Islamo-Fascism

March 3, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 12 Comments

The Day the Canary Became an Eagle!

There is an old story that goes back to the days of coal mining when gas leak explosions loomed at every corner of a mine. Miners would keep a canary in a cage with a person assigned to watching the small bird. At the first sign of the bird collapsing and dying, the miners would know that a gas leak was present and would immediately evacuate the mine before an explosion could potentially burry them alive.

For a while now, Israel has been described as the “canary in the coal mine of civilization”. It was 13 years ago that columnist Jeff Jacoby said: ” Jews, it is often said, are the canary in the coal mine of civilization. When they become the objects of savagery and hate, it means the air has been poisoned and an explosion is soon to come. If Europeans don’t rise up and turn against the Jew-haters, it is only a matter of time until the Jew-haters rise up and turn against them.”

We have been told over and over by some of the wisest political analysts, and many Bible scholars, that we should watch Israel closely. Jacoby claimed in 2002 that Europe was going to fall if they didn’t stand against Israel haters and anti-Semites. Today, Europe is watching as its own Jewish community is leaving in droves to move to Israel. The Jew-haters are winning Europe (not necessarily without the help of some natives, sad to say!).

This fate is unfortunately not reserved only for Europe. It is a global shadow covering an increasingly larger geographical area. As much as many Americans would like to believe it, America is not immune. The canary [Israel] applies to America as well. On March 3rd, 2015, the canary desperately tried to get the attention of the miners! Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for over 40 minutes before a joint meeting of the US congress, showing true leadership through a passionate, focused and gravely concerned speech.

No representative from the White House was present. President Obama apparently was on a video conference call with European leaders. Vice President Biden was in South America and John Kerry was in Geneva discussing the very Iranian deal that was the topic of Bibi’s visit and speech. Over 50 democrats chose to boycott Bibi’s speech. The absence of the leader of the Free World and his entire cabinet spoke tons. It makes one wonder what Mr. Obama really means when he says that he would always have Israel’s back? Are we talking about watching out for the Jewish state’s safety or are we talking about stabbing in the back? Today’s no show would make me think the latter!

None of this prevented Mr. Netanyahu from expressing deep gratitude to the United States for a long-standing relationship with Israel. As Netanyahu said yesterday during his AIPAC speech (start at 1:25:50) in front of 16,000 people: “I mean no disrespect to President Obama.” Netanyahu’s speech started with many specific examples of why Israel will always be indebted to the United States, citing several specific cases when Mr. Obama supported the Jewish State. His gratitude was heartfelt and very obvious. It was clear that his visit wasn’t meant to be a scolding of the current US administration but more of an alarm sounding.

The rest of his speech focused on Iran and the danger it already poses today without nuclear capability, followed by how much more dangerous it would be with it. To most people, including some in the Middle East who are not necessarily Israel’s best friends, Iran is the biggest threat to the region. But Iran is much more than a regional bully, it is a global one. If the nuclear deal goes through, Iran will be soon equipped with nuclear head mounted missiles capable of reaching Israel of course, but also all the way to America’s east coast.

Netanyahu delivered a passionate appeal to the United States, but truly, he was speaking to the world. He was interrupted by over 40 rounds of applause, many of them being bipartisan standing ovations. What the current US administration fails to understand is that today’s speech was much more than the Jewish State pleading for sanction against Iran to protect itself. Today’s speech was the canary in the mine of civilization gasping for whatever little air is left before the global explosion.

Mr. Netanyahu was bold enough to let the world know that if necessary, Israel will stand alone, hoping that congress would get his “not so subliminal” message and back Israel up if and when necessary. His statement was very clear when towards the end he said: “We are no longer scattered among the nations, powerless to defend ourselves. We restored our sovereignty in our ancient home. And the soldiers who defend our home have boundless courage. For the first time in 100 generations, we, the Jewish people, can defend ourselves. This is why — this is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing: Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. While I agree with Israel’s right to exist and defend herself I also recognize that God has been behind the miraculous rebirth and growth of the Jewish State. Nothing else can explain Israel’s existence today but the grace of the God of Israel who through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s descendants, promised a great nation and land (Genesis 12:1-3).

