The Elephant in the Room: A war of ideas within Islam
Backward views hold sway in much of the Muslim world. And yet there is hope.
By Rick Santorum Thu, Nov. 5, 2009
The students, one man and two women, wore Western-style clothes and spoke English with little or no accent. They disputed my description of Islam as it's practiced in the Middle East, maintaining that al-Qaeda's version of Islam in no way reflects the Islam that is practiced around the world.
So I asked them a question: Should apostates – Muslims who convert to another religion – be subject to execution?
One of the women quickly said no. She insisted that she was free to leave Islam if she wanted to, and that she knew other people who had done so without a problem – in the United States.
I said I wasn't talking about her and others' freedom of religion in this country. What if they lived in a Muslim-majority country?
Silence. Eventually, the young man blurted out, “That's different.”
Why? I asked. I recall him saying, “Because in Muslim countries, Islam and the government are one, and converting from Islam is the equivalent of treason against the government, punishable by death.” The two women agreed.
I suspect that most readers will find it shocking that three liberal, Western Muslims at Harvard expressed this view. But what's shocking is that anyone finds this shocking.
Phi Beta Iota: We now understand the Spanish Expulsion Edicts, and believe that the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia, among others, must devise national strategies for culling the Muslim population that they have allowed to enter without thought and without understanding of the cultural subversion that such unlimited access imposes. As a general observation, we believe that the Muslim religion is incompatible with citizenship and loyalty outside of a Muslim government, and therefore should not be granted. Similarly, long-term residence visas should not be granted, nor construction permit for mosques, until such time as the Muslim world itself devises a Concordat with Christianity that explicitly includes joint religious counter-intelligence and an agreed upon process for drop-kicking immans who call for the murder of Christians (or the over-throw of secular government) back to their home country, where they should be stoned by their own for dishonoring the Concordat. Citizenship is a privilege, and we believe that a massive retrospective revocation of both citizenship and residency permits is going to be required if Western politicians ever discover their integrity and intelligence and get serious about protecting the good order and security of their homeland communities.
