Islam-Facts or Dreams is a speech by Andrew C. McCarthy and is found in the February, 2016 edition of Imprimis. McCarthy is a lawyer and prosecutor who by virtue of his professional position was involved in the prosecution of an American terrorist cell. His opinion of Islam and Moslems when he started preparing for trial was exponentially different from when he ended it. This transformation emanated from the studies he undertook before and through the trial and the witnesses who also testified in it. The main source of the change of opinion regarded Moslem scholar Omar Abdel Rahman, also known as the Blind Sheikh. The main purpose for the speech was to bridge the gap between the contemporary concept of Islam and terrorism and the actual concept. This is premised on the fact that despite McCarthy being a lawyer and scholar, he had always believed in the contemporary American perception of Islam without questioning it, yet this concept was absolutely wrong.
Two main points come out in the speech. The first is that terrorists do not subvert Islam and its doctrines when they carry out terrorism. Indeed, terrorism and the Jihad are premised on sound Islamic doctrines which have been properly interpreted by Moslem scholars. This is a far cry for the contemporary contention, held even by the government that Islam is a religion of peace and those who advocate violence are subverting the religion. The principle doctrine of Islam supports violence. Sharia law engenders violence too. There are however benign ways of interpreting the two. Having a benign interpretation however, does not make the doctrine benign, according to McCarthy. The second main point however is that albeit Islam engenders violence, this does not make Moslems a violent people. A Moslem will only act on the Koran and Islamic doctrine as interpreted by the Islamic scholars and preachers. Principally, the Moslem is not taught violence, only to adhere to the words of Islamic scholars and teachers without question. Therefore, Moslems are not per se terrorists, they are just believers. This makes them tools in the hands of scholars such as the Blind Sheik who are the real terrorists.
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