Mr. Netanyahu showed courage, integrity and leadership at a time of great global turmoil. Many will complain that the leader of the Free World was absent today. The frustration is justified, yet it gave Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to state the truth with authority. Even though a great existential threat remains, and the road ahead is tumultuous at best, March 3^rd, 2015 was the day when the canary became an eagle!

February 19, 2015 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Can ISIS ever be defeated?

It is with bewilderment, disgust and fear that our global community has become an audience to the bloody carnage inflicted by ISIS within the boundaries of their ever-growing “Caliphate.” On February 17, they set 45 people on fire in Iraq, adding to the gruesome death toll of the last few months. It wasn’t long ago when they set a Jordanian pilot on fire inside a cage and filmed it as if the act was scripted and planned. They also beheaded Japanese and European people among others, not to mention all the Christian beheadings like the recent 21 Copts in Libya. How far will they go and can they ever be defeated?

Before attempting to answer such a question, we need to understand the ideology behind the bloodiest jihadist group in modern history. Unfortunately, almost every attempt made recently could be compared to studying a bird as if it were a fish. It just cannot yield beneficial results. ISIS truly is in a league of its own and should be handled as such. In a previous post, I explained that they are organized, wealthy and weaponized. In and of itself, this already places them outside of your run-of-the-mill terrorist groups like Taliban, Al-Qaeda or Boko Haram. Yet they are unique in several other ways.

A Caliphate
ISIS’ name in Arabic is al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām meaning the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (The Levant being another name for greater Syria). They have only been around for about 15 years and mostly as a branch of Al-Qaeda, but they even became too extreme for Al-Qaeda. This would go along the lines of Hitler rejecting a group of soldiers because he deemed them too brutal to join the Nazi Party!

So ISIS flew the coop, and after Al-Qaeda officially severed all ties, their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (in charge since 2010) declared that he was the new caliph and that as such, he was now ruling all Muslims within a newly formed global Caliphate. To date, the introduction of a new Caliphate has been far from welcome by various Muslim countries. Nevertheless, it creates a new dynamics not only for the West but within Islam as well.

All terror groups until ISIS were underground and decentralized. ISIS is territorial, and under an Islamic Caliphate, it can only function as such. Thus it is in their interest to gain ground. As little as they might get and as slow as they might move, they must press on. ISIS will continue to move in the Middle East and spread from its epicenter like a bleeding wound on a piece of cloth as the world weakens.

Another aspect of a caliphate is the fact that the one who implemented it is seen by his followers as the unique ruler or “caliph.” He controls all Muslims globally. Of course, there are millions of Muslims who want nothing to do with the Islamic State, but according to ISIS’ exegeses of the Qur’an, if they indeed call themselves Muslims, they must submit to the caliph and his ruling or die as infidels. This puts all Muslims who are not adhering to all of ISIS’ ideology at risk since denying the holiness and inspiration of the Qur’an as they [ISIS] view it is pure apostasy.

Therefore, as anti-Semitic as they are, ISIS will not hesitate to decimate Hezbollah or Hamas who they do not consider in compliance with their views, before they even go after Israel. So apparently, even though it always is borne out of a specific interpretation and application of the Qur’an, Jihadism is far from being monolithic. But the point is that even though Israel and the West are constantly in the crosshair, there are obvious disconnects between, let’s say; the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

An Islamic Apocalyptic Theology
In a recent very thorough piece on ISIS for The Atlantic, Graeme Wood wrote: The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.

ISIS follows a very extreme form of Islam known as Salafism (in Arabic al salaf al salih means the “pious forefathers).” It promotes violence and bloodshed to establish and maintain hegemony through a very strict adherence to the qur’an and shari’a law.

