As we approach another year’s end, it’s time to pause and reflect for a moment on where we are, how we got here, and where we appear to be headed. Striking me most this year is the deepening division within our society. A division intensified by our political classes—groups that shouldn’t even exist in America. In fact, I’m no longer sure we are a single society. This situation cannot last.
This article is not about party, but principles. Both parties have chosen to make themselves part of the problem. One desires removing God from its platform, and the other only giving lip service to His (and our founding) principles. They offer a choice between pagan rule and hypocrites, but we shouldn’t be surprised. It was no different in any other state religion society such as Assyria, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. As a country we’ve been moving toward a governance model based upon the Rights of Man[1] for a century. A belief that people exist to serve the state, rather than the state existing to serve its people. This model forms the basis for all of the ‘isms’ we have today; including communism, fascism, progressivism, and socialism.
The Problem
The Rights of Man’s core principles come from pagan thought. Christian faith is a two-edged sword within this ideology. It is good as the morality it instills makes a people easier to rule. It is bad as belief in an after-life undermines government’s absolute ability to rule. Rulers are no longer free to justify doing whatever they want.
Consider the recent funding fights. Democrats were for the wall before they were against it. They would rather continue spending $18 billion each year for medical and social services for illegal immigrants rather than $5 billion to end illegal immigration. And that $18 billion doesn’t even include the additional spending each year for education, police, and other services. They were also against sending troops into other countries, until the recent announcement withdrawing troops from Syria. They supported prison reform before a bill was actually created and passed.
The only change is the current president’s party is different. The Democratic Party would rather see the Republicans fail than America succeed. The Republican Party is no better. They ran on border security, repealing Obamacare, tax reform, and many other promises. Very few of those were enthusiastically supported, even tax reform. And the tax reform passed did nothing to address our fiscally irresponsible spending. Both parties actions demonstrate neither deserves to govern.
But I want to focus on one issue where history is trying to repeat itself. That is both party’s failure to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928. Its American branch was created in 1962, and the Muslim Student Association followed in 1963. The association’s purpose was to promote the Muslim Brotherhood’s brand of Islam on college campuses, and it has been quite successful. Today there are more Muslim Student Association chapters on college campuses than Young Democrat and Republican chapters combined. In fact, Muslim Student Association chapters are even forming in some of our high schools.
There is one problem. Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others have declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Its affiliates such as Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have also been declared terrorist organizations within America, but the Muslim Brotherhood itself has not. Further investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood through the Holy Land Foundation trial was halted at the beginning of the Obama administration.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s U.S. goals have been aided by government officials, policy makers, media, and academics. Since the George W. Bush administration, a number of Islamists have provided significant advice to the American government and candidates running for office. A few recent examples include Huma Abedin’s relationship with Hillary Clinton, Senator Warren’s aide Hamza Abdelgany, and Imran Awan’s hiring (with other family members) by Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and the DNC.
But this is not the first time that such relationships have formed. We can go back to the early Umayyad Dynasty in the seventh and eighth centuries to see similar events.
The Notables
The Islamic caliphate was assisted in its initial expansion by the very people it conquered. They were called notables. Notables were powerful individuals that included nobility, clergy, soldiers, administrators, bankers, merchants, the disaffected, and others. Their reasons for helping Islam varied. Some to either settle old scores, gain power and/or wealth. Others saw an opportunity to throw off repressive Byzantine governance. They saw Islam as just another Christian heresy. Islam reinforced these decisions by providing money to those supporting it to spread dissension, give voice to the message of Islam’s inevitable rise, and the economic advantages of doing business with Islam. At the same Islam exacerbated division and dispersed fear by spreading misinformation and committing acts of terror.[2] It is no different today.
Consider America’s overlooking the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal of making America an islamic state. Our political and religious leaders often gloss over this fact. Consider further Islam’s participation in the interfaith movement in America today, and its undermining of Christian principles.[3] Or the money poured into our educational institutions and the building of mosques by middle eastern governments and affiliated organizations.
The Answer
Islam presents a corruption of Christian governance principles. According to Christian principles the church and state are separate, both under God’s authority, with different societal roles.[4] Within Islam religious and political power are one and the same. When corruption already exists within a society, it is easier for an ideology like Islam to find fertile soil in which to grow. That is what we see playing out today.
Political parties will never provide an answer. Only we, as individuals, are capable of that. We must simply commit ourselves to God, doing good for others in His name. This includes reaching out to Islam’s followers with Christ’s message that God’s love is freely available to each and every one of us. That is the type of leadership through service to which we’ve each been called, including our leaders. We should never appoint leaders lacking virtue and morality, but their election reflects where we stand as a people.
During this special time of year when we celebrate Christ’s coming, I hope we reflect on our divisions and resolve to overcome them by remembering His example and commands to us for how to live. Christianity offers hope. Islam can only offer fear and fatalism. It can never win unless we let it. What will we choose? Serving ourselves or serving others.
[1] Wolf, Dan, p. 230-51, Do You Want To Be Free, Telemachus Press, 2013.
[2] Ye’or, Bat, pp. 66-68 and 123-30, The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2002.
[3] Wolf, Dan, Coexist, Living Rightly Publications, 2017.
[4] Wolf, Dan, A Handbook of Natural Rights, Living Rightly Publications, 2018.
