I don’t pretend to be an expert on Islam or the Qur’an, the Muslim Bible. But for some reason during my high school years I became fascinated with the career and writings of T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia.) I found myself intrigued and captivated by the stories and histories of the Middle East. Over time through further historical reading and observation, I formed a few opinions and came to several conclusions about the actions and traditions of Muslims and Islamic nations.

One of the principles I became familiar with is that in Islam it seems honorable to lie, if by doing so you advance Islam’s goals. Perhaps that is why it is perfectly acceptable and even praiseworthy for a Muslim leader to say something in English to a non-Muslim audience and the western news media, and then the very next day say the exact opposite thing while talking in Arabic to a Muslim audience and news media. A good example of this principle in action was Yasser Arafat. He could lie openly with complete sincerity while deliberately entering into false negotiations with Israel, the United States and the United Nations — probably because to him it wasn’t really lying.

I found that lying, deceiving and living a double standard are the norm for them not because they are bad people, but because their religion approves of it as long as it advances Islam’s goals. As I see it, Islam’s fundamental goals are to convert the entire secular and religious worlds to a belief in Islam, and for those converted nations to agree to be governed by Islam’s Shari’a Law.

So this is about more than lies, deceit, and a double standard. It is also about a Muslim’s holy duty to convert non-Muslims to Islam and to try to turn non-Islamic governments into Islamic Shari’a Law governments. If in the process a bloody, violent war is precipitated, so much the better since the only way a male Muslim can be guaranteed access to the heavenly Paradise is to die fighting for Islam in a holy war. On the other hand, the only way a woman can be guaranteed an after-life in that Paradise is if, upon her death, her husband is pleased with her. In short, women are very much subservient to men.

According to Islam, following laws other than Islamic law is sin. Why?  Because the earth is Allah’s and it is a sin for mankind not to live under and to be following Allah’s Shari’a law while on his earth. Thus, it is the duty of all Muslims is to convert all non-Muslims to Islam and to replace all secular governments with an Islamic government — a “One World Government.” This means that to be faithful to Islam, all Muslims living in the U.S.  should insist that the American people and the American government adopt Islam as the state religion and Shari’a as its national law.

To help accomplish this Saudi Arabia is building mosques all over the world, but at the same time Islam’s double standard mandates that no non-Muslim church building can be built in Saudi Arabia or in any other Islamic country. Muslims are free to criticize other religions but it is a punishable sin for anyone to criticize the Muslim religion. In short, there is and can be no freedom of the press in an Islamic country.

Because America was founded upon the Christian principles of honesty and truthfulness we take freedom of the press as a given. It is difficult for us to understand Islamic concepts and practices that are the opposite of those we hold dear, such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We often forget that Muslim nations are sometimes playing chess while The United States and other western nations are playing checkers.
 
The notion that it is religiously acceptable to lie, deceive and have a double standard — one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims – is an insidious and dangerous tenant of Islam If that is the Islamic mindset and modus operandi, we must always be aware that any dialogue with Muslims may not be honest and that their intentions might be less than honorable.

We are a nation of people who value transparency and honesty. We must always be awake to the very real possibility that these characteristics which make America great – our generosity, our compassion, our sometimes gullible and naïve willingness to accept, embrace and welcome all religions and nationalities may, in the end, prove to be America’s downfall.