Western Manifesto.

We posted this as a comment over at Gates of Vienna (The MSM: Can’t Run, But They Sure Can Hide, 2/19/06) and reproduce it here:

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I gleefully endorse multiple publications of cartoons and other images of Mohammed.

That by itself establishes the correct principle of no intimidation because of the threat of Muslim violence.

But it misses the point.

Something more aggressive, confrontational, and substantive is in order. What is needed is a "Western Manifesto."

It would go something like this:

1. Islam kills to expand its influence. Jihad is an integral part of Islam and it means military conquest, not some kind of inner self-improvement exercise. Do you think we are fools? The express routes to paradise for jihadis in Islamic doctrine are deplorable and encourage the most barbaric and pointless sacrifices by Muslim young people. Forget jihad. Keep your sons to make grandchildren for you, not to fill the rivers with blood and tears.

2. Islamic doctrine is established by ignorant and violent men who have no understanding of science, industry, economics, medicine, or technology and who act only to aggrandize themselves and keep Muslim people down.

3. Islam oppresses and enslaves. Nothing grows where Islam takes root. Nothing. Poverty and backwardness are coextensive with strict adherence to the sharia or where there is a struggle to institute such adherence. All of the nations of the Arab world have a GDP less than that of Spain. Why is that? What would the Arab world be if it were not for oil?

4. Why are there so few Christians left in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey when there were so many before? Surely you will not tell us that you did not oppress them and force them to leave? We know what takes place in Egypt, what happens to the Baha'i in Iran, what is done in Darfur. This is not what one expects from a confident, vigorous, and great faith. This is fear and small mindedness. We despise you for your petty ways. You hate the Jews and Israel but do nothing to make your own societies better.

5. Even the brightest of flames in the history of Dar Al-Islam were smothered by the Wahhabis, the literalists, the obscurantists. What Islamic glories do the Wahhabis claim, except the glory of hate and death? How does killing glorify or please Allah? Answer that.

6. The mullahs, muftis, imams, and ulema are afraid to compete intellectually with Western religions and secular doctrines and will condone violence and vicious hatred of infidels as a substitute for competition. If Islam is a great religion, people will come to it. If it proves to be deficient to those who come and they leave, let them. If Christianity or Buddhism attract more people, examine, change, and compete. No one will stop you if you win the battle for the hearts of men that are freely given and freely remain. What has the shedding of blood to do with religion today?

7. Islam fosters hatred of infidels through its support for and condonation of concepts such as "infidel," "najis," "polytheists," "jizyah," "dhimma," and "jihad." So long as Muslims do not reject these concepts totally, they will be met with similar discrimination and contempt from infidels. Is this not just?

8. Freedom of religion is essential to a decent life and the Muslim concept of death as the only possible penalty for apostasy is contemptible and contrary to the best of human understanding of decency and freedom. If a man prays in his home or not at all, or criticizes the Prophet, what is it to you? Are you grown men and women who can accept that others have minds of their own? Do you think that Allah or his Prophet quake at the words of men?

9. Why do you come to the West and still think and act like you are lions who will one day devour the people who welcomed you? Do you think we do not notice the unjustifiable pridefulness in these attitudes, the base ingratitude they involve? Why must you hold yourselves apart like some master race?

10. Let us hear no more of the Crusades, which were a temporary and limited reaction to massive Muslim aggression, killing, rape, enslavement, and pillage. Islam spread far and wide by the sword and huge numbers of people died as a result. The Muslim people of history are as blood drenched as any. Muslim history is not pretty and your Muslim predecessors were not unique in their aggression and killing. Stop pretending that there is no such history.

11. Islam is cursed with Wahhabism, which is a primitive and murderous doctrine that leaves the interpretation of what is correct and decent in Islam to the most backward and uneducated of men. In 1967 in Saudi Arabia, Sheik ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Bin ‘Abdillah Bin Baz, who presided over the Saudi Permanent Committee for Scientific Research and the Issuing of Fatwas, issued a fatwa that the earth is flat. In 1993, he became the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. Does this not alarm you or embarrass you?

12. The Koran must be open to interpretation by any and all Muslims as they see fit, not just by theocrats. The sharia is impossible to understand and adherence to it in its present confused and archaic form leaves you in the control of the mullahs. You do not need a mullah to tell you whether you properly perform wudoo or what to do if you hear a donkey when you pray. Or to tell you how to think. There is more to life than the Koran. If it is beautiful, show us it wonders.

13. Secularism is not a perfect approach but it is a workable and honorable compromise. Theocracy in the Western experience has led to misery in the same way that purely secular doctrines like communism did. It is best for religion to play no part in government and be left solely to one's conscience. Theocracy, which is integral to Islam, is a terrible curse upon the ummah.

14. Only Muslims who understand these ideas can expect to be welcomed to and to remain in the West. We will not live with vipers in our homes.

15. No Western philosophy, doctrine, system, institution, government, religion, or church is perfect. It is no shame for Islam that it is imperfect and has led to imperfect acts. The West has often behaved badly but it has changed, discarded unworkable concepts, and tried hard to be creative in finding ways to live better. There is much in the West that is wrong and inadequate. The West must improve. However, this does not excuse error and backwardness in other parts of the world. Not to change is the greatest crime. Islam must. The Arab world must contribute its genius, it strength, and its greatness and say goodbye to old ways. It is time.

16. Our patience is at an end. Many of us yearn to strike hard against those who have tormented good and innocent people by their support of terror. We know who they are.

17. Riot and kill all you want, if you must. But be careful. The next magnificent act of destruction you accomplish will sweep away the cowards and the weak voices in our countries. Only the warriors will be heard then. That is the price you will pay. Understand! We are not strangers to violence. If you insist, we will show you what our wrath can accomplish with modern weapons. Remember Iwo Jima, El Alemein, and Stalingrad. The kuffar are not afraid of fighting. Do you dare to put your doubts to the test?

18. Stop crying about Israel and the Jews. The Jews hold Israel because they have superior military might. This is the case with every nation in the world. Please take Israel by your own military efforts and stop talking about how unjust it is that you are ineffective militarily. It makes people feel contempt for you. Act or shut up. Blowing up school buses and restaurants in Israel is stupid.

19. The disgusting Islamic Republic of Iran will never be able to acquire nuclear weapons. We regret any loss of life of the good people of Iran that might occur as a result of our military strikes, but they must come. There is no alternative.

20. Muslims! Believe this.

This is about 60 minutes worth of drafting and might warrant a little editing here and there. It's a bit on the tame side if you axe me. I'd rather see this kind of a substantive face be shown to the world and to quit all this pussyfooting around that Islam is one of the great religions and we can all get along if we only understood each other better.

Barf.

We understand each other just fine and it's time we called the bluff of this deficient and twisted set of doctrines.

I'd like to be more conciliatory toward the much sought after but rarely encountered "moderate" Muslims. Undoubtedly they are there but they are for all intents and purposes hors de combat and of no use whatsoever in the battle with Islamic terror and aggression.

When moderates are more in evidence, then they will be entitled to greater respect. For now, they should not expect Westerners to fall over themselves wondering if they are there or not, or whether they will be hurt by having the tamer more worthy concepts of Islam lumped in with the objectionable ones.

A more important battle needs to be fought first.

Are we CLEAR?