sina41011p6 - Understanding the Muslim Mind

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 Understanding the Muslim Mind 

 by Ali Sina

The Islamic world is in turmoil and many people try to find a solution to this quandary. Among them are many westerners who have their own solution based on their own perspectives but unfortunately their perspective does not match the Islamic perspective and hence their solution remains ineffective.

In a recent article I argued that the terrorists must be confronted and destroyed with utter force. A friend objected saying: “The way to overcome terrorism is surely not to simply fight Muslims wherever possible. A battle of ideas is needed. The appropriate course is to assert the supremacy of Humanist principles, such as the rule of law, rather than the rule of God, as a way of diminishing the ideology behind terrorism.”  

I fully agree with this statement. In fact fighting Islam ideologically is the raison d'être of Faith Freedom International. We are perfectly aware that unless the very concept of Islam is defeated the Islamic zealotry and hence Islamic Terrorism cannot be eradicated. However, Islamic Terrorism is more than an ideology, it is also militant and therefore it must be defeated militarily.     

True Muslims take their guidance and inspiration from their prophet and follow his examples. Muhammad spoke the language of violence and understood that language. He did not attack his victims because they had done something wrong. He attacked them because he calculated that he could win and he only attacked those who were weaker. He took them by surprise, when they were unarmed, attending to their daily business. Nonetheless he fabricated pretexts and excuses for his attacks. For example when he raided Merchant caravans, the excuse was that they belonged to the Meccans and since the Meccans had rejected his call and ridiculed him he was justified to retaliate. When he attacked the Bani Qaynuqa, the excuse was that one of them insulted a Muslim woman. When he massacred the Bani Quraiza, the excuse was that they had conspired with the Meccans even thought this was not true. When he raided the Bani Nadir, the excuse was that Angel Gabriel had informed him that they were plotting to assassinate him. Of course Muhammad would not say I am a megalomaniac psychopath and I want to dominate the world. He would concoct lies to justify his crimes with pretexts and excuses.  

Today Muslims have many excuses for their crimes against Humanity or what they call Jihad. But the intent has remained the same and that is world domination.   

When Muslims start attacking others it is not because someone has done something wrong to them and they are retaliating. They are waging Jihad and Jihad has nothing to do with America , Israel or any other country. The Muslims would have found other excuses if America and Israel did not exist. In fact Islamic Jihad dates back to 621 C.E., the year Muhammad migrated to Medina and found a group of beguiled and benighted men at his disposal willing to kill and be killed at his behest. America and Israel are only the latest targets of this Jihad.  

The objective is to conquer the world and establish the rule of Shari'a. Muhammad ambushed merchant caravans, raided villages and towns and massacred innocent people by thousands. This had nothing to do with Israel or America . After his death his followers invaded Yemen, Byzantium, Mesopotamia, Iran, Abyssinia, Egypt, India, Europe and virtually all the countries that fell under the Islamic domination not because any of these had done anything to Muslims but simply because they were there, they had wealth and Muslims could conquer them.  

Jihad is a pillar of faith in Islam. Muslims cannot just discard it. For a few hundreds of years Jihad was not fought; but that does not mean that it was forgotten. The reason Muslims stopped practicing Jihad was not because they started practicing a moderate version of Islam. It was because they had no strength to fight. According to the teachings of Islam and the examples set by its prophet, when Muslims are weak and cannot fight, they must wait until they regain their strength and fight only when victory is foreseeable.  

This is the sunnah (tradition) or Muhammad. The objective is to fight a war that can be won and if the enemy is stronger and the prospect of winning is slim, the order is to withhold the fight and negotiate peace. This example was set by Muhammad at Hudaibiyah were he withdrew his troops and signed a peace treaty with the Meccans when he realized that in a confrontation, he could be defeated. This treaty gave him peace of mind from the South and an opportunity to subdue smaller tribes to the North. Immediately after signing the peace treaty of Hudaibiyah Muhammad marched towards Khaibar and with no warning he fell of that fortress when people had gone out after their daily businesses. He killed their men and took their women and children as hostage. The city was a prosperous Jewish town and the enormous booty allowed him to strengthen his military power and invade other cities. Two years later, he broke the treaty that he had signed with the Meccans and while in Hudaibiyah he had only 1500 men, this time he brought along 10,000 strong. The Meccans were overwhelmed and the town capitulated.  

