Moderate Muslims And 'The Cartoon Crisis Conspiracy' :: Understanding Islam

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February 6, 2006

Moderate Muslims And 'The Cartoon Crisis Conspiracy'

Topics: Understanding Islam

Two questions raise themselves about this crisis manufactured by a who's who in the world of Islam: Why was a plan created and put into effect? And why now?

There is abundant scripture and tradition sanctioning the use of extreme violence against those who in any way are seen to deny, mock, or insult Muhammad and Islam, or any of their teachings.

The only way that Islamofascism can be defeated and the world's Muslims live in harmony with other faiths in today's interconnected world is for questions of faith to be discussed without fear. Fundamental questions need to be debated among Muslims about the use of violence against unbelievers and those Muslims who dare question any scriptural teachings. The rest of us must be permitted to express opinions as well. - Thomas Lifton, The American Thinker..

Thomas Lifton provides a very important "must read" for both moderate Muslims and non-Muslims, and writes in The American Thinker today that the "cartoon crisis which has left embassies ablaze and sparked riots from Beirut to Bangkok and Jarkarta was a set-up job, planned and executed by a group of Muslim leaders from Denmark in concert with leading lights of the Islamic world.

(...) The conspirators used supremely inflammatory phony cartoons never published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten to gin up a campaign of violence and intimidation against Denmark, the EU, and the West.

(...)The instantaneous availability of Danish flags for burning in obscure outposts of the Muslim world suggests a great deal of advance planning.

(...) Those involved in taking a four-month-old incident in far-away Denmark and making it into a crisis roiling the streets of Beirut, Bangkok and Jakarta among other Muslim outposts, include Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, and Sunni Islam's most influential scholar, Yusuf al Qaradawi, according to Lorenzo Vidino of the Counter Terrorism Blog.

(...) These are very heavy hitters in the umma, the world community of Muslims.

Yesterday we wrote of The Counterterrorism Blog's report that a delegation of Danish imams, led by Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, distributed fake anti-Muslim cartoons and attributed them to the Jyllands-Posten to stir up Islamist rage.

In the booklet it presented during its tour of the Middle East, the delegation included other cartoons of Mohammed that were highly offensive, including one where the Prophet has a pig face. But these additional pictures were NOT published by the newspaper, but were completely fabricated by the delegation and inserted in the booklet (which has been obtained and made available to me by Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet).

An english translation of the letter has been published by the CounterTerrorismBlog and provides irrefutable proof of the delegation's intent to create animosity (Download file).

So what about Lifton's two questions? Why was a plan created and put into effect? And why now? Lifton writes:

The answer to the second question is likely found in the need to whip up Muslim unity in the face of several severe challenges on the world's political agenda. As Richard Baehr notes today, the new Hamas government of the Palestinian territories needs to continue on life support via cash infusions from the European Union and other donor nations, including the United States. Fear and chastening have usually worked to unlock resources and sympathyin the past, so why not now?
Meanwhile Iran is facing potentially serious consequences from the referral of its nuclear program to the UN Security Council, not to mention a possible military attack on said facilities. Syria and its clients in Lebanon also face ongoing pressure and consequences from the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. At such a time, anti-Western anger serves to unite the fractious Sunni and Shia elements of the umma, and make the infidels more cautious about the Arab or Muslim street, in case they plan any actual use of force or other compulsion.

These answers to question 2 alone may seem to be sufficient to generate an answer to question 1. But there are longer term, far more important strategic goals being advanced, matters beyond the immediate tactical considerations of hardball geopolitics, no matter how serious these immediate concerns may be.

Before you read the rest of Lifton's article to learn more about the all important question number one, let's look at a key point he makes using the words of Muslim immigrant and Dutch Member of Parliament Hirsi Ali (who now lives in hiding under death threats):

"...a free discussion of Islam remains rare and dangerous, certainly in the Islamic world, and even in our politically correct times in the West...Apostasy is still punishable by long prison sentences and even death in many Islamic countries such as Pakistan and Iran...."

"You cannot liberalize Islam without criticizing the Prophet and the Koran...You cannot redecorate a house without entering inside." (she also writes that if Europe doesn't stand up to extremists, a culture of self-censorship of criticism of Islam that pervades in Holland will spread in Europe).

You need to read Hirsi Ali's words as - Islam is in extreme need of reform, it must be done from inside by Muslims themselves, and the chances of that occurring in our lifetime is almost nihl without exposing the real roots and beliefs of Islam to moderate Muslims who remain ignorant of it's tenets, and must work to change how they are interpreted. As Lifton writes in his piece today, "By seeking to establish a global norm - a custom enforced by social sanction, not law - that Sharia restrictions shall apply even in non-Muslim lands, the Islamofascists are engaging in prophylaxis: preventing the "disease" of free discussion and debate over topics they wish to control exclusively from ever gaining traction and possibly spreading to their own constituency.

We can never allow this to happen, and must work together to expose the Islamic agenda, encourage Muslims to attempt to reform their faith, (interestingly, the Pope doesn't believe that Islam can be reformed) and fight jihad and the Islamists agenda in every corner of the earth.

Now, please read all of Lifton's piece ...

Important Related Reading: Hirsi Ali - Let's talk about how to close the identity gap

Posted by Richard at February 6, 2006 11:21 AM

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