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A Further Perspective

The Religion of Peace Activists

By George Neumayr on 6.3.10 @ 6:08AM

Israel lacks John Brennan's superior understanding of Islam.

An Islamic terrorist shoots up an American military base. Another tries to blow up a plane over Detroit. Still another attempts to bomb tourists in Times Square. But John Brennan, Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, remains confident that "jihad" is a harmless concept of Oprah-like uplift.

In remarks made in May, Brennan declared that "jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community, and there is nothing holy or legitimate or Islamic about murdering innocent men, women and children."

Who knew that John Brennan was an authoritative Islamic theologian? Has he shared his superior understanding of Islam with the imams who issue death edicts and call for violent jihad? They probably wouldn't regard his definition of jihad as exactly pontifical. But then again, they are probably happy that the Obama administration has finally found a religion it considers "holy" -- not Christianity, which it regards as a malign force in public life, but Islam, which it considers intrinsically peaceful.

This is what Israel doesn't understand. Islam, as a religion of peace, produces only peace activists, though it has to be admitted that those peace activists on the Gaza flotilla wielded their knives with considerable confidence and skill. These Gandhis with iron rods didn't exactly look like amateurs.

The video footage of the peace brutality confirms that the latest Islamic exercise in self-improvement did involve stabbing Israeli soldiers. But then, that certainly falls well within the range of Bill Ayers' definition of peace activism. These guys were certainly no more dangerous than the Black Panthers. The peace activists even began their journey with a sweet song about "Khaybar," according to journalist Melanie Phillips.

Khaybar is a reference to Islam's peace activism in the 7th century when it slaughtered Jews in an oasis town near Medina. "Khaybar, Khaybar o Jews, the army of Muhammad will return," goes the Arabic chant today.

Israel also doesn't understand that the army of Muhammad, or, pace Brennan, peace activists of Muhammad, win the moment a nation takes defending itself against them seriously. Better to let the peace activists bash your head in with an iron rod than lose your "values" by, say, stopping them. Or as John Brennan put it in the above-mentioned speech: "remaining faithful to our values requires something else -- that we never surrender the diversity and tolerance and openness to different cultures and faiths that define us as Americans."

Given the choice between effective self-defense and diversity, our proud nation chooses diversity! But somehow, according to Brennan, Islamic terrorists are trying to bait us into reversing this equation. Why they would want that to happen, when they are benefiting from this mindless liberalism, Brennan doesn't bother to make clear:

Even more than the attacks al-Qaida and its violent affiliates unleash or the blood they spill, they seek to strike at the very essence of who we are as Americans by replacing our hard-won confidence with fear and replacing our tolerance with suspicion; by turning our great diversity from a source of strength into a source of division; by causing us to undermine the laws and values that have been a source of our strength and our influence throughout the world; by turning a nation whose global leadership has meant greater security and prosperity for people in every corner of the globe into a nation that retreats from the world stage and abandons allies and partners.

That is what al-Qaida and its allies want -- to achieve their goals by turning us into something we are not. But that is something they can never achieve, because only the people of America can change who we are as a nation. Al-Qaida can sew explosives into their clothes or park an SUV with explosives on a busy street. But it is our choice to react with panic or resolve. They can seek to recruit people already living among us, but it is our choice to subject entire communities to suspicion, or to support those communities in reaching the disaffected before they turn to violence. Terrorists may try to bring death to our cities, but it is our choice to either uphold the rule of law or chip away at it. They may strike our communities, but it is our choice to either respond wisely and effectively or lash out in ways that inflame entire regions and stoke the fires of the violent extremism.

Those wily Islamic terrorists are trying to manipulate us into defending ourselves! And this administration for one isn't going to fall into their trap. But poor, benighted little Israel did. Its commandos made the mistake of not letting the peace activists kill them.

About the Author

George Neumayr is a contributing editor to The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (47) | Leave a comment

drudge ette obama| 6.3.10 @ 7:07AM

Brennan is arrogant and self-important as he brays about Islam and its peacefulness. He is proud, in a 7-deadly sin manner, and vain as he crows about his understanding of Islam. And Brennan is foolish if he thinks these porcinic animals will like him because he can speak their language and honor their evil.

But Brennan will never know the true evil of Islamic terror like Danny Pearl did as these putrids hacked his head off while he was alive.

Go make you stinking speeches in the hills of Pakistan, Brennan. You make me ill.

Alan Brooks| 6.3.10 @ 9:09PM

"though it has to be admitted that those peace activists on the Gaza flotilla wielded their knives with considerable confidence and skill. "

No! the flotilla-peaceniks were holding osteopathic instruments.
Get with the program-- or else.

Richard Baker| 6.3.10 @ 7:44AM

Brennan is lucid? Hard to tell when such lunacy flows from his Mind (?) as if he is some sort of genius or that from the mind of his Master, the Kenyan.

