Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Watching out for Sharia

By Chadwick Ciocci
Ciocci@Fordham.edu

This past week proved a potentially dangerous and scary one for Americans. Three would-be terrorists were apprehended by authorities in apparently unrelated incidents- one who wanted to blow up subways in New York City, another who was hoping to destroy a sky-scraper in Dallas and the last who tried to blow up a federal building in Illinois.

But while all three individuals appeared to act separately- and authorities have drawn ample coverage to this point- there is one glaring tie between all three that also ties disparate groups like al Qaida and Hamas together: Sharia.

Sharia is Islamic religious law which, if the Quran is to be followed literally, is supposed to be applied to all people in all nations, whether or not they are Muslim. It is the driving force behind jihad (holy war) yet not nearly as understood in America as its militaristic counter-part.

Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy has raised a red flag with his most recent piece, but unfortunately political correctness has the best of Americans’ tongues right now.

Before Americans can confront jihad, they must understand two things: 1. just what jihad actually is and 2. why it isn’t commiserate with Western principles and in particular American values. While many people think of jihad as the violent, public war waged by groups like al Qaida, it is incredibly important that jihad needn’t be waged violently, as Gaffney aptly points out. Jihad can be waged covertly, by influencing culture, laws and individuals (and eventually moving these individuals towards more violent acts).

Back in 2007, Newt Gingrich compared the current War on Terror to the Cold War during which he pointed out, “There were moral underlying purposes. In the entire Cold War…we created a clear dichotomy and we reached out across the planet.” (Read the exchange here.) While the Cold War occasionally heated up, it was at its foundation a battle of ideas.

The same holds true today as exemplified in France where, mostly surrounding the very same capital which for many centuries personified Western Enlightenment, 751 “no-go zones” have been set up where French and Parisian authorities are not allowed to enter Muslim-only areas. The affects? Essentially Sharia-dominated enclaves where women’s rights, Western rule of law and other foundations of our civilization have become null and void.

One might think that al Qaida had violently taken these areas over. Instead French authorities and society have become so “accommodating” that they have literally lost control of some areas of their country.

As Gingrich said in the same speech, “We have now had a warning. The question is how serious we are going to take this warning.”

2 comments:

DSKohn said...

It goes beyond that as well. All over the West there are token signs of capitulation to Islam. In Britain, some hospitals stopped dispensing hand sanitizer on the grounds it offends Muslims because it contains alcohol. The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for Sharia courts for Muslims. Female circumcision is becoming more common throughout Europe. The list of token events of the advance of Sharia is evident all over what used to be Judeo Christian Civilization.

Seamus Campbell said...

Mr. Ciocci,

I would like you to inform you that much of what is considered "Sharia Law" is more than merely the Qu'ran. Other than the Qu'ran, The Prophet wrote other books and many of them are considered to be on-par as the Qu'ran (i.e. the Hadith).

You, as a Theology major at Fordham, implore you to take "Scriptures of the World" with Fr. Viladesau. In that course, you will learn of the discrepancies of the Qu'ran and Sharia Law

As I am sure you know, as a Theology and Philosophy major, much of what is considered a 'law,' is based upon natural and cultural laws.