“Islam is a religion of peace. This is the translation of Islam.”
No, the translation of “Islam” is “submission.”
“For 1,400 years, Muslims have been trying to spread the word of God. In the Middle East, in North Africa, in Europe, they weren’t allowed to spread the word. That’s why they fought to spread the word.”
This is a novel excuse for the jihad conquests, but clearly Mohammed bin Salman is working from the stipulation in Islamic law that Muslims should live peacefully with non-Muslims unless the non-Muslims put any obstacles in the way of the spread of Islam. In that event, the Muslims have the responsibility to wage jihad in order to clear away the obstacles.
His claim, however, is utter nonsense. In my forthcoming book The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS, which you can preorder here, I trace the history of jihad worldwide from its beginnings to the present day — this is the only book to have done this. I show that in the places MbS mentions — the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, as well as in India and elsewhere — the jihad was an unprovoked attack on non-Muslims who had not placed any obstacles in the spread of Islam, or had anything to do with it at all.
“But you also see that, in a lot of countries in Asia—Indonesia, Malaysia, India—Muslims were free to spread the word. They were told, ‘Go ahead, say whatever you want to say, the people have free will to believe whatever they want to believe in.’ Islam, in this context, was not about conquering, it was about peacefully spreading the word.”
This is outrageously false particularly regarding India. As I show in The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS, the jihad in India was especially bloody, because the Hindus were not “People of the Book,” and hence had only the choice to convert or die, while the “People of the Book” were given the third choice of living in submission to Islamic law. The Hindus were granted honorary “People of the Book” status rather early on, simply because there were too many of them to kill, but the jihadis nonetheless treated them and their houses of worship with stunning and sustained brutality.
Mohammed bin Salman is counting on people in the U.S. not knowing that history, so that he can manipulate them more easily. Don’t allow him to fool you. Arm yourself with the truth about jihad that all too few Americans today know: preorder The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS here.
In an interview with the Atlantic conducted from the compound of the Saudi ambassador in Washington, who happens to be his brother, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) offered strong criticism of Iran and some thoughts about the religious, cultural, and economic upheaval in progress in Saudi Arabia.
In one remarkable exchange, MBS recognized the right of Israel to exist—a bold step for any Arab leader, let alone the next guardian of Mecca and Medina.
Like many other interviewers, Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic highlighted 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed’s “directness” as his most arresting attribute. Goldberg amusingly describes the ambassador Prince Khalid and his staff teetering on the edge of a conniption fit every time MBS decided to drop a truth bomb. For example, he calls out the Supreme Leader of Iran as worse than Adolf Hitler.
“I believe the Iranian supreme leader makes Hitler look good. Hitler didn’t do what the supreme leader is trying to do. Hitler tried to conquer Europe. … The supreme leader is trying to conquer the world,” MBS said.
On Israel, Goldberg reports that he “did not have a bad word to say” about the Jewish state, and he went further than any other Arab leader has in acknowledging Israel’s right to exist.
Continue reading Saudi Clown Prince Claims He’s ‘Not Familiar’ with Wahhabism, Islam ‘a Religion of Peace’
