Essay Fourteen
Local Honor Brigades
In
a nearby town is a tight knit community of Muslims, mostly from Thailand,
Pakistan, India, among others. Some years back a person who lived there asked
me for help in moving her out of that area. In the process, I asked her why she
was moving. She said to get away from the young toughs who were accosting women
who were caught outside and not wearing a head covering. She described pushing
and shoving, loud name calling, and more. These bands of young Muslim men and
boys did this on a regular basis and she was scared to death they would attack
her even though she was not a Muslim. A neighbor told her that she could be
picked on as they did not want non-Muslims in their community.
What
is this all about?
This
sort of grouping of mostly young males is not officially sanctioned but are
very real none-the-less. They will be found in every community where Muslims
are the majority. Those who so engage either are real believers in that they
are convinced it is their duty to enforce Sharia law, or they follow along out
of fear of being the object of the brigades themselves; they must show loyalty.
Based
on my personal experience, I have found that some percentage of those born and
raised Muslim do not believe in Allah at all. They are virtual atheists. They
perform religious duties and rituals in order to be accepted by their Muslim
families, friends, and communities. They would escape Islam if they could. But,
so very often, they cannot.
How
do I know this is so? By speaking with them in places away from the mosque. It
is a sad thing, and I am surprised when they are interested in hearing about
Jesus. Yet, to let this be known would certainly bring unwanted attention and
concern from members of the brigade. It is not an easy thing to be a Muslim.
Being
a Muslim is a full-time job. If one were to faithfully follow all the
proscriptions of that faith, there would be little time for anything else. The
early Muslims did not live a life most of those on the planet have to live to
survive in this world today. What with having to earn a living, with families
to look after, dwellings to keep up, and so on, there is not enough time and
space to do all that is required. This is why so many Muslims look to local,
state, and national assistance.
Attending
the local Sunni Mosque over the years, I observed, and week after week, a good
half of the congregation rushes in to be part of the service even if for a
minute, or less. And this just to be seen by either fellow Muslims, the imam,
or even Allah. And those who are to be impressed are the local honor brigade
plus the good angel who is sitting on the right shoulder, and who is taking
notes, and the devil sitting on the left shoulder, who is also taking notes.
National
Honor Brigades
Local
honor brigades are hardly known to most people outside Muslim dominated
communities. This is not so in some countries, like England, where ninety plus
communities are openly only for Muslims, and in these Sharia law dominates.
Operating
largely under the radar in America are the large national organizations that function
as honor brigades. These are collections of academics, activists, bloggers, and
others, whose mission it is to protect and defend the honor of “true Islam.”
One of the familiar themes of such organizations is that Muslim violent
extremists do not represent Islam. And any one person or organization that so
declares is guilty of being “Islamophobic,” which is the fear of Muslims.
Today the face of the honor brigade is seen in
American academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and the media in
general, who present a kind of soft propaganda aimed at silencing any criticism
of Islam. Part of the mission of these groups is to discredit anyone who speaks
or writes about Muslim extremism, intimating these groups or individuals have
an irrational fear of Islam. Some of these groups are: The Council on
American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR, Muslim Advocates, the Muslim Public
Affairs Council, and the Islamic Council of North America. These organizations
use the words “racists,” “bigots,”
“Islamaphobes,” and other derogatory terms to describe those, like myself, who
will present extremist Islam as it really is. And there is no question, despite
the misrepresentations, that for these their sole objective is to bring the
entire world under subjection to Islamic Sharia law. And for all non-Muslims,
one must either convert to Islam, be subservient to Muslims, or be killed.
These
organizations are often funded by large and wealthy Muslin countries like Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, and Iran. Yes, here Sunni and Shia branches of Islam will cooperate.
There
is a Muslim Reform Movement whose mission it is to not make excuses for Muslim
terrorist activities, but to uphold an “Islam of grace.” And there are such,
who want to have Islam seen as a religious faith along with others like
Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. However, this approach will not pacify or
appease many Muslims as they realize that at the core of Islam is that it must
dominate and control, and purge the world of opposing religions. This is seen
in the sayings of the Muhammad of Medina, not the Muhammad of Mecca, who
changed from being cooperative to being otherwise. And thus the world
downgraded even further.
