‘One of the world’s leading experts on terrorism’ claims jihadis are “ignorant about Islam” – IOTW Report

‘One of the world’s leading experts on terrorism’ claims jihadis are “ignorant about Islam”

Jihad Watch: Establishment counterterror analyst Max Abrahms once agreed to debate me on the question of whether or not the Islamic State is Islamic, but then lost his nerve and backed out, leaving behind a smokescreen of ad hominem attacks to mask his cowardice. And here we see how he would have fared if that debate had happened: in a review of Abrahms’ new book, Diana Darke inadvertently reveals that Abrahms is abjectly ignorant of Islam, and of the jihad terrorists about whom he professes to have expert knowledge.

Darke writes: “Up to 80 per cent of jihadists, Abrahms tells us, have been assessed by scholars as being ‘largely ignorant about Islam’. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi himself only turned to Islamic theology when he failed to get the grades to study law. An analysis on al-Qaeda operatives in the West found that ‘they went to bars and frequented prostitutes more often than they went to the mosque.’”

All three of these points are absolutely worthless to establish the point that the jihadis are ignorant of Islam. Taking the last one first, both Abrahms and Darke are clearly ignorant of the fact that jihadis often go to bars and frequent prostitutes — the 9/11 hijackers went to a strip club — because they know that their act of jihad will outweigh any sins they commit. “We shall set up scales of justice for the Day of Judgment,” says the Qur’an (21:47): if one’s good deeds outweigh one’s evil deeds, one will go to Paradise, but if one’s evil deeds outweigh one’s good deeds, one will go to hell. And what good deed weighs the most? A hadith has a Muslim asking Muhammad: “Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward).” Muhammad replied, “I do not find such a deed.” (Bukhari 4.52.44)

So if a believer goes on jihad, his good deeds will outweigh all his evil deeds. Thus if a jihadist knows he is about to wage a great jihad, he knows its value will outweigh anything evil he has done, and he can relax a bit, have a few drinks, etc.  read more

11 Comments on ‘One of the world’s leading experts on terrorism’ claims jihadis are “ignorant about Islam”

  1. As somewhat of an expert on religious practice and ethics humans in general use so much superstitious behavior and resort to so many defense mechanisms that it is hard to know what is in the heart matches what’s in the head.

    The general inclination seems to be that religious information comes from tradition/culture, the influence of others (particularly charismatic clergy and admired leaders), wishful thinking, and some book learning – but the adage about book learning, in my opinion is the old quote “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” (Anaïs Nin).

    Christianity is primarily a personal belief while Islam has been called 20% personal and 80% community/social/governmental.

    When it comes to religion no boxes or easy categories are available to describe its adherents.

    I would say that any person who decides to risk self physically so as or to kill oneself for an ideal is hardly ignorant of that ideal.

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  2. So it is obvious to this reader that Mr. Abrahms is an apologist as opposed to an expert….. or perhaps an expert apologist…. either way, he is a lying liar.
    “Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell

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  3. The fact that many Islamists are “ignorant about Islam” is not surprising when you realize that most Christians are pretty much ignorant about Christianity. They go to church on Sunday, sleep through the sermon, mumble a few prayers from the church program, sing a couple of hymns, and (most importantly) kick in a few bucks to the offering plate. Then they leave and go back to their other six days of sinning and doing whatever they please. Eventually they go to their deathbed in the sure and certain knowledge that they will wake up in a perfect Heaven to be reunited with their dead relatives. The ones they liked, anyway.

    Well, as Frank Sinatra once famously said, “Basically, I’m for anything that gets you through the night – be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels.”

    🙂

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  4. Vietvet:
    Frank Sinatra famously sang the song. “I did it my way”
    So one of the lapsed members of our church passed recently, his family was incensed when the priest wouldn’t let them play that song in his memory during the mass. They said it was his favorite song……

    A quote I don’t know the author of: “Thousands of books written about leadership and being a leader, but only one written on being a follower.”

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  5. @Frank: Recently I had to deliver the eulogy for one of my lifelong friends and fellow veteran (the last remaining close friend from my high school years, BTW). Since the ceremony took place at a National Cemetery, I could not play any songs, so I simply said, “Like Frank Sinatra, he did it his way”.

    And he did.

    P.S. – IMHO, that priest was an asshole. Just sayin’.

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  6. How many of you have done things knowing they were wrong? How many of you have not did things you know were right? How you live with it is your version of what your religious beliefs, training, and future wishful thinking get you.

    Faith, and living in it is different. It is based on trusting and believing in something bigger than oneself that has ideals, goals, purposes, and ethics that shape and mold your behavior and removes the walls between your head and your heart.

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  7. 4 simple koranic instructions 1/ hijrah migration jihad 2/ dar al harb the house of war in in none muslim lands 3/ dar al islam the house of islam in none muslim lands 4/ sharia controlled state with 3 options for the dhimmi infidels 1/ convert 2/ die 3/ pay the jizya tax it`s worked since ad 672 now one billion muslims

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