The recent execution of a Christian man by Muslim terrorists in Sinai showcased a little known but interesting fact: the reason so many “radical” Muslims target innocent “infidels” is often based on projection, a word defined as “the attribution of one’s own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people.” One academic article/book chapter elaborates: “Projection allows the killer to project his (unacceptable) desire to kill (torture, rape, steal, dominate, etc.) onto some target group or person. This demonizes his target, making it even more acceptable to kill.”
Thus, in the April 17, 2021 video of the execution of Nabil H. Salama, a 62-year-old Christian man, the Islamic State narrator said that he was guilty of and being killed for building a church in Sinai that was somehow engaged in nefarious activities meant to subvert the Islamic order—precisely what many mosques do in and to the West.
Similarly, after the Islamic State slaughtered 21 mostly Egyptian Christians on the shores of Libya in 2015, it made a video portraying its actions as “revenge” against the Coptic Church, which ISIS and other “radicals” regularly accuse of kidnapping, torturing, and forcing Muslim women to convert to Christianity—all things Muslims regularly do to Christians in Egypt. (Apparently the killing of nearly 60 Christians in a Baghdad church a few years earlier—which the jihadis then also portrayed as revenge against the Coptic Church’s forced conversion of Muslim women—was not enough).
When a Muslim cleric said that “whenever they [U.S.] invade a Muslim country, they strike on a Sunday. Always,” he too was projecting. Muslim mob uprisings against Christians and their churches, in and out of Egypt, are almost always on Fridays—and naturally so: for that is the one day of the week when Muslims congregate in mosques for prayers, only to hear sermons that rile them up against infidels.
But perhaps the best example is Ayat Oraby, a Muslim woman activist popular on social media. In a 2016 video (which appeared around the same time that one authority said Egyptian Christians were suffering attacks “every two or three days”), she sought to foment as much hostility for them as possible. After calling the Coptic Church a “bunch of gangsters” and a “total mafia” that “rules [Egypt] behind the curtains,” she accused it of “stockpiling weapons in churches” and “striving to create a Coptic statelet” in an effort to continue waging “a war against Islam.”
Meanwhile, back in the real world—which consists of some 200 nations—Egypt is the 16th worst nation for Christians to live in; there they experience “very high persecution.” The abduction of Christian women and children and their forced conversion to Islam is par for the course; entire Christian villages and churches are regularly set aflame on the rumor that a Christian somewhere “blasphemed” against Muhammad on social media, or that a Christian man is dating a Muslim woman.
But many Muslims, such as this Ayat Oraby, ever seeing themselves as victims, are blind to such facts; their notions of reality are informed by Islam. And if Islam calls for constant hostility against the “other,” who must be subjugated or subverted one way or the other, that must mean the “other” is constantly working to subjugate and subvert Muslims.
Oraby’s accusation that Egypt’s Christians control events “behind the curtains” is as ironic as it is old. In 2010, prominent Egyptian cleric Khalid al-Jundi complained that in Egypt “Muslims have fewer rights than Christians, and even do not have the right to worship like Christians.” In reality and as is well known, Christian churches face immense restrictions; just talk of building one sets off mass riots and attacks on Christians.
Moreover, in a country where Islam reigns supreme; where Sharia (which mandates the subjugation of non-Muslims, a la Koranic verse 9:29) is part of the Constitution; where every segment of the Muslim population—from terrorists, to mobs, to the authorities themselves—harass Christian minorities at various levels; where Christians have been conditioned over centuries of persecution to be grateful with just being left alone—is it reasonable to believe that these selfsame, down-trodden “infidels,” who make up only ten percent of the population, are planning a violent takeover of Egypt?
Oraby’s claims that Egypt’s Christians are “stockpiling weapons in churches” and “striving to create a Coptic statelet” to continue waging “a war against Islam” is yet another tired charge. Muhammad Salim al-Awwa, former secretary-general of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, once appeared on Al-Jazeera and, in a wild tirade, accused the Copts of “stocking arms and ammunitions in their churches and monasteries”—imported from Israel no less, which he called “the heart of the Coptic Cause”—and “preparing to wage war against Muslims.” He warned that if nothing is done, the “country will burn,” inciting Muslims to “counteract the strength of the [Coptic] Church.”
In reality, all that ever burns are Coptic churches at the hands of Muslim mobs and terrorists—as when nearly 70 churches were attacked and many destroyed following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Muhammad Morsi in 2013. Moreover, it is Muslims who smuggle and stockpile weapons, including in mosques, in order to fuel their separatist jihads to secede from “infidel” powers.
