First came Wednesday’s vicious attacks by radical Islamic terrorists at the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper, “Charlie Hebdo,” in which terrorists killed 12 and wounded 11. Next was the almost simultaneous—and many believe, related—murder of a Paris police officer. Then came Friday’s hostage situation in which a Muslim gunman targeted a kosher grocery store, taking as many as five hostages and killing four before being killed by police. Meanwhile, also on Friday, police officers brought to an end a standoff with the suspects of Wednesday’s mass murder, with the Islamic terrorists being killed.
As world leaders and many media outlets attempt to paint these attacks as non-indicative of Islam, religion and culture expert Dr. Alex McFarland, said these attacks display the real heart of Islam: a religion in which dissidence is punishable by death.
“We continue to hear the mantra that Islam is a religion of peace,” McFarland said. “Yet, where are the world’s 1.6 billion peaceful Muslims rising up in concerted denouncement of the terror perpetrated in Islam’s name? They are largely silent, and that’s because world dominance, persecution of Christians and so-called ‘infidels’ and the utter destruction of Israel are the core of Islam. If we care about our freedoms, the time for denial is far past.”
According to the 2014 “World Watch List,” an annual list published by Open Doors that ranks the nations that are worst for the persecution of Christians, in 9 of the 10 nations where Christians are most severely persecuted, the source of the persecution is Islamic extremism. Additionally, as CNSNews.com reports, in these nine countries, at least 50 percent of the population is Muslim.
“By its very nature, Islam is entirely incompatible with liberty, and Islam’s only ‘peace’ is one of utter dominance,” McFarland continued. “This is a stark—stark—contrast with the Judeo-Christian worldview, which allows all individuals, including Muslims, to practice their faith freely and without fear of terror or retribution. The best, and indeed the only, hope for the safety of the world and the preservation of freedom is the Judeo-Christian worldview and leaders who understand that a nation’s freedom is dependent on that nation’s having as its foundation this worldview.
“As we watch the Islamic terror that has hit Paris, and we think of the instances of terror here in America carried out in the name of Islam, we must recognize that the preservation of our freedom depends in part on our not allowing Islam to have a foothold in our culture and in our laws. People should be free to practice their religion, but Islam’s goal is not simply practice but domination, and we must not let Islam become a force in America, or else acts of violent terror will become not the exception but the rule.”
In the aftermath of the initial attacks in Paris last Wednesday, McFarland also released the following statement:
“Today, we mourn the violent execution of 12 individuals because they were exercising their God-given right to speak freely. In light of such a horrific act of hatred perpetrated by radical Islamic terrorists who would seek to cow the world into submission, the world must not be afraid, and the world must not be silent. Now is not the time for fear or for appeasement in the misguided belief this will lead to peace. Appeasement of terrorists always and only leads to one thing: empowerment of terrorists. Violence and tyranny are at the core of radical Islam, and such hatred cannot live peaceably beside a free people. All of us who love liberty and recognize its source as God alone have one message: we will not be censored, and we will die before we are bulled into silence.”
