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WE’RE AT WAR

“Over the rest of this decade, the divide between radical Islam and the industrial democracies will become the most destabilizing factor in world affairs.”

—JOSEPH DE COURCY¹

“The governments of the world should know that Islam cannot be defeated. Islam will be victorious in all the countries of the world, and Islam and the teachings of the Koran will prevail all over the world.”

—AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI OF IRAN

THE VIDEO SHOWS the tortured face of American Daniel Pearl, a news reporter with the Wall Street Journal. He was captured after being lured to meet with a London-educated Muslim he had met before. The American is forced to confess on camera, “My father is a Jew, my mother is a Jew, and I am a Jew.” Then suddenly a hand with a knife appears on the video screen and slashes his throat. Then his head is sawed off with a dull knife and held aloft by a hand in front of the camera. The video cuts to hooded murderers who repeatedly stab the lifeless corpse. The final scene cuts to Pearl’s severed head lying on a pile of newspapers as a message scrolls across the screen: “If our demands are not met, there will be more like this.”

The Muslim terrorist who actually cut off Pearl’s head was later captured and, under interrogation, confessed that he committed this horrible murder. His name is Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, and he is the principal planner of al Qaeda’s attacks on 9/11. This linkage demonstrates that hatred toward Jews is a shared hatred against Americans.

Islamic terrorists chose Daniel Pearl to slaughter for one reason— he was a Jew. The gory details of his videotaped murder are further evidence of the maniacal hatred that animates the movement to which the terrorists belong—Islamic Fundamentalism. But this particular butchery is but one of thousands of brutalities committed by Muslim zealots throughout history—and all for the same cause: They hate Jews with a visceral, bone-deep hatred that is almost impossible for the Western civilization to comprehend. In fact, this hatred goes back to the dawn of recorded history.

IMPERATIVE QUESTIONS

On September 11, 2001, Americans were suddenly thrust into the middle of this hatred, which is part of an ancient family feud. In actuality, we were involved in this conflict long before we realized its magnitude and the great danger it poses to our nation. But since September 11, Americans have been frantically groping to understand what is at stake. Many questions continue to be asked following the initial shock of those horrible first days and their aftermath.

In light of recent events, not just Americans but also the whole of Western Judeo-Christian-based civilization is now asking questions such as:

Why do Muslims hate Jews?

Did this hatred begin, as Muslims today claim, with the Zionist movement and the creation of the state of Israel, or is there evidence of this animus in history past?

Why do Muslim fundamentalists hate the United States and call it “the great Satan”?

Why do Muslim terrorists willingly sacrifice their lives to kill Americans?

Do Muslims hate America only because of our support of Israel, or is there evidence that supports other possible motivations?

Will Islamic terrorists gain access to weapons of mass destruction? If so, will they use them on the United States?

Could terrorist organizations imperil the very survival of the United States?

This book intends to answer questions such as these on the basis of relevant Biblical and Islamic texts, as well as by examining the history of Jewish-Muslim relations. But in addition to this first set of queries, there are even more foundational questions about Islam itself that this book will seek to answer, such as:

Are there calls for violence and conquest in the Koran and in the equally authoritative traditions recorded in the Hadith?

What does the Koran teach about Judaism and Christianity?

Are Islamic fundamentalists an aberration of the Muslim religion, or are they—as they claim—the true followers of Mohammad?

Does the example of Mohammad’s life teach us the true meaning of the Koran?

What can we learn from the history of Muslim conquests? Were these conquests due to misinterpretations of the Koran or were they actually commanded by it?

Can we get insights into Mohammad from his forefathers Ishmael and Kedar?

The Muslim religion is tightly interwoven with the culture of the seventh-century Arabian Peninsula. Are there aspects of that distant culture that shed light on current Muslim beliefs and behavior?

