"a different notion of submission"

"a different notion of submission"

There is a brief exchange at NRO's Corner started by Ramesh Ponnuru on the point that Islam, the word, does not mean "peace." Rather, it means "submission." Its surface meaning is "submission to the will of God;" it's practical meaning is submission to the will of whichever mokes are in power.The telling and, frankly irrelevent point Ponnuru makes is "the notion that obedience to God's will is true peace hardly unique to Islam." True, again on first and superficial reading. But the underlying truth is that Islam is about converting the infidels by whatever means necessary, including at the point of the sword.Ask yourself this: otherwise, how does one explain the rapid spread of Islam, from a tribal religion of Arabian primitives, to a goodly part of Europe and Eurasia? It wasn't because everyone spontaneously decided that they needed to learn Arabic to worship God. It was, plain and simple, the armed capture of territory.Andrew McCarthy properly questions Ponnuru's premise. Judaism and Christianity have reformed, in the sense that, at least in the West, one is not forced to believe, or to "submit" to any particular interpretation of what God wishes for us. Islam remains, at least in places where it is the only faith allowed to flourish, a religion of coercion. Of submission to the ruling Muslim authorities. Where are those places where only Islam is allowed to flourish? Basically every place where Muslims are in charge of the government. The key word is "flourish." One will find Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and even a few Jews, in Islamic countries. But they exist largely as dhimmi, second class (if that) citizens. In some places like Saudi Arabia, it is plain against the law to practice any faith other than (certain kinds of) Islam.Then there's that automatic death sentence to anyone who renounces his or her Islamic faith. McCarthy summarizes the situation nicely:
that what is conveyed here is a different notion of submission than one finds in the Judeo-Christian tradition. And while it is not the only interpretation of Islam, it is one accepted by tens of millions of Muslims, and one rationally based on their scriptures and traditions.What I see in the West are Muslims who make nice in public, and issue soothing sounds: "Islam is a religion of peace," "Islam treats all equally" and other lies. Lies big, and lies small. Islam is itself a lie. It is after world domination, a restoration of some world-wide caliphate that may never have existed in the past, but which is the long-range goal. Those who await some Islamic "Reformation," a liberalizing event in the faith's history, had best not wait too long.There is in fact some thought that Islam has already had its Reformation, and its name is Wahhabism. The analogy with Christianity? The Protestant Reformation, it is alleged, merely returned the Christian faith to its true roots: a simple statement of faith in Jesus Christ as the savior who died for all of our sins. If this is true, and the harsh and pure interpretation that is Wahabbism is the "reformed" version of Islam, then we do have a clash of civilizations on our hands. And we'd best get to it.