This is how Muslims have operated ever since. They offer peace and sign treaties when in their estimation the prospect of winning the war is not good. But they will break their treaties the moment they become confident of their victory.  

Expounding on this point-, Dr. Muhsin Khan, the translator of Sahih Bukhari and the Quran into English writes:

"Allah revealed in Sura Bara'at (Repentance, IX) [the order to discard (all) obligations (covenants, etc), and commanded the Muslims to fight against all the Pagans as well as against the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) if they do not embrace Islam, till they pay the Jizia (a tax levied on the Jews and Christians) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (as it is revealed in 9:29). So the Muslims were not permitted to abandon "the fighting" against them (Pagans, Jews and Christians) and to reconcile with them and to suspend hostilities against them for an unlimited period while they are strong and have the ability to fight against them. So at first "the fighting" was forbidden, then it was permitted, and after that it was made obligatory  " ( 1-)

And Dr. Sobhy as-Saleh, a contemporary academic, writes:

“The command to fight the infidels was delayed until the Muslims become strong, but when they were weak they were commanded to endure and be patient. (2-)

And Dr. Sobhy, in a footnote, commends the opinion of a scholar named Zarkashi who said:

"Allah the most high and wise revealed to Mohammad in his weak condition what suited the situation, because of his mercy to him and his followers. For if He gave them the command to fight while they were weak it would have been embarrassing and most difficult, but when the most high made Islam victorious He commanded him with what suited the situation, that is asking the people of the Book to become Muslims or to pay the levied tax, and the infidels to become Muslims or face death. These two options, to fight or to have peace return according to the strength or the weakness of the Muslims." (3-) 

This explains why after centuries of no Jihad, during the 70’s Muslims resumed the Jihad and launched their terrorist activities. Jihad was never abandoned. It was merely postponed because Muslims were poor and weak and they could not win the war. Today, thanks to oil money and the good income that they earn by immigrating to the West they are wealthier. Also technology has allowed terrorism to become a lethal weapon. So Muslims once again see a window of opportunity to launch the Jihad and win. This is why the Jihad is renewed now and not because of anything America or Israel have done.  

Unfortunately the Westerners have no understanding of the Muslim mind and here lies their vulnerability. They are generally baffled as to why they are being targeted and instead of trying to understand the Muslims and their point of view they try to explain the phenomenon with their own parameters. A group of them, especially those leaning to the Right and siding with the policies of George W. Bush claim this has to do with the lack of democracy and freedom in Islamic countries. This group thinks that by "imposing" freedom and democracy on Muslims, terrorism will go away.  

The other group consisting of mainly the Europeans and those leaning to the Left, have no problem with the lack of democracy in the Muslim world and happily cooperate with dictators while assure us that the root of this problem is poverty and that once Muslims have enough to eat, good housing and comfort they will not be inclined towards terrorism and that this problem will go away once the condition of life in Islamic countries is improved.  

One exponent of this school of thought is my very respected and good friend, author Terrence Robertson. In a recent email he addressed me: 

“My friend, in all my travels around the world, there is one thing that has always stuck with me. No matter how different people are on the surface, they all want the same things in life; family, friends, a home to shut out the evil in the world and a safe place for their families, sufficient food on the table, and a means to pay for it all. Anything more is just manna from heaven. But when you take away all that, including their last shred of dignity and hope by disenfranchising them from society, you reduce them to living by the 'laws of the jungle'. And it is this that is the source of terrorism.”  

