On the surface, our guide seemed like a fine young man: good looking, intelligent, articulate, polite, respectful, clean cut, and friendly. As our tour group stopped next to the Blue Mosque, I asked him a few questions and found out he’s an observant Muslim who reads the Koran daily and prays to Allah five times a day.
Things became more uncomfortable as I continued, “Do you believe the Koran’s teaching that all non-Muslims, especially Christians and Jews, are infidels?”
“Well, yes,” he quietly replied.
“And doesn’t the Koran teach that non-believers must either convert to Islam or be killed…either submit or die?”
Slowly, he responded, “Yes.”
“Then if you heard an imam (a Muslim holy man) issue a call from one of these minarets for a Holy War—a Jihad—would you do everything within your power to kill us?”
I’m sure our guide had never been asked such a direct question before. He looked at us, paused for a moment, and said plainly, “Yes, I would.”
Barbara and I were gripped with how someone could be so respectful and friendly, but then tell you to your face he would kill you if his religious leaders asked him to! Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we’re now up against—even here in America and other Western nations.
Closer to Home
Although my conversation with the young Muslim tour guide took place in Turkey, the danger represented by his twisted perspective is also closer to home. Did you know there are now 4.7 million Muslims living in the United States—and the FBI admits that Muslim terrorist cells are operating in 40 states? As we saw so tragically on 9/11, it only takes a handful of radicals to kill thousands of innocent lives.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11 were not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of hostility shown by Islamic extremists against Western nations:
· Spain – On March 11, 2004, Muslims blew up several commuter trains in Spain’s capital city, Madrid, killing nearly 200 people and injuring 1,500.
· Great Britain – On July 7, 2005, bombs were detonated on three trains and a double-decker bus, killing 50 people and injuring hundreds. Rather than expressing remorse for this ruthless attack, London’s Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad boasted, “We don’t make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians, innocents and non-innocents. Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value.”
· Italy – How did Muslims respond in September 2006, when Pope Benedict XVI quoted a 14th century Pope who condemned Muslim violence? They reacted with riots and violence, including the murder of an Italian nun in Somalia. The Mujahideen Shura Council, connected with Iraq’s branch of al-Qaeda, warned, “We shall break the Cross and spill the wine. Allah will help Muslims conquer Rome…slit their throats and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen.”
· Denmark, Norway, France, Indonesia, and the Philippines are just a few of the other places where Islamic violence has been unleashed. And last year, a 54-year-old British schoolteacher in the Sudan was sentenced to prison just for disrespectfully allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear “Muhammad”!
The message from such events is clear: No place is safe in the global war on terrorism.
Lulled to Sleep
Many people in the United States have been lulled to sleep by the relative calm we’ve experienced since 9/11. However, in July 2004, a raid on the house of an al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan uncovered 500 photographs of potential targets in the U.S. Detailed notes disclosed the vulnerabilities of these targets, which included banks and other non-military structures. A senior U.S. intelligence official called the information “chilling in tone, dramatic in its detail, and very professional.”
This is no time to be complacent! Long ago, God warned His people, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1)—and the same warning could be issued to America and other Western nations today. While many in our countries crave a life of personal peace and affluence, our enemies are plotting our destruction!
“Where are the ‘moderate’ Muslims in all this?” you may ask. That’s a good question, and one I asked Walid Shoebat, a recent TV guest on “Inspiration Today!” Walid is a former terrorist who assassinated 200 people by the time he was 16. When I asked him about the moderate Muslims, he gave me this shocking reply…
“David, there’s no such thing as a moderate Muslim!”
Yet, many of our political and religious leaders continue to refer to Islam as “a religion of peace,” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary! A former Muslim told me of his astonishment when he hears such statements: “What part of ‘We want to kill you!’ don’t these leaders understand?”
Deadly Political Correctness
The politically correct view of Islam is that it’s just a harmless option among other world religions. Rather than warning people of Islam’s violent tendencies, most politicians, educators, and media outlets are bent on fostering “understanding”—even to the point of promoting this dangerous religion.
Consider these alarming examples…
· In many public schools in California, 7th graders not only learn the tenets of Islam, but they also must wear an Islamic-style robe, adopt a Muslim name, and even stage their own jihad! These students are forced to memorize verses from the Koran, pray “in the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful,” and chant “praise to Allah, Lord of creation.” This isn’t education…it’s indoctrination! Can you imagine the ACLU’s reaction if a public school taught people to memorize Bible verses and pray in the name of Jesus?
· In Hamtramck, Michigan (population 23,000), the al-Islah Islamic Center successfully petitioned the City Council to allow their plan to amplify the Muslim call to worship throughout the city five times a day. By a 5-0 vote, the City Council authorized these public broadcasts daily between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, since the neighboring cities of Detroit and Dearborn already allow such activities—and Muslims comprise one-third of Hamtramck’s citizens! Yet what would be the response if a Christian church proposed preaching the Gospel on loudspeakers throughout a city five times a day?
Clearly there’s a double standard. While political correctness attempts to silence Christians from speaking out for their faith, Islam and other dangerous beliefs are being actively promoted!
What Can We Do?
Make no mistake about it: Radical Muslims are our enemies, and they intend to do us harm. Already, they’ve gained control over 55 nations, but they will not rest until their brand of hate-filled Islam dominates the entire world. So it’s high time for our politicians, educators, and pastors to get their heads out of the sand and sound an alarm.
However, guns, bombs, and politics will never change hearts or win this epic battle between cultures. We are called to pray for Muslims, show them the Father’s love, and reach out to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Above all, we must make sure our own lives are fully submitted to God—an authentic testimony of the Savior we profess to serve.
God is NOT against the Arab people…the descendants of Ishmael. The Lord told Ishmael’s father, Abraham, “I will bless [Ishmael], and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly…I will make him a great nation” (Genesis 17:20). However, God IS against the diabolical religious bondage and violence Islam always leaves in its wake. He wants to set the sons of Ishmael free!
Because of your prayers and financial Seeds, Inspiration Network International is penetrating the veil of Islam with the Light of the Gospel, Reaping a great End-Time Harvest of Souls among the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims. Former Iraqi General Georges Sada, one of our guests on “Inspiration Today!” this month, writes in his book, Saddam’s Secrets:
It’s shocking to me how quickly our people have gotten satellite TV into their homes. You see the dishes everywhere in Iraq now. And for the first time in their lives, these people can sit in their own living rooms with a remote control and go from channel to channel and see how the rest of the world is living.
Do you see how significant it is that satellite television is now available in millions of homes throughout the Muslim world? Islamic governments and religious leaders may make it a crime to preach the Gospel by conventional means…but they will never be able to stop people from hearing God’s Word on their TV screens!
Because you have heard their cry, “the people living in darkness have seen a great Light” (Matthew 4:16)! Your reward in Heaven will be great!
God Bless You!