ISIS also adheres to an apocalyptic theology and believes that the Mhadi or “guided one” will soon arrive and redeem Islam. According to them, Islam has been dead for over 1,000 years and was just reborn in 2014 when the global Caliphate was declared.
ISIS has boldly declared that Islam is not the religion of peace but the religion of the sword. They went to great length to explain what they meant in an article published in their magazine Dabiq. It really doesn’t matter what the rest of the world’s Muslim population believes, ISIS will continue to go for blood as long as they breathe because that is part of their apocalyptic “raison d’être”.

It is interesting that they include Jesus in their “end of the world” scenario as they see Him ultimately killing the Dajjal or Antichrist to bring in Islam as it always was intended. But until then, watch for the sword as it continues to swing through the infidels’ throats.

One the advantages of ISIS’s apocalyptic theology is that as bloody as it is, it is predictable. In the past, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda or even Hamas have been everything but predictable. If it was taken seriously, this could be to our advantage.

When does it end?
In America, a recent poll showed that 73% of Americans believe that the Obama administration doesn’t have a clear strategy to defeat ISIS (up 9% from 2014). President Obama called ISIS the Al-Qaeda “Junior Varsity”, clearly showing that he is clueless about the terrorist group. ISIS is an Islamic terrorist organization and it doesn’t matter if you believe that Islam is indeed the religion of peace because THEY DON’T!

On Monday, Mary Harf, A State Department spokeswoman proposed that we offer jobs to ISIS terrorists to pull them out of their misery and give them a sense of purpose. No wonder ISIS keeps humiliating the West and killing people. There is no solid leadership to take them out.

While our current president is struggling over semantics and a tactful approach, ISIS’s killing spree is growing exponentially. The days for a tactful approach are long gone (if they ever was such a time). It is time for a tactical approach and I am far from convinced that the United States will lead the free world in that endeavor. Don’t get too close to Israel though because the IDF doesn’t just bark, they bite too!

January 23, 2015 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

La France est en guerre, et maintenant?

Les attaques terroristes de 2015 à Paris sont encore très fraîches dans notre mémoire collective. La réponse aux attaques contre la liberté d’expression et contre la communauté juive a été et continue d’être forte. Les représentants de différents pays continuent à venir à Paris et à rendre leurs hommages sur les lieux des massacres.

La maison où j’ai grandi et l’appartement de ma nièce se trouvent être à quelques centaines de mètres du massacre du supermarché cacher. J’ai été surpris par la proximité des attaques, ainsi que le choix des quartiers. Je n’aurais jamais osé penser que “mon petit quartier calme” puisse devenir le théâtre d’une attaque terroriste sanglante. Mais je suppose qu’en 2015, il n’y a plus de zones sacrées ou à l’abri du terrorisme mondial.

Cette série d’attaq MuslimsBurnFrenchFlagInFrance ues semble être un appel au réveil pour la France. Mais le pays avait ignoré bien des signes, depuis la torture et la mort d’Ilan Halimi en 2006 jusqu’à l’assassinat brutal de quatre juifs dans une école juive de Toulouse en 2012. A l’époque, on avait entendu des déclarations similaires à celles de Manuel Valls cette année. On parlait d’actions potentielles contre le terrorisme. Ce mot, “potentiel”, était-ce juste de l’eau sous le pont du politiquement-correct ?

Depuis les événements survenus il y a deux semaines, la Belgique a déjoué une attaque terroriste et tué deux djihadistes. Le pays est actuellement aux prises avec certains de ses citoyens qui sont allés en Syrie pour s’entraîner avec l’État Islamique, un dilemme auquel la France et plusieurs autres pays européens sont aujourd’hui confrontés. En fait, le monde entier court ce risque. Le fait que des personnes soient motivées pour rejoindre une organisation barbare qui préconise les crucifixions, les décapitations et les viols, dépasse toute logique. Mais c’est très malheureusement une réalité que nous ne pouvons plus ignorer.

