Why no Christian suicide bombers? — and other thoughts on Islamic terror

Jewish World Review ^ | April 5, 2004 | Dennis Prager

[SJackson]

Golly gee, Muslim terrorists tried to attack Madrid again. How can that be? Wasn't Muslim terror in Spain supposed to end once Spain appeased the terrorists by voting in the socialists?

Only those who do not understand Muslim terror could fool themselves into believing that.

So, to better understand the subject, I offer three conclusions I drew about terror during my week of broadcasting from Israel last month.

First, Islamic terror is caused by Muslims, not, as Islamic and leftist apologists would have it, by the non-Muslims against whom it is directed. In our morally confused world, Spain, Israel and America are blamed for having their men, women and children blown up: What did these countries do to arouse such enmity among otherwise tolerant Arabs and Muslims?

Palestinian terror provides the answer. About 25 percent of Palestinians are Christian, yet if there are any Palestinian Christian suicide bombers, I am unaware of them. Now why is that? Don't Muslim and leftist apologists incessantly tell us that the reason for Palestinian terror is "Israeli occupation and oppression"? Why, then, are there no Palestinian Christian terrorists? Are Christian Palestinians less occupied?

The answer is obvious. There is Palestinian terror for the same reasons there is Muslim terror elsewhere. A significant part of the Muslim world wishes to destroy those non-Muslims -- Americans, Israelis, Filipinos, Nigerians, Sudanese blacks -- who prevent Islam from violently attaining power.

Palestinian Muslim terror emanates from a desire to destroy Israel, not to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Other Muslim terror is aimed at weakening the West, America in particular, so that militant theocratic Islam can dominate Muslim-majority societies and then take over other societies, as it is slowly doing in Western Europe.

Second, despite the Spanish cave-in to terror, in the long run, terror doesn't work. By any rational calculation, to take the Palestinian example, it has become the most self-destructive policy Palestinians could pursue. Palestinian terror has convinced almost all Israelis outside of academia that the moral gulf between them and the Palestinians is so wide that there is presently no hope for peace.

Nor has Palestinian terror terrorized Israelis. In what will surely be recorded as among the most impressive behaviors of a national group, Israelis have decided to live as normally as possible among people who aim to murder and maim as many of them as possible. In fact, I learned, many Israelis are now concerned that they have done this too well, that there is not enough mourning and rage after each atrocity.

Palestinian terror is self-destructive because it has morally, economically, religiously and politically destroyed Palestinian society and led to its present state of chaos. The mayor of Nablus resigned two months ago, declaring that gangs of thugs now govern Palestinian society. Any society that encourages terror ends up consumed by it. Ask the Saudis.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[bearkat]

I'm not religious, but isn't also a sin for Christians to kill themselves?

[Jon Alvarez]

you can add me...thx

Seems American Muslims only feel it's wrong to desecrate the dead, murder is OK. Nice to see where our Muslim neighbors stand...

www.cair.com



News Releases
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
CAIR condemns mutilation of bodies in Iraq


The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned the mutilation of those killed in Iraq on Wednesday. Four American civilian contractors were ambushed in their SUV's, burned, mutilated, dragged through the streets and then hung from a bridge spanning the Euphrates River, according to news reports.

CAIR said the mutilations violated both Islamic and international norms of conduct during times of war and called on all parties to the conflict to respect the sanctity of the dead and the sensitivities of their families.

The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group cited a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad that prohibits mutilating bodies (Hadith 654.3).

In another tradition, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Do not kill women or children, or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place." (Al-Muwatta, Vol. 21, Hadith 9)

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 25 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.

[nuconvert]

"A significant part of the Muslim world wishes to destroy those non-Muslims -- Americans, Israelis, Filipinos, Nigerians, Sudanese blacks -- who prevent Islam from violently attaining power."

A significant part? Oh Really? What exactly does that mean, Mr. Prager?. Care to exaggerate some more?