In short, and as activist Mounir Bishai once put it:
Suddenly we [Coptic Christians] have shifted from complaints to self-defense, from demanding [our] rights to [trying to] convince the public that we are not depriving others of their rights… now we are being accused of amassing weapons… How have we suddenly turned from persecuted into persecutors, from the weak [party] into the strong and tyrannical [one], from the attacked [party] into the infamous attackers, and from the poor [party] into the rich exploiters? How did these lies become widespread, without us gaining any ground or improving our situation one whit?
Even in the field of theology, Muslims are apt to project Islam’s notions of jihad and “martyrdom,” fighting to the death for Islam, onto Christian theology. In the midst of the accusation that the Copts are stockpiling weapons to wage war on Muslims, the Al Azhar Scholars Front, which consists of Al Azhar alumni, once declared:
Christianity…is constantly defining its overt and covert policy of eliminating all its rivals or degrading [the followers of other religions] and depriving them of every reason to live so that they will be forced to convert to Christianity.
In fact, this is precisely what Islam does: “eliminate all its rivals” through jihad; or, through the institution of dhimmitude, “degrade [the followers of other religions] and deprive them of every reason to live so that they will be forced to convert to” Islam.
Similarly, when Bishop Bishoy declared that Egypt’s Christians are reaching the point of martyrdom due to the increase in their persecution, this, too, was thoroughly “Islamized” as a declaration of “war-to-the-death,” including by al-Awwa, who, during his rant, asserted that “Father Bishoy declared that they would reach the point of martyrdom, which can only mean war. He said, ‘If you talk about our churches, we will reach the point of martyrdom.’ This means war!”
Of course, the notion that a martyr is someone who wages and dies in jihad, or “holy war,” is intrinsic to Islam (e.g., Koran 9:111). Even the authoritative Hans Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary translates shahid (“martyr”) as “one killed in battle with infidels.” On the other hand, Christian martyrdom has always meant being persecuted and killed for refusing to recant Christianity—and this is precisely the definition that has for centuries applied to Egypt’s Christians, the definition that Bishop Bishoy clearly meant.
Incidentally, Muslim projections onto Coptic Christians are paradigmatic of Muslim projections onto all Christians—indeed, onto all non-Muslims (including if not especially Jews and Israel). The Copts merely furnish an in depth example of the phenomenon.
To recap:
- Muslims regularly abduct, abuse, brainwash, and compel Christian girls to convert—and now Christians are accused of doing the exact same thing;
- Muslims regularly smuggle and stockpile weapons, including in their mosques—and now Christians are accused of doing the exact same thing;
- Muslims are constantly either trying to break away or conquer infidel nations—and now Egypt’s Christians are accused of doing the exact same thing;
- Muslims seek to eliminate or subjugate the infidel according to the doctrine of jihad and dhimmitude—and now Christians are portrayed as seeking the exact same thing;
- Islamic violence regularly erupts on Fridays, and now Christians (or merely Westerners) are accused of targeting Islam on Sundays.
- Islamic martyrdom means killing others and oneself while waging jihad to empower Islam—and now Christian martyrdom, which has always meant accepting death rather than the renunciation of faith, is defined as the exact same thing.
In closing, this lengthy excursion into Islamic projections offers another, equally important suggestion: if civilizational projection so pervades the world of Islam, could that also be why the people of the West—most of whom either profess Christianity or are at least influenced by its ethics and mores—cannot accept the realities of Islam? Because they too project the ideals of their religious heritage—one that preaches love, tolerance, and forgiveness for enemies—onto Muslims and Islam, and therefore insists on seeing them in a positive light?
This article requires serious reflection on both Christianity and Islam. Humans have always been so easily manipulated by those seeking power. Divisiveness has always been a trademark of governments seeking to rule the masses and it seems religion is the perfect venue to capture the heart of soul of a group of people with the same ideology. Both churches and mosques have been used for both good and bad purposes as long as each has existed. I have both Christian and Muslim friends. Neither would be characterized as radical. All are peace loving gentle people without a hateful bone in their body. Unfortunately, there are always those masses on the fringe that get the attention for doing such ridiculous and truly inhumane things. i personally need to educate myself more thoroughly on the psychology of religion and it’s influence on humanity through the ages. I’ve observed there is no money in “peace” and “love”. There are huge profits in dividing people, creating strife and chaos. It would seem that if one were to follow the money trail back to the those seeking or are currently in power, one would find the root cause for the radical elements of society. I do ramble a bit, so please forgive me. Please know that i do enjoy reading your perspective and insight. You are a beacon of truth is a very dark world.