Comme il se l’avère, la France est en guerre. Ce n’est pas juste la France, mais aussi le reste de l’Europe qui se trouve face à ce conflit compliqué contre le terrorisme, un conflit qui ne connaît pas de frontières géographiques ou morales. Alors que la guerre actuelle n’a rien d’un conflit classique entre deux pays, on peut toutefois déceler chez elle plusieurs principes de base qui ont été utiles lors des conflits du passé.

Connaître l’ennemi :

Un principe fondamental de la guerre est de bien connaître son ennemi. En ce qui concerne la France, je suis convaincu que ce ne est pas le cas, ou tout au moins pas entièrement. J’ai apprécié la tentative du président Hollande de rassembler le monde libre dans les rues de Paris le 11 Janvier, résultant en un événement historique. Mais je reste perplexe face à la présence de certaines têtes d’état. Pourquoi la France a-t-elle invité Mahmoud Abbas (sans à l’origine avoir invité Benjamin Netanyahu) à la Marche de Paris. On peut comparer l’invitation d’ Abbas à une marche contre le terrorisme et en faveur de la liberté d’expression avec une invitation d’Hitler à un Seder de Pessah. Tout le monde sait qu’Abbas s’associe avec le Hamas et nous savons trop bien ce dont ils sont capables. Je pourrais aussi faire mention de quelques-uns des chefs d’Etat africains qui étaient également présents à la marche, et qui ont certainement leurs propres définitions de la liberté d’expression et de la liberté de religion.

En outre, la France et la plupart des pays de la planète, continuent à garder la tête dans le sable au sujet de l’infiltration de l’Islam au sein de la civilisation occidentale – avec ou sans violence. L’islam radical est devenu la mauvaise herbe qui étouffera l’Occident. Dire simplement que les attaques du 7-9 Janvier en France n’ont rien à voir avec l’Islam est une simplification excessive qui prouve l’ignorance de la part de la France et de l’Europe. Bien sûr, tous les musulmans ne sont pas des terroristes, mais quelqu’un peut-il me rappeler la dernière fois qu’une attaque terroriste eu lieu dans le monde sans avoir aucun lien avec l’Islam? À la lumière de ce récent bain de sang, le ministre français des Affaires étrangères, Laurent Fabius a déclaré :

“Je n’aime pas… Je ne veux pas faire le censeur, mais je pense que l’expression islamiste – et j’en avais aussi fait la remarque dans l’expression Etat islamique – est probablement pas celle qu’il faut utiliser. J’appelle ça des terroristes. Parce dès lors que vous utilisez le mot islam, vous favorisez une espèce de vision de continuité entre le musulman, qui pratique sa religion qui est une religion de paix, et puis quelque chose qui serait une certaine interprétation de la religion Musulmane. “

Je ne pense vraiment pas que blanchir l’Islam aussi naïvement aidera à empêcher de futures attaques. Par contre, un tel discours pourrait conditionner les masses en leur faisant croire qu’il est abusé de parler de danger imminent, … quelque chose sur lequel l’islam radical compte !

Avoir une stratégie :

Comment voulez-vous combattre un ennemi qui n’a pas d’équivalence morale avec les valeurs judéo-chrétienne du monde occidental ? Rappelons-nous aussi qu’il est presque impossible d’avoir une stratégie si vous n’avez pas vraiment identifié qui est l’ennemi.

Il y a eu une controverse au cours de ces derniers jours en France à propos de 750 “No-Go zones”. Ce sont des zones urbaines sensibles (ZUS) dans toute la France avec une grande concentration de musulmans, et dans de nombreux cas, présentant un réel danger pour les autochtones ou les autorités. Un journaliste américain de FOX News a récemment été forcé de présenter ses excuses pour avoir tenu certains propos “incendiaires” sur les “No-Go zones”.

