Like the rest of the country last week, I intently followed the all-out manhunt for the cowardly terrorists who set off two bombs at the iconic race in Boston last Monday. What I believed on April 15 — that the terrorists would indeed be radical Muslims — has finally been confirmed by our government a week later. For anyone who did not have their heads in the sand (or other places, as evidenced by many leftist political commentators), the attacks in Boston had all the markings of radical Islam.
Much to the dismay of Michael Moore and David Sirota, the two “boys” turned out to be Caucasian, just not the kind who would have been easily mistaken for members of the Tea Party or Right-wing Extremist groups. Of course, for those whose heads and minds have been used to objectively analyze why the Boston Marathon Bombings occurred (that excludes just about everyone in Mainstream Media, 100% of the “journalists” at MSNBC and even some within the FBI), there was absolutely no surprise to learn that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were Muslims who had embraced radical Islam.
After so many attacks since 9/11 (both successful and failed) which have been carried out by adherents of radical Islam — including the Underwear Bomber, the Times Square Bomber, and Major Nidal “Allahu Akbar” Hasan’s deadly rampage at Ft. Hood — only apologists for Islamic terrorism and the Obama Administration (I know, that’s redundant) want to deny the obvious — that there are more than a few Muslims — both inside the U.S. and outside the country — who have become so radicalized in their religion and politics that they want to kill and maim as many innocent people as possible. Whether this denial is a result of naiveté, political correctness, sympathy, or just plain idiocy, the results remain the same — more innocent people will die at the hands of an increasingly radicalized and dangerous strain of Islam.
When Bill Maher grasps the reality that radical Islamic terrorism cannot be compared to Christianity, you know that the leftists in this country — including the Obama Administration — cannot keep the shell game going for much longer (although they will give it the old, leftist college try). After the first-successful bombing attack on American soil since 9/11, who are you gonna believe when it comes to the radical Muslim connection to terrorism — Jay Carney or your lying eyes?
It’s far past time when we should expect our elected officials — from the President on down — to do all in their power to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” You can’t do that when you fail to see — or simply refuse to see — the radical Islamic enemies within. And, you certainly can’t do that with your head in the sand!
I hope that there is an investigation of the FBI’s connection to this case, wherein Russia warned the USA about the oldest terrorist some time ago. Would be good to know the sequence of events between Russian and the FBI and how the FBI did/did not follow up.
I think it was Senator Diane Finestein who has asked for a Senate hearing on this matter.
Hopefully, it will be studies, and changes will be made to procedures, if gaps need to be filled in how incoming intelligence is treated. Did someone drop the ball? I think the country deserves to know the details in the light of what has happened.
Amen to that Howell. I just finished up a class on the history and religion of Islam, for which I wrote a paper entitled: Sleeping with the Enemy – The Impossibility of Living at Peace with Islam. The truth of the matter is that Islam has always been a millitant religious movement; and the prefered modus operandi is the employment of the sword. Jihad is a major part of their creed. Islam does not want to live peacefully side-by-side with Christianity or any other religion. (And for those who think this happened during the reign of Suliman the Magnificent, please look up and study the term “Dhimitude!”) There is no second amendment parallel in Islamic teaching. Their goal is to see the entire world under the rule of Sharia Law; and wherever and whenever Muslims have gained a majority they have pressed the issue. Just look at Deerborn, MI where simply speaking ill of the prophet Muhamed is met with social outrage and calls for disciplinary action; and where a McDonald’s can be sued for $700,000 because their chicken patties weren’t “hallel.” The Quran and Hadith both teach and support radical jihad with the promise of a fleshly paradise for those who give their lives for the cause. The sad truth is that these terrorists are the ones who are actually living out the teachings of their holy books. All the rest have succombed to Islamic, theological liberalism. And while there are only a small percentage of Muslims who are willing to engage in this kind of terroristic jihad compared to the total number of Muslims in the world, the truth is that the vast majority of Muslims support such actions and would be happy to see it lead to the global implementation if Sharia. Only a very small percentage have become so liberal that they don’t even support those who engage in this kind of jihadist activity. So, obviously this isn’t something toward which we can afford to turn a blind eye. And we certainly musn’t allow ourselves to be snake-charmed into burrying our heads in the sand by a Muslim-sympothizing president and his nieve cronies on Capital Hill. A perfect illustration of which, is the fact that John Kerry just gave another huge sum of money to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, in addition to the tanks and F-16’s we’ve already given them! Who foolish to give money and weapons to those who would gladly use them against us if they had the chance! In a country where freedom of religion is a cherished and important element of our society, we must respect the rights of Muslims to practice their faith amongst us. As Christians we should treat them with dignity and seek to engage them in gospel conversation. But we mustn’t cave in to their desire to establish their own laws; and we mustn’t allow them to engage in activities that infringe upon the rights of other free Americans, even if it is taught in the Quran. We must hold them accountable for their actions and stop being so sheepish when it comes to placing the blame right where it belongs – not on an isolated handfull of radical nut-jobs, but upon the standard, historical, jihadist teachings of Islam itself! Time to pull our heads out of the sand.