There is no comparison between Christianity and Islam. His response is typical of someone who has never gone deeply into the subject. It is very easy to say that governments use religions to control the mass but this explanation does not apply to Islam because there is no separation between the Islamic religion and the State, they are both at the same time, that is why it never existed a democracy in an Islamic country. Does the fact that you have both Muslim and Christian friends and they are peaceful people change the fact that the Islamic religion encourages hatred of non-Muslims especially Christians? Just study the history of the Islamic religion to see that there will always be destruction and hatred for non-Muslims, you couldn’t say the same thing about Christianity without committing injustice. You say that both churches and mosques have been used to do evil and good over the centuries? But what are you trying to do here? What was the good and bad that Muslims did compared to Christians? Have you read Sharia law? Can you say this is a good thing? Have you read about Islamic imperialism? Have you read about Islamic slavery?
Do you know who fought to ban slavery? Christians, there has never been any anti-slavery movement in the Islamic world and slavery is justified by the Koran. It was the Catholic Church who created the hospitals, the schools, the orphanages, and which went around the world doing charity work, it was not the Islamic religion.
You seem to have great difficulty in understanding that in Islam the practice of evil is justified by religion, this does not exist in Christianity. You cowardly want to compare Christianity that created a society with as much freedom as possible with a religion that oppresses others in the worst possible way even today. It’s for people like you that we’re going to lose our freedom in the West to live in an Islamic theotracy and if you think that’s an exaggeration just look at Europe.
Excellent comment, Brenda.
To Jay Sutherland: With all due respect, it is not the psychology of religion that will be of any help but the study of Islam starting
with the Koran itself. There are many good translations. As Brenda says: “There is no comparison between Christianity and Islam” and I would add “or any other religion for that matter”. Also please read carefully the quotation by Sayyid Qutb in Leonard Marino’s comment plus his other quotations. In addition, Raymond Ibrahim’s book “Sword and Scimitar: 14 centuries of war between Islam and the West” is a treasure. The entire Middle East and North Africa were Judeo/Christian including Pharaonic Egypt, whose real Egyptian descendants are the Coptic Christians but was invaded and islamised by both forced conversions and by importing Muslim populations, as they usually do everywhere they invade and occupy, including in modern times in Cyprus. You can also read ‘Sword over the Nile’ by Adel Guindy and books by born Moslems as ‘Islamic Jihad’ by M. A. Khan and ‘Islamic Fascism’ by Hamed Abdel-Samad, who dedicated his book “To the mother I love, who begged me not to write this book, knowing I could never do what she asked”. Needless to tell you that this poor mother knew what would happen to her son if caught. You could also download, still free of charge so far as I know, ‘The Challenge of Dawa’ by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Moslem born Somali who fled her country as a very young woman and after making for herself a career in Holland is now living in the States under police protection. I should add that when still in Holland she wrote and Theo van Gogh directed a short film ‘Submission’ about the treatment of women in Islam after which van Gogh was assassinated by Dutch-Moroccan Mohammad Bouyeri – the fate that awaits Abdel-Samad and all who disagree with Islam if caught.
PS. I should add that the Koran is claimed to be the literal words of Allah through the Prophet Mohammed and valid for all time
Excellent reply, Mary.
Thank you Danknight.
Islam is not “just another religion”…!Secular, non-activist Muslims are those who can live at peace in the West. They, like your friends, embrace the customs but not the violence in the Qur’an—they are “mess-hall Muslims”, much like the old “cafeteria Catholics” who picked and chose what worked for themselves; superficial adherence and no violence involved. They do not, however, speak out forcefully and loudly that the violent and repressive parts should be relegated to “historic” memories (like the “Old Testament”/Torah/Pentateuch)—but alas, they do not or cannot, as their fate will be similar to that of Salman Rushdie!
Unfortunately, we have been deluged with commentary telling us that ”authentic Islam (and the proper reading of the Qur’an, which can only be understood correctly in Arabic) is opposed to every form of violence.” (Yet there is no misunderstanding of the “peaceful” versions from any translation into any language). Pope Francis is desperately trying to prescribe what Islam ought to be, but he knows too well that his prescription doesn’t fit the Qur’an and Islam.
