Islam
Back when I was a kid in the 1950's and 1960's no one thought about or spoke about Islam because no one cared about it. After all, it was on the other side of the world and didn't affect Americans in the slightest. Things have changed, wouldn't you say? And I think that we can all agree that the change has not been for the better.
Though fanatical/extreme Islam is in our face these days I don't think that it is fair to throw all Muslims into the "fanatic" category. The great majority of Muslims are just going about their business trying to lead a normal life and provide for their families, just like you and me. Only God knows how many are secretly sympathetic to the extreme/fanatical cause of those we label as "terrorists", but we must give Muslims who live in America the benefit of the doubt since they remain peaceful even in these trying times.
Our concern is not so much with those Muslims who want to live in a peaceful world as it is with those who have decided that they will do what it takes to remove any American presence from the Middle East. These people, who we have labeled as "terrorists", seem to be convinced that all nations in the Middle East (Muslim Holy Land) must be void of any American presence. In case you haven't noticed, these fanatics are zealous, committed, and willing to die for their cause. They are surprisingly brutal for those who claim to be religious. Those who die for the cause are promised that they will inherit a whole gaggle of virgins in the next life, which gives us a window into what's going on in the hearts of these men. [I'm not sure what the women "terrorists" get.]
To Americans this fanatical death wish of thousands of Muslims seems bizarre because it is the opposite of our traditional Christian religious belief system, with it's great emphasis on life. While the fanatical Muslims get together to discuss new methods and reasons of how and why they should kill us, Christians wonder where they came up with this ideology. While the Muslims feel the need to hate Jews and destroy the nation of Israel, Christians in America live at total peace with Jews, are willing to protect Israel and are perplexed at the hate seething from the Muslim fanatics. [See "Israel" in Index 2 for more information .] What we are learning these days is that mixing Christianity and Islam is like mixing oil and water.
Is this all going to escalate into a real world war before it is settled? I hope not. Maybe it's time for all of us to step back and take a deep breath. I personally wonder how much of this Muslim fanaticism is real Islam and how much has been brought on by U.S. policy in the Middle East. Let's be honest, this all seems like a response by people who feel threatened by Americans who have come to their "Holy Land" where they shouldn't be (according to them) and refuse to get the message that they are not wanted. The Muslims have not been over here threatening our way of life. We are over there. I don't see any Muslim military personnel walking our streets. I can't remember any Muslim jets dropping bombs on or near my home.
But what about 9/11? This problem with the Muslims in the Middle East goes back long before 9/11. The attacks on 9/11 were and are a symptom of this ongoing problem that may involve our policies in the region. This problem goes back several decades and most likely involves our insensitivity toward those people, which they seem to take as more humiliation coming their way. It's just been slowly gaining steam as the years have passed. It culminated on 9/11/01 when all of the Muslim world cheered with delight, feeling that they had gotten back at us.
The attacks of 9/11 may very well have a deeper meaning that involves U.S. policy towards Muslims in their own "Holy Land". And even now they may be planning more attacks. Let's be honest, this is still escalating and a lot of lives are at stake. Prideful attitudes on both sides will lead to continued retaliation and hatred. Maybe it's time for us to examine ourselves a little more closely and see if we might be part of the problem.
Could U.S. policies in the Middle East be responsible for the Muslim terrorist movement? Could 9/11 have been a message to us that those people don't want our constant intrusion on their land? It seems like they have been trying to tell us all along that they don't want us over there. You and me don't understand the "Holy Land" mentality because it has no place in our thinking. But to them all of that sand over there has great religious significance. The term "Christian Crusader" seems to be popular with them these days. That should tell us that they are under the impression that we are over there looking for a fight. Maybe that's why they feel the need to "defend" their land. And it is theirs. It's sure not ours.
Look, I'm not trying to justify 9/11 by any means. As a matter of fact, if something like that happens on my watch the response will be much more "humbling" for those we consider our enemies over there. And my policies will not include sending more Americans over there to die. I would never send our troops over there to die needlessly when we can do the job from the air. We "humbled" Tokyo and Berlin in world War II and it was done from the air. Don't tell me that we can't get the job done from the air. But I think the wise thing to do would be for us to sit down together as a nation (via national televised "Meet and Vote" meetings) and examine all of the goings on over there in the last 30 years, see if our policies are suspect and adjust accordingly. A lot of those beautiful little children over there have died because of what all of us hard headed adults are doing to each other. And it promises to get worse.
Please see Index 2 and click on "Middle East" to understand more of how I will be asking the leaders of the nations of the Middle East to come to Washington for nationally televised peace talks so that we can settle this ongoing problem. I will be showing them respect, asking their advice since it is their land and then give the American Taxpayers the opportunity to vote on the course that our nation should take. The more discussion that takes place between our leaders and the leaders from the Middle East, the better chance we will have of coming to an agreement. See also Index 1 and click on "Brotherhood of Nations" to understand how this new program, if implemented, could actually put all of us, and Israel, on the same side and make it contractually illegal to attack one another.
Now please let me address my concern about allowing Muslims to live in America. As the next president of the United States it is my responsibility to make sure that the American people are protected. These days there are several million Muslims among us and I think most of us are a little concerned about that since we can't read their minds. Who knows how dedicated they are to America and how dedicated they are to Islamic fanaticism? Most of them are probably harmless but how are we supposed to know who is and who isn't? Who's side would they take if worse came to worse? About the only way that I can see to fairly address this question is to find out if accepted Muslim holy literature actually calls for the Muslims to kill all Jews and Christians. If it does, we need to know it and deal with it fairly, quickly and intelligently. Burying our heads in the sand will not make such a threat to national security go away.
I don't know enough about Islam to know if the fanatic ideology of the extremists actually comes from accepted Muslim sacred literature, if it is a twist of some of Mohammed's teachings - or where it comes from. I've seen this happen in Christianity, where a couple of verses from the Holy Bible are taken out of context and the next thing you know you've got Jim Jones giving poison Kool-Aid to his "Christian" followers. A quick glance at history will prove that there are plenty of examples of Christians twisting Christian teachings to serve their own purposes. I would guess that the same thing could happen in Islam. We need to find out the truth from Muslim scholars (and from non-Muslim scholars). Until we figure this all out it's only fair to give the Muslims who live in America the benefit of the doubt.
Is this what has happened in the Middle East concerning Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the "America is the Great Satan" club? Did they, in fact, twist Muslim teachings of Wahhabism and Salafism to serve their own hatred for America? Or is the hatred and death of all Christian and Jewish "infidels" accepted Muslim teaching, and supposed to be practiced by all Muslims? If the latter is true we have a big problem, because you and I are the infidels. That's my concern for America, because we have allowed them to live among us.
One of two things is going to become clear as we try to understand accepted sacred Islamic teachings. We will either determine that Muslims are indeed supposed to kill Christian and Jewish "infidels" or we will determine that the Muslim sacred scriptures have been twisted to serve the desires of twisted men. If they have been twisted we can feel much more at ease around Muslim Americans. On the contrary, if we come to the honest and fair conclusion that Muslims are indeed supposed to kill Christian and Jewish "infidels", I will go before the American people and ask for their permission to deport all Muslims and outlaw the practice of Islam, and any belief system calling for the physical destruction of everyone who doesn't agree with that belief system.
Our freedom of religion clause does not mean that (any) Americans are free to practice a belief system that calls for the destruction of everyone else. Not even the ACLU could take the first amendment out of context enough to make a case for nonsense such as that. We all know that our founding fathers did not write our U.S. constitution to protect any such a thing. As president I will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the majority of Americans (who are Christians, Christian sympathizers, and Jews). This will include a mass deportation of all Muslims and the outlawing of their religion (and any belief system that calls for the physical destruction of everyone else) if it is necessary. But until we all can get properly educated on Islam it would only be fair to give the Muslim Americans the benefit of the doubt. After all, we haven't seen mass killings of Christians or Jews (by American Muslims) in our country - yet.
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