“The sad truth is that these terrorists are the ones who are actually living out the teachings of their holy books … Only a very small percentage have become so liberal that they don’t even support those who engage in this kind of jihadist activity.”
The white-wash of this truth by national media and silence on Biblical worldview in our pulpits have contributed to head-in-the-sand syndrome in our churches. Good summary of the way it really is, Shane. Do you have a link to your paper?
Shane,
And, amen to what you said! I think that you bring up a good point about the minority of Muslims who have become liberal (or secularized) in their theology when it comes to the actual practice of Islam. Like many Christians and Jews who have embraced a liberal theology when it comes to their faith, the same can be said about Muslims. I cannot imagine a similar scenario where those who identified as Christians committed acts of terrorism, but were not immediately and strongly condemned. When some who have claimed Christianity have committed evil acts (even killing abortion doctors), the overwhelming majority of the American Christian community has not only condemned such acts, but has marginalized the perpetrators. By and large, that simply has not happened within the Muslim community. There will be some who will speak out, but many “mainline” Muslim organizations (such as CAIR) will try to downplay or otherwise excuse this kind of terrorism. And, when we fail to see the links between the radicalized Muslim Brotherhood and many of the local mosques in the United States, then we will fail to see the root causes of the radicalization that continues to take place on our shores. Make no mistake, the Tsarnaev brothers will not be an isolated incident (just as Maj. Nidal Hasan was not). If we see these as such, then our collective heads will still be firmly entrenched in the sand 🙂 Good to hear from you. Hope you and Kathy are doing well. God bless,
Howell
So true! It just irks me to no end when people try to draw a parallel between millitant Islam and Evangelistic Christianity. The Bible doesn’t command Christians to advance the kingdom by the edge of the sword, but the Quran does. Christians who commit violent acts are behaving contrary to Christian teaching, but Muslims who do the same are acting in line with Islamic teaching. When Muslims commit terrorist acts, the Uma celebrates, but when those who CLAIM to be Christians prove they are not by committing such acts, the body of Christ vilifies and condemns such actions. And as you pointed out, when Muslims do such things, (which is the vast majority of the time) the mainstream media tend to ignore and downplay the connection to Islam, doing everything in their power to avoid using the term “terrorist,” whereas when somebody claiming to be a Christian does something like this, there is an immediate hailstorm of epethets and over caracaturizing that takes place. The bias is blatant and sickening! And among those who actually are honest enough to recongize the difference between Islam and Christianity, many (like Bill Clinton) resort to the revisionist, historical lie that Christianity did the same thing durring the Crusades. They forget that the Crusades were perpetrated by people who were Catholic in name only; and the point was not to advance Christianity but to take back lands that had been conquored by invading Muslims centuries earlier. Oh, the lack of education, the willful bias, and the poisonous rhetoric of the PC worldview. A good leader would try to cut through all this garbage and expose the truth, but ours seems happy to lead the charge in the other direction!
What is your problem here? That the WH didn’t jump to a conclusion and announce who did the bombing before they caught the bombers and/or collected actual evidence as to what the motive might have been. What evidence class in law school did you take where “all the makings” amounted to actual evidence?
Its not like this country has no history of Americans on the right (Mr. McVeigh) and the left (anti Viet Nam left wingers) blowing things up. Indeed in the early stages this bombing reminded me of the Atlanta Olympics bombing carried out by an anti-abortion protester.
There is not one Bush era war on terror policy Obama has not continued and indeed has launched far more drone attacks in Pak, Sudan, Somolia, and Yemen then Bush ever even contemplated.
Your anti Obama spin here is just knee jerk. You want the Obama administration to support and defend the Constitution. I assume that will continue to include the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments, so please feel free to blog about specific actions Obama should have taken (consistent with those aforementioned amendments) that would have prevented Boston. When doing so, remember any solution you suggest has to comply with the Republican sequester, so if further FBI investigation of the brothers was called for, remember cant hire more agents without some more taxes.
