THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 56, April 1, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
WHY IRANIANS TAKE HOSTAGES
By Alan Caruba
WHY DO IRANIAN LEADERS & OTHER ISLAMISTS BEHAVE LIKE UNCIVILIZED BARBARIANS? THE ANSWER LIES IN
THE HISTORY OF ISLAM: HOW THE MUSLIM "RELIGION" CAME INTO BEING, HOW & WHY IT HAS SPREAD OVER A
VAST AREA OF THE GLOBE, & HOW ITS HARDCORE ADHERENTS HAVE CONSUCTED THEMSELVES BEFORE & SINCE THE
DEATH OF MUHAMMAD -- THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY FAILURE OF THE U.S.A. & THE WEST TO RESPOND VIGOROUSLY TO
IRAN & THE ISLAMIST THREAT -- ANNIHILATION OF OUR ENEMIES SHOULD BE AMERICA'S SOLE PURPOSE IN WAGING
WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST OR ANY OTHER PLACE
FULL STORY:
I often fear that the vast ignorance of Americans and others around the world concerning the history of Islam condemns
them to be pawns in the hands of the Iranian political regime and other Muslim leaders who reflect why Islam came to be
and how it has conducted itself since the death of Muhammad.
The recent “incident” in which 15 British sailors were taken hostage by the Iranians (and you can substitute any radical
Islamic group such as Hamas, Hezbollah, or al-Qa'ida committing other similar acts) and the subsequent “diplomatic” effort
totally ignores the fact that these same Iranians took American diplomats hostage in 1979. Our subsequent failure to mete
out a severe military retribution has brought us to the current prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.
You may have noticed that, every time the United States leaves a war unfinished, we end up having to deal with the same
bad people, whether they are the North Koreans, the Iranians, or, in the case of Iraq, the return in 2003 after the botched
victory in 1991. The only purpose of war is to leave one’s enemies utterly without the will to repeat their bad behavior. In
contrast to our relations with North Korea, Iran and the Iraquis, we have had excellent relations with Germany and Japan
since World War II, when we annihilated our Nazi and Japanese imperialist enemies.
It should be noted, too, that the Iranians have shown absolutely no regard for the Geneva Convention, having paraded
their hostages on television and forced them to make false statements under threat of death. The loudest voices about the
proper adherence to the Geneva Convention have, of course, been raised against the United States.
The powerful hold that Islam has on the minds and hearts of Middle Eastern Muslims is deeply rooted in its very
beginnings. This “religion” that Muhammad invented had as its purpose a justification for looting other towns and tribes
in the name of Allah. Thievery, banditry, the sale of slaves and the imposition of taxes and tribute, were all set in motion
when, in March, 632, Muhammed said, “I was ordered to fight all men until they say ‘There is no god but Allah.’”
Islam, which translates “submission,” is all about war, the division of the booty that results, and the subjugation of those
who are conquered. This explains why, alone among the three major monotheistic religions, Islam has produced absolutely
nothing that one can call progress.
Centuries later, in November, 2001, Osama bin Laden announced “I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is
no god but Allah, and his prophet Muhammed.” Not a single new idea has issued forth from Islam since its founding.
Islam divides the world between itself and what it calls “the world of war,” by which it means all others, all peoples who
are not Muslims. The entire early history of Islam under Muhammed was one of looting and pillage as, one by one, those
who responded to his banner, calling him a prophet, realized that there were profits to be had in conquering those around
them.
On Muhammad’s death, Islam almost immediately divided into warring parties, fighting over who would inherit
Muhhamad's mantle as Caliph. The Sunnis and the Shiites are still fighting one another over that. Islam is one long history
of war, treachery, and deceit.
In his book, Islamic Imperialism: A History, Efraim Karsh tells a story of an event in 883 AD, a story relating to the
struggle between the Abbasids and the declining Umayyads, two Muslim dynasties during the Ninth Century. The leader
of the Abbasids, Abul Abbas, called himself “the bloodshedder.” Karsh relates:
“In an attempt to prevent any backlash from supporters of the
fallen dynasty, the Abbasids embarked on a murderous spree.
In Mecca and Medina scores of Umayyads were rounded up
and murdered in detention. In the Iraqi garrison town of Wasit,
the Governor laid down his weapons in return for a personal
guarantee of safe conduct by the Caliph, only to be
treacherously murdered. In Palestine, the newly appointed
Governor of Syria invited a group of eighty prominent
Umayyads to a banquet, slaughtered them all, then sat calmly
among the corpses to finish his meal.”
In the aftermath of the 1991 defeat of the Iraqis, who were driven from Kuwait by a coalition led by American military forces,
Saddam’s generals met in Safwan to accept surrender terms. What they got was a promise of U.S. withdrawal and the right
to use their helicopters for “transportation.” What they did was use those helicopters as gun ships to slaughter thousands
of Shiites and Kurds who showed any inclination to resist the further rule of Saddam Hussein. The result of that
miscalculation were “no-fly zones” over two thirds of Iraq, zones that were maintained for twelve years, maintained until the
second invasion, which commenced in March, 2003.
Today, as the U.S. media puts the various battles between Shiites and Sunnis on the front pages, Americans wonder why
are these two Muslim groups blowing up each other’s mosques? Why are they murdering each other? Why are Iraq’s
neighbors, Iran and Syria, maneuvering to secure whatever they can gain from the effort to (1) rid Iraq of the American-led
Coalition forces and (2) pick up the spoils of a divided and easily conquered Iraqi nation?
An easy reading of Islamic history and a common sense response to today’s events tell us that the Iranians will continue
to probe for weakness among its enemies, the Americans, the British, the member-states of the European Union, and, of
course, those Gulf nations who will have to confront a nuclear armed Iran, if they are permitted to continue to exist. Any
failure to respond to the Iranian outrages will earn our enemies' contempt and further rumblings of war.
“We will continue to export our revolution throughout the world …
until the calls ‘there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah’ are echoed all over the world.”
So declared Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979.
Want to hear the call to prayer in your neighborhood? All we have to do is leave Iraq.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Middle East & the Problem of Iran
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq
Page Two
Page One
The Problem of Rogue States:
Iraq as a Case History
National Strategy for Victory in Iraq
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2007
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity