Thinking Big

Islamic Fundie cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the leader of al Qaeda-Indonesia and the "reputed" architect of the Bali bombings, and just released from prison after serving a far-too short 26-month sentence for his role in the 2002 Bali attack, has some (I'm sure) well-intended advice for President Bush: Convert to Islam or else:

Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir...called on Bush and [Australian Prime Minister John] Howard to convert to Islam, saying it was "the only way to save their souls," adding that families still grieving after the 2002 Bali blasts that killed many foreigners should also become Muslim to find "salvation and peace."

Nice, huh? First he slaughters their loved ones, then he offers backhanded bereavement. Somehow the former seems like it really spoils the man's witness - or would if he relied upon credibility and relationships to spread his satanic "gospel" in lieu of guns and bombs.

Parenthetically, I couldn't help but notice this little bit of repulsive moral equivalantizing from the ASSociated Press:

He said the attacks "were God's will" and that survivors should "convert to Islam" if they wanted to soothe their suffering.

He had the same message for Bush and Howard, whom he criticized for waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying converting was "the only way for them to save their souls."

Both ideas were crudely expressed, but are in line with basic Islamic - and Christian - teachings on personal redemption and God's omnipotence. [emphasis added]

Yo, AP, show me where in the Gospels Jesus Christ says, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, rape their daughters, behead their sons, and blood, gut, and hang the rest of them for butchering as a testimony against them." And the Da Vinci Code doesn't count.

Bashir must have been in what he considered a generous mood, what with being a free mass murderer again and all. The leadership of Hamas, by contrast, their grand experiment in Palestinian self-government not going quite the way Allah had promised them in their post-election mushroom feed, sounds downright cranky (via ModerateVoice):

We will rule the nations, by Allah's will, the USA will be conquered, Israel will be conquered, Rome and Britain will be conquered...The Jihad for Allah...is the way of Truth and the way for Salvation and the way which will lead us to crush the Jews and expel them from our country Palestine. Just as the Jews ran from Gaza, the Americans will run from Iraq and Afghanistan and the Russians will run from Chechnya, and the Indians will run from Kashmir, and our children will be released from Guantanamo. The prisoners will be released by Allah's will, not by peaceful means and not by agreements, but they will be released by the sword, they will be released by the gun.

Sounds awfully ambitious for a bunch that can't even make a frigging payroll. But what we all have to understand, and why I'm pointing out these seemingly wacko theocratic diatribes, is that the Islamic Fundamentalists really believe this stuff. In gaping contrast with Christianity, which clearly establishes that human civilization will deteriorate toward a final, suicidal planetary war that Messiah Jesus will return personally to stop, Islam teaches that it is the duty of Muslims to conquer the world for Allah (Notice the common thread...?). Whereas Christians seek to evangelize the whole world, true Muslims seek to subjugate it instead. Whereas Christians are ambassadors of the Good News who present the message of the Gospel to the lost and let the Holy Spirit work on their hearts, Islamists are attackers who will run your heart through with a sword if you don't unconditionally (and spiritually) surrender. Christians are apostles; Muslims are to be "holy warriors." Christians are the persecuted, Muslims are the persecutors. Christians are the Beatitudes, Muslims are shouts of "Allihu Akbar!" while slicing off heads with an olive fork. Christians are peaceful, Muslims are berserkers.

Islamic Fundamentalists know this contrast better than anybody; it's why they have contempt for the West and believe that we're too soft to ultimately prevail against them. It's why they think that we'll just "run away," and keep running until there's no place left to flee, and then we'll either all bow towards Mecca or end up with our heads on a really long row of spikes.

And really, who can blame Hamas for that impression when this is what passes for Israeli "leadership"?:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a laconic statement after meeting with three former prime ministers on Monday to discuss the Iranian nuclear situation, saying the forum had held a "comprehensive security discussion."

The forum, which in addition to Olmert comprises Vice Premier Shimon Peres, opposition head Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, was established last month by Olmert to tap into the experience each of the former prime ministers had in dealing with Iran, now considered the primary strategic threat.

Here's a "prime minister" who stands for nothing, believes in nothing, and is such an empty suit that he has to assemble three of his four immediate predecessors to tell him what to do. And the only reason the fourth wasn't present is because Ariel Sharon is pushing up daisies.

More than a little metaphorical of where the Jewish state is headed if its vacuum at the top isn't filled with someone serious in the very near future.