How do you handle an enemy that will never surrender and will never agree to stop seeking your destruction? You either commit to fighting the good fight, or you capitulate and die.
This is why America’s War on Terror, which was officially launched in response to the 9/11 terror attack, has been fought for a quarter century now.
If Islam is a “religion of peace,” why does it wage so much war? Furthermore, why does it produce so much terrorism?
Much of the modern West has shied away from addressing these fundamental questions. The West writ large has embraced the erroneous view that all religions are merely personally held beliefs regarding God, life, and eternity, and as such there is no one true answer. Thus, the secular West believes that all religions ultimately lead to God — if He exists at all.
Hence, when one claims that one religion, such as Christianity, is true, and all other religions are false, this cuts against the postmodern mindset of “fairness” or “equality,” and therefore quickly raises objections of bigotry and racism.
Further complicating the matter for the U.S. is our own Bill of Rights, with the First Amendment explicitly protecting individuals’ freedom to practice religion as they choose. In this American context, how can one deny a Muslim the freedom to practice their faith and worship according to the teachings found within the Koran?
In theory, that is all well and fair, if the beliefs of the Muslim mirror the broad social mores and values of freedom of religion that all Americans enjoy.
But that’s the crux of the problem, and why the U.S. and the West have been opposing and fighting against Islam for hundreds of years.
Islam holds to a religious worldview that does not recognize the distinction between church and state. From Islam’s perspective, the world is divided into two spheres: the realm of Islam, where it reigns, and the world of war. Islam’s objective is for the entirety of the world to come under its rule. And the means of the world coming under the subjugation of Islam is through jihad, or holy war.
Now, it is important to note that not all Muslims interpret the means of waging jihad through violence or terrorism. Indeed, those Muslims who do embrace terrorism are a small minority and often terrorize other Muslims groups as much as, if not more than, non-Muslims.
Interestingly, Christianity also has as its vision, and as a direct command from Christ Jesus, to go into the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples.
However, there is a significant distinction in how Christianity teaches proselytizing of the nations and Islam’s means for attempting to achieve its vision of world domination. Like its origin, Islam was promulgated via violent conquest.
The Biblical means of spreading Christianity is not at the tip of the sword, but through preaching the gospel. Admittedly, “Christian” nations in the past have sought to use violence to promulgate their power, but doing this was in direct contradiction of Christ’s teaching, and it was virtually always to achieve political ends cloaked in religious garb. At other times, “Christian” nations have fought to defend themselves from non-Christian invaders, primarily Muslims.
That is an important distinction: defending the innocent from those who would do violence and evil, versus forcing others into accepting a religious ideology that strips them of many of their individual freedoms, as well as their right of conscience to believe as they see fit.
We must not forget that on that terrible day, some people actually celebrated. As ABC News’s Peter Jennings reported at the time, there were Palestinian men, women, and children cheering, dancing, and celebrating the destruction. “Other Palestinians ... will be happy to see this attack on the U.S. today,” Jennings stated. “So, take a look at a scene from Jerusalem not too long ago, in which there is some celebration that the powerful United States has been harmed, has been seen to be vulnerable, has been hurt.”
Why would they celebrate? The answer had everything to do with the Islamic worldview. America, the “great Satan,” as numerous Islamists have referred to the U.S., had been dealt a significant blow in the name of Islam.
And in the years since, America’s response to this great evil has too often been blamed for “causing” or “motivating” these terrorists in the first place. That too is a lie, devised to deceive and confuse.
This is why America’s fight against Islamic terrorism will inevitably continue indefinitely so long as there are individuals who believe in and are motivated by the teaching of Mohammed to destroy the infidel.
