While a once very devout Muslims tell us:

Wherever I go in the world, people ask me about ISIS. And I advise them to ignore the endless debates about the peaceful versus violent nature of Islam and take a long, hard look at the Islamic State. ISIS is Islam, exposed in all its cruelty and ugliness, unchanged since Muhammad.  The atrocities committed by ISIS are merely an extension of the atrocities committed by Islam’s prophet.

Recently, I attended a lecture by Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism expert and lead instructor for US Special Operations Command’s Combating Terrorism course.  (More about that lecture here and here.)  During that lecture, he made a simple, yet profound, statement:

To understand the enemy, know what they say about themselves.

One need look no further than the Qur’an (the Islamic holy book) and the Islamic Prophet Muhammad to know what Islam is all about.  True, people of “religion” don’t always act according to their holy book.  I know plenty of professing Christians who may not have enough evidence to convict them if they were accused of being a Christian!  More importantly, I doubt a single one of us (Christians) could say we are perfect in living out the principles of the Bible.  Thus, judgment is not passed on how perfectly a Christian, a Muslim, or any other “religious” person lives out the principles of their holy book.

The point is this: what does the Qur’an and the prophet of Islam teach?  What are the basic tenets of the faith, whether lived out perfectly or not?  The Qur’an is filled with references to killing infidels, which definitely includes “people of the book” (Jews), and others who believe differently than the Qur’an’s teachings (according to the interpretation of the one reading).  Furthermore, the prophet Muhammad raped, mutilated, tortured, and killed.  Throughout history, many of his followers have done just as their prophet taught and demonstrated.

When one takes a good hard look at what Islam says about itself (through the Qur’an, other writings, and the life of its prophet), we come to understand the enemy at work in the world today: radical Islam.  Too bad our leaders refuse to recognize and call it what it is.

But, don’t take my word for it.  I will close with two distinct perspectives, from which the first two quotes above were taken.  Please read, then decide for yourself whether or not Islam is the problem:

Obama: US not at war with Islam, but with those who have perverted it

 Behold the face of Islam (written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a Hamas founder, and former Muslim)  Or hear Mosab discuss Islam on this video.

Friends, are you engaged in the spiritual battle against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:10-13)?  The battle is fought on our knees!