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Roots of anti-US Islamic terrorism (the Pact of Umar)

The roots of the December 6, 2019 murder of three US soldiers on the Pensacola Naval Air Station, by an Islamic Saudi terrorist, are independent of US policy in the Middle East and beyond, as are all previous cases of anti-US and anti-Western Islamic terrorism.

For instance, the launching of the anti-US terror stampede by Iran’s Ayatollahs was initiated in 1979, while the US supported the Ayatollahs ascension to power in Teheran and betrayed the Shah of Iran. Moreover, Erdogan’s intense support of Muslim Brotherhood terrorism, which has targeted the US and all pro-US Arab regimes, is aimed at advancing Erdogan’s vision to reestablish the Ottoman Empire and undermine US interests, in spite of Turkey’s NATO membership and the multi-year, mega-billion dollar US investment in Turkey’s national security since 1947.

Islamic rage and anti-Western terrorism are not driven by economic, social, or educational goals.  The roots of the Islamic rage against Western culture, in general, and the US – the leader of Western democracies – in particular, are nurtured by a worldview, which precedes the 1776 independence of the USA and the 1620 landing of the Early Pilgrims in New England.

According to Prof. Bernard Lewis, a world-leading expert on Islam and the Middle East, the anti-Western Islamic rage represents current edition of a clash of civilizations: “If the fighters in the war for Islam, the holy war ‘in the path of God,’ are fighting for God, it follows that their opponents are fighting against God…. The army is God’s army and the enemy is God’s enemy…. In the classical Islamic view, to which many Muslims are beginning to return, the world and all mankind are divided into two: the House of Islam… and the House of Unbelief, or the House of War, which it is the duty of Muslims ultimately to bring to Islam…. Muslims from an early date recognized a genuine rival – a competing world religion…. This was Christendom…. The struggle between these rival systems has now lasted for some 14 centuries.  It began with the advent of Islam, in the 7th century…. It has consisted of a long series of attacks and counterattacks, Jihads and crusades, conquests and re-conquests…. America had become the archenemy, the incarnation of evil, the diabolic opponent of all that is good, and specifically, for Muslims, of Islam….”

The roots of the religious, cultural, political, legal and military Islamic treatment of the “infidel,” especially the Dhimmi (the “infidel” under Islamic rule) derive from the Koran-based Pact of Umar, the second Caliph (following Muhammad), who has been a role model of Islamic leadership.  The Pact of Umar was extended to “infidels” in areas conquered by Muslims. It ensured the “protected” – inferior – status of “infidels,” who paid a special tax (Jizya – “safety tax”) and submitted themselves to the rule of Islam, which is, supposedly, the only legitimate religion, divinely-ordained to rule humanity.

Among the Pact’s list of restrictions on – and privileges of – the “protected” Dhimmi:

*Dhimmi structures (homes or churches) may not overtop Muslim structures;

*No erection of new monasteries, churches, convents or monks’ cells, and no repair of such houses of worships in Muslim quarters;

*No public display of crosses and Dhimmi books (Bibles) and symbols;

*No public manifestation of the Dhimmi religion;

*Only low-volume clappers may be used in churches;

*Showing respect toward Muslims, rising from seats when Muslims wish to sit;

*No possession of weapons;

*No Arabic inscriptions on Dhimmi seals;

*No imitation of Muslim garments and manner of speaking;

*Wearing the zunar (a wide belt or girdle), which distinguishes Dhimmis from Muslims. Christians – blue belts or turbans, Jews – yellow belts or turbans (the origin of the “yellow badge”);

*Striking a Muslim removes “protection”;

*A violation of these restrictions and privileges forfeits the status of “protected” Dhimmi, making one liable to penalties of sedition and contumacy.

The Pact of Umar serves as a major guideline for contemporary Islamic authorities, as documented by Egypt’s Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood (the largest Islamic terror organization with political subsidiaries in the Middle East, Europe and the USA), who is considered the most influential Islamic scholar alive, whose sermons are broadcast live throughout the globe. Sheikh Qaradawi referred to the Pact of Umar as a cardinal Islamic legacy in his 2012 book “Jerusalem: the concern of every Muslim.”

