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Why The U.S. Will Never Win

The Global War on Terror!

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How would you respond if people who know you personally, the culture in which you live and the world wide media, all of them, demanded that you give up the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ alone as a means of attaining heaven?

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This Week

LessonPlan

I. We’ll review the beginning of the present problem from a Judeo-Christian viewpoint.

II. Examine the Muslim viewpoint of the beginning of the struggle.

III. Survey the growth of terrorist activity over the past 18 years.

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This Week

LessonPlan

IV. Examine two very different expressions of the Muslim faith.

V. Delve into some of the motivations of Muslim Fundamentalists who carry out terrorist attacks.

VI. Consider present day messages being delivered to Iranian school children by their most influential Imam.

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I. The Judeo-Christian View A. The roots of the present world conflict

can be traced to Gen 15-16. Gen 15:1-5 1 After this, the word of the

LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

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I. The Judeo-Christian View 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no

children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." NIV

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I. The Judeo-Christian View B. Abraham is considered the father of all

faithful by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as well. Gen 15:6

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. NIV

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I. The Judeo-Christian View C. God promised Abram a son and after

many years of waiting with no son, Sarai, believing that she was no longer capable of bearing children, gave Hagar to him to be the mother of his child. Gen 16:1-2

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I. The Judeo-Christian View 1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no

children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." NIV

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I. The Judeo-Christian View D. The child from that union, Ishmael, was

not the heir that God intended for Abraham and Sarah. Gen 16:11-12 ; Gen 17:17-22; Rom 9:6-9

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:"You are now with child and you will have a son.You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

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I. The Judeo-Christian View 17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to

himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

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I. The Judeo-Christian View 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I

will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. NIV

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I. The Judeo-Christian View Rom 9:6-9 6 It is not as though God's word

had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."

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I. The Judeo-Christian View Rom 9: 8 In other words, it is not the natural

children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son." NIV

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I. The Judeo-Christian View E. Ishmael is the father of Bedouin Arabs

and he is not the father of all Arab nations. We believe this because after Sarah died, Abraham married an Arab woman, Keturah who is thought to have come from a tribe around Mecca.

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II. The Muslim View A. When Ishmael grew older God called on

Abraham and his son to go to Mecca and rebuild the mosque (Ka’ba) there.

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II. The Muslim View B. The original shrine, built by Adam, was

displaced during the flood. Upon its completion, Ishmael “settled near “Thy Sacred House” of Mecca with his mother; and there he married.

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II. The Muslim View C. Ishmael’s progeny became known as the

Quraysh, the direct ancestors of Muhammad. Ishmael was the first Prophet to write and preach of the one true God.

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II. The Muslim View D. Ishmael is considered the “father of all the

Arabs” and, Muslims insist that all Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael in order to give legitimacy to Muhammad as a descendant of the prophet.”

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III. Is Terror The Enemy? A. From February 1988 to December 31,

2003 there were 198 international terrorist incidents recorded by the State Department.

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III. Is Terror The Enemy? B. Of those, 119 or over 60% have been

carried out by Islamic persons or groups who have publicly taken credit for them.

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III. Is Terror The Enemy? C. By some accounting, since 9/11/01

Islamic terrorists have carried out over 5,000 fatal attacks in the name of Allah.

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III. Is Terror The Enemy? D. Our enemy is not Al Qaeda, Hezbollah,

Hamas or any other organization or nation. To think so is to mis-identify and to misunderstand the real enemy we face.

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III. Is Terror The Enemy? E. Our enemy is comprised of the

fundamentalist Muslims throughout the world. who have a perceived religious duty to kill the infidel: Namely every non-Muslim.

3:151 We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve because they ascribe unto Allah partners, for which no warrant hath been revealed. Their habitation is the Fire, and hapless the abode of the wrong-doers.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam A. There are two major factions in Islam,

known as Sunni and Shi'a and there is considerable enmity between them.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam B. The original bone of contention between

the two sects was a strictly political battle over the succession of power from Muhammad, but other differences developed over time.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam C. Fundamentalist sects (either Sunni or

Shiite) such as the Wahhabis, believe that Islam can only be kept pure when Muslims model their lives as closely as possible on Muhammad's example.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam D. The fundamentalists reject almost every

form of religious and social modernization or innovation since about 950 A.D.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam

E. Fundamentalists are devoted to waging holy war -- jihad -- against cultures that offend their sensibilities, including Western culture, anything having to do with Israel, and even fellow Muslims who aren't sufficiently "Islamic" by their definition.

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IV. The Two Faces of Islam

Fundamentalists VSModerates

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Fundamentalism VS Moderates Koran was meant to be

interpreted according to the times and context and was meant to change

The glorious past never existed: Modernism is the path of the future

Freedom, democracy and human rights are a valid pursuit of a modern Muslim nation

All religions are religions of God

The Koran is unchanging

Islam has a glorious pastModernism should be condemned

Freedom, democracy and human rights are to be rejected because they promote secularism

Only Islam is the true religion of God

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V. Fundamentalist Motivations

A. Hatred of Israel B. The elimination of un-Islamic

government and pro-Western cultural influences

If you do not go to war [against these rejecters], He will punish you severely and will replace you by another people [, who shall help him]. Al-Taubah 9: 39 – 40

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V. Fundamentalist Motivations C. Belief that they are accomplishing the will

of Allah and the goals of Islam (an Islamic world).

9:111 Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.

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V. Fundamentalist Motivations

D. Expelling Western forces from Islamic territories or lands

E. The glorification of jihad and martyrdom. 4:74 Let those fight in the way of Allah who

sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward.

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V. Fundamentalist Motivations

F. Creation of conditions conducive for the return of the 12th Imam

G. Many Muslims see the clash of cultures as being between the rich West and the poor Muslims. As such this creates moral overtones and renders the conflict a religious war of cultures.

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VI. Summary A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini,

quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing.

"I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another's hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours."

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VI. Summary

A. Given this radical religious ideology, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning.

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VI. Summary

B. The fundamentalist say that at the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead--hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers.

C. For people with this mindset, MADNESS is not a constraint; it is an inducement and therefore the US can never win the Global War on Terror.

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A. At its heart, the struggle between the U.S. and the Islamic Fundamentalists is nothing less than the outward manifestation of the war between the God of the Bible and the Satanic counterfeit religion of Islam.

VI. Application

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1. Given the facts of this conflict as we know them, do you believe we are the “terminal generation”?

2. What do you need to do to prepare yourself for the chaotic road that lies ahead?

VI. Application