Berit Kjos -- Four Faces of Islam, Part2

FOUR FACES OF ISLAM

PART 2 of 4

MILITANT ISLAM

By Andy and Berit Kjos
December 30, 2002
NewsWithViews.com

"Ours is a militant faith," said Koranic scholar Anwar ul-Haque, chief pathologist at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. "Islam is not a religion that allows passivity. Muslims do not believe in turning the other cheek.... We believe in the use of force - violence, the hoisted rifle - to correct wrongs and exact punishment on those who harm Islam." [1]

Dr. Anwar ul-Haque's view of Jihad is backed by a history of aggressive warfare that many moderate Muslims prefer to forget. Some argue that the Quran's call to "slay them wherever ye find them... " [Sura 2:191-193] is merely a call to defensive warfare, a conclusion supported, they say, by the context of this and similar verses in modern English translations of the Quran.

But it was offensive, not defensive, doctrines that drove Islam's early leaders to conquer land masses stretching from Spain to China in a single century. They used the sword to crush all opposition, expand their territory and force the nations to worship Allah.

This zeal hasn't waned. The last decade saw deadly Jihad in Islamic lands from the Sudan to Indonesia. Since the villains "who harm Islam" now include all who represent American capitalism, culture and crudity, militant Muslims see U.S. cities as valid targets. Yet Christian missionaries who dare share their faith seem to top the list. (www.crossroad.to\HisWord\verses\suffer\John15-20.htm John 15:20) Their death serves Allah's purpose.

Such violence isn't unique to Islam. History testifies to the cruel aggression of ancient Assyrians, the well-traveled Mongols and others whose religious fervor was fueled by the dark spirit behind the world's unbiblical gods. That spirit has -- especially in times of apostasy and twisted truth -- accomplished many of its horrors under the banner of Christianity. (See "www.crossroad.to/charts/cultural-Christianity.html Biblical versus Cultural Christianity")

For Satan doesn't hesitate to entice into his own armies those who claim the name of Christ. Masquerading as an "angel of light" [2 Cor. 11:14], he uses them for his purposes while spreading timeless lies that fit the "felt needs" of his current listeners. As 1 John 5:19 tells us, "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one," and he commands a host of unseen troops who, like himself, are masters of deception.

Such an "angel of light" spoke to Muhammad back in the seventh century. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the founder of Islam heard an "imperious" voice - he thought it came from the Angel Gabriel. Then "a luminous being grasped him by the throat and commanded him to repeat the sacred word." [2]

Muhammad must have obeyed, for the angel began to communicate a series of revelations which gave birth to the Quran (Koran), Islam s holy book. The voice dictated new versions of the Old Testament history so carefully documented through the centuries by meticulous Jewish scribes. Not only did it present Biblical prophets as mere forerunners of the Prophet Muhammad, it also revised the nature of God.

Between 622 and 631 A.D., the new prophet united the tribes of Arabia into a military force "ready to conquer the world for Allah." [3] His personal victory was short lived since he died in 632. But he left behind a call to battle that would soon reverberate throughout the Middle East and into Asia.

The caliphs who succeeded the prophet were more lenient spiritually, but no less threatening. "So swiftly did Islam's onrushing armies advance that in the beginning they had time neither to convert nor govern their new domains," wrote the editorial staff of Life. Demanding tax and surrender, they marched forward, killing those who resisted their crusade. [4]

Political correctness tells us that Islamic rage is merely a distortion of traditional Islam. Michael Doran, a professor of New Eastern Studies at Princeton University, disagrees. "Many Americans seem to think that bin Laden is just a violent cult leader," he says. "But the truth is that he is tapping into a minority Islamic tradition with a wide following and a deep history." [5]

This "minority" tradition is taught to school children in Palestine, Sudan, Iran and other nations that sound the call to militant jihad. A Saudi Arabian textbook tells high school students, "It is compulsory for the Muslims to be loyal to each other and to consider the infidels their enemy." [6]

"If you receive the curriculum in Saudi Arabia, you would see that it promotes any kind of extremist views of Islam, in the eyes of very devout Muslims," said Abdul Khadir Tash.... This extremism, born of the local, puritanical www.crossroad.to\glossary\Islam.htm Wahabi brand of Islam, constrains life here, shaping the way people live...." [7]

Osama bin Laden recruits disciples through these radical schools. Called Madrasa, they "can mold the imperfectly formed religious creed of young, easily influenced men, convincing them that their faith condones violence against non-Muslims." [8]

As we look at Islam's bloody history, it might be good to remember the ravages of Western culture. For the decadent world around us -- so despised by militant Muslims -- has bred hatred for Biblical values even in America. To justify this trend, our schools and media highlight the evils of the Spanish inquisition, the crusades and medieval witch hunts - historical signs of www.crossroad.to/charts/cultural-Christianity.html Cultural Christianity, not Biblical Christianity. Seeing little difference between those horrors and Islamic Jihad, it blames fundamentalism -- Biblical Christianity as well as militant Islam -- for human cruelties.

We need to remember that human nature doesn't change with times, places, cultures or the world's religions. Apart from the cross, humanity drifts toward all kinds of wrongs. Individual weaknesses may differ, but without God's Word, we all share a basic inclination to follow our feelings and justify our wants. Humility replaces pride when we look evil in the face and say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Recognizing our need for the cross, www.crossroad.to\HisWord\verses\human_nature\Rom6-6.htm Rom 6:6-14] we find strength in Christ to follow His way.

"...love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven...." Matthew 5:44-45

Next: Part 3 - Folk Islam

Endnotes:

1. Neil MacFarquhar, "Anti-Western and Extremist views pervade Saudi Schools," New York Times, October 19, 2001.

2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 15 (Chicago: William Benton, 1968), page 640.

3.The World's Great Religions (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958), page 79.

4. Ibid., page 88-89.

5. Robert Worth, "The Deep Intellectual Roots of Islamic Terror," The New York Times, 10-3-01.

6. Neil MacFarquhar, "Anti-Western and Extremist views pervade Saudi Schools," New York Times, October 19, 2001.

7. Ibid.

Part 1: Moderate Islam

Berit Kjos is a widely respected researcher. Author of: A Twist of Faith, Your Child and the New Age and Brave New Schools writer of magazine articles, a popular conference speaker, and a concerned parent.

Kjos first became aware of New Age and occult influences in our society at a 1974 conference on holistic health. As a registered nurse, she was interested in methods of healing, but soon discovered that the occult powers found in New Age methods brought bondage instead of true healing. As a parent, Kjos became aware of similar New Age influences in education. She began to monitor the schools for classroom programs that taught occultism and New Age spirituality, then began to share what she learned with other parents and teachers. She also explains what programs such as Goals 2000 are all about, and why all students-even homeschoolers-eventually will be required to demonstrate competence in the new social and thinking skills before they can move on to higher education or jobs.

Kjos has given workshops and seminars at conferences such as the Association for Christian Schools International and CHEA. She has spoken at conferences for such groups as The Steeling of the Mind, The Constitutional Coalition, Child Evangelism Fellowship and Concerned Women for America.

A frequent guest on national radio and television programs, Kjos has been interviewed several times on The 700 Club, Point of View (Marlin Maddoux), Bible Answer Man, Beverly LaHaye Live, Crosstalk and Family Radio Network. She has also been a guest on "Talk Back Live" (CNN) and other secular radio and TV networks. Kjos Ministries Web Site: http://www.crossroad.to/index.html

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