Starting 1,400 years ago, Islam attempted to conquer the entire world, and nearly succeeded. For over 1,000 years it held sway as the world's strongest empire. But at present, Islam has waned in power and dwindled in influence. The world powers (defined as 'Christian' powers by the Muslim world) of Britain, France, USA and Russia have either directly dominated or influenced large areas of the Middle East over the past three centuries. Not only their military influence, but also their political influence, their cultural sway (Hollywood and Western secular values), and their religious influence (freedom of religion, and missionary outreach) - all have brought pollution to strict believers in Islam and jihad, according to traditional Islamic perspective. Millions of Muslims have been conquered by the values of the West, it is felt, and have slacked in their commitment to Islam.

But it's not only the Christians who are seen to be the enemies of once glorious Islam. The Jews have also humiliated the Muslims. The State of Israel is seen by most Muslims as a hated spearhead of Western forces and values in the Middle East. Time and again the little Jewish state has defeated superior numbers of Islamic forces. This shaming of Muhammad's army can only be assuaged by the total elimination of the State of Israel, many Muslims believe.

The present disgraceful and defeated condition of Islam cannot be due to any fault of Allah. It must be due to the disobedience - the lack of religious purity and zeal - of the Islamic world. According to this perspective, Allah is now giving individual Muslims the chance to redeem themselves through a renewed commitment to Islam and to jihad (Muhammad's burning command to conquer the world for Allah immediately prior to the final Hour of Judgment). This time, it is believed, Islam's triumph will be decisive and eternal.

The above perspective can be called 'Islamic revivalism'. It sees the present world condition as paralleling the world situation in Muhammad's day (600's AD). The mujahidin see themselves as re-enacting the original battle between the world of Islam and the world of the infidels (Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb). Many of the world's Islamic leaders are also infidels (according to Islamic revivalism) - rich petroleum sheiks content to sin and slumber while the West drains Islamic oil wells (a strategic military gift given by Allah to Muslims to put the West in an economic and political stranglehold).

The Islamic calendar is used by modern Islamic revivalism to raise Muslim expectations that the Final Hour is here. This calendar (called the hijri), takes its starting point with Muhammad's escape from Mecca on July 16, 622 AD. Islam's 14th century ended in 1979. This 'turn of the century' event quickly took on important jihad symbolism, for two apocalyptic events occurred in quick succession in that year - Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran, and the short-lived but violent takeover of Saudi Arabia's central mosque containing the Ka'ba (Masjid al-Haram) in November 1979 by mujahidin. For Islamic revivalists, the Hour of Judgment is nearly here, and jihad is now the order of the day.

Some Muslim revivalists consider that the kickoff for this Islamic Last Hour might have started with the Arab-Israeli wars, or perhaps with the Gulf War. Muslim eschatology (end-times scenarios) describes the rise of an 'antichrist' figure called the 'dajjal' who is supposed to be a Jew. He will lead a world conspiracy against Islam, spearheaded by the Christian West and by Israel. Since it is unthinkable that Islam would lose out to Christianity in the Final Hour, true Muslims must in the meantime resist the dajjal's influence by resisting and destroying all Western, Christian and Jewish influences on Islamic society - be they political, cultural or religious. The name of one of Bin Laden's umbrella groups, the International Islamic Front for the Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, takes on added meaning within this eschatological (last days) context.

Islamic revivalist writings decree that Allah will bring natural disasters and terror acts against the West as punishment for their corruption of Islam. When these acts of Allah's vengeance against the West occur, they say, Muslims should be encouraged. In this context, consider the spontaneous outbursts of joy and city-wide victory marches in Lebanon and Palestinian areas, when news of the Black Tuesday terror attacks became known. Islamic futurists believe that war will first be joined against the Jews in Israel and then, after Israel's defeat, against the West. The reason Israel has succeeded for so long, it is believed, is because the dajjal is exercising his demonic powers through Israel and the United States to weaken and divide the Islamic world. The worldwide spread of American culture, music, films etc., reflects a dajjal agenda to destroy Islam. From this perspective, one could nearly say that the rock star Madonna, the fast food giant McDonald's, and the seven-branched Jewish menorah (candelabrum) are all elements of the dajjal's satanic agenda.

It is noteworthy that, during the first and second intifadas (violent Palestinian riots against Israelis), bloodthirsty graffiti were scrawled and street chants resounded, drawing connections between jihad against the Jews and jihad against the Christians: "First we come for the Saturday people (the Jews) and then for the Sunday people (the Christians)!" These mob chants are reflecting Palestinian awareness of a jihad consciousness and a jihad eschatology.