Cela n’empêche, il existe vraiment de nombreux quartiers avec une forte communauté musulmane aujourd’hui. Certains disent que c’est un mythe, d’autres affirment que les zones existent. La réalité, quelle que soit votre position sur le sujet, c’est que nous sommes à peu près tous d’accord pour dire qu’il y a un véritable malaise dans la société française, malaise créé par le refus évident de l’Islam de s’intégrer à la société française depuis ces 50 dernières années. Étant donné qu’environ un tiers de la population musulmane de France a moins de 30 ans et que beaucoup de ces jeunes sont chômeurs, cela crée un terreau idéal pour la radicalisation. La ville française de Marseille en est un parfait exemple, avec une population musulmane qui se situe entre 30% et 40%. Elle est en train de devenir la première grande métropole de France avec une majorité musulmane. Ce n’est qu’une question de temps avant que nous découvrions si les “No-Go zones” sont un mythe ou non!

L’analyste et auteur Guy Millière a déclaré récemment que: “Quiconque connaît l’Islam ainsi que l’existence de l’Internet sait aussi que “l’islam français” n’existe pas, et que l’islam en France ne peut pas être séparé de l’Islam planétaire.”

Bien que ce soit extrêmement difficile pour moi de l’admettre, la seule personne qui semble avoir une opinion claire et peut-être même une stratégie pour remédier au problème de la radicalisation islamiste en France, c’est Marine Le Pen. Le leader du parti d’extrême droite français Front National devient de plus en plus populaire, même au sein de la communauté juive… bien qu’elle et son père Jean-Marie Le Pen soient antisémites. Après tout, c’était Jean-Marie Le Pen qui avait osé déclarer que l’Holocauste était simplement “un détail de l’Histoire”. Marine Le Pen préconise une politique d’immigration stricte, qui serait un bon début pour une France plus sûre. Malheureusement, elle ne s’arrêtera pas à la menace de l’islam radical dans le pays. Si elle le pouvait, elle débarrasserait la France des Arabes, des Noirs et des Juifs. A ce rythme, elle y arrivera peut-être bientôt!

Je crains fort que la stratégie de la France soit simplement basée sur une guerre sémantique et sur un mouvement réactif contre le terrorisme au lieu d’un mouvement pro-actif. En effet, si nous entendons surtout des discours mais ne voyons aucune action, les islamistes continueront à porter atteinte à nos libertés et à tuer beaucoup plus de gens. Ils prouveront ainsi que si la France ne semble pas connaître son ennemi ou ne semble pas avoir une vraie stratégie, ce n’est pas le cas des musulmans radicaux !

Les Juifs français peuvent toujours partir en Israël, mais où iront le reste des français ?

October 10, 2014 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

ISIS: The Exponential Growth of a Pandemic Threat!

by Olivier J. Melnick

ISIS soldiers on the street (The Associated Press)

