The Left and Fitna

Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com
4/9/2008

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Abul Kasem, an ex-Muslim who is the author of hundreds of articles and several books on Islam including, Women in Islam. He was a contributor to the book Leaving Islam – Apostates Speak Out as well as to Beyond Jihad: Critical Views From Inside Islam. His e-mail address is nirribilli@gmail.com.

FP: Abul Kasem, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.

Kasem: Thank you Jamie.

FP: I would like to talk to you today about your thoughts on the film Fitna and the Left’s response to it – especially in the context of how Geert Wilders is being denounced for being truthful about the connection between Islamic theology and Islamic terror.

First, tell us what you think of the new film. Kasem: I think Fitna is done very cleverly. It lays the full blame of Islamic atrocities to the fount of Islam, the Koran. Anyone viewing this short movie will have no doubt that the Islamist terrorism is the result of the Koran in action. Geert Wilders has demonstrated very precisely what has plagued the world for many years and why the Jihadists are doing what they are doing.

FP: Analyze for us the format that Wilders uses.

Kasem: Wilders uses only five verses of the Koran to demonstrate the potential danger of Islam to a civilised world. These verses are (note the comments by eminent Koran scholars):

8:60 The Muslims should muster all their power and might, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles…) to strike terror in the hearts of the unbelievers (by killing them—ibn Abbas).

47:4 When the believers meet the unbelievers they should smite at unbelievers’ necks (when you fight against them, cut them down totally with your swords—ibn Kathir).

8:39 Fight until there are no more unbelievers (non-Muslims) and tumult (this verse overrides all other verses on fighting the infidels, including the Jews and the Christians); if they accept Islam then leave them alone.

4:56 Unbelievers will be cast in fire, their skins roasted often, skins changed often for more roasting (the skin will be roasted seventy thousand time every day; the new skin will be as white as paper—ibn Kathir).

4:89 Seize and slay the renegades (i.e., apostates of Islam) wherever you find them. (Maududi 4/118: This is the verdict on those hypocritical confessors of faith who belong to a belligerent, non-Muslim nation and actually participate in acts of hostility against the Islamic state).

It is clear Greet Wilders did not present anything original. He merely re-stated the contents of the Koran, forcefully depicting, with true pictures, those verses in action.

FP: So if this is what the Qur’an says, then why would Muslims or anyone else be upset about the movie’s message?

Kasem: The Islamic Ummah is now furious why an infidel would portray the true color of Islam. In this chorus of peaceful Islam, Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, has also joined in. Predictably, the peaceful Islam promptly issued the threat of murder of Geert Wilders and the employees of Live Leak, the website that hosted the premiere. It temporarily off-loaded Fitna to protect the lives of its employees. These are just mundane jobs of Islam—the standard practices, the world is now so used to these peaceful acts of Islam that they [these threats] do not at all surprise anyone.

Despite the threats, this short movie by Geert Wilders is spreading like wild-fire. I knew this truth when my wife was so eager to watch this film. She watched it at Google and was stunned at what she read and saw. When an ordinary house-wife becomes so enthusiastic about the ‘true’, ‘peaceful’ Islam then it must be an unusual event.

So, why the world’s political leaders (including Ban Ki-moon) could not find what a simple-minded, average, unsophisticated, uninformed (in Islam) housewife could so easily trace?

Amazingly, when every word, every picture in Fitna was corroborated with verses from the Koran, these world-leaders never mention the word Koran, instead, they blame the producer of the movie for inciting hate. How strange: the Koran preaches the hate, murder, genocide, but when the un-Islamic world quotes those verses, it is not the Koran that preaches the annihilation of the non-Islamic world; it is the fault of the un-Islamic world—why must they quote those verses?

This defies logic. These same world-leaders will keep their mouths shut when jihadists use many similar verses to justify the complete annihilation of the un-Islamic world.

FP: What are some other teachings that inspire jihadis to wage terror?

Kasem: There are many verses which bin Ladin and his ilk use to perpetrate terror and slaughter on infidels and on not-so-good Muslims. Here are a few:

2:156 Everything belongs to Allah, and everyone will return to Him.

