We have argued previously that the more seriously a Muslim takes the faith, the more he or she will likely move to force, violence, and authoritarian behaviour. The more likely jihad will come into play. The declaration of holy war is both significant and game-changing--for jihad justifies lying, deceit, and false witness, as well as violence. These things are essential to Islamic fundamentalism (sometimes called, "Islamism" or "Islamic extremism")
At this point we need to draw a strong contrast between Christian fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism. To be sure, there are superficial similarities--as there are between, say, an ape and a human being, or between a farm tractor and a Rolls Royce. Both Christian and Islamic fundamentalism are built upon the fundamentals of each respective religion. Christian fundamentalism (historically considered) identified core biblical doctrines of the faith to be maintained in the face of increasing secularisation and Unbelief--doctrines such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, creation ex-nihilo in six days, the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and so forth. Islamic fundamentalism takes as authoritative for one's communal existence the Koran, the hadith (sayings of Muhammed) and Sharia law.
But there are also radical differences. These lie in the respective content of the two faiths. When a Christian takes his faith seriously, he lives a more consistent faithful Christian life, marked by love of God and love of mankind. The Christian seeks to do good to all men, and especially those of the household of faith.
When a Muslim begins to take his faith seriously his life is marked by submission to Allah and Muhammed, and an insistence upon like submission on the part of all those with whom he interacts. If not, then they are to suffer curtailment of one kind or another, a diminution of civil rights or even slavery. And all lands are subject to Islamic conquest--infidels must either convert, subject themselves to Islamic control, or be killed. This, in a nutshell, is jihad, or holy war.
In New Zealand we have just witnessed the first public example of Islamic fundamentalism.
It has all the fruits of that religion: violence, hatred, threats, curses, and lawbreaking. This is not extremist Islam. It is consistent Islam. The NZ Herald documents the case:
A mosque in Auckland has been shut down indefinitely following violent attacks and the declaration of jihad, or holy war, against private security staff hired to guard the premises. Bill Frost, who leads the Global Security Intelligence team at the Avondale Islamic Centre, was assaulted twice on Sunday and said he feared for his life and the safety of his family after one worshipper threatened him with jihad.There are two "factions": one is non-fundamentalist, the other is. The non-fundamentalist faction is moderate. Its adherence to Islam is nominal and more cultural than religious. The fundamentalist faction really believes and has been insisting on taking their faith seriously, demanding that it be applied as a comprehensive world-and-life view. Part of that world-and-life view is a belief that those who oppose must be defeated and crushed--forcibly, if they do not willingly or unwillingly submit.
High fences, seven security guards and two police officers were yesterday seen on the site as worshippers were turned away from afternoon prayers. The New Zealand Muslim Association, which owns the property, said it was shutting down the centre until further notice because of safety concerns.
The centre's administrator was brutally beaten two weeks ago after issuing trespass orders to a Salafist imam and some of his supporters, and spent 10 days in hospital with fractures and eye injuries. Mr Frost said he was assaulted twice as he was handing out six trespass orders to people causing trouble at the Blockhouse Bay Rd mosque on Sunday. "A man spat at me and another struck me, and there was no reply from me," he said.
One of the men then started shaking and chanting in Arabic, and Mr Frost heard some others saying the man was declaring a jihad. "My understanding of jihad is that it is a religious assassination notice, I take this threat really seriously ... and I'll be acutely aware of the vulnerability of up to seven children in my home," said Mr Frost. "It appears that these [people] are radical fundamentalists ... to actually put a jihad on a New Zealand citizen trying to enforce New Zealand law is ludicrous."
Police Superintendent Wally Haumaha told the Herald last Friday when he visited the mosque that police were investigating one assault complaint and would "certainly be investigating" any others made. Dr Zain Ali, head of Islamic research at the University of Auckland, said Mr Frost should be concerned with the threat. "If the jihad had been made as a genuine declaration it can include a number of things including the declaration of war, and I think the security staff is right to be concerned," said Dr Ali.
"Even if it was said in the heat of the moment, it really means that emotions have taken over and ... people are appealing to tradition to justify what they are doing, and this can include physical violence."
But Mr Mohammed Selim, whose friends were among those who had been served with trespass orders, denied they were extremists or violent and believed it was wrong to stop them worshipping at the centre. "We signed a contract when we came to this country that it is a free country, free to practise our worship and nobody will stop you," said Mr Selim, originally from Egypt. "Suddenly the problems start to happen and everybody get trespassed, what law did we break or what kind of violence did we make?"
Another worshipper, Farouq Ismael, said he was planning a protest because money from members' donations to the mosque was being used by the association to pay for the security and fences. Two Islamic factions have been embroiled in a battle for control at the mosque for over two years.
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