There is an assumption in the West that with enough "love" and money Islamic countries will change their ways. They will see the light of Western culture. The arrogance, or the ignorance, or the willful blindness, or all three, that played a role in "Deals with the devil" takes one's breath away.
July 15, 2015, the day after "The Deal" was signed these human rights organizations- Center for Supporters of Human Rights, United for Iran, Südwind: All Human Rights for All in Iran, Iran Human RightsDocumentation Center, Impact Iran, Ensemble Contre La Peine de Mort (ECPM), Arseh Sevom, and Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation- said "Tuesday's breakthrough shows change is possible." After all "Iran's president came to office on a two-pronged platform of alleviating economic sanctions and improving human rights." Well, Iran's President did get the economic sanctions removed by agreeing to the rules put on the table by Obama and friends.
Now these same human rights organizations acknowledge that "human rights in Iran is marked by systematic violations of the state's international treaty obligations. These violations are deeply rooted in domestic laws and practice, whether they are limits on free expression, rampant executions (more than 600 so far in 2015), torture and imprisonment of activists, or discrimination against women and religious and ethnic minorities," but they are persuaded that change is in the air. Really?
Ending sanctions will lead to acceptance of equality of and for all; care for the other, the stranger; tolerance, inclusion and accommodation? But none of that is in Islamism Tribalism. There is no call to life, liberty, equality, fraternity and the pursuit of individual happiness in Islam. Their own women have no rights-why would they give rights to others?
Islam condones slavery-through dhimmitude. Killing the infidel is a prime teaching. So there is no sense of the sanctity and sacredness of life that is built into the constitution of all democracies. But somehow lifting sanctions as part of the "Deal" will change their views.
If I came to you with financial incentives and embraced you with love and then said put a suicide belt on your son and send him into battle to blow himself up, would you? I strongly doubt it. I strongly doubt that anything I would say or do would convince you to do such a thing. But mothers in Islamic countries do it. Martyrdom is the ideal. A blessing. This is their culture.
Do you really think you can undo that indoctrination, that culture, with a treaty? A "Deal"?
Muslim Children are taught hate from birth
Unlike children in the West who are taught "love thy neighbour," Muslim Children are taught hate from birth. Cartoons teach that Jews are apes and monkeys and that the greatest glory is to grow up and kill Jews because Jews are the symbol of the West.
The Jewish people brought the ethic of tolerance to the world; what Irish author Thomas Cahill calls "The Gifts of the Jews." When Islamists scream "Death to the Jews" and "Death to Israel" they really do mean "Death to the West." That call is still heard, today, after the signing of "The Deal."
And here we are in 2015 choosing to believe the promises made by the leaders of Islamic Iran regarding nuclear proliferation despite the well-known Islamic policy of taqiyya-religious deception. Despite the fact that they have lied about their nuclear programme in the past. From the Qur'an - This verse tells Muslims not to take those outside the faith as friends, unless it is to "guard themselves" against danger, meaning that there are times when a Muslim may appear friendly to non-Muslims, though they should not feel that way." (Here And here - "And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers." If Allah is supremely deceitful toward unbelievers, then there is little basis for denying that Muslims are allowed to do the same. (See also 8:30 and 10:21) and here. From the Hadith: Bukhari (84:64-65) - Speaking from a position of power at the time, Ali confirms that lying is permissible in order to deceive an "enemy." In other words, the word of a Muslim leader is not his bond.
Lying is permissible in order to deceive an enemy
It seems we have learned nothing in the past two centuries. Back in 1874 Army General-in-Chief George McLellan warned that the United States would never understand the peoples of The Middle East "so long as we judge them by the rules we are accustomed to apply to ourselves."
Not too long ago I had the pleasure of meeting Kamran Bokhari at a meeting of the Canadian Thinkers Forum presided over by Tahir Gora, a man I call my friend and a fighter against Islamism as it makes its way through Canada. Bokhari 's book 'Political Islam in the age of Democratizations' was published in 2013. He is passionate about Islam and is filled with hope for its future. He devoted a chapter to Iran: Participatory Shia Islamism:The Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2013 he still had great hope for Iran, that it would develop some type of democracy. But it was on page 194 of 195 pages that Bokhari spoke what I believe is realpolitik regarding the democratization of Islam: "...Islamists and many Muslims are unlikely to accept the Western practice of confining religion to the private sphere or to dilute their worldview so much that they cease to believe that Islam has a certain role to play in public affairs-even though the nature of this role is not exactly clear and thus likely to remain a point of contention."
Right now Islam plays a major role in Iran. And Islam is playing the West.
Diane Weber Bederman is a blogger for ‘Times of Israel’, a contributor to Convivium, a national magazine about faith in our community, and also writes about family issues and mental illness. She is a multi-faith endorsed hospital trained chaplain.