3:75 Some people of the Book can be trusted with money; some cannot be trusted.

We might wonder why bin Ladin uses this verse. Let us read the context:

A man asked Ibn 'Abbas, "During battle, we capture some property belonging to Ahl Adh-Dhimmah, such as chickens and sheep.'' Ibn 'Abbas said, "What do you do in this case'' The man said, "We say that there is no sin if we confiscate them in this case.'' He said, "That is what the People of the Book said, that is, there is no blame on us to betray and take the properties of the illiterates (Arabs)—ibn Kathir.

3:103 Islam will draw together former enemies; do not practice sectarianism (Osama b. Ladin uses this verse and 61:4 to unite the Islamist jihadists).

4:52 None can help whom Allah has cursed.

9:14 Allah fights the pagans in the hand of Muhammad (i.e., God kills the unbelievers by the hands of the Muslims. It is more humiliating for the disbelievers and more comforting for the hearts of the believers that the believers kill the unbelievers with their own hands—ibn Kathir, ibn Abbas, Jalalyn). Fight them and cover them with shame (this verse applies to all Muslims, they must kill non-Muslims with their own hands—ibn Kathir).

61:4 Allah loves those who fight, like a brick wall, His cause. (Osama bin Ladin uses this verse to unite the Islamist jihadists).

JMB [Jamiatul Mujahidin Bangladesh], used the following verses to justify their Islamic bombing and killing of Bangladesh’s not-so-good Muslims:

4:76 Believers fight for Allah; unbelievers fight for evil, so fight against the friends of Satan.

We might think this (JMB) outfit misinterprets the Koran. Let us read what a modern Islamist, Maulana Maududi has to say:

This lays down a clear verdict of God. To fight in the cause of God in order that His religion is established on earth is the task of men of faith, and whoever truly believes can never shirk this duty. To fight in the cause of taghut (authority in defiance of God) in order that the world may be governed by rebels against God is the task of unbelievers in which no believer can engage himself (Tafheem ul Qur'an, commentary number 4/105).

4:71 Go forth to fight alone or in parties all together. (This means one raiding party followed by the next; or move forward all together, in one assembly—Jalalyn).

Note that these two jihdi organisations are using quite different verses. What this means is that there are many hateful, savage, barbaric and blood-curdling verses in the Koran; anyone can pick at random to legitimise his slaughter operation.

Here are a few more verses from the Koran and their exegeses by eminent Islamic scholars. These verses entice the Islamist jihadists that they must kill non-Muslim with their own hands; they must not wait for Allah’s punishment.

8:10 By sending angels (in Badr), Allah put Muhammad’s heart at rest. (It is more humiliating for the disbelievers and more comforting for the hearts of the believers that the believers kill the unbelievers with their own hands—ibn Kathir).

8:12 Strike terror in the hearts of the unbelievers. (Allah will cast fear, disgrace and humiliation over those who defied his command and denied Muhammad—ibn Kathir); smite the unbelievers at their necks (i.e., behead the unbelievers—ibn Kathir) and cut off their fingers (cut off their heads, limbs, hands and feet—ibn Kathir. Terror means fear of Muhammad and his companions—ibn Abbas).

Why is it that the Ummah , the Islamic scholars, the Dhimmi world (including the UN) remain silent when the Islamist killers use those verses to defend their mayhem?

Whose fault is it—the jihadists’ or the Koran?

Even when an ordinary house-wife had no doubt what is the root cause of all these Islamist terrorism, why must the world leaders pretend not to face the reality? Why must they act so cowardly? Why must they gratify Islam, when Islam wants to burn the entire world?

The world might want peace, but Islam does not. It wants to completely destroy the un-Islam, and declare the victory of Islam. So why must we not face the truth? Why must we please Islam? Does the world owe Islam a living?

FP: So what is your answer here?

Kasem: My answer is very simple: the Islamist terrorism emanates straight from the founts of Islam: the Koran, ahadith sira and sharia. The Jihadists are just acting according what these sources have commanded them to do. It is just unfair and straight cowardly to blame Geert Wilders and other critics of Islam who point out this truth. The UN must denounce these sources of Islam. If the UN is hesitant or not willing to do this, we do not need such a spineless organization.