One Islamic strategy influenced by the above eschatology, is the attempt to drive a wedge between the Christian West and the Jewish state of Israel. The principle of 'divide and conquer' is older than Machiavelli, and is part of the world strategy of Islamic terror. Islamic revivalists and terrorists are trying to weaken and destroy Israel as a first step. This will lead, in their minds, to weakening and destroying the West. One of the main messages that Islamic terrorism and its fellow travelers continue to drive home to America and the West is this, "The main reason for terror attacks against the US is your support for Israel. End support for Israel, and we will end attacks on you!" In this regard, it is worth meditating on the results of the October 2001 NEWSWEEK poll which found that 58% of Americans surveyed believe that recent Islamic terror is due to American support for Israel.

Another pause for thought would come from Osama Bin Laden's latest video message aired on Qatar's al-Jazeera television station on October 7 2001. "As for the United States, I say only a few words to it and its
people: I swear by Allah who elevated the skies without pillars, that neither America nor he who lives in it will enjoy security before we can see it as a reality in Palestine - and not before all the infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad, may peace be upon him". Bin Laden's aide Suleiman Abu Ghaith (a spokesman for the al-Qa'ida group) added, "America has announced its total support for the Zionist entity that has killed and oppressed Muslims and Arabs, and this is its stupid policy . . . America has to know that was happened to it is a result of this policy and it must know that if it continues this policy, then the sons of Islam will not in any way stop waging revenge . . . The American people must know that it bears total responsibility and what has happened to it is because of its support for this policy".


IV. Is the West prepared for 'jihad'?

Many in the West find it nearly impossible to come to terms with the very openly declared agenda of Islamic jihad revivalism. The possibility of another threat to world order (of similar nature to fascism or communism) brings fear and horror to many Westerners. "Just when we made the world safe from Communism, now this? Crop dusters with anthrax, and nuclear backpacks in US cities?" Many in the West don't want to live with crises, and they hope that these crises (if left alone) will disappear.

History is full of examples of national leaders who have played the ostrich when faced with international emergencies. Prime Minister Chamberlain of Great Britain refused to believe that Hitler could be a threat to Western European democracies. Communists in Western Europe and North America refused to believe any thing bad about Uncle Joseph Stalin. Many Israelis until recently believed that Yasir Arafat had changed his spots and was now a peace partner in good faith. Yet the ostrich response is widespread. At the same time as Allied troops are fighting the Taliban and al-Qa'ida in Afghanistan, great pains are being taken by Western 'Christian' leaders to proclaim that Islam has nothing to do with Islamic terrorists, and even (in the recent words of Prime Minister Tony Blair) to deny that Islamic terrorists even exist. Why is it that the West does not want to acknowledge the religious identity of its self-declared enemies?

One reason may be that the West does not want to buy into apocalyptic scenarios. Who wants to accept that 'life as we know it' may never be the same again? Many Westerners consider peace and comfort as the main values in life. Anything that will disturb those activities should be ignored, and then maybe it will go away. But Paul's caution in 1 Thessalonians 5:3-6 is opposite: he warns that those who desire peace and safety above all things will confront sudden destruction. We who desire God's protection should be sober and on the lookout, Paul says.

A second reason is that many in the West are naive when it comes to recognizing implacable enemies - foes who want to murder, conquer and convert at the point of the sword. That scenario sounds too 'kitsch' for most Westerners. Most believe that everyone 'has his price', and that enemies can be bought off with increased offers of humanitarian aid. Often the foreign policy of the West has been strikingly similar to the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" Or perhaps the words of John Lennon offer quicksilver hope, whether it be "Love is all you need" or "Imagine ... nothing to kill or die for ... imagine all the people living life in peace". One heritage of the Woodstock Nation is its naive inability to recognize existential threats.

A third reason concerns those in America and Europe who are isolationist, who believe in looking out for "Fortress America/Europe and let the rest of the world be darned". There are those who would willingly throw Israel to the Islamic wolves if it means an uninterrupted flow of oil for the eighteen wheelers of American or European industry. At the same time it should be noted that prophetic voices calling attention to upcoming jihad have been raised in the past decade. Steve Emerson produced a television broadcast in 1995 (available in video) called 'Jihad in America', detailing how the developing international Islamic terror network has been making inroads in America. For the most part his work was ignored. Israeli then-Prime-Ministerial contender Benjamin Netanyahu published Fighting Terror (Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, NY, 1995), a little heeded appeal to the West (until Black Tuesday) to defeat terrorism before the fast closing window of opportunity would be shut - the moment when Islamic terrorists deploy atomic, chemical or biological weapons.

