The Watcher’s Council
Every week on Monday morning, the Council and our invited guests weigh in at the Watcher’s Forum with short takes on a major issue of the day, the culture or daily living. This week’s question: Is The Kidnap Of Young Girls By Boko Haram Islam? And If So What Conclusions Should We Draw?
Liberty’s Spirit: I don’t think that there is an absolute answer to that question. Boko Haram is one form of Islam: a politicized violent Islamists form of Islam. Islam, like all religions, is practiced by people in varying degrees. To say that Boko Haram is Islam is unfair to all those Moslems who truly are peace loving, honorable individuals. Boko Haram is characteristic of that one particular type of Islam and its followers. However, what we have been witnessed to, especially since 9/11, is the expansion of this hate-fulled murderous sect of Islam. We are experiencing the takeover of the Islamic world by a violent, misogynistic, antisemitic, anti-western, anachronistic version of Islam. It is the spread of Wahhabism on the Sunni side, coupled with the murderous ideology of the Moslem Brotherhood and it’s offspring, al-Qaeda/Hamas, along with the Shiite Iranian revolutionary Islamist ideology with its Lebanese-child Hezbollah on the other side, that defines Islam today.
The problem for Moslems at this moment, is that the world does not see a moderate or peace loving face of Islam standing up against the torrent of such violent extremism. There are those groups here in the US, but they seem marginalized, not only by the news media, which really doesn’t report on them, but by western governments themselves. Western-left leaning governments, particularly the United States, has sided with the Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt and in so doing has accepted the definition of Islam proscribed by the Ikwan’s mouthpiece, the unindicted co-conspirator in the Holyland Terror Finance Trial, CAIR. This organization, and its sister organization, ISNA, promote and defend the more violent form of Islam as practiced by the Moslem Brotherhood. They use the weakness of leftist-progressives to silence their ciritics with the cry of “racism” and “Islamaphobia.” Interestingly however, both the Islamists, and the Left seem to enjoy their time together when they are conjoined by the antisemitism inherent in both movements.
CAIR/Islamists ideology was best seen by the recent propagandized assault against Ayaan Hirsi Ali when she was to receive an honorary degree from Brandeis. Because Ali is an outspoken critic of Islam there was a full frontal assault against her by these organizations, apart from the death fatwas which threaten her life. Additionally CAIR attacked a highly accomplished group of Moslem women who dared challenge the notion of honor murders, when they tried to stop the showing of the documentary “Honor Diaries,” again by calling into play the victim-Islamaphobia card, which the Leftists in charge of our children’s education are all to happy to prostrate themselves before. However, no one seemed to mind that one of CAIR’s main objections to the film was the racist complaint that it was directed by a Jewish person. Furthermore, CAIR, the American face of Islam, does not allow for discourse, discussion nor the questioning of anything to do with Islam. They search for anti-Moslem activity where none exists and promote a failed notion that the Moslems of the west are consistently under attack by an ignorant and “crusader-western” mentality. However FBI statistics show that Moslems are the least attacked religious group in the country, with the largest number of attacks being against Jews.
Meanwhile, the most ironic condemnation of Boko Haram came this week from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). This international group is made up of all the Islamic nations of the world. The OIC is best known for pushing for an international anti-blasphemy law, something our former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supported (thereby insisting on curtailing freedom of speech). Furthermore, most, if not all, of these nations follow Sharia law which include; amputations, honor murders, force marriage, fgm, stoning of adulterers including rape victims, killing of gays, dhimmi status for non-Moslems, consider a woman’s testimony 1/4 that of a man, arrest women for witchcraft, practice crucifixion as a proper form of punishment, etcetera. Additionally in many of these nations Christians are slaughtered almost on a daily basis, especially in nations such as Pakistan, where accusations of blasphemy against Islam merits the death penalty. In Egypt Christian girls are actually kidnapped regularly by Islamists, who are never punished, and who are then forcibly convert these girls to Islam. Meanwhile, nations like Saudi Arabia it is forbidden to have a Christian Bible, churches are illegal and non-Moslems are restricted from entering certain areas. These Moslem states, including the countries/territories that have signed peace agreements with Israel (Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority), also openly support terror against Jews worldwide and in fact pay for and promote suicide bombings/terrorism, on top of promoting Holocaust denial, antisemitic tracks like the Protocols of the Elder of Zion and genocide against the State of Israel. The reality is that the OIC, the very public face of modern day Islam, is Boko Haram.
The truth of the matter is that, no Boko Haram is not Islam. You can never make such a generalization about every Moslem on the face of the Earth. But it is representative of the leaders and governments of the Islamic world today.
Simply Jews: Whether it is Islam or not is immaterial. The history knows only too well how people abuse and pervert their holy books to any desirable end, so if Boko Haram do it for Islam and in its name – then this is their Islam – nothing more nothing less.
The only conclusion to draw for the rest of the (so far free) world is: Taliban, Boko Haram and other gangs of that ilk – if you see it, kill it.
The time for negotiations with these creatures has passed long time ago.
GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD: Uh, well to be about as subtle as an American infantryman taking a leak in the Imam Ali Mosque courtyard in broad daylight on a Friday, seems these Boko Haram cats are totally m’Hammedist.
Head chopping, girl hating, Christian killing and aiming to set up a 7th century Preacher’s Paradise fully crunk with Sharia Law seems to be the hot new fashion with easily unhinged elements betwixt Atlas Mtns and river Indus.
Damage Control and distancing is finally getting some play as other m”Hammedists around the globe LOL any relationship between Mohammedism and Boko Haram.
Even Whabbi Arabia’s Grand Mufti dissed Boko Haram, and Canada’s leading moderate m”Hammedist Skippy Amadi and Pakistan’s leading English Daily are taking pains to make clear it’s style over substance.
Yet this kind of thinking brings up even more FAQS. You know, like what bunch could possibly hijack a religion of hundreds of millions?
You best understood, the K’ran teaches cats who reject m”Hammedism are like “the worst of critters” (98:6). Not surprisingly, this view of non-m”Hammedists, when combined with the PBUH guy’s j!had chiz has created tons of atrocities. In the name of Allah no less.
The Razor: Ayaan Hirsi Ali says the incident should be a warning to those in the West who choose to ignore the darker aspects of Islam. Arsalan Iftikhar, a human-rights lawyer and DePaul University adjunct professor, says that Boko Hiram is no more representative of Islam than the Westboro Baptist Church is representative of Christianity.
Of these two positions I’ll go with Hirsi Ali’s since Mohammed himself conducted raids in which he stole women. Mohammed’s wife herself noted “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women,” (Muhammed Ibn Ismael al Bukhari, “The Translation of the Meanings.”) In Christianity the Westboro Baptist Church is a tiny fraction of the Christian world and hold heretical beliefs. Boko Haram is a much larger faction, and most importantly, hold beliefs that are mainstream among Wahhabi Sunnis and some Shi’a. The heretical voices are those like the Ismailis who believe in a much gentler and more tolerant form of Islam.
What conclusions should we draw? If by “we” you mean those of us branded as “Islamophobes” for seeing Islam for the intolerant, sexist, racist, dehumanizing religion it is, Boko Haram simply fits our beliefs. For liberals and those driving around with “COEXIST” bumper stickers on their cars, the conclusion they should draw is that they should reassess their beliefs. Will they? Doubtful. They’ve turned Cognitive Dissonance into an art-form when it comes to Leftist beliefs and their support of Islam.
JoshuaPundit: Are Boko Haram’s activities Islam? Of course they are. Most westerners have never actually taken a good look at the Qu’ran, the Sunna or the Hadiths (the Muslim equivalent of Christianity’s gospels, the deeds and sayings of Mohammed as reported by his followers). They’d be shocked if they did.
Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shakau is totally within his rights according to the Qu’ran to sell the girls, give them to whomever pleases as sex slaves or keep some of them himself for the same purpose. He would be following the example of Mohammed if he does so, and the Qu’ran allows it:
“All married women are forbidden unto you save those captives whom your right hands possess. It is a decree of Allah for you”. Qu’ran – 4:24 (Pickthall translation).
In fact, Islam even winks at allowing the owner of those captive slave girls to prostitute them for money, as we see in 24:33 (Pickthall again): And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. But if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.
Boko Haram (their real name is Party of the People of the Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad) have been committing acts of incredible savagery (and yes, kidnapping young non-Muslim girls) for years, but because this time these activities got some unaccustomed press, we have seen Muslim organizations in the West issue pro forma condemnations. We have even seen certain Muslim figures like the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia reported as condemning Boko Haram, claiming that what they’re doing is ‘not Islam’. Significantly,the condemnations from the Muslim world are all being reported in English language publications, with no videos or much activity in Arabic language media I’ve been able to find. And Boko Haram is hardly the only one. The kidnappings of young women, forced conversions and sales take place in Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, all over the Muslim world. No major Muslim religious figure has ever condemned this, not to mention Beslan, Bali, Mumbai or any of the other atrocities committed by Muslims against non-believers on almost a daily basis.
Because of this, I doubt the sincerity of many if not most of these condemnations.
Conclusions? While these activities are not representative of all Muslims,they are religiously permitted and even lauded among a significant number of Muslims. Also, Islam is not going to ‘reform’ itself, nor are all but a small amount of Muslims living in the West going to stand up publicly for various reasons, not the least of which is the result of our politicians allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to get a significant foothold here in America. We are eventually going to have to face this directly, and perhaps this highly publicized tragedy may be a wake up call.
Ask Marion: The kidnapping of young girls by Boko Haram is certainly an outstretch or radical Islam… an outstretch of Sharia… that is creeping into nations around the world by design; a design that has included a successful campaign of instilling a combination of fear and political correctness into all of us!
The State Department and Hillary Clinton fought against putting Boko Haram on terror list and President Obama and his administration have been the most supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, including many MB members in our government than any other administration in the history of the United States; part of the President’s personal Ideology and part of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend paradigm’. (Let us remember that both Hillary Clinton and President Obama have ties to the Brotherhood.)
Now Michelle Obama thinks holding up a ridiculous sign for Twitter ‘#Bring Back Our Girls’ will somehow help these girls…? Or perhaps her husband’s administration?
We, the United States and the rest of world, are in big trouble if we don’t start paying attention to the goals of radical Islam and stop the creeping Sharia all around us. Hollywood has amazingly caught a sudden case of Islamophobia and is protesting Sharia… while Florida invites and Boston is defending Sharia?
There is a real war on women, war on the west and war on Christianity and Israel… and this is part of that war… not the craziness being fed mainstream America through the complicit MSM media to propagandize for the Progressives and for Hillary in 2016.
Unless Americans, Christians, Jews, Women wake-up and take a stand we will soon see the kind of restrictions and rallies here in the U.S. that Great Britain and France are already experiencing and the kidnapping, sale and abuse of women and children will not only continue but multiply exponentially!
We keep telling ourselves that Islam must censor and police itself. It hasn’t happened and it isn’t going to happen. The moderate Muslims are just as afraid and politically correct as the rest of us have been! You are not going to find very many Clint Eastwoods among them! So the duty of standing-up falls on all our shoulders.
The Glittering Eye: I’m not sure I’m prepared to say what is or is not Islamic. To my untutored eye Boko Haram appears to hold similar beliefs to Al Qaeda or other takfiri sects. Also similar to Al Qaeda Boko Haram deploys most of its efforts against its own people rather than against the detested West. If the Germans had employed a similar strategy in fighting the Allies during WWII, within a couple of years there would have been no Germans left to fight.
On the other hand Boko Haram seems to have bear the same relationship to Islam that the Lord’s Resistance Army on the other side of the continent does to Christianity. The only conclusion I draw from this is that Africa remains a pretty nasty place.
Rhymes With Right: How about if I take a shot at this one by saying that I believe the answer is both Yes and No. Lest you think I am being wishy-washy, let me say that my answer is because of my observation that there are actually two Islams out there. No, not Sunni and Shi’a — rather, I believe that the division is between benign Islam and metastatic Islam.
Benign Islam is what so many of us see on a daily basis. It is the Islam followed by the dear lady who substitutes at my school and whose children I taught years ago — the kind that leads her to sincerely tell me she is praying for my wife when she is ill and who asks for my prayers in turn when her husband is undergoing his cancer treatments. It is the Islam practiced by most of my wife’s doctors. It is the Islam practiced by most of the Muslims we here in America meet on a daily basis. It is a faith based in the Quran and the subsequent teachings that grew from it. It is a beautiful faith which inspires hundreds of millions to live out beautiful lives. And I will state with full confidence that the actions of Boko Haram do not represent this Islam and that its followers are every bit as shocked and horrified by the kidnapping and enslavement of these young girls as are Christians, Jews, Budhists, Hindus and followers of other faiths (or no faith at all).
And yet, there is the other Islam — the Islam that I some years ago described as a cancer on that faith. It is the Islam that countenances terrorism as a legitimate means of advancing the faith. It is the religion that seeks to impose second-class citizenship on non Muslims. It is a religion that takes the most backwards of Islamic teachings and uses them to subjugate women and keep them at the level of chattel. It is the religion practiced by the former student who mistakenly included me in an email the 9/11 terrorist attack. It is the religion of al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and many other terrorist groups. And yes, it is well-represented by the foul deeds of Boko Haram.
Which brings us to the fundamental question — which Islam will prevail, because the two cannot indefinitely coexist. And so time will tell whether or not the deeds of Boko Haram end up being the norm or an aberration.
Well, there you have it.
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