New Peril We Face

More than at any time since the Crusades, Islam poses a serious threat to the whole of Western Judeo-Christian civilization. Nations of the European Union (EU) and NATO are now being seriously threatened from within by a rapidly expanding and demanding Muslim population that is bent upon forcing Islamic Sharia law upon their host nations. Similarly, the United States and Israel now face in Islam the greatest threat to their survival.

As the chapter title declares, “We’re at War.” I warned repeatedly in 1991 that, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the greatest danger facing the world was no longer communism, but the revival of Islamic Fundamentalism. But I must confess that I wasn’t fully aware of just how great a threat this would pose to the Western world.

How Nice the Old Enemy Looks Now

During the Cold War, we faced an enemy that was somewhat conventional. The Soviets were at work through operatives spreading the gospel of communism around the world. We fought their surrogates in Korea, Vietnam, and South America. They possessed nuclear weapons and had several means of delivering them accurately on target. They also had biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that could kill most of the world’s population.

But during the fifty-year Cold War era, there were certain rational constants that helped prevent nuclear annihilation. If the United States were to be struck by any WMD possessed by the Soviet Union or one of its surrogates, we knew where and how to retaliate. They knew that to attack us meant an instant end of their civilization as well.

In short, as terrible as the prospects of nuclear war were, tenuous world stability was maintained by the doctrine of MAD-Mutually Assured Destruction.

MEET THE NEW ENEMY

With the new threat, however, we are confronted by entirely new dimensions of antagonism with enormously greater dangers. We no longer face a political force but a religion that has an estimated 1.4 billion followers worldwide. This religion produces an alarming number of passionate followers who believe it is their duty to Allah to die as martyrs in the pursuit of conquest against those who would restrain Islam from subjecting the world to their religion.

Today Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. And the increasingly radical fundamentalist Muslim represents not only the greatest threat to world peace and stability, but also the greatest challenge to the Western world, much of it now secularized but with roots in Judeo-Christian theism.

To appreciate the growing power and influence of Islam, you must look beyond the population figures. Muslims now control, to some extent, about fifty of the world’s most important countries—from Indonesia in the East, through the oil rich states of the Middle East, to Senegal on the Atlantic. These countries control vast wealth and unappreciated commercial resources.

At least seventy of the world’s 184 countries are considered part of the Dar-al Islam—the “House of Islam,” land over which Islam rules. It is a religion practiced in the jungles of Africa, the sands of the Sahara, the oil fields of the Middle East, the mountains of Asia, and the islands of the Pacific. Islam is increasingly making its impact felt in traditionally Christian parts of the world.

Mosques Replacing Churches in the West

In “Bonny Old England” today there are more Muslims than Methodists. There are even more Muslims than there are evangelical Christians, and more active mosques than churches.²

“Funded by the vast resources of Arab oil money, the Muslims are buying abandoned Anglican Churches and turning them into mosques at such a rate that some Muslims claim that England will soon be the first Muslim European country,” writes author Robert Morey.

Islam is especially rapidly growing in Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Holland, France, Spain, and the United States. There are an estimated six to eight million Muslims in the United States.

The latest demonstration of Islam’s growing power is the Muslim demand to build a mosque a few blocks from “Ground Zero,” in the precincts of the destroyed World Trade Center. Islamists have issued such threats of violent retaliation for perceived insults to the Koran and Mohammad that America is virtually intimidated into allowing Muslims religious liberties beyond those granted followers of other religions. Muslims are successfully bullying their way into extracting all kinds of religious concessions from our government.

Fundamentalisms the Real Threat

At least 10 percent of the 1.4 billion Muslims are fundamentalists and therefore are potential terrorist threats. And intelligence information indicates the percentage of fundamentalists is growing. History shows that the devout Muslim fundamentalists are one of the most lethal threats the world has ever known.