Both these views are mistaken. Both are informed by the lack of understanding of the Muslim mind. Both views imply that somehow the Westerners can intervene and doctor the Islamic world either by imposing on them democracy or by improving their condition of life. The proponents of both views blame the West for failing the Muslims. They think that they are responsible for allowing dictatorship to flourish in these countries or for letting their people sink into poverty.  

The Westerners must abandon this narcissistic idea that everything revolves around them and in some way they are the movers and shakers of this world and responsible for the events that happen in the universe including the way others think and behave. 

The Islamic Terrorism has nothing to do with what the Westerners do and there is nothing that they could do to diminish it except to fight it and destroy.

The Westerners do not understand the Muslim mind and from this misunderstanding is born the nefarious culture of political correctness and misguided policies of appeasement that mostly is affecting the Europeans and the Liberals.   

The fact is however that Islam has its own philosophy, ethos and modus operandi. The belief that in some way, some how, we have done something that has made Muslims react in this way is absurd and stems from total ignorance of Islam and the Muslim mind.  

A Million people died in the war between Iran and Iraq . Saddam invaded Kuwait , killed and raped the Kuwaitis. He poisoned Iranians and his own people. Over 50,000 Sudanese are killed and over 1,000,000 of them have become homeless. Algerian Islamists constantly kill hundreds of civilians. In Pakistan the Sunnis constantly murder the Shiites. Egypt used poison gas on Yemenis in the 60’s. The Syrian dictator, the now dead Assad, killed tens of thousands of his own people in El Hamma. In Afghanistan the Taliban maimed and killed thousands of people. The late King Hussein of Jordan killed thousands of Palestinian refugees in his country. Khomeini ordered 3000 young boys and girls to be executed in one day and killed hundreds of thousands of them in total. None of that had anything to do with America , Israel or Europe . It is a mistake to try to find someone responsible in Washington, Tel Aviv or anywhere else for all the crimes that Muslims commit.  

The truth is that Islam is a sick ideology. It is an ideology of hate and it can do nothing but produce death. This is the reality that the world is unwilling to accept.  

My friend Terrence believes that everyone wants the same things in life, like a family, a job, a house, food, etc. This is true about everyone but not true when it comes to Muslims. Khomeni said it very eloquently. He said, “People did not make revolution because they wanted a better life; they made revolution because they wanted Islam”.  

Yes, Muslims are also humans. When they remember their humanness they want to have all those things that everyone else wants. But when they remember that they are Muslims they think of martyrdom and disdain all those things.  

In the mind of the Muslims the more intense is the pain the greater is the reward. When a Muslim woman straps bombs to her child and sends him to the crowded Jewish towns to blow himself up, it is not that she does not love him; it is that she thinks by sacrificing her child in the cause of Allah that deity will be pleased of her and will reward her.  

Most of our misconceptions about how to deal with the terrorists derive from our lack of understanding of Islam. Whether you want to accept it or not, the fact is that Muslims seek pain, they seek suffering and they decry comfort and ease. They want to sacrifice their comfort, their wealth, their lives and their children for Allah in the hope of being rewarded hundred fold in the other world. 

When a terrorist blows himself up, murdering many innocent people, he becomes a “martyr”. Muslims flock to his parents’ house to “congratulate” them for the martyrdom of their son. They believe that thanks to this sacrifice their place in paradise is reserved. 

Muhammad assured his followers that whoever is killed fighting for his cause will go to heaven. He even assured them that whoever suffers for any reason, such as poverty or sickness will be rewarded for his suffering and his sins will be forgiven. He preached a stoic life and told his followers that Allah loves the poor and that Muslims should not seek riches and comfort, but rather sacrifice everything for the cause of Allah. Needless to say that he was the sole beneficiary of all those sacrifices. Muslims think it is disdainful to wear silk or eat with golden utensils. Poverty is praised, wealth is despised.   

So the Left is very much wrong is assuming that by improving the condition of life of the Muslims they will not be inclined towards terrorism. They are also very much mistaken in assuming that by educating the Muslims they will not go after terrorism. Osama bin Laden inherited more than a quarter of billion dollars and most of his lieutenants are doctors and university graduates. As a matter of fact none of the terrorists of 9/11 were poor and uneducated.

