Islam’s Low Intensity Terrorism

by Justin Darr

Islam is like the neighbor everyone has that people say “is alright once you get to know him.” However, the more you “get to know him,” the more it seems that your first impression was correct. A jerk is a jerk. No matter how many times you see the guy place his trash cans neatly at the end of the drive on time for the Tuesday pick up, the silent aggressive stares let you know that this guy has something dysfunctional going on that sooner or later will erupt into big problems.

Usually, you just try to ignore these people as long as possible, just a simple “Hello,” or wave on the way to work. Then comes the day when your son’s football flies over the fence and, wham! The guy picks up the ball and locks it in his garage.

Now, you have the unpleasant task of going over and confronting this idiot about why he cannot exist by the rules of common civility that have served us so well for generations, risking the chance of the guy acting like the moron he is an chasing you across the yard with a garden rake.

It is not really that hard of a decision. Experience teaches that such blowhards usually have nothing to back up their words other than a glass chin and big mouth. So, you accept the risk because you understand the consequences of your inaction will lead to even grander displays of indecorousness by your neighbor and spending the rest of your life with your son wondering if the zipper is on the front or side of your pants.

This is the situation the western world faces with Islam. For a “religion of peace,” Islam sure seems to have a mean streak. The facts regarding Islamic society’s apparent inability to peacefully coexist with its non-Muslim neighbors, and endless litany of hatred and bloodlust spewed by its religious leaders toward anyone who happens to disagree with them, has left nothing to conclude except Islam makes anything but a good neighbor.

Here is a quick test to see my point. Do a survey of all the areas of the world counting sizable Muslim populations abutting large non-Muslim populations that are NOT in a near perpetual state of violent conflict. Hope you have one hand ready.

In other areas, where Muslims are not actively killing those around them, they choose to promote their agendas by making thinly veiled threats of unless others stop “provoking” them, they will be unable to stop the simmering violence that lurks just under the surface of their communities from erupting. This is an attempt to take advantage of the western world’s obsession with political correctness where it is far easier to give into demands, no matter how ridiculous, than deal with the fools who are making them and be declared “insensitive.” However, no matter what the excuses or justifications, the actions of many Muslim leaders amount to low intensity terrorism.

Nothing demonstrates this point better than the current situations with the Muslim world’s vicious overreaction to a few political cartoons out of Europe depicting the prophet Mohammad wearing a bomb as a turban, and the breakdown of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear fuel enrichment program.

Curiously, despite the differences in these situations, the Muslims involved are using the same low intensity terrorist tactics to achieve their ends.

In Europe, cartoonists have fled into hiding in fear of their lives as Muslims have marauded through hotels in the Gaza Strip searching for Westerners to kidnap, and protestors dressed as suicide bombers, prayed for further terrorist attacks in western civilians, and carried signs saying, “Freedom Go To Hell,” “Europe You Will Pay, Your 3/11 Is On the Way,” and “Butcher Those Who Insult Islam,” in London, England.

In Iran, 1979 American Embassy terrorist leader now turned Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is threatening to cut off all foreign oil exports, “wipe Israel off the map,” launch insurgent attacks into Iraq and Afghanistan, and restarted full uranium enrichment efforts and in the wake of the IAEA referring Iran to the Security Council.

In both cases, the responses enormously outweigh the initial “provocation.”

Iran is threatening to destroy the world economy and destabilize the entire Middle East just because we understand that a nation that has spent its entire history supporting and engaging in terrorism has no business possessing highly enriched uranium for any reason.

And, Muslims around the world are threatening us with widespread violence if we do not toss aside our most cherished freedoms and silence a few cartoonists who noticed that the vast majority of terrorists just happen to be emulating the words and deeds of Mohammad.

The disproportionate nature of these responses is less of a reaction to any actual offense that may have occurred than it is an attempt to intimidate those who might dare to affront or oppose Islam in the future. In both cases the message is clear: If you ever cross us again, you will be responsible for the violence that ensues.

There is no clearer definition of low intensity terrorism than these heavy-handed attempts to blackmail the free world.
 

The civilized world is now faced with a choice. Do we allow ourselves to be intimidated by Islam’s low intensity terrorism because we feel that it is a better alternative than the more overt terrorism so many Muslims love, sacrificing our freedom and security in the process? Or, do we decide to stand up for what we know is right?
 

I do not know about you, but I think it is time to go get our football.

© February, 2006 Justin Darr

Justin Darr is a freelance writer living in the Philadelphia area with his wife and twin children. He can be read widely on the Internet and in publications across North America and Europe.

Justin Darr is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance, and proud member of the MoveOff Network.