The religion ofIslam has long professed peace and tolerance, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the

contrary. Islamic apologists and people who believe in their politically correct rhetoric have essentially glossed over the darker parts of the Qur'an in the belief that we can "all just get along", and that the views and attitudes of the Muslim are a thing of the past. The religion of Islam, and its practitioners, the Muslims, have long held that theirs is a religion of peace, when in actuality they seek to subjugate the population of the world by conversion to their beliefs, taxation of nonbelievers, or death. In recent memory, many worldwide Muslim leaders have denounced the violence perpetrated in the name of their religion. This seems to be clever subterfuge on their part, or words that come from fear, as the Qur'an itself states "But those who reject (Allah), for them is destruction" (Qur'an 47:8). In truth, the American Muslim leaders are more than likely in agreement with the actions of their brethren, because their holy book states "when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks" (Qur' an 47:4). Indeed, many cite Surah 2:190-193 as stating that Muslims may only engage in defensive warfare, or defend themselves against persecution. However, Surah 8:72-73 implores those who belong to Islam to go to the places where Islam does not exist and stir up trouble and discontent, in the form of the native peoples protecting their sovereignty, so that they may claim persecution and therefore have a way out (Dunkin, Ch. 7-1). If a country does not allow the spread of Islam in a "suitable manner" or creates hindrances to this, then Muslims are justified in waging jihad against that country (Spencer 23).

The Qur'an exhorts the followers of Muhammad to spread their religion through warfare. The Ahadith, or the traditions of Muhammad, are stories about how and in what circumstances the various verses, or Surah, of the Qur'an were revealed to Muhammad. The focus of many of the Ahadith is warfare (Spencer 32-35). In fact, most ofthe early, peaceful, passages in the Qur'an (over 120 by some counts) are abrogated, or nullified, by one Surah, known as the Verse of the Sword: Surah 9:5. This hasn't changed even now in the modem era. In Arabic, jihad is defined as "struggle" or more commonly "holy war". Those who participate in it are called "mujahedeen", and the root for both words means to struggle against or sacrifice. Indeed, jihad is touted as the second best act any Muslim can perform in the service of Islam, the first being becoming or being a Muslim. Those who participate injihad are more blessed than "regular" Muslims, and jihad warfare is a constant element of mainstream Islamic theology (Spencer 38). The Ahadith also allows those who wage war against, and kill, unbelievers, to take their belongings as their own. In other words, if you covet something that your "infidel" neighbor has, kill him and take it; you are entitled according to the laws and traditions oflslam (Dunkin, Ch 7-3). The Qur' an and the many Ahadith tell the Muslim what to do, and how to treat non-believers of Islam. They make it quite clear that there are three options. The first is conversion. The Ahadith and the Qur' an say in many instances that if the "idolaters" become Muslims, then leave them alone (Qur'an 9:5). According to the second option, if a defeated group of people does not wish to convert to Islam, then they are assigned to status ofDhimmi, where they must live persecuted as second-class citizens and pay an exorbitant tax, called the jizya. The third, and probably most used of these options, is war

and death at the hands of the "true believers". Peaceful coexistence as equals in a pluralistic society is not one ofthe options (Spencer 37). The violence of Muhammad and his religion has continued around the globe for 1,400 years after his death. In 1894, the Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey initiated a pogrom, or organized massacre, of 100-150,000 Orthodox Armenians for not paying the jizya tax that he levied against them. Many more escaped death only by converting to Islam. Later, between 1915-1918, the Muslim Turks performed what can only be described as genocide against the Armenians. Estimates place the number of casualties close to 1,500,000, with a quarter of a million fleeing to Russia to escape the death and destruction. Needless to say, Turkish Armenia ceased to exist at this time (Dunkin Ch. 75). In 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and attacked the Orthodox Greeks, who at the time were supposed to be Turkey's NATO allies (Dunkin Ch. 7-5). On March 1, 1994, Rashid Baz shot at a van filled with Hasidic boys on the Brooklyn Bridge, killing one. The FBI chalked it up to road rage (Spencer 207). On July 4, 2002, Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet, known for his hatred of Israel and connection to AI Queda, walked up to the LAX counter ofEI AI, the Israeli national airline, and started shooting, killing two people (Spencer 207). In Mindanao, the large southern island in the Philippines, 400 civilians have died in Muslim violence spearheaded by the Abu Sayyaf organization since the year 2000 (Dunkin Ch. 7-5). On October 12,2002, Indonesia's premiere tourist hot spot, Bali, was bombed, killing 202 people. Also, the resident terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah has been targeting the Christian minority of Indonesia, including rapes and beheadings of Christian schoolgirls there (Dunkin Ch. 7-5). On November 2,2004, Theo van Gogh, a grand-nephew of the famous artist, was shot and stabbed repeatedly in an

Amsterdam street in broad daylight. His throat was slit, and a note with Qur' anic verses and threats against public figures who had opposed the influx of Muslim immigrants to the Netherlands was left on his body. Eight weeks prior to this, a movie he had produced, called "Submission" was aired on Dutch TV decrying the mistreatment of Muslim women (Spencer 214). The first Crusade was called by Pope Urban II in 1095 in response to approximately 500 years of Muslim aggression prior to the First Crusade. These wars were fought not because the Europeans of the time felt like expanding their territory or converting by force the Muslims that lived there, but for regaining Christian lands and the defense of the Christians that were persecuted there (Spencer 121). His decree stated, "the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania .... They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire." (Spencer 126). Muslims have contended that the Christians were overly brutal in their conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, when in actuality their actions, while horrendous, were nothing unusual according to the rules of warfare at the time. The often spouted story of "rivers of blood" up to the ankles of the Crusaders is actually a physical impossibility based on the population of the city at the time. During the events leading to the Third Crusade, Saladin, the Muslim ruler at the time, captured Jerusalem and destroyed the forces at Hattin in 1187. Originally, he had wanted to behead every Christian soul in the holy city, but when the Christian commander, Balian oflbelin, threatened to destroy Jerusalem and all the Muslims living inside those walls before Saladin could get inside, he relented.

However once he did take over, he enslaved many of the Christians there who could not afford to bribe their way out of the city (Spencer 142). Another unlikely event, if the Crusaders were in fact the brutal thugs that history

has made them out to be, happened in 1238. Muslim ambassadors visited England and
France, hoping for a military alliance against the encroaching armies of the Mongols. A century later, the Mongols returned, only this time they were Muslim. They attacked the Middle Eastern Muslims, causing such losses that, if they had not happened, Europe would have been overrun in the Middle, or Dark, Ages (Spencer 156). Islam has not reformed or changed its traditional doctrine of jihad warfare since it's inception. Ayatollah Khomeini once said of moderate Muslims and non-believers: "Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all!" (Spencer 191). It is time that people started waking up to the fact that those that say that Islam is the religion of peace and truth, even those that practice it, are mistaken, and there may come a time when it is truly too late to do anything about it.

Works cited

Dunkin, Timothy "Ten Myths About Islam" Study to Answer. 2000-2009 January 19,2009 <http://www.studytoanswer.netiislam myths.html> Wikipedia "Islam" Islam. 19 January 2009 19 January 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wikilIslam> Wikipedia "Muhammad" Muhammad. January 18, 2009 January 19,2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad> Spencer, Robert. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades. Washington, DC:Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005. Bostom, Andrew "Islam Without Camouflage" American Thinker. August 20, 2005 January 19,2009 <http://www.americanthinker.coml2005108Iislam without camouflage.html>