I’ve read a number of Raymond Ibrahim’s books. He is a scholar of note on matters Islamic and the 1500-year battles between Islam and Christianity.
His most eye-opening for me was his 2007 book “The Al-Qaeda Reader”. He translates internal messaging from Islamist sources like Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, highlighting the differences between their messages in English to the West, and their messages in Arabic meant for Muslim eyes only.
The messages to the West are: “you have meddled in our countries. This makes us angry. It’s you who are responsible for our anger and revenge bombings”, i.e. “You made us do it”.
The messages to the Muslim world are: “no matter what they do in the West we much fight and subdue them, even if they have addressed all our grievances. Because that is what we are commanded to do by Allah and his Messenger, pbuh”.
It is the Grievance Narrative that many in the West are happy to go along with, vs the Doctrinal Narrative, which is the foundational reason Islam attacks the West. Islam is commanded to do so. Muslims must do it, because Islam means “Submission” and every Muslim has submitted to doing the will of Allah and his Messenger, pbuh.
We in the West might fix every Grievance Islam has, including wiping Israel off the map. We are still left with the Doctrinal issue. Which we can do nothing about, except to (1) Convert to Islam (2) Pay the Jizya Tax for non-Muslims, or (3 To Die at the Sword of Allah.
For that is in the Doctrines. In the Trinity of Islam. That is what Islam is.
Or… we could fight Islam. If we had the will. Which Ibrahim thinks we don’t. I agree. I hope he is wrong. I hope I am wrong. But the trend is not good for our Enlightenment-born, liberal-democratic societies. As we continue to appease Islam. Even to welcome it…
😞
