Two European Commentaries

Michelle Malkin has collected links about two European commentaries discussing the history between Islam and Christianity. The global conflict of our time is religious and adequate responses to the provocations require grounding in the basics of theology and history. The two essays have induced Muslim outrage which indicates they achieve a level of accuracy to be worth reading in their entirety.

Robert Redeker: The reactions caused by Benedict XVI’s analysis of Islam and violence highlight the underhanded maneuver carried out by Islam to stifle what the West values more than anything, and which does not exist in any Moslem country: freedom of thought and expression.

The Koran is a book of unparalleled violence. Maxime Rodinson states, in Encyclopedia Universalis, some truths that in France are as significant as they are taboo. On one hand: “Mohammed revealed in Medina unsuspected qualities as political leader and military chief (…) He resorted to private war, by then a prevalent custom in Arabia (….) Mohammed soon sent small groups of partisans to attack the Meccan caravans, thus punishing his unbelieving compatriots and simultaneously acquiring the booty of a wealthy man.”

There is more: “Mohammed profited from this success by eradicating the Jewish tribe which resided in Medina, the Quarayza, whom he accused of suspect behaviour.” And: “After the death of Khadija, he married a widow, a good housewife, called Sawda, and in addition to the little Aisha, barely ten years old. His erotic predilections, held in check for a long time, led him to ten simultaneous marriages.” A merciless war chief, plunderer, slaughterer of Jews and a polygamist, such is the man revealed through the Koran.

A key concept to understand is that in Islam, the prophet Mohammed is understood to be a human male and nothing but a human male. He is, however, a man claiming to be chosen to reveal the absolute truth of God and questioning the source of his verbiage is forbidden. Historian Egon Flaig’s essay is an excellent review and reminder that the real world has a long past.

German Professor Egon Flaig (via Malkin): The incredible speed, in which in 90 years an Arabian empire spanning from the south of France to India developed, with no single conqueror guiding the expansion, is unique. … If "enthusiasm" could do such a thing - what was its source? The answer is simple: martyrdom. … The concept of a martyr is fundamentally different in the two religions. Christian martyrs imitate the passion of Jesus, passively submit to torture and death; Muslim martyrs are active fighters. Decisive for the warriors' acceptance of death was the firm promise of eternal salvation for those who die for the faith (surah 4, 74-76).

The Democratic desire to treat Islamic violence as criminal violence completely misses the “root cause” of the problem. The behavior we must confront is simply not arising from criminal motivations.