[Lowell]

"""Golly gee, Muslim terrorists tried to attack Madrid again. How can that be? Wasn't Muslim terror in Spain supposed to end once Spain appeased the terrorists by voting in the socialists?"""
My bet is every WOMAN in Spain voted the next day. These were not the votes of men but of women that swung the election. REMEMBER Algore kissing his wife? 30% of the female population in the US changed their vote because they thought it was NICE. These Spanish women experienced the bloodshed against innocent civilians and it scared them to death. Their first reaction is to run and get away from it. I will bet you it was a huge and unexpected turnout of female voters that changed that election.

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[Reader of news]

In Spain, most of people are coward. Only 9,6000,000 people are brave.

[TommyDale]

Maybe it's just because Christians don't want to go to Hell?

[Tolik]

It's normally sin for Muslims as well. But they make exception for a good cause...

[AppyPappy]

I'm not religious, but isn't also a sin for Christians to kill themselves?

Yes. Technically, it is for Muslims as well. Christians and Muslims differ in that Christians believe we are created with a fallen nature and Muslims believe their actions are what cause them to fall.

[DannyTN]

"I'm not religious, but isn't also a sin for Christians to kill themselves?"

Technically yes, Only God has the right to give or take life. Except for certain situations where that right has been delegated to society by God such as justice, war, self-defense. The right to take your own life was never delegated.

Unlike Muslims who are commanded to hate infidels and not be friends with them, Christians are commanded to love others including our enemies and to overcome evil with good. It's pretty hard to rationalize terrorizing people as an act of love.

[bearkat]

Very enlightening... thanks a bunch.

[Sam the Sham]

In an article he wrote about guerrilla warfare (and the point can be expanded to terrorism) Liddell Hart the military theorist argued against it. He pointed out that countries that used it against invaders tended to have civil wars afterwards. Apparently once lawless attitudes set in it is very hard to control them afterwards.

That is why I laugh whenver libertarians babble about guerrilla warfare for national defense. They don't seem to understand that it leads to a country ruled by gangs of teenage boys with guns as the Palestinians have found now.

[ml/nj]

About 25 percent of Palestinians are Christian

I've posted about the lack of Christians among the "Palestinians" here in the past, and how if it were "Palestinians" rather than Muslims who objected to Israel's existance, then we would have had a few Christian suicide bombers by now.

But Prager gets his figures wrong. The Muslims have made life uncomfortable for the Christians too. They probably don not constitute more than 2% of the "Palestinian" population today.

ML/NJ

[DannyTN]

I don't know that I really want to equate terrorism with guerrilla warfare. Hezekiah led a successful guerrilla warfare for Israel against a much bigger opponent. But it was against their military and not against civilian populations.

I think guerrilla warfare can be used successfully if the motives are right and the attitude towards life is right. You cannot inspire hatred, lack of respect for law and order, lack of respect of life and have it turn out well.

[Salman]

I've posted about the lack of Christians among the "Palestinians" here in the past, and how if it were "Palestinians"...

There have been Christian Arabs since before Muhammad, particularly outside Arabia itself. Some of these now live in "Palestine". That's about all there is to that.

It's absurd to compare them to the ideological "Palestinians" just because they happen to be "racially" similar.

[ClearCase_guy]

That is why I laugh whenver libertarians babble about guerrilla warfare for national defense.

It's a solid point. I admire the Minute Man tradition from our Revolutionary War. I recognize the valor of farmers firing from behind trees at the redcoats -- the most feared army in the world at that time. However, Gen. Washington won the war with trained troops, wearing uniforms, and fighting battles "in the European style".

Guerrilla warfare has more pluses than minuses. As you say, it does not bode well for the future of a nation if it never develops a better strategy.

[Blue Scourge]

Good article....and I must say that I didn't know 25% of Palis where Christian...see, you do learn something new everyday.

[eleni121]

Palestinian "christians" like Habash and Ashrawi and others are socialist/Communists and have been in the vanguard of terror and anti Israel action over the years. In other words Communists and Islamicists have been in bed for years and are even more so today.