Bewildered by what fanatic Muslims do, some conclude that Muslims are brainwashed. Otherwise, how can their totally illogical belief system and barbaric behavior be explained? But the notion of “brainwashing” that is bandied about is the stuff of science fiction and Hollywood movies such as the Manchurian Candidate.

The human person arrives in this world with his brains already washed in the sense of being what John Locke called tabula rasa, blank slate—ready for experience to imprint its script on it. John Locke was only partly correct. The brain also arrives with numerous predispositions already in place. It is a combination of life’s influences and a person’s own decisions that determine which of these dispositions develop and which ones fail. It is through this process that a unique human being is formed. Many animals come with already in-place programs that automatically run much of their lives. Birds’ migration, mating courtship and thousands of other complex behaviors are instances of this type of specific programming. A catchword for this type of behavior is “instinct.” As a general rule, the higher the organism the less is its rigid pre-programs and the greater its latitude to exercise choices. Making choices depends on what there is to choose from and to what extent a given choice appeals to the person. And the human newborn enters the arena of life without the means of being other than a passive recipient of “things” already chosen for him. It is like the old joke by Henry Ford who reportedly told his customers that they could have the choice of color for their car as long as it was black. Things are almost as bleak for the new arrival. He didn’t have a say in choosing his parents, his socio-economic condition, his environment of birth and much more. All are already in place and he is to start in life from the context of his birth. The development of a newborn in any family is importantly influenced by many factors, among them how hands-on the parents are; how religious they are, how severely they micromanage him in an attempt to make him not only a good person but also a person  better-one than they themselves. Parents tend to live vicariously through their children by programming them, the best they can, so that the children become or achieve much of what they themselves had failed to become or to accomplish. This attitude covers all areas of life such as giving the child the education they didn’t have, helping him with fame and fortune, nurturing him to become a topnotch athlete and so forth. It is a fact that early influences play a cardinal role in shaping the person. For this reason, for instance, the overwhelming majority of Muslims have born into Muslim families, Catholics into Catholic families, Hindus into Hindu families and so on. It is also a fact that the degree of religiosity ranges from mild to strong, with most people falling somewhere between the two extremes. Interestingly, two siblings raised by the same set of parents under the same influences may end up at the opposite extremes in their religious views and practices. It is here that the human dynamic of freedom of choice comes into play and steers one to one extreme and the other to the other extreme. Occasional extreme deviations notwithstanding, the great majority of siblings of a given family end up with various degrees of that family’s overall religious and other values. The same general principle of subscribing to a set of common values exists in all human groupings, in some cases with a broad flexibility and inclusiveness while in others with rigidity and exclusivity. In order to enjoy the privileges of belonging to a group, the person must also pay his dues of membership. The very young human faces, beginning with the minute he can make some sense of the world, a bewildering array of mysteries, challenges, and enticements. There are questions at every step, fears, and hopes entangled with the need to survive and possibly thrive. Who am I? What is this world all about? What’s the purpose? What am I supposed to do and how? Where am I headed? People die. Where do they go? And on and on and on. The information booths available to him in the fairground of life provide him with answers that may help relieve his innate existentialistic anxiety. And it is here that religion plays its critical role and holds a great appeal. Religion provides a surefire answer to those who are willing to take it on faith. And Islam is a powerful magnet for the masses that are unable to deal with the uncertainties of life and death on their own. It is from this population, many already thoroughly indoctrinated from birth, that the majority of diehard jihadists emerge. It is the bargain the jihadist makes. He surrenders totally to the religion of surrender in exchange for blanket security. Islam gives him all the answers he really seeks for dealing with this world and promises him a most lush and eternal paradise of Allah once he leaves it. And leaving this world in perfect submission as the foot-soldier of the paradise’s creator gives the faithful unimaginably glorious sensual eternal reward in his next life. It’s a bargain that some buy in whole, some in part, some refuse and seek other means of dealing with their questions and the unrelenting existentialistic anxiety. The great majority of jihadists emanate from the ranks of those born into the religion of Islam, simply because they are the ones who are most thoroughly indoctrinated and influenced by the Islamic dogma in their most receptive early years. Yet, there are others who embrace Islam in adulthood, on their own, and enlist themselves as devoted jihadists for the same rewards that Islam offers them. Islam has a great advantage of the first call on the new arrival. It is an omnipresent system with masses of believers, mosques and madresehs, and a host of other social and economic organizations that overpower the person and steer him into the same fold; it is a sea of people who seem to know what they are all about, what life and death are all about, and what one must also do. Within this sea of surging humanity composed of some 1.5 billion Muslims, each individual believer—a drop—through a combination of choice and forces beyond his control, ends up in one of its many waves. It is the jihadist wave that is highly attractive to the deeply-indoctrinated and poorly-adjusted in dealing rationally and independently with life. Here, he finds the iron-clad perfect solution to his anxieties and perplexities.

