Dead Fish Don't Swim Upstream

Westerners need to listen to Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Instead, she's demonized by the likes of Southern Poverty Law Center, leftists, feminists, and their ilk because she dares to shine a glaring light on the darker side of Islam, specifically Sharia Law, and "dawa" (which she's written about but we Westerners don't know much about). Even though she herself was a victim of this religion (female genital mutilation), she's condemned for criticizing it. 

She says something interesting near the end of this interview. She says the left is actually inadvertently taking sides with radical Islam in its defense of "multi-culturalism." It's ironic that leftists, who have the largest, loudest megaphone in society and who think they're doing good, are, in fact, doing so much harm, not only to those they are opposed to ideologically but to themselves, as well. Because it's women, it's gays, it's even Muslims themselves, who suffer under Sharia. She mentions a female lawmaker or maybe it was a journalist who said we shouldn't call Female Genital Mutilation "mutilation" but rather a "cut." 

Right. Mustn't offend.

We must stop being brainwashed into believing everything we hear from the dominant media ("The Southern Poverty Law Center says she's an Islamophobe; therefore, it must be true") and have the courage to take a stand. And if we don't have the courage to speak these truths (which I don't), then at least have the courage to stand with those who do.

Even this man, Dave Rubin, who is (or was) on the left (he's probably more of a Libertarian) and who is gay, is now being demonized by the left because he has the gall to call out what he sees as the "regressive left" and to speak honestly about issues like free speech, Sharia Law, and so on. He speaks of this in a Prager U video called, "Why I Left the Left," which I'll link below.  

In church this week, our pastor said (quoting W.C. Fields), "A dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream." This is something I've been thinking about lately, particularly when it comes to the church. It's hard to swim against the current. And not just hard, sometimes risky. People who stand on principle when it comes to moral or political issues risk their livelihoods, their reputations, their careers, in some cases, their very lives. It's so much easier to stop swimming and succumb to the current. I see this happening in society at large, in the church, among my own friends, in my own thinking. 

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Rubin Report: Episode 79: Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Podcast 5/10/2017)

Description: Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Human Rights Activist) joins Dave Rubin to discuss the preaching of Islam, the left’s alliance with Islamists, the dangers of political Islam, Sharia law, "Islamophobia", her serious fight against the practice of female genital mutilation as well as, her political and idealogical awakening, her foundation and activism, and much more.

"An Anti-Hate Group the Jumped the Shark," by Harry Zieve Cohen (March 6, 2017 Hudson Institute) 

Conclusion: "It’s time for the MSM to stop trusting the SPLC as an authority, to stop boosting the organization’s profile, and to start investigating whether the organization follows best scholarly practices. There is, at this point, plenty of evidence to suggest it doesn’t. With numerous credible sources finding evidence of growing hatred and bigotry in the United States and around the world, it is especially urgent that journalists and concerned citizens stop uncritically repeating the SPLC’s claims. When an organization like the SPLC and the media outlets who trust it abuse their prestige by exaggerating and spinning, discourse in America suffers."

"Why I Left the Left," by Dave Rubin (2/6/2017 Prager University)

Description: Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report used to be a big progressive. He even had a show with The Young Turks! But now he's not a progressive. He has left the left. Why? Dave Rubin shares his story.

No, Mr. President. "Islam" Does Not Mean "Peace"

Sometimes people say things, not because they're true, but because they wish them to be true. Broadly speaking, that's a problem. But it's a particularly dangerous problem when a world leader says things that are patently false in a public setting. Such was the case this week when President Obama visited a mosque in Baltimore and said in his remarks that the word "Islam" means "peace." 

To be sure, Obama is not the only president to have said this. In the dark and terrible hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, former president George W. Bush said basically the same thing. I get it. It sounds good. We want it to be true. These are beautiful words, and many Muslims, in America and around the world, are no doubt wonderful, peace-loving, people. 

Nevertheless, wishful thinking should not form the basis for a president's public remarks, let alone his foreign policy. The word "Islam" does not mean "peace." It means "submit." This is not a fine distinction nor a matter of semantics or culture. It's a core tenet of the religion's doctrine and history. 

