Radical Islam is a doctrine embraced by millions, where violence is justified in the name of a higher power, and death is seen as a pathway to a better life in the hereafter. It calls itself a religion, a sect of Islam.
And I’m not buying it. Not many people know this, but I love a good cult documentary. Nothing better than it.
With my years of service towards this cinema genre, I consider myself a semi-qualified cult expert. I know a cult when I see one. To me, this is not a religion; it's a death cult. But I went to verify this declaration. When I sought to understand the legal distinction between a cult and a religion, I found that the line was quite blurry. However, after speaking to law enforcement, a group would qualify as a cult, if they were promoting harm to its followers or others. And by that definition, a doctrine promoting suicide surely qualifies as “harm” to its followers and we don’t even need to go there regarding the “others,” Hamas is not a fan of “other.”
Classic cult.
Yet, radical Islam continues to be perceived as part of the broader Islamic faith, followed by 1.8 billion people worldwide. This acceptance is perplexing. Where is the outcry? Where are the famous raids on “compounds?” Where are the liberals screaming? I know how a good cult documentary ends, and I have yet to see Kool-Aid being passed around or the police banging down doors.
If anything it has only grown in numbers and acceptance. With people espousing this ideology holding government positions. And it is not contained to the Middle East. Radical ideology has been responsible for acts of violence/ terrorism and even genocide in countries all around the world. Oddly, the most prevalent examples of its violence are within its Arab communities. The conflict and violence at the hands of these extremists are not confined to outsiders, like the most famous example, the Jews. It is the Muslim communities themselves that are hurt most.
This raises critical questions:
How can Islam, with its vast influence, allow itself to be hijacked by radicals? How have they not personally shut this down?
In my conversations with American Muslim organizations and individuals, there's a consensus: These radicals do not represent their faith. They're disgusted by even the association.
But when I probe further, asking why there's not more vocal condemnation of groups like Hamas, the responses are mixed. While they assure me they do condemn such extremism, there's a sense of frustration at having to constantly disavow actions that don't represent them. Many express how exhausting it is to constantly apologize for a group that doesn't represent their beliefs. And the majority reference September 11th. How they spent a decade apologizing for the Twin Towers.
I did not walk away satisfied.
If I were Muslim I would spend my days trying to end the association of this sect condemn them and even outlaw the practice of this interpretation of Islam. But this is an easy thing to say. I have not walked in their shoes, maybe my expectations are too high to ask American Muslims to fight.
And I turned to history to see if I was out of line with my anger.
I looked for examples of violent sects coming from peaceful faiths in history. I found a bunch of examples of violent sects emerging from peaceful faiths, but nothing on the scale of radical Islam, and the ones closest to this violence were from centuries ago. So how does recent history treat these sects? They get shut down fast by the mainstream of the religion. Most examples are not even violent crimes, more financial crimes (taking advantage of its congregants). Therefore, the radical Islam sect’s power and influence is truly unprecedented.
While it was hard to find these examples in Judaism. I did find some lone wolves or small communities that prompted violence. These groups were shut down fast. Take the case of Baruch Goldstein, whose radical views were not only condemned by the Jewish community and the Israeli government but also criminalized. They took his violence so seriously that they even moved his grave so no one would celebrate his life and theories.
So, why don't we see a similar reaction from the non-radicalized Muslim majority and the governments of Muslim countries around the world? They for sure have the power in both numbers and geopolitical influence. Where are the lawsuits against those who misuse the name of Islam? Where are the marches against extremism for the past years as school girls get kidnapped in Muslim countries?
And why do those lives not matter? Why do only some Muslim lives matter? Seemingly from the media coverage, only Palestinian ones are worthy of getting up for.
So I’m calling out the Muslim majority. All 1.5 billion of you non-radicalized!! I know I’m only one small Jew out of a population of a mere 14 million, but we call on you to practice what you preach. You say Islam is about love.
Show us.
We need your voices in condemning Hamas, demanding they leave Palestine. Radical Islam should not be the defining narrative of a peaceful religion followed by billions. It's time for change, and it starts with MUSLIMS taking back the narrative of their religion.
So I am starting a protest. I invite all of the Muslim organizations to join.
We will focus on freeing the Palestinians from the terrorist rule of Hamas (a death cult) by calling for the immediate release of the hostages and the laydown of arms of Hamas. We will march to condemn radical Islam and even chant that radical Islam is not Islam to make it clear that Hamas and other terrorist groups do not speak for Islam.
Muslim Organizations please join us. Details coming.
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