Free pass to heaven

The US has fought Muslims in two wars in the space of several hundred years.

The first began during George Washington’s administration and lasted over 30 years, beginning with the capture and enslavement of American sailors, continued on to the payment of tribute to the Barbary States and ended with the war against them that established a peace.

The second began well before 9/11 when our embassy was attacked in Iran and its staff was held hostage. That was followed by a series of attacks that provoked no response until 9/11 when George Bush – and the American people – finally realized that we were at war.

Yet despite this history, Islam is not well understood. I believe the reason for this is that most commentators on this subject refuse to seriously consider the role of religion and theology as the inspiration for political acts.

They are dead wrong.

Theology is THE major factor influencing the actions of Muslims fighting this war. And it has to do with getting to heaven. For Muslims, getting into heaven is a chancy thing. They believe that on the Day of Judgment, Allah will weigh their good and evil deeds and send them either to paradise or to hell. Islam’s final judgment is based on works, unlike Christianity which teaches that redemption and entrance to heaven is an issue, not of works, but of faith.

For the Muslim, you can avoid the chance that Allah will send you to hell for not making the grade and that is death by Jihad. Those that die on Jihad get a straight shot to heaven; no weighing of good and evil, no question of admission to paradise. In fact, they get a better place in heaven:

Besides making "Allah and his apostle" Muhammad smile, what does the martyr of jihad expect? First, it is a misconception that there is no assurance of salvation offered in orthodox Islamic teaching. There is! Those who die in Jihad fighting Allah's cause "will go to paradise" (Bukhari, Vol IV, p. 55). In fact, martyrs will go to Al-Firdaus, which refers to a "front row seat" in the presence of God (Bukhari Vol. IV, p. 40, 53), Second, the best house in paradise is entitled the house of Martyrs (Bukhari, Vol. IV, p. 40). Third, those of the highest status among Muslims and greatest dignity from Allah in heaven will be the martyrs of Islamic jihad (Bukhari Vol. IV, p. 43, 55) It is said that only those who have died in jihad will want to return to earth to die again in order to gain the "best of the best" of the rewards in the Islamic paradise (Bukhari Vol. IV. p. 42, 540).

People who do not understand religion have no concept of the role that it plays in people’s lives. I’m afraid that most commentators, analysts and academics have shed religion like a snake sheds its skin. For them, the concept of getting to heaven is meaningless and takes no part in their analysis of events. But to understand what motivates people is the first and most critical component of understanding political reality.

It is a supreme irony that the only people who really understand the war we are in are Christians.

UPDATE:

The first war with Islam took over 30 years and included the same things that this one does. From the 16th to 19th century, Muslim pirates not only captured European and American shipping but captured an estimated 800,000 to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves, raiding towns and villages throughout the coasts of Europe. Figuring that paying ransom or tribute was cheaper than war, Europeans and Americans paid and paid. Payments in ransom and tribute to the Barbary states amounted to 20% of United States government annual expenditures in 1800. In the end, inevitably, came war. And we waged war in such a way that there was no question of who is stronger and more determined.

But the most interesting thing that I discovered in this research is the fact that suicide bombing gives people who have committed an unpardonable sin, the feeble minded, the true believer in an afterlife an escape hatch into Paradise. Keep in mind that many people in Islamic countries live lives of brutality, suffering and deprivation. The incentive to go to a better world – and there to have a place in the front row, as it were – has to be a powerful motivator. It’s a wonder that the line for becoming a Jihadist martyr is not longer.

For a true Muslim, one whose religion teaches him to convert the world by any means, there is no chance of changing his mind. The only effective response is to demonstrate the futility of continuing Jihad. George Bush had the right concept. The problem was - and is - that modern morals make it very hard to provide this lesson in a short, sharp manner. The current regime does not believe that we’re in a war at all. In fact, it appears ready to appease the Barbary Pirates and use Israel as the “tribute.” I suspect that Israel's Jews don't want to go down the path to slavery as a gift to the current Dey.