In an October 2000 Cairo Arab Summit speech, Yasser Arafat stated that “the Palestinian struggle is in accordance with the Pact of Umar,” which was violated by Israel’s claim of sovereignty over Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.

The text of the Pact of Umar is featured on a marble plate in the courtyard of the Umar Mosque in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, and is displayed in many Arab shops and during demonstrations in Judea and Samaria.

While the vast majority of Muslims are not terrorists, most Middle Eastern Muslim societies are non-democratic, ruled by rogue regimes, which suppress the voice of the majority, employing terrorism as a tool to advance their worldview.

Islamic terrorism has been a systematic feature of intra-Arab and intra-Muslim politics – domestically and regionally – since the 7th century. Its toll has dramatically exceeded the toll of anti-Western Islamic terrorism.

Western democracies cannot expect Islamic terrorism to be kinder toward the “infidel” than it has been toward fellow “believers.”

 




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The Abraham Accords – the US, Arab interests and Israel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan believe that the expansion of the Abraham Accords, the enhancement of Israel-Saudi defense and commercial cooperation and the conclusion of an Israel-Saudi Arabia peace accord are preconditioned upon major Israeli concessions to the Palestinian Authority.

Is such a belief consistent with Middle East reality?

Arab interests

*The signing of the Abraham Accords, and the role played by Saudi Arabia as a critical engine of the accords, were driven by the national security, economic and diplomatic interests of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and the Sudan.

*The Arab interest in peace accords with Israel was not triggered by the realization that the Jewish State was genuinely seeking peaceful-coexistence, nor by a departure from the fundamental tenets of Islam. It was motivated by the assessment that critical concerns of the respective Arab countries would be effectively-served by Israel’s advanced military (Qualitative Military Edge), technological and diplomatic capabilities in the face of mutual and lethal enemies, such as Iran’s Ayatollahs and Muslim Brotherhood terrorism.

*Saudi Arabia and the six Arab peace partners of Israel (including Egypt and Jordan) are aware that the Middle East resembles a volcano, which occasionally releases explosive lava – domestically and/or regionally – in an unpredictable manner, as evidenced by the 1,400-year-old stormy intra-Arab/Muslim relations, and recently demonstrated by the Arab Tsunami, which erupted in 2011 and still rages.

They wish to minimize the impact of rogue regimes, and therefore are apprehensive about the nature of the proposed Palestinian state, in view of the rogue Palestinian inter-Arab track record, which has transformed Palestinians into an intra-Arab role model of subversion, terrorism, treachery and ingratitude.

*They are anxious about the erosion of the US posture of deterrence, which is their most critical component of national security, and alarmed about the 43-year-old US diplomatic option toward Iran’s Ayatollahs, which has bolstered the Ayatollahs’ terroristic, drug trafficking and ballistic capabilities. They are also concerned about the US’ embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the largest Sunni terrorist entity with religious, educational, welfare and political branches. And, they are aware of the ineffectiveness of NATO (No Action Talk Only?), the European vacillation, and the vulnerability of all other Arab countries.

Israel’s role

*Saudi Arabia and the Arab partners to peace accords with Israel feel the machetes of the Ayatollahs and the Moslem Brotherhood at their throats. They consider Israel as the most reliable “life insurance agent” in the region.  They view Israel as the most effective US force-multiplier in the Middle East, and appreciate Israel’s proven posture of deterrence; flexing its military muscles against Iran’s Ayatollahs in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran itself and against Palestinian and Hezbollah terrorism. They respect Israel’s unique counter-terrorism intelligence and training capabilities, and its game-changing military and counter-terrorism battle tactics and technologies.

*The Arab view of Israel as a reliable partner on “a rainy day” has been bolstered by Israel’s willingness to defy US pressure, when it comes to Israel’s most critical national security and historic credos (e.g., Iran, Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria).  In addition, Saudi Arabia and Israel’s peace-partners aim to leverage Israel’s good-standing among most Americans – and therefore among most Senators and House Representatives – as a venue to enhance their military, commercial and diplomatic ties with the US.

*Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are preoccupied with the challenge of economic diversification, realizing that they are overly-reliant on oil and natural gas, which are exposed to price-volatility, depletion and could be replaced by emerging cleaner and more cost-effective energy.