Adam,
Hope you are doing well. I had a feeling that this post might elicit a comment from you 🙂 I suppose my “problem” has been what it has always been — my worldview causes me to see things differently than you do. That’s not good or bad; it just is. Since 9/11, I am predisposed to view the type of attacks that happened in Boston as coming from radical Muslim extremists unless and until it is proven otherwise. There is no question that there have been non-Muslim terrorists (McVeigh and Rudolph), but since 9/11, the attacks — both successful and unsuccessful — have been perpetrated almost exclusively by radical Islamic jihadists. We are not required to go through extra security at the airports, including taking off our shoes and belts, because of Christian or Jewish extremists. If we had not had 9/11 and the subsequent attacks, then I might have been more apt to think like you that the Boston Marathon bombing seemed like the Atlanta Olympics bombing. However, I am no longer willing to view our world and nation through that lens.
As for Constitutional rights, it probably would surprise you to know that I believe the bombing suspect — as an American citizen — should be afforded his 4th, 5th & 6th Amendment rights, including his right not to incriminate himself. That’s what I was orgininally going to write on, but the post took a slightly different turn. Perhaps a follow-up post that you probably would like better than this one 🙂 Even though we don’t see eye to eye on this, I always appreciate your perspective and, more importantly, your friendship. Thanks for sharing. God bless,
Howell
What has been amazing is to learn he became an american citizen only a year ago. There seems to be a push for accepting for and more Muslims. Over the last 10 years, our city alone has over 6,000 we have settled in gov housing, food stamps, etc, etc.
Large portions do not want to assimilate. For years I have been trying to get folks to understand that Islam as understood in the Quran and the Constitution are at odds but to say so and explain is considered so politically incorrect that one starts to fear for their own welfare just to try and dialogue. Muslims who become acclimated and love this country are not considered true Muslims. Mosques are springing up all over and more and more medical personnel are foreign born Muslim. As a woman that concerns me since their view of women is so degrading. Of course we are not allowed to say anything. We are to pretend their religion is peaceful and there are folks who are peaceful who subscribe to Islam but they are not speaking out about the radicals in vast numbers, either,which is a sign.
For one thing, I would like to know where the liberal feminists are concerning the rise of Islam?
“Muslims who become acclimated and love this country are not considered true Muslims.”
One only has to do a little world traveling to recognize this truth. Westernized Muslims enjoy the benefits of such living and adjust peacefully to protect their new-found way of life. I still have vivid memories of 911 news coverage from around the world – the media showed rejoicing in the streets in certain Islamic countries. We’ve become so open-minded in this country that our brains have fallen out! The hedge is down folks – well past time to humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face and turn from “our” wicked ways.
Lydia,
Hope all is well with you. Good to hear from you. I think you make a good observation about the failure of many Muslims to assimilate into the American culture. I just read in the last few days an article by an American Muslim who pointed out the negative consequences of the second and third generation Muslims — particularly those in their teens and twenties — to assimilate. If we want to avoid future attacks by Muslims who are both American citizens and radicalized in their faith, then we will need to have many more moderate Muslims stand in the gap. If that does not happen, then we should not be surprised when the next wave of attacks comes. As to liberal feminists speaking out against the rise of the more oppressive radical Islam that treats women as second-class citizens, that will most likely not happen because liberal politics trumps what would otherwise be a feminist response, be that with radical Islam or vile, misogynist attacks on conservative women from those on the progressive/radical left. Thanks again for stopping by and God bless,
Howell
It seems to me that the issue often is, “Who does the person identify with?” I suspect that Major Hasan came to identify with the people that the army was fighting. Look at his job–counseling soldiers who had been fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. Those who had accidentally or deliberately done bad things to locals would be a significant amount of his patient load. Eventually he came to identify with those we (the army) had harmed and this resulted in his attack on people in the army. It seems that this would not come as a shock to any psychologist.
It seems to me that the Boston bombers have the same issue. And McVeigh in OK City is a stereotype for that problem.
Some things that I have done over the years in the support of my “friends” have been way outside my normal behaviors. “Identifying with” offers explanation for some of the extreme blog comments that I regularly see.
I don’t regard “identifying with” as a justification for much of anything, but I do feel that it offers understanding of why some events happen.
Bennett,
Although people are ultimately responsible for their actions, I think that your observations about “identifying with” do offer some explanation as to why we have seen some of these attacks. As we try to understand the radicalization process — particularly as it applies to radical Islam — I think it would be wise for law enforcement to use this in their process. As always, thanks for stopping by and God bless,
Howell