Christian West vs. Islam East
by Charles C. Hall, Ed.D

As I watched the photographic images of our troops fighting six guys in an unmarked Toyota with a mounted 50 cal. machine gun, or six more guys in a ditch firing RPGs, I knew this was going to be a different and difficult war. Then, I did some research on Muslims and Islam. What I have found is quite chilling.

For example, in 1970, Alija Izetbegovic published his Islamic Declaration in which he states that Islam is incompatible with non-Islamic systems. "There can be no peace nor co-existence between Islamic religions and non-Islamic political and social institutions," he wrote. He was speaking for all Muslims, not simply Bosnians. Izetbegovic (not to worry, I can't pronounce his name either), stated that "...education and the media are to be in the hands of people whose Islamic moral and intellectual authority are indisputable. In Islam, religion and politics are inseparable. "

In case you missed the point, to Islam, all wars are holy wars. Religious wars are always ugly, In 1291, Saladin slaughtered the last of the Crusaders - to a man. The crusaders were the Christian West's attempt to re-take Palestine (the Holy Land) from Muslin hoards of "godless infidels." Guess what? The entire non-Muslim world is peopled by "godless infidels," (their words, not mine).

From 1820 to 1929, fifty percent of wars were between Islam and all others. Low intensity to bloody mass-acres have been fought between Islam and the Christian West. Both civilizations are missionary, proselytizing religious mind-sets. The last fifty years have seen any number very intense wars, particularly over the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. It was set down in the midst of Palestine. Egypt and other Islamic states attacked Israel in the "Six-Day War." Other smaller skirmishes followed. Anwar Sadat's death was a direct result of his making peace with Israel. King Hussain of Jordan draws scorn and hatred because he favors a Jewish state and is a somewhat friend of the West.

Muslims do not comprehend the multi-cultural states of the West. Muslims do not assimilate into the cultures to which they immigrate - ask France, Germany and the Netherlands. The growing increase in the Muslim populations of these countries is creating great worry. Muslims form separate and hostile communities in Europe's multi-ethnic and multi-cultural states. The forecast is not a bright one. Muslims are pushing hard from China, India, Russia to the Near East and Gulf states.

When the first Gulf War occurred in 1991, only a handful of Islamic states approved. Only four did, grudgingly. This time, not a single Islamic state sided with the U.S. What did that tell me? That we had entered the "lion's cage with a chair and a whip" to tame all the lions of the world - one point two billion. It ain't going to happen. It's time - past time - to cut our losses and rethink our position in a world of clashing civilizations.

Read more in Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. His is a classic, and presciently forecast the state of Iraq of today, as well as the entire Middle East.

So it goes.