Pope Francis, like Islamic apologists, presumes that we have not read the Qur’an. Surah 15 verses 90-91 requiring mankind to adhere to the entirety of the Qur’an; we are forbidden from selectively observing portions of it. Surah 3 verse 7 explicitly forbids mankind from doing any “interpreting” of the Qur’an even those verses expressed allegorically. So, the Pope’s “proper reading of the Qur’an” is blasphemy under Sharia and any brotherly comments are punishable, so that no one can re-interpret the Koran for modern Western living. Obviously, your friends have done so, are non-violent and live an assimilated life at variance with the Qur’an……. as interpreted by leading Islamic scholars. One of the Pope’s titles is “Pontifex Maximus”, or Supreme Bridge Builder, however, the “bridge” between Islam and other faiths is one-way — as the Muslim Brotherhood theorist Sayyid Qutb explained: “The chasm between Islam and Jahiliyyah [the society of unbelievers] is great, and a bridge is not to be built across it so that the people on the two sides may mix with each other, but only so that the people of Jahiliyyah may come over to Islam.”
Coexist ? Interfaith dialogue, ecumenism anyone? Peaceful followers of the teachings of Christ are the “good” Christians, it’s what He taught; peaceful followers of Islam are at variance with the Qur’an according to the major schools of Islamic thought. Much of this violence is directed not against enemies but simply disbelievers like me, the Kafir, “concealers.”
As far as violent directives, here are some of the examples with which you are assuredly familiar:
-Mohammed said: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against all people until they testify there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle, and offer the prayers and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform that, then they save their blood and possessions from me.” (Sahih Muslim 1:33)
-Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Abi Aufa: Allah’s Apostle said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.” Bukhari Vol. 4, Book 52, Num. 73
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– “The Prophet said, ‘I have been awarded victory by terror so the treasures of the earth are mine.’” Bukhari: V9B87N127
– “Strike off the heads of the disbelievers and after making a wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives.” Qur’an 47:4.
For those who argue that this is not in context, I say Islamic schools of thought verify that the meaning is as stated; who do I believe, an apologist, a local observant Muslim or the Imams/clerics of the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence?
Again in contrast, I cannot find even one quote of Jesus of Nazareth that is so full of punishment; strike off their heads? Really? to say nothing about taqiyya, hijrah, jihadism, Islamic misogyny, dhimmitude, supremacism, Islamic jurisprudence and many other doctrines of canonical Islam.
It is people like Raymond Ibrahim who make us aware of what Islam teaches…bless him!
To comprehend what Islam is and is not all one need do is comprehend what the ONLY true and living Word of God says! You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3)! The names of this true and living God are many: El Shaddai, (God Almighty), Elohim (a plural form of El-God the Creator) demonstrating the reality that God manifests Himself in 3 persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit aka as the Doctrine of the Trinity, El Elyon (God Most High), Adonai (Lord, or Lord /Master), El Roi (the God who sees me) and the most important name YHWH aka Yahweh (The Covenant making and keeping God) To discuss all the meanings with references and other derivative forms is beyond the scope of this reply. The point is that Islams’ god is not the true and living LORD God, no matter the claim to the contrary. To see this clearly, one need only look at the names which are used in both the Old and New Covenant (Kurios- the greek word translated LORD in the LXX and used throughout the New Covenant to refer to Yeshua, the Messiah by NT writers). That Jesus IS LORD speaks volumes against the false prophet Mohammed. Deuteronomy 18:15-22; Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1-2 (really the whole book teaches that He, Jesus, is the FINAL and complete REVELATION of God whom completed the work of redemption planned from before the foundation of the world and then executed in the fullness of time Galatians 4:4). The fact that Islam itself was born some 6 centuries following the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua Hamashiach is all one needs to know to discern the truth from the lie! “Allah” is merely a one dimensional generic name borrowed from Judaism and Christianity using Arabic (merely another Semitic language) as its basis, but has zero legitimate connection to the Sovereign LORD of the Universe! This false god is as much a god as Molech, Baal and the Asherah were to the Canaanite people whom resided in the promised land when the Living and True Covenant keeping LORD God brought Israel into the promised land and utterly destroyed them. (The books of Deuteronomy, Joshua & Judges record these historical events- that ultimately were part of the Abrahamic Covenant that promised the true heir and redeemer, Jesus the Messiah)!
