Islamic Fundamentalists and Other News

Published March 18, 2011 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

Last week was certainly a busy news week. 

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stood his ground against unruly union protestors and the legislature stood with him.  They stripped out of the stalled appropriations bill the portions that reformed union benefits for public workers and passed it separately, no longer needing the quorum needed for budget bills.  This enraged union workers and they were further enraged when Walker signed the bill.

We all got a good look at labor unions in action.  They trashed the state capitol building in Madison, costing taxpayers about $7.5 million to repair.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan quickly grabbed the headlines as sections of Japan were devastated by the quake and the ensuing tsunami.  This event, the 5th largest ever recorded in modern times, is sure to have long-lasting consequences on the Japanese people and economy. 

Perhaps the biggest concern is the nuclear power plants that were affected.  It should be noted that the reactors withstood the earthquake; it was the tsunami following that knocked out cooling capacity for some units.  On the on a seven-point international scale of gravity for nuclear incidents, the Japanese incident has been upgraded from 4 to 6 according to France's Nuclear Safety Authority.  Three Mile Island was a level 5 and Chernobyl was a 7.

But three main stories, all having to do with Muslims, are what mainly caught my attention.

There is the on-going revolt in Libya, where embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi’s 41 year dictatorial rule is on the verge of collapse.  One problem is that Barack Obama seems to be completely indecisive, projecting weakness rather than strength.

Additionally, there is unrest in Saudi Arabia, where last Friday was suppose to have been Saudi Arabia's "day of rage", planned for and anticipated for weeks.  The protests in the east, where the Saudi Shia minority is concentrated, were mostly to call for the release of political prisoners.  The rest of the nation seemed to ignore the call for action.

Domestically, we heard about the sting operation at National Public Radio (NPR) by conservative James O’Keefe posing as a potential donor with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.  NPR executive Ron Schiller was caught on tape admitting his willingness to accept $5 million from what he had to know was an Islamic terrorist organization.  Schiller also was recorded making derogatory statements against Republicans, Jews, evangelical Christians and the Tea Party.  He was forced to resign.

Also resigning from NPR was CEO Vivian Schiller (no relation to Ron).

O’Keefe also released a recording of a conversation between NPR executive Betsy Liley and a member of the fictitious Muslim Education Action Center about how to proceed with a $5 million donation, including her suggestion the gift wouldn't be subject to an audit. She is on unpaid leave.

I was delighted to see NPR exposed.  I had an issue with them in the Washington DC area and quickly learned how little they care about facts.

Then, there was the furor New York Republican Rep. Peter King’s Homeland Security Committee hearing on Muslim-American radicalization.  It is absolutely incredible how the Democrats come to the defense of those who have sworn to destroy our nation and kill those who won’t convert to Islam.

What some call Muslim “radicalization” is in fact Muslim fundamentalism.  The 19 terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shankesville, PA were Islamic fundamentalists. 

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood gunman who killed 13 innocent service personnel is an Islamic fundamentalist.

Richard Colvin Reid, commonly known as the shoe bomber, is an Islamic fundamentalist.

It is estimated that about 10 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are fundamentalists.  That is to say, they believe and seek to practice the teachings of their holy book, the Koran, all 130 million of them. 

The Koran teaches that those who refuse to convert to Islam must die.  They call this jihad, which is defined as “holy war waged by Muslims against infidels (non-Muslims), or a holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal.”

Compare the fundamentalist Muslim to the fundamentalist Christian, who also believes the teaching of their holy book, the Bible.  There are an estimated 2.1 billion Christians but only about 10 percent are fundamentalist.  They are the direct opposite of fundamental Muslims as Jesus teaches His followers to “love their enemies.”

Jesus summed up fundamental Christianity when he said.”‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."   Jesus also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.   Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  This is called the Great Commission.

Jesus tells his followers to love God and their neighbors and to go into all the world preaching the “good news.”

This is just opposite what the Koran teaches.  It tells Muslims to hate their neighbor if they are “infidels” and to spread Islam by force, not the spoken word.

Christianity has liberated women where Islam keeps them enslaved. 

Although alms giving are a basic Muslim tenet, you rarely see Muslims responding to disasters such as the Japan earthquake.  Rather, you will see them sending aid and weapons to jihadists throughout the world.

It is the Christian community who responds to national disasters.

Peter King’s Homeland Security Committee needs to continue to hold hearings until the true nature of Islam is exposed and understood.