In contrast to the old enemy of the Cold War era, the new one is irresistibly motivated in the cause of Allah to become a “martyr,” or a homicide/suicide bomber. Young men are promised the highest place in paradise with seventy-two beautiful virgins willing to fulfill every fantasy as soon as the Jihadis die as martyrs for Islam. This is a heady wine that attracts unlimited numbers of volunteers to hurl themselves against the “unbelievers”—especially the United States. Not even the Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II can compare with the danger these Islamic zealots pose. And the chilling news is that the fundamentalists are on the brink of possessing the most destructive weapons the world has ever known, thanks to certain terrorist-sponsoring Muslim countries like Iran.

Pakistan has many who have aided al Qaeda terrorists, assistance that includes sheltering them from U.S. troops fighting them in Afghanistan. And the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, Dr. Abdul Khader Khan, has been exposed for providing nuclear technology and aid to Iran and Libya. According to former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit, Khan offered his nuclear knowledge to Algeria, Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. They all turned him down, but he continued to smuggle nuclear technology and equipment to Iran and Libya, and perhaps, the evidence suggests, to North Korea as well.

Contrary to the old Cold War, we can be hit by a major terrorist attack and not know exactly where to retaliate. This enemy hides in the shadows and mingles with citizens within our own nation. He has Muslim sympathizers who give him aid and shelter. He is also effectively protected by America’s doctrine of “political correctness,” which hamstrings our intelligence agencies and renders the enemy virtually “uncatchable.”

As the Islamic world developed untold wealth through oil, its military might has been increasingly strengthened. The only thing standing in the way of the Muslim nations achieving some degree of parity with the West is their tendency to fight among themselves. But as you will see, there is one cause that can rally them together—hatred of the Jewish state and Western civilization. And Islamic Fundamentalism is the driving force that is rallying all Muslims to “Jihad” for obliterating Israel and replacing the Western world order.

United States in Serious Danger?

Since September 11, many Americans are wondering just how vulnerable we are. Is our nation truly in grave danger?

Here is just a sampling of warnings given by responsible U.S. leaders:

“The prospect of another attack against the United States is just as real … as it was on September 12. It’s not a matter of if, but of when.” (emphasis added)

—VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY,
MAY 19, 2002³

“There will be another terrorist attack. We will not be able to stop it … I think we will see [walk-in suicide bombers] in the future. I think it’s inevitable.”

— FBI DIRECTOR ROBERT MUELLER,
MAY 20,2002⁴

“Terrorist networks have relations with terrorist states that have weapons of mass destruction … and they will get their hands on them.”

— SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD,
MAY 21, 2002⁵

In addition, the United States has placed a high alert status on the following potential targets of terror:

Major bridges, such as the Golden Gate or Oakland Bay bridges

Tunnels entering major cities like New York

Subways and railways

Large shopping malls

Aircraft and major buildings

Statue of Liberty

Computers that control our nuclear facilities and our entire electrical infrastructure

Banks and financial institutions (cyber attack) such as stock exchanges

Are Counter Measures Possible?

These warnings came despite the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security, the complete re-organization of the FBI, placing the CIA on maximum alert, and directing U.S. troops in Afghanistan to destroy the operational headquarters of al Qaeda, the latest star in the Islamic pantheon of terror.

Our country has mobilized for a global war on terrorism, and already we are faltering. Our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have stalled because we have failed to understand Muslim beliefs and practices. We have set as our goal to turn these Islamic countries into democracies, even though a Western-style democracy is totally contrary to the kind of government taught in the Koran. In Islam, religion and government are woven together, and both are inextricably patterned after the tribal culture of the seventh-century Arabian Peninsula. This is why Islamic nations have such a hard time fitting into the modern world.

Take just two examples of this. The Shah of Iran used all of his power to separate religious structures from government organizations and to create a modern nation that could compete in the industrial West. Iran became a flourishing nation, but Shiite fundamentalists rebelled against the Shah’s move toward modern culture. As soon as the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to lead a revolution, he drug Iran back to the seventh-century culture of the Koran. Personal freedoms were wiped out overnight, and hundreds of thousands of Iranians were imprisoned or executed. A country that had been our friend became our avowed enemy and labeled us “the Great Satan.” If the United States and the West had stood by the Shah, the fundamentalist fanatics would never have been able to overthrow his government.

