This Is Precisely Why Islam Hates Us

“We sit by and watch the Barbarian, we tolerate him; in the long stretches of peace we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence, his comic inversion of our old certitudes and our fixed creeds refreshes us; we laugh. But as we laugh, we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond: and on those faces there is no smile.” – Hilaire Belloc

On June 26, 2015, ISIS severed the head of a businessman in France, and displayed the head on a stake. In the U.S., we compared the Instagram charts of Kendall Jenner and Kim Kardashian. A gunman associated with ISIS opened fire on a Tunisian beach, leaving at least 27 dead, and many others wounded. We studiously discussed Ariana Grande’s makeup techniques. ISIS sent a suicide bomber to wreck havoc in a Kuwatian mosque. The United States of America legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, and ISIS threw four homosexual  men to their deaths from a roof in Syria, then made the footage public with the hashtag – #lovewins.

Our Misguided Logic

Misguided notions of fulfillment engulf most of the world in confusion. The West obsesses over the superficial, determined to find happiness by turning inward and satisfying every selfish and petty desire. We are the casualties of Modernism, regarding which John Senior speaks in The Death of Christian Culture: “Cut off from reality by ‘four hundred years of criticism and doubt,’ the Modernist, insisting on the new, very quickly exhausts the contents of his memory and proceeds to invent an artificial one.”  Currently, the “new” thing is pretending that the world revolves around self. Watch television for just half an hour, observing only commercials. Are you a teeny bit uncomfortable at night?  What you need is a sleep number bed, with both temperature and firmness control. Are you tired of the clothes you bought six months ago?  Come on into Target, Old Navy, Mens’ Warehouse-you name the store, and give yourself a complete new wardrobe. Immediately. Are you slightly bored?  Dissatisfied with life? What you need is a new phone, a new car, a new relationship, a sex change? The cause of your dissatisfaction in life cannot possibly come from within, it must be caused by you not getting exactly what you want, when you want, from whomever you want. At present it seems that a large percentage of this country seeks to satisfy the deepest desires of their hearts by claiming the title “marriage” for sexual actions between members of the same gender. This is the selfishness, the consumerism to which Pope Francis responds in Laudato Si. Islam responds less charitably to the same observations.

While the West ignores reality, Islam wages a holy war. Assuredly, a large percentage of the Muslim population assimilates peacefully with other religions and other nations. Yet since the time of Mohammed, Islam has always carried a radical presence, a militant arm. And judging by the number of atrocities committed recently, over the last couple decades-in truth over the last 1,400 years-that arm doesn’t rest much.  Their violence repels us, their intolerance sickens us. Clearly, this aggressive form of Islam suffers at least as much confusion regarding how to find fulfillment. Until all infidel lands swear allegiance to Mohammed’s god, militant Islam will live, fight and die for Allah. Insatiable thirst for victory drives them ever onward. Perhaps the Islamic quest for happiness is more distorted than our own self centered methods. And yet, in one way they beat us. At least they desire greatness. At least they willingly put self aside and make sacrifices for their goals, for their religion. Their focus lies outward, beyond self. Impelled by religion, they fast, train, and fight. And, unfortunately, it often appeals to those who recognize that the world around them glories in superficialities and watered down religion. In May of  this year, a 26 year old mother from Australia abandoned her two children to fight with ISIS, joining a growing number of Westerners who seek fulfillment in Islamic extremism. This should be more than a little frightening.

Longing For Fulfillment

Simply, our hearts long for fulfillment. Every single human being desires perfect happiness. St. Augustine observes, “Indeed, man wishes to be happy, even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.”  The ordinary person desires to be loved and accepted, yes, but I think even more than that we long for Someone to love, something to believe in so deeply that we would die for it–be that death ever so violent. Even as we of the West flip through People Magazine, there is something deep down in every human being that arcs toward greatness. Even if that person be afraid, incompetent, or lazy. Even if that person has a twisted idea of happiness. Even if it’s just a mustard seed that wishes to desire the longing for greatness.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI boldly maintains “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”  We are all called to look beyond ourselves to God first, then to our fellow man and his needs. We are called to magnanimity, greatness of soul–to accomplish great things for the glory of God. Think of Roland. Think of the missions of St. Francis Xavier, the death of St. Jean de Brebeuf. Think of St. Therese of Lisieux transforming the small labors of every day into veritable treasure hordes of grace for herself and generations to come. Magnanimity not only can but should be discovered in every age, vocation, gender, place and time, if only we look beyond ourselves! In God, only in Him, shall we find happiness and great happiness at that. He is our Creator, and we are teleological beings, meaning we have a specific end goal–to return of our own will to the Creator. Turn to Augustine again, who puts it so eloquently, “Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

With God Alone

It’s no wonder militant Islam looks upon the West in disgust. While the West turns a blind eye to Islam’s true nature, patronizingly wishing them all that the West values, Islam looks to the West and sees pampered idolaters mired in a culture that fawns over selfishness and pettiness to a minutia of detail which is, frankly, embarrassing. While refugees in Syria wonder where their missing children are, this nation pats itself on the back for finally enacting a law entirely out of gibberish. It is absurdity taken to tragic extremes. By this meaningless redefinition of marriage, we congratulate ourselves on inventing a square circle. The thing does not exist. But flatter the emperor enough on his new robes, and he will begin to believe you.

The world has gone mad. Our logic consists in repeating absurdities ad nauseam until they begin to seem rational. Neither will the SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage bring happiness to the LGBT community; rather, they will begin frenetically seeking another source of satisfaction.

God alone can fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts. We face a battle to the death for our eternal souls, and it seems that in this temporal war, our enemies are the only ones fighting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Anderson is a stay-at-home mother and independent writer.  A graduate of Christendom College, she also worked for several years for Population Research Institute.  Her work as appeared on Crisis Magazine. She resides in Michigan with her husband, Matthew, and their three small children.