By now, there are not that many places in the world where the acronym ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) remain unknown. ISIS also known as IS (Islamic State) has acquired quite a ruthless, bloody reputation in just a few months. When it was first announced that they were a splinter group from Al-Qaeda, we witnessed an almost “tongue-in-cheek” yet blasé reaction from most people. Little did we all know about the rapes, crucifixions and beheading that were about to take place. Now we know and yet, very little is being done to nip ISIS in the bud. The bold Caliphate declaration by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on June 29, 2014 ( the first day of Ramadan) was a surprise to most, but it remained unchallenged. It is a long shot to expect the rebirth and growth of an Islamic caliphate, but we must remember that even if the Third Reich was short lived, it decimated millions in its destructive path.
To be sure, Islamo-fascism wasn’t born yesterday. It has plagued much of the Middle East for decades and has even spread beyond on many occasions. Much of modern terrorism has been Islamo-fascist terrorism. By this I do not mean that all Muslims are terrorists, absolutely not! Yet, if we were to tally up the terrorism of the last fifty years, almost every terrorist WAS a Muslim.
But is ISIS a terrorist group or is it even much more than that? While it is clear that their actions totally fall in line with terrorism, we must also understand that as a declared caliphate–albeit not officially accepted–they are not acting as a terrorist organization within a state or country. ISIS is not like Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram or even Al-Qaeda. By their own admission, they are a state and because of that, they qualify for a response proportionate to their barbaric, brutal attack on Western civilization. They qualify for a full-blown retaliation. No sanctions, not boycott, no talks… RETALIATION! Let me clarify what I mean, I mean war! ISIS IS ACTING AS A TERRORIST STATE and not a terrorist organization! An all out war against ISIS on the ground might be the best use of resources and the only way to put an end to this slaughter.
ISIS is very impressive and attractive to a myriad of radical Islam aficionados (Muslims or not). ISIS has managed to attract followers from various corners of the planet with their supremacist ideology “hell bent” on beheading the infidels. We shouldn’t underestimate the danger posed by this new group’s ability to attract previously uninterested people to Islam. They have an uncanny ability to draw people to their evil ideology that is what makes them a real but very unpredictable danger.
Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and many other terrorist groups always had a following, but because of their lack of organization, lack of funding and lack of “proper” exposure, they always were partially successful at best. ISIS has mastered all three. They are organized. As a matter of fact they have a structure that is more akin to a government with a military wing than that of a terrorist group.
They have a pretty steady cash flow that now comes from some of the oil fields they have seized recently. Some statistics say that they might be generating between $1M and $4M daily. No matter how we look at it, they generate much more than any of the other terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda.
As for their exposure, they get it from videos and brochures distributed as if they were running an advertising campaign, and in a sense they are! They also have an extremely strong presence on the social networks.
ISIS has been planting cells all around the world and continues to do so. Additionally, in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK, they have been recruiting on the streets through a process known as Da’wah meaning “invitation”. People are invited to inquire about Islam and even convert through dialogues on street corners. As a result, almost every country in Europe has seen people join Islamic training in Syria and/or Iraq.

ISIS has declared jihad against the whole world. But how did they get so far, so fast? It can be argued that the vacuum created by the removal of dictatorial leaders in the Middle East is what made room for groups like ISIS. The Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi and Mubarak of the region might have been ruthless dictators within their own restrictive police states, but they also managed to keep a lid on Islamic extremism. Now ISIS is quickly filling the void.
ISIS’ exponential growth continues both territorially and demographically. They are not only expanding their borders in the Middle East, but they are also establishing their following globally. From their standpoint of a global caliphate, they are successfully establishing a network while the world is watching like a deer in headlights.
While ISIS poses a threat to all, including Israel, they currently are focusing on “purging” Islam of all the Shi’ite Muslims who stand in the way of their establishing their hegemonic caliphate. This, of course, doesn’t mean that Israel is currently unaffected by ISIS, but simply that they, as a target, might be on the back burner. There is no doubt in my mind that if ISIS gets too close to Israel and puts the Jewish state at risk, Mr. Netanyahu will respond swiftly and appropriately.
So, as the Ebola virus continues to spread in Africa and is even starting to affect other continents, the ISIS virus appears to also be spreading in and beyond the Middle East. From isolated to epidemic to pandemic, the ISIS virus could do a lot more damage before it is contained, but it will never be contained with band aids or compresses. Major surgery is needed and fast.
It is time for civilized people to unite against the Islamic State. It is also time for the more liberal among us to realize that ISIS is the new Nazis of the Middle East, not Israel!
In the meantime, all of us who believe in the power of prayer know what to do. We must:
• Pray for the United States to quickly and powerfully go after ISIS and incapacitate them
• Pray for the safety of those within the destructive path of ISIS
• Pray for ISIS members to be released from the bondage of Islamism

The Lord is far from the wicked but He hears the prayers of the righteous (Proverbs 15:29)

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