Ret. Marine| 6.3.10 @ 7:57AM

Brennan, having spent most of his entire adult life in the M/E, is what We the People of the Book call a dhimmirat. With friends like this, who needs the muslims as enemies but him. What a waste of fresh breath.

coal carrier| 6.3.10 @ 8:23AM

Another brainless liberal who wouldn’t raise a hand to defend himself if attacked. His solution is to defuse the situation by talking. Unfortunately, when someone believes that your are his or her enemy and he or she is willing to die in an attempt to kill you, talking doesn’t work.

The Army Aviator| 6.3.10 @ 8:34AM

It's idiots like Brennan that are getting our young people killed and maimed. What a moron! Jihad, a legitimate religious whatever? Until we get over this PC Bull Schumer (BS) and look the ISLAMIC problem square in the eye, then kick it's butt, we are in deep kimchi! Sadly, our State Department is full of fools who are more interested in "Diversity" than they are security of our nation. This is what will defeat us and allow our enemies (the same ones Israel has) to subdue and enslave us. But, Liberal Socialists will "jet off to Montecarlo" with the beautiful people like John F. Kerry (who served in Vietnam) and the new single AlGore! What a mess we are in!

Harry the Horrible| 6.3.10 @ 10:19AM

If jihad is a legitimate religious "practice" then so is Crusade. C'mon Pope Benedict, call one!
I'll convert to Catholicism in a heartbeat if it has the guts to publicly stand up to the Jihadis for Christ and the West!

Tim*| 6.3.10 @ 2:37PM

Yoo , Harry the Twerp !

You ain't no friend of Catholics.

It's this kinda crap that is causing Americans to fall off the Israel Firsters' Sled .

Now, go ask the 78 Percent of Jewish- Americans ,who voted for Ozero ,to support Israel & leave Catholics outta your smart mouthed propaganda .

Melvin| 6.3.10 @ 8:57AM

I guess if you could sum Brennan up in one title it would be, "Islamic useful idiot." We all know here that Islam will lie, cheat, torture, enslave, corrupt, and murder to achieve it's goals of dominating and ultimately destroying the infidels.
Then we have the....enlightened ones such as Mr. Brennen. Who feels that since he can speak Arabic fluently and denounce Israel with the best of the Shaikhs, that he will earn a place at the right hand side of Allah.
But this overly educated simpleton may be able to speak Arabic but he doesn't know the Arabs. The only thing the Mr. Brennen will be on the right hand side of... is an Islamic sword while it cuts the head off of an infidel/traitor.

Petronius| 6.3.10 @ 9:37AM

Brennan Can't Understand Normal Thinking.

T1Brit| 6.3.10 @ 10:07AM

Brennan's speech referred to the students he met in Cairo in the 1970s and how everybody got along.
Even with my little knowledge I know that Egypt has changed drastically since then. The flood of Saudi money financing the spread of Wahhabism has driven out much of the nice little student gatherings that Brennan remembers so fondly. Is it possible that a man in his position does not realise how things have changed?

Melvin| 6.3.10 @ 11:54AM

There ya go, and the common denominator to all this trouble is, "Saudi Arabia," with it's money and Iran's willingness to provide military hardware and the fools to teach other fools to blow themselves up.

Margie| 6.3.10 @ 10:42AM

Ah yes, the Religion of peace... Praise Allah and pass the machete.

NavyBrat| 6.3.10 @ 12:40PM

Margie, that's HILLARIOUS! Yes, the "Religion of Peace," the only religion on the face of the planet that needs to constantly needs to remind us that its a "religion of peace." What a farce!

Margie| 6.3.10 @ 6:05PM

Thanks.. it's one of those things that it would be hilarious if only it weren't true, right?
Whereas the old saying. "Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition" is excellent because the American soldier fights the enemy and it is the right thing to do.. the Jihadis do the exact opposite. They are murderous, heartless, mindless thugs with deluded minds who take the lives of men, women and children the world over.
May God spare us from their determined goal!

Anthony| 6.3.10 @ 10:48AM

LALALALALALALALALA, we can't hear you, we can't hear you!!! Islam is a religion of peace, Islam is a religion of peace. The official position of the Obama administration.
The only purification, Jihad, if you will, that needs to take place, is to purify America from Obama, his administrative stooges, such as Mr. Brennan, and the entire D establishement. Inshallah, come November.

confused| 6.3.10 @ 10:58AM

Maybe Emir Brennan likes honour killings and burqua's too. His next statement will probably endorse marrying 6 year old children and consummating these marriages at 9 years old. Watch out next he will issue a fatwa against anti jihadi's.

Richard| 6.3.10 @ 11:23AM

Doesn't this moron know that Islam has been at war with the West since Islam's inception. There was a hiatus of a couple of centuries when Europe controlled them but THEY'RE BACK.