In 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the heretofore-revered father of modern Turkey, brought Turkey out of its backward, non-productive society and began its transformation into a modern industrial state. He eliminated the Sultanate and Caliphate, which were the joint political and religious arms of the fallen Ottoman Empire. He declared Turkey a secular state and separated religious and state affairs. He gave women full political and social rights and eliminated polygamy and harems.

Turkey has flourished and grown under the application of Ataturk’s plan. But for decades, Islamic fundamentalists have sought to overthrow it. In 2003, the fundamentalists finally came into power with the election of the Justice and Development Party, headed by Recep Erdogan. Since then, Turkey has begun to leave the Western world and re-enter the Islamic world of Iran and Syria. The Turks have pulled away from NATO, of which they have been a part since 1952. The United States and Israel have been snubbed. Both Israel and the United States gave much valuable military technology and training to Turkey during their previous times of friendship, and now both may face those weapons in future conflicts. I expected this turn of events to occur because Turkey is part of the Gog and Magog invasion predicted by the prophet Ezekiel.

These two examples show the pull of the Islamic view of government upon those who take literally the teachings of the Koran. This Koranic pull is why, in my view, the efforts of the United States to democratize Iraq and Afghanistan are misconceived and futile. Instead, we need to destroy their war making capability and leave. And then warn them that we will destroy them if they are complicit in further terrorist attacks against us. This is the only language that Islamic fundamentalists understand.

Probably more important than anything else is that the West, especially the leaders of the United States, understands Muslim beliefs and practices.

Who Is the Terrorist “Du Jour”?

Because of a lack of true knowledge about what Islam’s sacred books teach, Western leaders are proceeding unknowingly down an impossible path. The mantra constantly repeated by our “politically correct” government leaders today is that “Islam is a religion of peace and love.” I am sorry—that is just not what the Koran, the Hadith, and the history of Muslim conquests clearly teach. It is true that the majority of Muslims are not fundamentalists, thank God. But when any one of them gets serious about his faith and becomes zealous about what his holy books teach, he is a candidate for becoming what we know as a terrorist.

Under the Obama Administration, things have gotten even worse. Our government will not allow terrorist acts to be labeled Muslim acts of terrorism. The liberal media have bowed to this folly as well. Acts of terrorism clearly motivated by Islam are called instead the acts of mentally unbalanced individuals.

I believe the only reason the United States has not suffered more horrific terrorist attacks is because of the grace and mercy of God. There have been a number of attacks that would have killed hundreds of people if only the bombs had functioned properly.

On Christmas Day 2009, Umar Abdulmutallab, a twenty-three-year-old Nigerian man, attempted to blow Northwest Flight 253 out of the sky. Had his underwear bomb functioned correctly, 289 people would have been blown out of the sky. Al Qaeda took credit for the attempted terrorist attack. It was later found that he was trained and supplied by al Qaeda, which is the most dangerous Muslim terrorist organization facing the West.

In addition, consider the following challenges we still face:

Our borders are as porous as Swiss cheese. In 2009, more than 56,000 non-Latin people were caught illegally crossing into the United States via the undefended Arizona-Mexican border. Most of these illegals were from the Middle East. We don’t know how many successfully got into the United States. And we certainly don’t know how many may have been trained as terrorists.

Airport security remains a joke primarily because of the fear of being “politically incorrect.” There is no way to correct this apart from using profiling techniques and firing many people that are not suited for this kind of work. The world’s best airport security is Israel’s. They use aggressive racial profiling and hire their brightest and best to man security. Machines will not take the place of these measures. Minimum wage, poorly educated people cannot “psych out” a trained terrorist.

