Military Intervention & Islamic Terrorism, pt. 2

When Gov. Chris Christie criticized Sen. Rand Paul‘s non-interventionism, he inevitably appealed to the events of September 11th, 2001. Indeed, 9/11 is the go-to argument for anyone wishing to make non-interventionists look naïve, insensitive and weak. This was a common tactic against Congressman Ron Paul during his recent presidential campaigns and it will no doubt be used against libertarian Republicans as we near 2016.

So, how should a Christian view Islamic terrorism and what should our response to it be? The mainstream narrative is that we were attacked on 9/11 because of our freedoms. On the day of the attacks and in the weeks to come, President Bush promoted this theory in his speeches:

“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts…America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world.”

“They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.”

Compare this to Osama bin Laden’s Letter to America, in which he lists many things that he hates about America. He hates that we separate religion from our policies and that our policies are often hypocritical. He hates that we exploit women as if they were consumer products and that we practice the trade of sex in all its forms. He hates our consumption of intoxicants, our gambling, and our trading with interest. Are these the “freedoms” we are so patriotic about? Of course not – and many Christians would agree with bin Laden on these points. But guess what? Our freedom of religion, speech and assembly are never mentioned. Furthermore, the sins of fornication, intoxication and greed are only brought up in the second half of bin Laden’s letter where he calls America to Islamic purity. They aren’t the reasons given for the 9/11 attacks.

What reasons does he give? Well, let’s take a look:

“Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple: because you attacked us and continue to attack us…You attacked us in Palestine…You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon…Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis…Your forces occupy our countries; you spread your military bases throughout them; you corrupt our lands and you besiege our sanctities…You have starved the Muslims of Iraq…more than 1.5 million Iraqi children have died as a result of your sanctions, and you did not show concern.”

Maybe he’s lying. Maybe bin Laden did attack us because he hates our freedoms of religion, speech and assembly. Maybe the quotation above is an attempt to make his agenda seem more credible. In that case, let’s see what U.S. officials have to say:

“Our growing number of Islamist enemies are motivated to attack us because of what the U.S. government does in the Muslim world and not because of how Americans live and think here at home.” – Michael Scheuer, former CIA intelligence officer and former Chief of the bin Laden tracking unit

“He [bin Laden] also stresses grievances against the United States widely shared in the Muslim world. He inveighed against the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam’s holiest sites.” – 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 2, section 2

“…[bin Laden] and other Islamist terrorist leaders draw on a long tradition of extreme intolerance within one stream of Islam (a minority tradition)…That stream is motivated by religion and does not distinguish politics from religion, thus distorting both. It is further fed by grievances stressed by bin Laden and widely felt throughout the Muslim world against the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, policies perceived as anti-Arab and anti-Muslim, and support of Israel.” – 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 12, section 1

With our own government in agreement, there is no reason to deny that 9/11 was a reaction against our interventionist foreign policy. Prof. Robert Pape, founder of the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism, has undergone an extensive project to document suicide attacks around the world and determine the purpose behind them. Pape and his team conclude that 95% of all suicide terrorism is a response to aggression. In other words, the terrorists think they are legitimately defending themselves.

While Pape’s research is extremely valuable, he does make one mistake: he denies that the Islamic religion fuels these attacks. In the Quran, we find specific passages allowing retaliation against invaders:

“There is to be no aggression except against the oppressors. Whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you.” – Surah 2:193-194

“If they remove themselves from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not made for you a cause [for fighting] against them. If they do not withdraw from you or offer you peace or restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you overtake them.” – Surah 4:90-91

“Permission to fight has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. They are those who have been evicted from their homes without right.” – Surah 22:39-40

“Whoever responds to injustice with the equivalent of that with which he was harmed and then is tyrannized, Allah will surely aid him.” – Surah 22:60

Islamic “freedom fighters” use these statements as justification for terror against the United States and others. We’ve killed their innocent civilians, so they kill ours. Notice how twisted this view is compared to Christian principles of war. In the Bible, the proper response to aggression is the death of the aggressors, not the death of more innocent people. The Bible says, “Do not repay evil with evil.” The Quran says, “Whatever they did to you, do to them.” It’s important to understand this mindset so we may move into the future responsibly.

My suggestion is that we stop engaging in military interventions in Islamic nations. Most of our interventions do not meet biblical criteria and they only breed more resentment and hatred toward us. This is not about accommodating terrorists or blaming America. Not by any means! This is simply about following the guidelines God has set before us and acknowledging the limits he has set on civil government. If we are attacked, we have the authority to wage war. But it must be waged against those specific attackers, not just any nation or group of our choosing.

Are there (or will there be) other reasons why Islamic terrorists want to attack the U.S.? Perhaps, but preemptive war only provokes them. It is counterproductive. We should be much more eager to send missionaries to the Islamic world, not bombs. Islam will never be overcome by military might but only by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.<>it аутсорсинг алматыоптимизация ов ссылками

9/11, foreign policy, interventionism, islamic terrorism, libertarian, noninterventionism, osama bin laden, quran, war in the bible