bombing a train in Spain to swing an election, and bombings like those in Bali and London. These are the hot heads, lesser in number but louder in voice than the majority. For the vast majority of devout muslims violence is not their way. Nevertheless, the militants are doing God’s work, praise be to Allah.

The second front of the jihad in the realm of war is the exhortation to follow the command of diaspora. Go into the lands of the kuffa and populate but do not assimilate. Conform and wait, but be not one of them for they are your enemy. Mohamed preached it in the 15^th century. The concept later became known as that of the Fifth Column. The term was first used by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War. As his army approached Madrid, there was concern that the four columns of his forces would not be sufficient to take the city. He said, not to worry, his troops were supported by a “fifth column”, a column of his followers inside the city.

Before we put this all together and relate it to the Mosque in Manhattan there is one more thing to cover. It’s a bit of history. Cordoba, a city in the southern region of Spain, was the first European city conquered by the Muslim Army. It remained under Muslim control for more than 700 years until the advancing Crusades led to its being returned to Christian governance. The name Cordoba has enormous significance in the Muslim world. It symbolizes the peak of their power as well as a source of great resentment.

Symbolism is as much a part of battle as guns and cannons. Our National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner. The raising of the American flag on the Island of Iwo Jima is the powerful symbol of our WW II victory in the Pacific. The Muslim world is watching. The erection of Cordoba House in the shadow of Ground Zero will stand as an Iwo Jima to the Muslim world.

Some American’s will see the approval for the building of the Mosque as a concession to religious freedom, others will view it as an insult to those who died. A few may even be fooled into believing the claim that it is an outreach from the Islamic community seeking better “understanding”. But there will be no division of thought in the Muslim world as to what it signifies.

So you see, to build it some distance away and dedicate it on whatever day it is completed would turn a monument to Islamic progress into a conciliatory defeat. If it comes to that, and we don’t believe it will, it will not be named Cordoba House.