To a jihadist, death is nothing more than casting off a shell of the worthless earthly existence and donning the suit for winging joyously to the life of bliss promised by none-other than Allah’s beloved final emissary, Muhammad. Eradication of jihadism is a daunting task, since Islam is truly a virulent persistent pandemic disease. Massive education efforts, combined with resolute confrontation of all sources and people that support and promote this deadly philosophy, hold the best promise of dealing effectively with this affliction of humanity. In addition to the family, places such as mosques and madresehs, Islamic associations and charitable organizations, prisons, and the like are incubators of jihadists. Massive efforts are required, on the one hand, to drain the breeding swamps of the Islamic virus, while on the other hand helping Muslims adopt an alternative perspective of life that addresses their perplexities and offers a degree of comfort that religions dispense without pitting one segment of humanity against another. In the monumental task of dealing with jihadism, every individual, group and government must combine their resources and energies to prevail. The destiny of the civilized life hangs in the balance. It is an unpardonable act of shirking responsibility for anyone to adopt the attitude of “let George do it.” George is you. George is I. George is every enlightened human being and organization that values human liberty and dignity. 

2009-12-08 19:34:36
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I am not an expert on Islam and would appreciate a comment on my observations:

There is something I see repeatedly in the press, movies, religious writings, etc concerning Islam. The most radical Islamists may beleive they are great defenders of women, but in reality severely limit women's freedom and supress their role in society and in the family. Obviously the mother is a second class citizen in the most conservative Islamic Family. This leaves the rearing of the typical Islamic boy child to the males in the family structure. It appears that for the most part they abdicate this role to others. In Islam it appears that 'it takes a village to raise the boy', is a truism. That 'village' consists of the local Imam, the Madrassa, the elders at the Mosque and the ever-present crazy Jihadist Uncle.

Where, in ancient history the Arab culture was one of creativity, industry, art and invention, current Islamic culture seems to have dissolved into a culture of victimization, idleness and religious extremism, evidenced by the omnipresent fist wavers of the 'Arab Street'. I don't know when Muslim culture lost its proud bearings, but it appears to me that the growth of women's rights and feminism throughout the World presented a huge threat to the Islamic male. The response was to step back from liberal modern society and back into the safety of a strict, female dominating form of Islam. This obsession with using their religion as a crutch to 'defend' their obviously fragile masculinity may have forced many young Muslim males into the arms of the most radical Islamists.

This dedication to learning the Koran to provide reinforcement for their attempts at tightly controlling their women has resulted in a cadre of poorly educated males spending their days reading the Koran, being endoctrinated by similarly dysfunctional radical clerics.

Those 17 virgins are not an erotic reward, their promise appears a symbol of the ultimate male dominance. In the real world, that mythical superiority is all that many Islamic men have.
Emily:

I too would like to see a 'democracy' emerge in Iraq. Even if it will never be a Jeffersonian-democracy, it could be, at best, a Turkey (no pun intended).

Put 'sorta democracy' Iraq there and one in Afghanistan and then there would be a 'sorta almost democracy' on each side of the Iranian mullahcrocy. That would be a pretty good outcome and might even cause the idea to spread. It's going to take many years to accomplish and unfortunately, people we value will die making it happen.

Maybe the CIA is parachuting bluejeans and Wii/Playstation games into Teheran as we speak, to corrupt (westernize) their youth further so as to have the same effect on the mullacracy as Capitalism had on the commisars of the Former Soviet Union. Does anybody miss the Shah?