Whether the Left is simply misguided but honest in their assumption or they use this as a pretext to continue trading with the dictators is beside the points. The point is that poverty has nothing to do with Jihad.   

New revelations make us suspect the presumed honesty of the Left. The Washington Times reported that "Saddam Hussein used a U.N. humanitarian program to pay $1.78 billion to French government officials, businessmen and journalists in a bid to have sanctions removed and U.S. policies opposed, ( 4-)

The Right seems to be more sincere but it is also mistaken in assuming that once freedom and democracy is "imposed", the Muslims will become a peaceful people and terrorism will end. Muslims do not desire democracy and freedom. 

One Islamic site explains:

“In Western democracy, the people are sovereign; in Islam sovereignty is vested in Allah and the people are His caliphs or representatives. The laws given by Allah through His Prophet ( Shari ‘ah) are to be regarded as constitutional principles that should not be violated.” 

Ayatollah Khomeini called democracy "a form of prostitution" because he who gets the most votes wins the power that belongs only to Allah.

Sayyed Qutub, the Egyptian who is credited to be the ideological mentor of Safalists, spent a year in the United States in the 1950s and wrote: " America is a nation that has forgotten God and been forsaken by Him; an arrogant nation that wants to rule itself."

So what about those "moderate Muslims" who strive for better life and desire democracy? The answer is that they are not real Muslims. They follow their own ideas but not Islam. But once they accept the Quran as the authority, they always lose the argument to the real Muslims who can flaunt the verses of the Quran and silence their opponents.  

The problem in Islamic countries is Islam. As long as people believe in Islam, they have no desire for democracy, freedom or a better life. They find their “freedom” in the servitude to Allah and aspire to sacrifice their lives in his cause. 

Let us take a look at the kind of indoctrination that Muslim youths receive: The site youngmuslims.ca in an article titled “WHY SACRIFICE? Islam: A Path of Struggle” writes:  

“First let us briefly look at an important question. Why must Islam be so emphatically linked with the idea of struggle [Jihad]? What has the one to do with the other? Cannot a person become a good Muslim without involving himself in a struggle that necessarily requires sacrifices? The answer is: No. And for very obvious reasons.  

Islam is not merely the confession of a faith which is made once in a lifetime. The faith is of cosmic dimensions. It requires a radical reorientation of entire life and the world. … The path of Islam cannot therefore be anything other than the path of struggle [Jihad], and therefore sacrifice. Is not Islam, one might say, a gift of God?  

The following verses of the Quran explain the outlook of true Muslims towards life and its comfort and pleasures:

Truly, the life of this world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the Hereafter that is the home that will remain forever." (Quran 40:39)

"And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial and that surely with Allah is a mighty reward." (Quran 8:28)

"And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them (polytheists), the splendor of the life in this world, that We may test them thereby." (Quran 20:131)

Muslims consider this world only a transitory passage in a journey that lasts an eternity. This world is to them a place of test; people are tested by riches, comfort, children, etc. All things that Terrence mentioned claiming everyone is seeking, to Muslims are tests of Allah. A good Muslim must be ready to renounce them for the sake of Allah.

Bukhari quotes Muhammad saying: "Be in this world like a stranger, or a wayfarer."

The more a Muslim seeks these worldly pleasures the more he displeased his Allah.

Amr Ibn Abdullah said: "The life of this world and the Hereafter, in the heart of a person, are like the two scales of a balance, when the one becomes heavier the other becomes lighter."

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said: "Renouncing the worldly pleasures is a comfort for both the human heart and body."

Abdullah Ibn Umar said: "The life of this world is Paradise for a disbeliever and a prison for a believer. When a believer dies and departs from this world, he feels himself like a prisoner who was released to go freely on the spacious earth."

Source: islaam.com

So as you can see Muslims are not seeking the same things in life that others seek. They have different values, different standards and different outlooks. To understand the Muslims and their behavior we have to understand their minds and here is were the westerners are failing.