Thus, they consider Israel’s ground-breaking technologies as a most effective vehicle to diversify their economy, create more jobs in non-energy sectors, and establish a base for alternative sources of national income, while bolstering homeland and national security.

*The Abraham Accords – as well as Israel’s peace accords with Egypt and Jordan – and the unprecedented expansion of defense and commercial cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel, demonstrate that critical Arab national security interests may supersede fundamental tenets of Islam, such as the 1,400-year-old rejection of any “infidel” sovereignty in “the abode of Islam.”  Moreover, critical national security interests may lead to a dramatic moderation of the (Arab) education system, which is the most authentic reflection of one’s vision and policies.

Thus, contrary to the Palestinian Authority, the United Arab Emirates has uprooted hate-education curriculum, replacing it with pro-Israel/Jewish curriculum.

Abraham Accords’ durability

*The success of the Abraham Accords was a result of avoiding the systematic mistakes committed by the US State Department. The latter has produced a litany of failed peace proposals, centered on the Palestinian issue, while the Abraham accords bypassed the Palestinian issue, avoiding a Palestinian veto, and focusing on Arab interests. Therefore, the durability of the Abraham Accords depends on the interests of the respective Arab countries, and not on the Palestinian issue, which is not a top priority for any Arab country.

*The durability of the Abraham Accords depends on the stability of the individual Arab countries and the Middle East at-large.

*The Abraham Accord have yielded initial and unprecedented signs of moderation, modernity and peaceful coexistence, which requires the US to support the respective pro-US Arab regimes, rather than pressuring them (e.g., Saudi Arabia and the UAE).

*However, one should not ignore the grave threats to the durability of the accords, posed by the volcanic nature of the unstable, highly-fragmented, unpredictable, violently intolerant, non-democratic and tenuous Middle East (as related to intra-Arab relations!).  These inherent threats would be dramatically alleviated by a resolute US support.

*A major threat to the Abraham Accord is the tenuous nature of most Arab regimes in the Middle East, which yields tenuous policies and tenuous accords. For example, in addition to the Arab Tsunami of 2010 (which is still raging on the Arab Street), non-ballot regime-change occurred (with a dramatic change of policy) in Egypt (2013, 2012, 1952), Iran (1979, 1953), Iraq (2003, 1968, 1963-twice, 1958), Libya (2011, 1969), Yemen (a civil war since the ’90s, 1990, 1962), etc.

*Regional stability, the Abraham Accords and US interests would be undermined by the proposed Palestinian state west of the Jordan River (bearing in mind the intra-Arab Palestinian track record). It would topple the pro-US Hashemite regime east of the River; transforming Jordan into another platform of regional and global Islamic terrorism, similar to Libya, Syria, Iraq and Yemen; triggering a domino scenario, which would threaten every pro-US Arab oil-producing country in the Arabian Peninsula; yielding a robust tailwind to Iran’s Ayatollahs, Russia and China and a major headwind to the US.

*While Middle East reality defines policies and accords as variable components of national security, the topography and geography of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and the Golan Heights are fixed components of Israel’s minimal security requirements in the reality of the non-Western Middle East. Israel’s fixed components of national security have secured its survival, and have dramatically enhanced its posture of deterrence. They transformed the Jewish State into a unique force and dollar multiplier for the US.

*The more durable the Abraham Accords and the more robust Israel’s posture of deterrence, the more stable the pro-US Arab regimes and the Middle East at-large; the more deterred are anti-US rogue regimes; the less potent are Middle Eastern epicenters of anti-US terrorism and drug trafficking; the more bolstered is the US global posture and the weaker is the posture of the US’ enemies and adversaries.

*Would the Arab regimes of the Abraham Accords precondition their critical ties with Israel upon Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, which they view as a rogue element? Would they sacrifice their national security and economic interests on the altar of the Palestinian issue? Would they cut off their nose to spite their face?

The fact that these Arab regimes concluded the Abraham Accords without preconditioning it upon Israeli concessions to the Palestinians, and that they limit their support of the Palestinians to talk, rather than walk, provides an answer to these three questions.

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