Concerning war Jesus came to give His life to propitiate and redeem His sheep, the people of His pasture (These are not the goats to whom He refers during His ministry-only His sheep hear His voice). That is to say to turn away the wrath of God upon sin and sinner alike by the purchase price (from the slave market of sin) of His own blood! The sinner is at war with and an enemy of Almighty God UNTIL HE TRUSTS in the promised Messiah and is justified by faith just as Abraham was justified by faith in believing the promise of God (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-19; chapters 17-18; Galatians 1:1-6:18 but especially chapter 3)! In the consummation of His eternal kingdom there will be wars and rumors of wars. Many Christians make the mistake saying we will not be part of the process but that does NOT align with the whole of the Word of God. Again, you can read how the LORD uses war and evil to accomplish His purposes and we see this throughout human history and recorded on the pages of the bible. To deny this is to deny that the Most High God rules in the Kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses (Daniel 4:17,25,32,34-35). David slew Goliath, Saul was commanded to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15), Moses was used to punish the Midianites (Numbers 31). Joshua led the assault on Jericho when the LORD brought down the walls!
Jesus does not specifically address the details of His final judgment except in reference to His second coming when all of His enemies will be made His footstool and will be cast in the lake of fire and destroyed! If this is not language of war then what is? Moreover, in Hebrews 11 those whom are justified by faith are said to have killed and were killed believing the promise of God (Hebrews 11:30-39). “Christians” (used loosely to refer to all theologically diverse positions, some in gross error concerning soteriology, the doctrine of salvation and how one is actually saved) have mostly defended against the attacks of Islam historically. That means that wars and crusades have been fought. In nearly every instance, Islam is the aggressor and the resulting war was in defense against the aggressor. The bible is NOT against war, as many misinterpret, as it clearly is part of God’s plan. Pacifism is a valid response to a point, but when a just war happens then Christians are called to defend the defenseless and taking up arms against evil aggressors is a call of duty. The German Lutherans whom watched on the sidelines in WWII failed to love their neighbor as themselves! When we do likewise, we are sinning against the LORD of heaven and earth. He instituted government (Genesis 1:26-28), He instituted capital punishment (Genesis 9:6) and when civil governments fail to punish evil and reward good (their ordained purpose-Romans 13-1-1-10), as many now reward evil and punish good, they become illegitimate and thus defending against their failure may mean taking up arms against them! The whole Reformation period is testimony to this fact but not exclusively. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans did the same and many more examples can be cited! Whenever there is a departure from the truth of the Word of God and evil (even religious) men perpetrate what is natural to their sinful nature and attack other men’ that is when it is legitimate to defend against their tyranny!
They remind me of Communists. Accusing others of the evil they do.
Similarly, the BLM is proceeding in a similar way. Naturally, the persecution of Christians by Muslims is a higher level.
Excellent article!!! It builds to the ending which I view as a terrible reality for most of the Christian West. Because the Christian West (I think the same criticism could include the Hindus of India and Western atheists.) can’t help projecting their beliefs concerning religion onto political Islam, advocating the understanding of what political Islam is remains problematic for most people I encounter.
The parallel between Muslim/Islamic projection and Leftist/Atheism projection is more than mere coincidence or accident. Muslims have projected their dangerous ideology onto Christians and Jews for 1400 years with disastrous and terrible consequences, but Leftist/Atheism has only been operating openly for the last 232 years. Leftist/Atheism began with the blood bath of the French Revolution, and they have never let up. The only reason we have not ‘seen’ it recently is our deliberate blindness to the suffering caused around the world by Leftists of all the various ‘flavors’ from communism to socialism to Covid-1984ism. Not to mention abortion, and deporting everyone’s economy to China.
Without the New Testament (Christianity) and the Old Testament (Judaism) … None of us would be whining about what Leftists have done/do now/might do to us – or about what Muslims do to our brothers and sisters around the Globe on our keyboards. … We would slaves/serfs in some God forsaken S* hole circa 200BC China, if we were lucky, or one circa 500AD Central America if we weren’t lucky.
Virtually every scrap – every jot, tittle, and iota – of anything ‘good’ that was created by men … came from a Jew or a Christian. And that includes everything ‘good’ that still remains in our heads after 12+ years of anti-Christian, pro-communist, pro-Government Uber Alles brainwashing in the public schools.
… And don’t get me started on the Spiritual side of the matter.
My assertion is based solely on the historical facts – without the Big Lies and Galaxy sized Whoppers told by Leftards. My own profession – a subset of chemistry – was almost entirely invented by Catholics, Lutherans, and Jews. No Muslims were involved until the Arabs seized all of the Western oil companies’ assets in the Middle East at the behest of the Soviets. …
Anyone thinking our civilization arose – despite – Christianity … is still living in the Dark Ages, which were Dark thanks largely to Rome’s self-destruction and to Islam.
*** G-d bless everyone here – especially Raymond and his family.
I love it! I love it!