I agree that what Muslims need most is democracy, freedom, peace, housing, good education, food on their table and all other things that we consider as essential for a decent life. But the fact is that this is not what Muslims want. Instead, they want to serve Allah and his cause, they want martyrdom and sacrifice. Their views of the world are very much distinct from ours. We can’t impose democracy, freedom and good life on people who have no regard for these things and consider them as “tests” of faith. You can take a horse to the pond but you can’t make it drink.

We can’t decide for Muslims what they need most. We have to listen to them to see what they want. Let us listen to a moderate Muslim and see what he thinks Muslims need most. I am going to quote Dr. Mahathir, the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia . He was hailed to be a “moderate Muslim”. This is what he said in the Organization of Islamic Conference, a month before stepping down from his office:

"We need guns and rockets, bombs and warplanes, tanks and warships for our defense. But because we are discouraged from learning of science and mathematics as giving us no merit for the afterlife, today we have no capacity to produce our own weapons for our defense. We have to buy our weapons from our detractors and enemies”  

This list is different from what Terrence Robertson presented. Who knows better what the Muslims want most? An American who has occasionally met a few Muslims in his travels or a Muslim leader hosting an Islamic summit? 

Muslims follow their own religion. They have their own sacred book and guidance. They know what they want. Their actions are not motivated by what others do but rather by what they believe.  

Today Muslims feel strong. Thanks to their newfound wealth and our dependence on technology, a handful of them can do what Muhammad told them to do and “instill terror in the heart of the unbelievers”, and hence they think the time has come to break all treaties and renew the Jihad.  

The only way this war can end, i.e. short of the West capitulating to the terrorists, is to defeat them. As long as the Muslim terrorists think there is a chance of winning they will continue terrorizing the world and waging Jihad. But they will stop and retreat; guided by the example set by Muhammad at Hudaibiyah, as soon as they sense defeat is immanent. This won’t happen if the West offers the olive branch. If we stop fighting them or offering peace they interpret this as the sign of weakness and they will increase their attacks. Any compromise, any concession, will be interpreted as weakness and will only make the terrorists bolder. This war, like all wars with Muslims, was not started by the non-Muslims. This is a war that was launched by the Muslims on non-Muslims. The war will not end by the defendant withdrawing and offering peace to the aggressor. If the aggressor wanted peace he would not have attacked in the first place. When you are attacked you have to fight back. You either fight and win or surrender. There is no third option.

The fact that America stands alone or with few allies in this war does not mean America is wrong and the majority is right. The truth is never determined by the consensus of the majority. As Bertrand Russell said: “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” (6-)

The Muslims terrorists do not want families, housings, jobs and food on their table. They want the destruction of this world. They want to kill us and our children. We should not make the mistake in assuming that since life, family and comfort are important to us they are also important to the Muslim Terrorists. Their values are distinct from ours. They seek martyrdom. They scoff at our world and the things that we cherish and value.

If anyone thinks the terrorists can’t get hold of the A-bomb, he lives on another planet. It is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when", before tens of American and European cities are nuked in one day and hundreds of millions of people, incinerated. You, my dear reader, may well be one of those “lucky” ones who die on that day. I say lucky because those who survive will envy those who are killed.   

But this will unleash the hounds of hell and the entire Muslim world will go in flame the next day. Billions could perish, madness will take place of sanity and this will be the end.

But this apocalypse does not have to happen. If we chase the terrorists everywhere and kill them sooner, they will not have time to carry out their evil designs. Instead of America following the misguided policies of the Europeans, it is the Europeans who must wake up from their slumber, sense the pending terror and join America in the fight against Islamic Terrorism.  