WCM
About 'the destiny of civilized life hangs in the balance', I'm glad that ultimately the victory is secured by the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. I wish that absolved us of the responsibility to occasionally 'pass the ammunition' while we 'praise the Lord'. The wrath of man will not accomplish the righteousness of God. Like Mordecai said to Esther, 'Who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' (Esther4:13-14)
TO Dlanor:

Great Point. Maybe someone has to submit to begin a 501c3 for the religion of PATRIOTISM. Its belief is to defend the American's right to our God's greatest treasure; freedom or free will. As a means to an end converts to this religion must extinguish any Militant islamist who threatedns those freedoms. Do you think this WASP dominated religion would be provided the PC cover such as that provided to the militant islamists who seek to destroy this country in the name of religion?
Posted by: cedarhill new
Dec 13, 04:06 AM
To alter the philosophy of jihad one must, imho, do one of three things...simply remove the parts leaving only 'the good' parts.

In all sincerity and with absolutely no sarcasm, I tell you that there'd be nothing left of the quran.


Posted by: old progrmr new
Dec 13, 12:15 PM
There is something I see repeatedly in the press, movies, religious writings, etc concerning Islam. The most radical Islamists may beleive they are great defenders of women, but in reality severely limit women's freedom and supress their role in society and in the family. Obviously the mother is a second class citizen in the most conservative Islamic Family. This leaves the rearing of the typical Islamic boy child to the males in the family structure. It appears that for the most part they abdicate this role to others. In Islam it appears that 'it takes a village to raise the boy', is a truism. That 'village' consists of the local Imam, the Madrassa, the elders at the Mosque and the ever-present crazy Jihadist Uncle.

Where, in ancient history the Arab culture was one of creativity, industry, art and invention, current Islamic culture seems to have dissolved into a culture of victimization, idleness and religious extremism, evidenced by the omnipresent fist wavers of the 'Arab Street'. I don't know when Muslim culture lost its proud bearings...

Islam never had any bearings, proud or otherwise. The Arab world, prior to the 7th century, was indeed as 'cutting-edge' as any in that time. Mohammed, an illiterate warlord, introduced and then enforced the backwards barbarianism that you see in the Middle East and Islam today, including misogyny. The Western world, including libtards, can take no credit for any of Islam's teachings.

To learn the truth about Islam - Mohammed, Allah, the quran (all five books) and all - please read from Robert Spencer and Craig Winn's Prophet of Doom. (Someone upstream suggested reading from Raymond Ibrahim, a new name to me but one that I'll check out right away. Thank you.) You really can't get your mind wrapped around the hatred of Islam until you learn from those who've learned the truth themselves by translating the quran from it's original Arab texts.
To AnutieMadder:

Raymond Ibrahim produced the 'Al Qaeda Reader,' in which he collected works from UBL and other close associates. It is like reading 'Mein Kampf' (which our Western Useful Idiots' failed to respond to) in the Islamists' own words, telling anyone who reads it what their intentions truly are--to take the Koran and Hadita seriously. I wish I'd coined the saying (but I did not). 'The trouble with Islam is not Islam, it's those who take it seriously.'

Mr. Ibriham is a regular on Jihad Watch and Victor davis Hanson's sites.

His site is: [www.raymondibrahim.com]

Regards,

WCM
Another superb article. I can
Submitted by jonmc on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 01:55.

Another superb article.

I can attest to this point within the piece:



'Islam is a powerful magnet for the masses that are unable to deal with the uncertainties of life and death on their own. It is from this population, many already thoroughly indoctrinated from birth, that the majority of diehard jihadists emerge.

It is the bargain the jihadist makes. He surrenders totally to the religion of surrender in exchange for blanket security. Islam gives him all the answers he really seeks for dealing with this world and promises him a most lush and eternal paradise of Allah once he leaves it.'



I personally know of one such person. They were very unhappy with a life that had some moral etc uncertainties, they did not like 'grey' areas in life, wanting everything to be either 'right' or 'wrong'.

(Such an attitude is not entirely rational, 'grey' areas are inevitable - if only because we cannot forsee all the consequences of our actions - and suggests that the person has some degree of mental problems or maladjustment.)

This person converted to extremist Islam under the influence of 'Al-Quaeda UK' members and felt much happier once they were in a religion that governed their every action. They were poised to go to Afghanistan and fight (back in the days of the Russian involvement).

Now the good news ... due to a change of circumstances, said person ended up out of contact with their 'mentors' and has now re-trenched their positions. But this has taken the intervening years and I'd say that this person's mental stability is still a fragile thing.