A few examples: 

• What Makes Islam So Different? addresses the myth that "Muslim apologists sometimes claim that the root word of Islam is 'al-Salaam,' which is 'peace' in Arabic:

 "An Arabic word has only one root.  The root word for Islam is “al-Silm,” which means “submission” or “surrender.”  There is no disagreement about this among Arabic or Islamic scholars. al-Silm (submission) does not mean the same thing as al-Salaam (peace), otherwise they would be the same word.     

"Submission and peace can be very different concepts, even if a form of peace can be brought about by forcing others into submission.  As the modern-day Islamic scholar, Ibrahim Sulaiman, puts it, 'Jihad is not inhumane, despite its necessary violence and bloodshed, its ultimate desire is peace which is protected and enhanced by the rule of law.' 

"In truth, the Quran not only calls Muslims to submit to Allah, it also orders them to  subdue people of other religions until they are in a full state of submission to Islamic rule.  This has inspired the aggressive history of Islam and its military and demographic success in conquering other cultures."

• The Noble Quran, in a section called "The Repentance" directs its adherents to "fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

• A (female) Islamic scholar at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, who is considered moderate by other Muslims, explains that Islam sanctions rape of non-Muslim female prisoners.

• Pew Research data reveals that a large majority of Muslims across the globe accept the Islamic practice of forced conversions and the implementation of Sharia law for all citizens, not just Muslims.

• The documentary, "By the Numbers: The Untold Story of Muslim Opinions and Demographics," narrated by Raheel Raza, reiterates these data. Raza, a Canadian Muslim feminist and activist who dares to speak out against radical Islam, is also president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow. Watch the (short) documentary here. 

• Ayaan Hirsi Ali, seen here among the panelists in an Intelligence Squared debate, and here in this conversation with Bill Kristol, has been speaking out about the radical nature of Islam for years. 

Eighteenth century philosopher Thomas Paine said something that, in my view, has profound ramifications in this current climate of political correctness as it relates to multi-culturalism and diversity: "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." 

President Obama appears to be listening to people who are either ignorant or deceptive, more likely, the latter. He's certainly not listening to people like Raheel Raza or Ayaan Hirsi Ali. America needs a leader who will face reality with open-eyed clarity and not wishful thinking. I pray we get it right this time around, and that it's not too late to repair the damage of this naive president's foreign policy malfeasance.

Pity the Left and Its Offspring

2014 may well be remembered (by those who recall beyond the 24-hour news cycle) as The Year The Left Showed its True Colors. Of course, people who study the Left are not surprised. Leftism is a religion, and its devotees, fanatical. Unlike devotees of true religion, however, Leftists are not content to simply believe their creeds and coexist peacefully with those who differ. Leftists, at their core, are at war with those who differ from them. 

I looked up the word jihad, and the definition seems apropos. In the context of Islam, it means "a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty." But the broader meaning, "a crusade for a principle of belief," sums up what the Left is engaged in. 

A few recent examples:

• Calling those who believe the jury's still out regarding man-caused climate change deniers (word association: Holocaust deniers).  

• Calling those who adhere to the the time-honored, Judeo-Christian, Biblical definition of one man/one woman marriage bigots and pressure them to resign unless they recant (you heard that correctly, recant). 

• Denying someone an honorary doctorate and refusing to let her speak at college commencement because she has the temerity to tell the truth about radical Islam. 

This is the strategy of the Left. Don't merely disagree with those who hold different views or challenge them to a debate. No, you must shun them. Debate is not an option since to debate is to concede that maybe a middle ground exists.

And so the Left traipses merrily along. 

I pity its followers, in a way, especially the young people, so proud of their progressive views, blissfully ignorant of what they're missing out on when, for instance, in the case I mentioned above, Brandeis decreed that they should not be exposed to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's views. The students, knowingly or not, are the poorer for the exclusion. 

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: What I Would Have Said at Brandeis

* Note: updated for clarity July 2018