A friend of mine compared this to fighting mosquitoes. He said you can’t sit at home with a swatter in your hand trying to kill every mosquito entering your house. You have to drain the swamp were the mosquitoes breed. The swamp that breeds the terrorists is Islam. The problem is right in the Quran and the sunnah. The only way to drain this swamp is to debunk the Quran and show to the Muslims that Muhammad was not a messenger of God. He simply lied and protected his lies through violence. Why there can be no honest and free discussion in the Muslim world? If Islam is true what Muslims have to fear in discussing it openly? Why they have to issue fatwas against anyone who criticizes their religion? Truth does not need censorship and protection. Truth can defend itself against all the lies. You do not need to protect the sun from being extinguished. The very fact that Muslims are so protective of Islam and soon resort to violence if their faith is criticized is proof that Islam is false and without that protection it will be debunked.   

The only way to get rid of Islamic terrorists is to destroy their breeding swamp. The swamp that breeds the terrorists is Islam. We can drain this swamp with education and by exposing the ugliness of this cult. Today we have the Internet and can reach where before it was impossible to reach. This will prevent the breeding of new generations of terrorists. But we have to kill those terrorists that are mature and ready to strike. While mosquitoes are often only nuisance, the Islamic mosquitoes are deadly.

The world is in a great danger. The apocalypse is upon us. We have to accept this reality that this is war. Today, the only thing that matters is to win this war.

But this war must not be fought only by non-Muslims. It is time the Muslims also realize their responsibility and rise to defeat this threat that is hanging over the head of mankind.

Not all the Muslims are terrorists. But all the Muslims are supporting terrorism by simply accepting Muhammad as a prophet. You can’t tell the terrorists that your belief is divine but do not practice it. Muhammad was a terrorist. This is clear from the Quran, the hadith and the Sira. Muslims must abandon this cult. This is the cult of terror and it is bringing the world to the verge of destruction.

The whole Islam is nothing but a lie. Joseph Goebel, the minister of propaganda of Hitler said. “A lie repeated often enough becomes the truth.” This is what Islam is: a lie that has been repeated for 1400 years and is now believed to be true. But Islam can’t stand the test of truth and that is why anyone who says a world against it is put to death.

I invite the Muslims to search the facts and leave Islam. Let us not call ourselves Muslims anymore. Let us be humans. Let us not divide the world between Muslims and Kafirs, believers and disbelievers. If you believe in God, you should know that God created all humanity of the same stock. We are one people. He made us all and he loves us all. We must not hate what God has created. If you do not believe in God then what is this insanity? Why should we hate and kill each other for a lie?

Muhammad was a liar. He lied to manipulate people and used the foolhardy to wage war for him and bring him power, wealth and women. It is insane that more than a billion people follow a 7^th century mad man and try to blow this world up for a lie.

I urge the Muslims to leave Islam. Leave Islam and save your life and the world in which you live. The terrorists get their validation and strength from you. If you leave Islam they will lose steam and this insanity will end.

It is absurd to think that the maker of this universe is so sadistic that he would burn people for eternity for not believing in a man who was as ruthless and as evil as Muhammad. This is the age of reason. Muhammad tried to control people with fear. This is foolish. We can’t let a psychopath of the 7^th century control our lives. This is madness affecting more than a billion people. Leave aside that fear and investigate the truth. Soon you’ll come to see that none of Muhammad claims make sense and the only thing that keeps you in this cult is your fear. That fear is unreal. It is simply based on a lie. It is easy to see the lie but it is not easy to get rid of that fear that has been instilled in us since our childhood. Our reason tells us Muhammad was a liar. We see the Quran is nothing but absurdities and nonsense. But our fear holds us back from investigating further.

The choice is up to the Muslims. They either would leave Islam and end this insanity or they will bring the world to its destruction. If the terrorists succeed and nuclear bombs are blasted, many people will die but Muslim will be wiped out. I hope the massive exodus from Islam begins soon and the world is saved. I hope we all understand that we are members of one family of mankind and all these differences and imaginary and unreal.

Let me end this essay with a poem from the great humanist Saadi.

All people are members of the same body
Created from one essence
If fate brings suffering to one member
The others cannot stay at rest.
You who remain indifferent to the burden of pain of others
Do not deserve to be called human.