FP: Wait, what I was trying to get at is the psychology of the Left here. I am asking about those in the West who blame Geert Wilders and other critics of Islam who point out the truth about Islam. Why does the UN, for instance, not denounce these sources of Islam? What sense, for instance, does it make to get upset about the exposé of female genital mutilation in the Islamic world and the Islamic theology that upholds it? One would think a humanitarian person would be more upset about the reality of female genital mutilation and try to defend its future potential victims, rather than get upset about its exposé? What is the mindset here?

Kasem: The westerners trying to defend Islamic barbarism are simply ignorant about the true nature of Islam. For too long they have been fed with the idea that Islam is a religion, just like any other religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Their logic is this: the Old Testament, the Vedas also has murderous verses and barbaric provisions, so why blame Islam only? These westerners simply forget that, except for Islam, all other religions’ potency has expired. There is no country ruled by the biblical laws. Ditto for Hinduism. But Islam is forever. There are 57 Islamic countries who form the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference), and who dearly believe and strive to subject the entire world to Islamic rule.

Thus the western politicians are caught in a quagmire. They dare not criticise Islam, lest they offend these 57 Islamic countries (OIC), and because the un-Islamic world, the western world, does not denounce Islam, the Islamic world feels encouraged to propagate Islam vigorously. The UN has fallen into this trap and it therefore not only has just a lackadaisical attitude towards Islam, but a loving relationship with Islam.

FP: What role does oil play?

Kasem: Oil money is definitely another important element in this game of hide-and-seek with Islam. Many western countries sell modern arms to the Arabic/Islamic world in exchange for oil money. Thus, it will be inappropriate to criticise Islam if these western countries want to secure the lucrative arms deals. To these political leaders trade/money is more important to the western world than the damaging effect Islam.

FP: I mentioned FGM earlier. Your thoughts?

Kasem: On the FGM issue, it is simply astonishing that the UN, the Women’s Rights organisation, the Human rights Organisation just do lip service to eradicate this savage procedure. These organisations often consider FGM as a cultural issue rather than religious. But they are wrong. We have irrefutable proof that Islamic law, Sharia supports male and female circumcision. Why is it so difficult to admit this truth and blame Islam? Further, even if it is culture, why must the civilised world tolerate such inhuman, barbaric cultural practice? In many cultures there was/is also the practice of human sacrifice. Should a civilised world accept such a custom, just because it is cultural? I only wished the UN and the Women’s rights organisation provide good answers for their silence on FGM.

FP: At the moment, aside from some demonstrations in Pakistan, the reaction to Fitna in the Muslim world appears to be pretty muted. Right? How come?

Kasem: The Islamists are very clever. They know rather well that denouncing Fitna is tantamount to denouncing the Koran. That is why Geert Wilder was quite smart to directly link the Koran with the global violence of Islam.

How could the Islamists denounce Fitna when every picture in the movie is solidly backed up from the Koranic verse? How could they simply dismiss those verses as fabrication and half-truth or no truth?

We should also consider the current situation as the calm before the storm. This has happened during the first saga of Muhammad's cartoon. It took a quite a long time before we saw the wave of violent protests around the Islamic world. Ditto for the second cartoon saga. Give a few more weeks/months, we might see the fury of Islam, as it rages across the globe. This is 'peaceful' Islam, in theory and in action. Geert Wilder's transgression of Islam will not go unpunished. Islam will not let him live in peace.

FP: Abul Kasem, thank you for joining us.

Kasem: Thank you for joining us.
Jamie Glazov is Frontpage Magazine's managing editor. He holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in U.S. and Canadian foreign policy. He edited and wrote the introduction to David Horowitz’s Left Illusions. He is also the co-editor (with David Horowitz) of The Hate America Left and the author of Canadian Policy Toward Khrushchev’s Soviet Union (McGill-Queens University Press, 2002) and 15 Tips on How to be a Good Leftist. To see his previous symposiums, interviews and articles