Matt| 6.3.10 @ 11:45AM

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm disappointed in Israel. When did Israel commando's start allowing terrorist/ "peace activists with knives" to attack them with minor repercussions? When attacked, shoot first and ask questions later. As a veteran, I wouldn't let someone attack me or my Soldiers without a quick and decisive overwhelming 'response.' As far as Islam being the religion of peace, I think Muslim action/ inaction speaks for itself.

c. j. acworth| 6.3.10 @ 5:18PM

I'd like to know whose bright idea it was to send the commandos in armed with paint-ball guns as primary weapons. Whoever gave that order had to have known that they were sending their own people in harms way with inadequet equipment that was more likely to project weakness than strength, therby encouraging a riot. The one responsible for that lame choice should get the axe first off.

crookedwren| 6.3.10 @ 11:49AM

And he calls Jerusalem "Al-Cuds"? WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?

Is he trying to be their understanding pal from the States? Is he hoping for a serious Kumbayah moment? Seriously?

Can he really be THAT naive? And, if so, why is he
Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism?

Oh, that's right. Obama placed him in that position. Curious.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

L. Ross| 6.3.10 @ 12:07PM

Following the Ft. Hood shootings, which left 12 of his troops dead (including a pregnant woman) with another 30 personnel wounded and hospitalized, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. said "I'm concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers ... Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse."

Frankly, nothing Brennan said can hold a candle to that in terms of it callousness and wrongheadedness. God help us all.

Cpm| 6.3.10 @ 12:10PM

Diversity means division. It is the opposite of unity. Too many people forget the melting pot, "from many, one".

Ken (Old Texican)| 6.3.10 @ 12:33PM

I lived in and ran a company all over the middle east.
Mr. Brennan is our enemy. Mark him as such.

His boss is our enemy . Mark him as such.

"Reawakened" muslims are our enemy. Mark them as such.

JCfromDC| 6.3.10 @ 3:08PM

Amen brother!

Stephanie| 6.3.10 @ 8:11PM

Ditto, Texican

Morrisminor| 6.3.10 @ 12:44PM

This interpretation is hardly anything original.
Hopefully it is merely window dressing to jerkov the Muslims and in private they agree that jihad is awful

Mark Shepler| 6.3.10 @ 1:25PM

Brennan's musings are to me nothing more than what I've been saying for years, to wit, liberalism in general and it's tenets of multiculturalism in particular, are simply the products of a total but lazy condescension. All of their blather about "diversity" notwithstanding, being multicultural, as Mark Steyn points out, means never having to actually know or understand "the other". Or take them at their word. And this is one of the qualities I most despise in liberals. Their sense of above-it-all superiority that drives them to treat others as children who do not mean what they say nor have convictions and motivations apart from what we do.

Here's a quick test of observation in which you can instantly determine whether a person is basically liberal or conservative: You're watching the news together and some 7th century weird-beard is shaking his fist and saying his intention is to convert all the world to Islam, slay or subjugate any who resist and to die gloriously in the trying if need be because Allah through Mohammed commands it. A conservative says, "hmmm, this guy sounds serious, we'd better get ready". A liberal pulls his chin and says, "Nahhh, he doesn't really mean THAT. No, what he REALLY means is they need more foreign aid and jobs or if we just kick those recalcitrant Jews off that little patch of land then the one billion of the world's Muslims will be ok." Now, which treats "the other" fully as men, taking them at their word and understanding they have their own view of things and which condescends and patronizes? And which is the more likely to infuriate him? Forget about what Brennan is saying to us, think about what he is saying to them. That they're convictions and very words are different and less than what they themselves say about them. That they can be bought off with a little coin or sweet-talked out of their life's mission. The fact is, for all their self-flattery about rationality, logic and science it is liberals who super-impose their own mentality on others, who presume to speak and even think for others and in the doing denigrate other's beliefs, customs and convictions. They do it all the time to all they take an interest in.

They certainly do it their countrymen all the time and whereas in our case it leads to bitter politics, when it comes to fighting the encroaching Dark Ages it could prove far more deadly. For liberals, having given up any conviction there are ideals worth fighting, conquering and dying for, fail to see there are and leave us supremely vulnerable to, determined men who do which is why I always tell my liberal friends, "they'll cut your throat first."

ojo grande| 6.3.10 @ 1:57PM

Is it just me or do any of you think that Brennan is certifiable? I don't know, but he has the same look emanating from his face that Gore does...scary.

Stephanie| 6.3.10 @ 8:18PM

About as wacky as Nancy Pelosi the other day going on and on and on about "the Word". Did anyone see her? Talk about wierd?! She looked like she had been smoking some good ganga (sp)
Yeah, Brennen is nuts and dangerously stupid.

Margie| 6.4.10 @ 12:34PM

Sometimes not having a t.v. is a wonderful thing.