The fourth and last reason that some leaders in the West refuse to publicly acknowledge the existence of Islamic terror, is due to a misguided political strategy. The West wants to eradicate Islamic terror networks, but at the same time it wants to avoid angering the very volatile Muslim world. This explains the many recent American and British declarations which emphasize that the Afghanistan war is not anti-Islamic, but anti-terror. It is more important for the Western coalition to ignore the terrorist nature of Islamic jihad and describe the Islamic faith as altogether peaceful, than it is to expose the violent nature of jihad and lose their tenuous and touchy Muslim allies.

At the same time the West also wants to strengthen the hand of pro-Western Islamic elements in the Muslim world, while weakening and invalidating anti-Western jihad forces. That is why Western leaders continually insist that Islam is purely a religion of peace, and that Islamic jihad warriors like Bin Laden are not really a valid statement of Islam.

The moral problem with this strategy is twofold. First, it confuses and blurs the spiritual discernment of the Western public. This will make it harder to rally them when Islamic jihad really kicks into high gear. Secondly, it plays into the hands of the Islamic jihad movement itself, whose sleepers have infiltrated North America and Europe. Many of these sleepers continue to operate under the cover of Islamic institutions and charities - some which are bona fide, others which are bogus fronts which raise funds for terror and orchestrate terror campaigns. To win the war on terrorism, it is absolutely necessary to understand the nature of one's enemy and his strategy. To confuse one's own forces about the enemy's strategy is to risk losing the war.

Unless the West is willing to be ruthlessly honest in calling terror 'terror', in comprehensively uncovering terror networks in Western countries, in not turning a blind eye to Islamic terror nests in host countries like Syria (recently voted in as non-permanent UN Security Council member), Iran, Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and in not adopting a double standard when it comes to anti-Jewish/anti-Israeli terror (by justifying or quietly rewarding anti-Israel terrorist movements) - then the best that can be expected from Operation Unending Freedom in Afghanistan is the lopping off of a few heads from the many-headed Islamic terrorist hydra. But the terrorist hydra will grow new heads, and these heads will grow back even more quickly. And these new terrorists will be even more passionately committed to carrying out an even harsher jihad against the 'infidel' West.


V. Prophetic possibilities

The following is a considered opinion about what may well happen in the near future. These thoughts are not inerrant, but are worth considering as events unfold. It seems that the Islamic terror movement, in conjunction with Muslim states which support an Islamic jihad agenda, will try to escalate terror attacks against the West, inflicting civilian casualties at a rate like nothing which has ever been seen before. This would include the use of atomic, biological and chemical warfare against American cities. Many reliable prophetic voices have been quietly saying these things for years. Natural disasters in the West (from massive flooding to earthquakes and comets) will be understood by Islam's followers to show that Allah himself is smiting the West and fighting his own form of jihad against the 'infidels'.

Years ago, an internationally trusted prophetic voice prophesied that Communism would one day be revived and return to the world scene as a power to be reckoned with. This Communism will be 'raised from the dead' to join together with Islam, having the common goal of world conquest. Islam will be the stronger of these two powers, and their union will have terribly evil consequences for the entire world. It seems that these struggles will lead to the rise of the real anti-Messiah.

In the meantime, Islam will continue to push for its short term goal of getting America to abandon Israel. Terrorism against Western targets, a renewed anti-Israel Arab boycott - but especially a determined Arab oil embargo - will be its major tools. The plumb line which God will use to divide the hearts of all the nations will be Israel. Those who stand with her in her hour of need will be blessed and accepted by the God of Israel, while those who abandon her and choose all other gods will be thrust out from God's presence forever (Matt.25:31-46).

So it is no longer business as usual. The masks are off. Pray that many in the West and in Israel will recognize the strategies of Satan as seen in the Islamic revivalist jihad movement. There is a window of opportunity open right now in the West as a result of the September 11 terror attacks - a willingness to weigh and consider the potential destructiveness of Islamic jihad, and its potential threat to Western civilization.

VI. How shall we then respond?

Here are three areas of prayer and response to focus on: