There are many voices "crying out in the wilderness: Make way for the coming of the Lord." But the 'lord' these voices cry for is not Jesus Christ, but rather the Mahdi, the 'messiah prophet' who will establish Islam where all the infidels will be slain once and for all.
I believe the current riots over cartoon images, the incessant terrorism in Israel and the occupied territories, the growing Muslim willingness to go on rampages over even the most unfounded allegations, the fanatical Iranian drive for nuclear weapons, and the ubiquitous rise of virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Christian threats and worse, and the refusal or inability of common Iraqis to drive out the suicide bombers are all an attempt by Messianic Muslims to hasten the arrival of the Islamic "Rapture" [apologies to Tim LaHaye].
Many ask vainly, "Where are the moderate Muslims? Why do not peaceful Muslims speak out against this frenetic madness?" Simply put, there are no moderates. It is against Islam to be moderate. a muslim will instruct you in Islamic precepts. a muslim will not consider the bases of Judaism or Christianity except to point out their inadequacies and to point the way to Islam. Hence we labor under a deadly misconception when we search for true moderation.
Islam is a religious construct with no free will. By contrast, the "reformer" Martin Luther had a great and lengthy debate with humanist and erstwhile Catholic, Erasmus, over the Judeo-Christian concept of the meaning of free will. and, while Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Hindis, Taoists and Buddhists might well have such a discussion, no such debate can legitimately exist within Islam. "Free Will" is to do the Will of "allah" as proclaimed by his Prophet Mohammed, period. anyone who disagrees with this basic precept must either "get with the program" or die with the rest of the infidels. Rhetorically speaking, "If you were a "peaceful" muslim, would you speak out and die as an infidel, or shut up and have a shot at life, no matter how low or oppressed?" You would probably be surprised to find out how many would choose the latter when push comes to shove. Now ask again: "are most people worldwide, any of us, any different... when push comes to shove?" This is unsettling to say the least.
a few brave, lonely commentators and analysts venture out to speak the truth and pronounce the warning, and a very few listen. Critics of the Islamic Fascist movement literally put their lives on the line when they dare to make comments, whether great or small.
Have you ever had one of those dreams in which you are trying to warn someone of impending doom but they refuse to hear you? Or, perhaps you have dreamed that you are in a position to take some action to avert a very real and present danger but you either find yourself in a "do loop" with no escape and you cannot rescue the situation in time? The world seems hopelessly trapped in such bad dreams [this in itself seems to be a bad dream]. Must we always ignore warnings until it is too late? Must we always sit and watch like spectators because we are paralyzed by ignorance or intimidation?
In 1924, the vain, arrogant, irascible, egotistical, aND correct General Billy Mitchell predicted that a war was coming with Japan and that it would begin with an aircraft carrier based, aviation assault on Pearl Harbor. Mitchell, a military futurist and an ardent proponent of military air power, saw it coming. He had it right. He used his capacity to think for himself based on his God-given free will, to study the landscape for poliitcal-military-cultural factors that led his to his published and rejected conclusions. Michell continued to push his vision and was eventually court-martialed for his insubordination. We paid the price because we failed to separate the message from the messenger.
Karl von Clausewitz, the purported austrian strategic-military genious, was largely ignored in his day [save by futurist Napoleon Bonaparte who understood most of the precepts before von Clausewitz put them to paper... see what happens then when powerful ideas are in the wrong hands] only to become popular and useful to military strategists and theorists in the 20th Century. Today, we must not underestimate the capacity for the Islamacists to apply von Clausewtz with deftness. To do so would be fatal.
St. Paul says we see future events only "through the glass darkly." Of course, he was speaking specifically to understanding God's economy of salvation. Yet the imagery can apply to some worldly events as well. We may make out some of the forms and interpret the some of shadows of some future historical events if we strain our brains logically and rationally and act on faith and press on toward the light. In Plato's famous "allegory of the Cave," the future is to be grasped and understood only by those who are not chained to the dimly illuminated ideas and practices of the present that create a prison of self-destructive behaviors. In the Plato's cave, it is the one who has come out of the cave and beheld the light who is called to account, disbelieved, discredited, disgraced, and discarded. Those dwelling below can only condemn the heretic who tries to teach what they are not willing or able to hear. So awful can be the truth to those who see the glass half empty, so good and welcome to those who wish to make a plan!
It is time for the people of Western Civilzation to wake up to the threat. Islamic Fascism is similar to Nazi Fascism. One must first dispel the notion that the Islamists want a peace or "truce" with the West any more than Hitler wanted accommodation with the Jews or a negotiated settlement with Great Britain and america. Popularly and optimistically, we americans would like to think that when the devil goes down to Georgia that some fiddle player named Johnny will beat the devil at his own game and that the devil will be sent packing. Well, sadly, there is no fiddle to be played against this evil and there is no Johnny. Such popular notions misapplied to life and death situations lead to actions that lead only to needless death and destruction. add nuclear weapons to this toxic brew and we are talking serious devastation people!
Free press, free speech and free thought are not Islamic concepts. Free speech, criticism and thought in the Third Reich rewarded dissenters with concentration camps; the lucky ones got a bullet in the head. Free speech in the former Soviet Union was the ability to criticize oneself or confess shortly before being executed by Stalin or being deported to disappear in the Gulag archipelago. Mussolini's Fascist Regiments beat, intimidated, and killed off all meaningful opposition. This clear and present Islamic threat is not primarily political, economic, or military; it is cultural. I believe that John Kennedy was prophetic as well as presidential when he warned america about the "twilight battles" against the forces of evil. He asked that we bear any burden, go anywhere and oppose any foe of free peoples.
I don't think we are able to meet this challenge right now. We are not able not because we are not capable, we are not able because we are walking in our sleep and caught in a "do-loop."
Lt. Col. William R. Mann is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, US army. Graduated in 1971 from the US Military academy, West Point. Earned a Masters in National Security, from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey in 1982. Served over 20 years on active duty in various staff and tactical assignments in the US, Germany, and Panama, and as a Foreign area Officer in Occupied Berlin from 1982-1985. Since retiring in 1993, he has taught Western Civilization and Economics in the Community College, and upper level Political Science and Modern World History courses in the University.
Copyright 2006 - Lt. Col. William R. Mann
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