The Five Fingers of Islam

There have been many who have written about Islam. Some defend it, others criticize it. Needless to say Islam is a topic deserving of academic study, explanation and understanding. However, many do not understand, or want to understand, Islam. Daily, news stories focus on the slaughter of innocents by the followers of Mohammed. These stories focus on the five fingers of Islam that hold the sword that strikes at the necks of the unbelievers. These five fingers are: the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State, Saudi Arabia, al Qaeda and Iran. Are politicians missing the forest (the whole of Islam) because of the trees (the five fingers holding the sword)? Is the free world missing the big picture?

This column is provided to give a simple analogy that explains Islam. It defines Islam simply as a human body.

Think of Islam as your body. As your body is made up of billions of cells, so too is Islam made up of 1.3 billion Mohammedans (followers of Mohammed) called the Ummah (the Islamic community). The mind of Islam is shariah law, the heart of Islam is the Quran. Just as your body resists disease, so to does Islam. Islam protects itself from the the ideas and ideals (diseases) of the non-believers. This self protection mechanism is called “Fitnah.” Fitnah is anything that upsets or causes discord among the body of Islam. The Arabic root of Fitnah occurs sixty times in the Quran, while jihad occurs fewer than 30 times.

Bruce Phillips in his column Fitna is Worse Than Slaughter writes:

… I have come to believe that Fitnah is the most essential motivational component of Islamic theology, i.e., it is the cornerstone of an adversarial, confrontational worldview that inevitably leads to a state of perpetual conflict with the non-Islamic world.

In fact, fighting against the multi-faceted threat of Fitnah is such an essential part of a Quran-based worldview, that it is both the Strategy & Tactics and the ‘BeatingHeart’ of the Global Islamic Movement (GIM). Removing Fitnah from the world is so fundamental to Islamic ideology that every primary source contains extensive references to this concept.

The body of Islam is designed for one thing and one thing only to defend itself from Fitnah. The free world tends to focus on terrorism and jihad. These are tactics used to resist Fitnah globally. The free world is not at war with terror or jihad, the free world is at war with the body, heart and soul of Islam – Fitnah. In order to fight this war, and win it, the free world must first understand Fitnah.

As mentioned above, the mind of Islam is shariah law. The body is controlled by the mind. The more shariah compliant an individual, organization, or nation, the more dangerous and deadly. Those who resist shariah are causing Fitnah. If a daughter or wife violates shariah then the father/husband must fight this Fitnah (resistance). Hence we see honor killings, women stoned for adultery, and genital mutilation. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State, Saudi Arabia, al Qaeda and Iran are fully shariah compliant.

Some argue that there are peaceful Mohammedans. While the right hand destroys anything and slaughters anyone who causes Fitnah, non-Muslims wonder why isn’t the moderate follower speaking out? Just like the human body resists infection, so can Muslims kill Muslims who cause Fitnah. Speaking out against Islam is Fitnah. Does the left hand not know what the right hand is doing? Some argue that a radical Muslim wants to behead you while a moderate Muslim wants a radical Muslim to behead you. That is Fitnah in a different form. A Mohammedan may wage fitnah without drawing the sword. He or she may resist Fitnah using different forms of jihad or by just keeping silent. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act.

As Phillips notes, “Removing Fitnah from the world is so fundamental to Islamic ideology that every primary source contains extensive references to this concept… According to the Quran, any effort by non-Muslims to oppose the advancement of Islam is considered a flagrant, abhorrent crime.  Also known as Fitnah, such crimes are seen as so egregious that people can be slaughteredhonor-killedbeheaded or crucified (and yes, all of these punishments are found in the Quran, with added endorsements and insights in the Hadith & Tafsir).”

QUESTION: How does the free world fight Fitnah? ANSWER: By causing Fitnah!

The free world must prepare itself to wage Fitnah. On December 28, 2014, Major General Michael K. Nagata, commander of American Special Operations forces in the Middle East, made the following public statement: ‘We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it.  We have not defeated the idea.  We do not even understand the idea.’

The idea is Fitnah. The sooner the free world understands this the quicker the threat will be met and defeated. As was done with the former Soviet Union, a united effort is in order to defeat this global ideology that will prevail if not stopped, as it was at the gates of Vienna in 1683. It is not enough to stop Islam, it is imperative to drive it back, to reverse it. This effort must be global and include waging political, social, economic, judicial and ideological Fitnah.

Fitnah is the cure, the disease is Islam.

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  1. […] The Five Fingers of Islam March 15, 2015/1 Comment/in Featured, National Security, News, Policy, Religion /by Dr. Rich Swier […]

  2. […] Pesach and I discuss in some detail my column titled the “Five Fingers of Islam.” […]

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