I don’t have time today to 1) finish my thoughts on “computer sins” or 2) tell you about some cool excavations I saw in Jerusalem today (and which have not made the news, as far as I can tell). #1 will happen early next week, hopefully. #2 will be on the BiblePlaces Blog, also early next week. I do have two things that I can do quickly. The first is to point you to today’s post on the BiblePlaces Blog, where I have a couple of pictures about new excavations in the City of David. The second is more scary.
Arutz-7 reports on a speech made by an expert on Islam at a recent conference in Israel. The article is worth reading in full, but I quote some of the key paragraphs here. The speaker is Islam History Professor Moshe Sharon of Hebrew University. This is not a conspiracy theorist or some evangelical nutcase. This is a university professor of Islamic history who says that there will never be peace between Israel and the Muslims.
The veteran expert on Islam says that Western officials fail to grasp that the Arab and Islamic world truly see Israel’s establishment as a “reversal of history” and are therefore unable to ever accept peaceful relations with it. From Moslems ‘ perspective, “Islamic territory was taken away from Islam by Jews. You know by now that this can never be accepted, not even one meter. So everyone who thinks Tel Aviv is safe is making a grave mistake. Territory which at one time was dominated by Islamic rule, now has become non-Moslem. Non-Moslems are independent of Islamic rule and Jews have created their own independent state. It is anathema. Worse, Israel, a non-Moslem state, is ruling over Moslems. It is unthinkable that non-Moslems should rule over Moslems….”
Sharon’s assessment focused on the danger posed by Iran. From studying Iranian culture, literature, newspapers, broadcasts and interviews with major players in the Islamic regime, Sharon concludes that a deep belief in a Shiite messiah is at the root of Iran’s nuclear project. “They truly believe that the Shiite messiah, the 12th Imam (also known as the Mahdi), is here, and that he will reveal himself… What moves the Iranian government and leadership today is first and foremost the wish to bring about the 12th Imam.”
Addressing the theological doctrine of how exactly the this Messiah will be revealed, Sharon explained: “How will they bring him? Through an apocalypse. He (the Mahdi) needs a war. He cannot come into this world without an Armageddon. He wants an Armageddon. The earlier we understand this the better. Ahmadinejad wants nuclear weapons for this!”
Sharon has in the past insisted that the Western world was engaging in great folly by differentiating between radical and peaceful Islam. “All of a sudden we see that the greatest interpreters of Islam are politicians in the Western world,” he wrote sarcastically. “They know better than all the speakers in the mosques, all those who deliver terrible sermons against anything that is either Christian or Jewish. These Western politicians know that there is good Islam and bad Islam. They know even how to differentiate between the two – except that none of them know how to read a word of Arabic.”
So, I ask you, what should Israel do? (I’m not asking you to comment here, but to think and pray appropriately.)
I wish you could send this to all the people in the US who are so upset about how we’re treating ‘alleged’ terrorists that we’re holding captive in Guantonamo… to help open their eyes to the the pandemic concepts of the Islamic world. I’m so tired of our US people crucifying our US officials about ‘humanity’ when we’re dealing with a group of people who seek only pro-Islamic humanity through Armegeddon. One US anti-war/anti-Bush ‘expert’ was quoted saying something to the effect of, ‘We’ll never achieve peace with the terrorists until we discover what true humanity is”…I am so dismayed by the ignorance of the western thinking and an unwillingness to understand the Islamic foundations…
fantastic article, Todd, as always!
What an interesting commentary on our two faiths that we Christians try to usher in the second coming by preaching the gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation while Mr. Ahmadinejad attempts to develop nuclear weapons to call forth his messiah. It would seem that not all religions are created equal.
Peace is a relative term. I think history shows that no one living in Israel should expect to live an existence that is free from any threat – internal or external. Even during times of Moslem rule, there were plenty of wars and threats from other Moslem peoples or nations.
One element that has changed is the ability to make war from a distance. Up till recent times, all a country had to do was protect her borders (a vast simplification, but basically true). With the modern ability to project force over vast spaces, this changes dramatically.
While current efforts to deal with Iran may be successful for a short time, there is a certainty that the availability of missiles that can go farther and carry bigger payloads will only increase.
This is not just a problem for Israel. Japan worries about North Korea. Taiwan about China. India about Pakistan.
I don ‘t know what the answer is. Israel can ‘t possibly conquer and keep all the territory needed for a buffer zone. They can ‘t fight effectively against people who hide behind civilians and don ‘t care if they die. They can ‘t match the numbers of people who are openly hostile or potentially an enemy in the future (how little might it take to tip Egypt again?).
We all seem to be living in increasingly dangerous and complicated times.