In Conscious Conscience

The world misunderstands Islam, it is too sad, too true.  The religion with the second-largest worldwide contingent of true believers of the one true faith, has been viewed through the growing social-political-religious fallacy of Islamophobia, as a creed not of peace, but of death-deliverance. As any self-respecting member of the faith can attest, this is absolutely and utterly wrong. Terrorism, the pursuit of political jihad has nothing to do with Islam.

And perhaps when members of the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam speak in this manner, there is the resonance of truth. Certainly in their mindset, in the manner in which their brand of Islam represents itself, that can be held to have more than a grain of truth. Their Islam is one of peace, of brotherhood, of respect for others. And, unfortunately, their branch of Islam is a very narrow one, with very little influence on the two major branches, Sunni and Shia.

It is not those of their minority-within-a-minority faith that force upon the world the presence of hate-spewing assaults of violent intensity in pursuit of justice for Islam. A justice that translates to the unworthiness of continued life for those who spurn Islam. The choice is there; a life-altering or alternately life-abandoning free choice to either rigorously embrace Islam, or welcome death, brought to an unbelieving public courtesy of jihad.

And since the tenets of Islam are rather big on jihad, both internal-emotional, and external-violent, the expression of jihad in either form is integral to Islam. It follows quite credibly then, that those who make vicious plans to attack any vestiges of Western values, justice, culture and tradition have no real use of their lives other than to serve Islam. In becoming martyrs they are honoured to bring with them as many dead infidels as possible.

This can be accomplished by coordinated attacks whose protocol has been cleverly designed by cells of jihadists, or through the determined, sacrificial act of the true believer, singly. Whose triumphant call of Allahu Akbar!, clearly announcing to the world at large, as well as to any close spectators, including those who have but a second or two to live, that their act was one consecrated to Islam.

When this happens, quite on cue, politicians, world leaders, humanitarians all, immediately issue public statements cautioning the public not to leap to conclusions. News reports studiously avoid inciting specific blame, and refer to the terrorist jihadists as 'disaffected', 'protesters', 'socially disadvantaged', 'confused', but rarely jihadists or terrorists, for to do so is to identify and implicate Islam.

No blame must be ascribed where it is clearly due, not in a civil society where pluralism and togetherness, mutual respect and equality are the watchwords and bywords of that civil society. And pious Islamic clerics cite such phrases as 'to kill one person is like killing many; forbidden in Islam', except when it is pertinent to the cause. Bystanders hesitate to give offence, to point to the Muslim in the attacker.

What is clearly obvious has become a social faux pas, one to be avoided at all costs. The cost is truth and sanity, surrendered to a world of political correctness where free passes are given out generously to those who clandestinely encourage "resistance" to the enemy that surrounds the faithful, believing as they must that their religion is beyond reproach, and the unbelievers are simply receiving just due.

Former British Prime Minister, now that he is no longer Britain's political prime executive, but remains a negotiator between the free world and the Islamists of the Middle East, has finally stated his belief that Islam has a problem it must confront. And while we should expect that Islam has a need to confront its problem, it is not merely one of public relations, but one of public conscience.

The faithful of Islam must converge to reject the violence that their faith demands in complete obedience to Sharia and the promulgation of Islamic values. And non-Muslims must forthrightly recognize the threat stalking their way of life with those Islamic values gradually being foisted upon their societies, overturning their own valued life-concepts and social-political covenants.