Bilwick| 6.3.10 @ 2:54PM

Dimm-ahh!!!

(For you South Park fans out there.)

JCfromDC| 6.3.10 @ 3:15PM

I'm glad to see for ONCE, at least, there is NOT ONE single response defending Mr. Brennan's indefensible speech. Only Mr. Brennan could do that.. or could he? This has to be coming from the White House mouthpiece for Islamic terrorists himself... o..O...OMG!!! It's...coming... from... Him!!!!

martin j smith| 6.3.10 @ 4:28PM

Brennen drank the cool aid this is what you have.
Let me say one quick thing about the flotilla thing. This incident was produced and directed by hollywood. The US,all EU countries etc knew what it was about in advance. And, so it is not surprising that Sarkozy responded so quickly even a Caveman could not keep up. Sarkozy knew, they all knew. They are slime, liars and if not anti-semites, aiding and abetting same--soo it is the same thing. Brennen, fits in very well with Obama.

gsr| 6.3.10 @ 5:54PM

Mooooslim immigration should have been stopped or at least greatlly reduced after 9/11. It still should be today.

There never has been nor ever will be peaceful coexistance between Islam and the West. Stop mooooslim immigration now!

james| 6.3.10 @ 6:30PM

This worthless hack referred to Al Quds the other day. Al Quds is what murdering muslims call Jerusalem. That's right, folks. It is Jerusalem no more, according to a high-ranking official of the US government. This is Shakespearean simplicity and needs no elaboration.

Marc Jeric| 6.3.10 @ 7:26PM

Komrad Brennan is a criminal, in service to his boss Abu Hussein al-Nairobi (or whatever Kenyan hellhole this Muslim was born in).

James| 6.3.10 @ 9:32PM

I must admit that Mr. Neumayr has very effectively positioned this incident within reality. His dry humor helped ease facing that reality of a political/religious movement wholly engrossed in forcefully changing the world to their point of view at the end of a knife. I wonder what would happen if we asked our current officials to started acting as “peacefully” as the fascist elements in islam to counter their aim, talking in circles might be difficult then.

OCCAM'S TOOL| 6.3.10 @ 10:25PM

The mistake the Israelis made was in not following the precepts of the Greatest American General of the 20th Century, Curtis LeMay---"Once you are in a position where you are compelled to use military force...then you RESORT TO MILITARY FORCE. The quicker you complete that military action, the better for all concerned." Had the Israelis used overwhelming force, with Uzis, etc, there would have been fewer innocents killed. (Israelis, of course.)

ojo grande| 6.3.10 @ 10:48PM

Stephanie,
No, I missed Pelosi's little speech about the 'Word'. Strange how someone can vote for sucking the brains out of a full term, living, viable baby and talk about Jesus and the 'Word' and her Catholic belief. Why would the Catholic church give communion or not ex-communicate someone who not only voted for but was a main supporter of late-term abortions...in fact, a killer of innocent, defenseless babies.

I sometimes wonder if it is truly too late for America when someone like Pelosi will be voted in yet again come next election time.

Nick| 6.4.10 @ 12:23AM

ojo grande,

"Why would the Catholic church give communion [...]."

At times like these it is important to remember history. At one time, the 4th century A.D., most of the Catholic Church's bishops were teaching the Arian heresy.

God allows evil to happen, and He makes something good come of it. His ways are not our ways.

As Pope John Paul II constantly reminded us, from the Scriptures, "Be not afraid."

Charles Martel| 6.4.10 @ 2:37AM

"...to purify ... one's community..." and make it Judenrein. Thanks, Mr. Brennan, we get it now.

I've been trying to find a translation of his remarks in Arabic -- you know, the ones he asked the Arabic speakers in the audience not to share with the rest of us. Anyone have a link to that? I'm just dying to find out who he was blowing kisses to.

+++

An American| 6.4.10 @ 3:12PM

Nick,
When I look at all the past evil and the present evil happening in today's world ... in my prayers, I ask God...Where are you, why can't you stop these evil-doers?

Perhaps I should have more faith and trust in God...but its hard when I see people like Pelosi pretending to have God on their side.

Nick| 6.4.10 @ 4:16PM

An American,

It's hard for all of us.

Whenever I read how the Hebrews rejected God at Mt. Sinai, after He had saved them, and parted the Red Sea; and then sinned again, at Baal of Peor, 40 years later; and all the other times they continued to reject Him; I'm always tempted to say to myself, "How could they have rejected God, after all they had seen and experienced?"

And then the Holy Spirit slaps me upside my head and reminds me of all the things He has done in my life (miracles too), and yet, I disobey Him all the time.

We all need more faith and trust in God. You are not alone. Always ask that His will be done, not ours. It also doesn't hurt to ask Him to rid of us all the evil-doers. To call them home, so to speak.

God Bless!