“The Mosque and Terror” by Dr Cornelis Van Dam

The instances when a Muslim murders non-Muslims are adding up. Most recently at the time of writing, four American marines were killed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 16, 2015. The politically correct keep repeating that this has nothing to do with Islam, which is to be considered a religion of peace. The evidence however increasingly indicates otherwise. As Tarek Fatah noted in the Toronto Sun (July 21, 2015) with respect to this particular case, the murderer had issued the equivalent of an Islamic declaration of war on America in a text message before the killing. He had justified the murders from sayings of Mohammed.

Some Western governments are beginning to take note. It is to the credit of [Canadian] Prime Minister Stephen Harper that he has recognized the threat of jihadi terrorism in Canada and is trying to do something about it. More recently, UK Prime Minister David Cameron in a landmark speech on July 21, 2015, names Islamist extremism and its ideology as the root cause behind terrorism. As he put it: “Simply denying any connection between the religion of Islam and the extremists doesn’t work, because these extremists are self-identifying as Muslims.”  Not all Muslims support this mentality, but as Jamie Glazov has perceptively noted (July 23, 2015): “There are obviously many good Muslim people who do not engage in Jihad or want Sharia, but the problem is that they are considered bad Muslims by Islam itself.”

To be a good Muslim according to the canons of that religion, you need to hate all non-Muslims. This attitude is encouraged in a typical mosque. As Tarek Fatah wrote in the November 25, 2014 issue of the Toronto Sun: “In mosques across Canada, our Friday congregation begins with a prayer to Allah for a victory of Muslims over the kufaar (Christians, Jews and Hindus).” Research has shown that three in four American mosques preach anti-West extremism. Not surprisingly, sermons preach that “jihad or support of jihad is not only a Muslim’s duty but the noblest way, and suicide bombers and other socalled ‘martyrs’ are worthy of the highest praise; and that an Islamic caliphate should one day encompass the U.S.” (http://www.wnd.com/2008/02/57141/). It is no wonder then that a moderate Muslim as Tarek Fatah, a founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, warns Canadians in the Toronto Sun article just mentioned that you cannot rely on Islamic religious clerics to fight radicalization. This would be “like employing the fox to guard the chicken coop.”

What then can be done about this threat that few politicians seem to want to talk about? Tarek Fatah recommends that one must try to prevent radicalization. The way to do this is, among other things, to:

Lay hate speech charges against any Muslim cleric who hides behind religious rights as he attacks and demonizes other religious faiths or people of no faith at all…. Every mosque must be monitored for such hate speech where the work “kuffar” is invoked to hide the real target – Hindus, Christian and Jews…. Any mosque indulging in active politics must have its charitable status revoked ….Immigration from Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Syria must be suspended until Canada can be assured that security documents, identity papers and university degrees cannot be bought on the black market or from state agencies.

While the mosque preaches hatred towards anything not Muslim, the Christian church preaches the love of God to save sinners and enjoins one to love God and the neighbour. While the mosque foments disrespect and opposition to the legal authorities, the Christian church prays for the authorities “so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2). While the mosque encourages taking up the physical sword for Allah, the church uses the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), to advance the cause of Christ.

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Dr Cornelis Van Dam is professor emeritus of Old Testament at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Ontario. This article was published in Clarion 28 August 2015 and is reprinted here with permission of the author.