Our nuclear plants are vulnerable to terrorist attacks because they are not properly prepared to defend against coordinated Islamic suicide assaults by highly trained terrorists. According to military intelligence, a suicide plane could hit them. Terrorists using scuba gear could infiltrate them from adjacent waterways and launch an attack.

Our drinking water and food-supply chain are vulnerable to biological/chemical attacks.

WE ARE IN DEEP POOH-POOH!

I continue to report on my TV show, The Hal Lindsey Report, on the imminent threats facing the world. The following are just a few of them:

A holocaust will occur in the Middle East if Iran is allowed to get nuclear weapons.

Iran has formed a binding pact with Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza to launch a coordinated attack against Israel as soon as they have nuclear weapons.

Iran has slipped an estimated 100,000 rockets and missiles into Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza to be used against Israel if it attacks their nuclear facilities. This makes it possible for every population center in Israel to be bombarded with lethal missiles.

Israel has long had a carefully prepared contingency plan known as the “Samson Option.” This plan provides that in the event Israel is hit by biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, Israel will launch a massive nuclear strike against the cities of every enemy state attacking her.

To make matters worse, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a devout believer in an Islamic prophecy that says the Muslim messiah known as the “Mahdi” is ready to return and only awaits the beginning of an Armageddon-type war to break out that will cause him to return and lead Islam to world victory. Ahmadinejad believes that Allah has chosen him to start that global conflict. I believe this is why he is so determined to get nuclear weapons. As he has warned, he will blow Israel off the map as soon as he can—and this, Ahmadinejad believes, will start the war that will cause the Mahdi, also known as the “Twelfth Imam,” to return and lead the Muslims to world domination.

At this moment in history, Islam represents the single greatest threat in the world to the survival of Western civilization.

RELEVANCE OF AN ANCIENT FAMILY FEUD

I believe all of these clear and present dangers can be understood only by learning how this conflict began between the descendants of the Biblical patriarch Abraham four thousands years ago. There is a perfect word that describes the Arab’s virulent feelings toward Israel. It is the word enmity. The dictionary defines enmity as “the extreme ill will or hatred that exists toward an enemy.” It infers a state of hatred that has been nurtured over a long period of time.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is hard to imagine how a four-thousand-year-old family feud could cause the whole world to become involved. Yet this is exactly what the Bible predicted would happen in the last days. These prophecies spell out an exact scenario of events that will come together shortly before the end of history as we know it.

Central to this scenario is the re-igniting of the ancient conflict between the Israelites and Arabs. The conflict has risen and subsided at various times since the destruction and dispersion of Israel in A.D. 70.

It is as a consequence of the rebirth of the state of Israel, the Bible prophets predict, that the whole world will become involved. The Bible specifically predicts what will be the final flashpoint that ignites the war of Armageddon. It will be an unsolvable dispute over Jerusalem between the sons of Isaac and Jacob and the sons of Ishmael and Esau. We know these people today as the Israelis and the Arabs.

Who Would Have Dreamed?

Who would have believed as the twentieth century dawned that a small, backward, neglected land that had become as desolate as the moon would become the center of a controversy so great that all the major world powers would be dragged into it? For centuries, world attention focused on the Gentile civilizations of Europe, the Americas, Russia, and the Far East. Until the middle of the twentieth century, many people couldn’t even find Palestine on a map. But today, the headlines aren’t about Western or Asian civilizations; they are about the peoples of the Middle East. For the first time in modern history, ancient Biblical names are making global headlines.

One of the main predicted signs that the world is entering the “last days and the end of history as we know it” is that the strategic center of the world would shift back to the region where history began. Today, the world’s focus has returned to a place that had been bypassed by the modern developments of science and technology.

Prepare to Be Shocked

This book will reveal many vital facts about the Middle East conflict that are little known. It will take you into history and reveal the real causes of the growing world crisis that will seriously affect your life. Writing this book has been a great sobering adventure. So press on through the history and facts. I promise it will be rewarding. And I believe you will find a vital basis for hope in the coming perilous times.