Tenants of Terror: Analyzing the Spread of Radical Islam to the Western World

By Brenden Pumphrey

While we are busy viewing the Taliban and ISIS as our main threats, there is this hidden army just waiting to wage war with us right next door to our major cities.

-Tenants of Terror

A straightforward analysis of the history and development of Islam and its radical factions, Brenden Pumphrey sheds light on unpleasant answers to such questions as "What is radical Islam?" "What do these radicals believe?" "How prevalent is this threat?" "How can we tell the difference between a radical extremist and a member of the peaceful majority?" "What is happening now?" "Why are these things happening?" "What are the solutions?"

Since its inception, Islamic extremism has waged bloody conflict against all those that dare to stand in its path. Seeking to untangle and explore the inner workings of these extremist groups, Tenants of Terror has developed beyond its humble beginnings as an undergraduate thesis into a comprehensive study of the dogma, plans, and methodology of radical Islamic terrorists within our society. It addresses why the threat of terror and Sharia has not been addressed by our governments, and most importantly, this manuscript reveals how we can stop the growing tide of radical Islamic extremism before it is too late!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781636920412

Book preview

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Tenants of Terror

Analyzing the Spread of Radical Islam to the Western World

Brenden Pumphrey

Copyright © 2020 Brenden Pumphrey

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-63692-040-5 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63692-041-2 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Abstract

Foreword

Overview

Sects of Islam

Jihad in Islamic Culture

The European Migrant Crisis

The Stages of Indoctrination and Radicalization

Radicalization and the Formation of No-Go Zones

The Growth of Militant Islam in America

Addressing the Causes

What Are the Solutions?

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Christopher Wolfe, for aiding me with organizing my research. I am eternally grateful to my family for their help and support throughout this writing process. From the late nights to sifting through the numerous drafts of the same information ad infinitum, I could not have done this without them. I must extend a special thanks to my brother, Lawson. He has always remained at my side no matter what the situation may be. I would also like to thank my grandparents, who pushed me to publish this project in the first place and without whom none of this would have been possible. 

Abstract

This paper is a scrupulous study of the burgeoning portent that is fundamentalist Islam. Through defining and analyzing Islamic culture, the sources, and processes that lead to radicalization become evident. To the radical Muslim, Western values are the antithesis of their culture. The results are appalling, such as the formation of Sharia law within no-go zones, brutal attacks on Westerners, and the growth of militant Islam within migrant communities.

These real-life examples can be seen readily in many major European cities, and the early signs are beginning to appear in America. The reason this trend continues unabated is because we are discouraged from addressing it. Through political correctness, accusations of Islamophobia, and state-controlled censorship, we have stymied any progress that can be made to address fundamentalist Islam. This paper provides historical and current-day evidence to show that the fears of radical Islam are not unwarranted. It concludes that, through openly confronting radical Islam without fear of reprisal, encouraging cultural assimilation, and enforcing Western education, the threat of fundamentalist Islamic terror can be defeated.

Foreword

Before beginning this examination, it must be stated that it is in no way an attack on Westernized Muslims, nor is this a call to arms against the majority of Islamic practitioners. Rather, the focus of this study is an analysis of the far more volatile fundamentalist sects of Islam that cast a long shadow over all other practitioners of the Islamic faith. In order to begin an investigation into this sort of Islamic fundamentalism, we must first explore the practices called for by its founder.

Overview

With a following of over 1.9 billion adherents, Islam is statistically the second-most-widespread religion in the world after Christianity.¹ Holding the majority about forty-eight countries mostly around North Africa and Southeast Asia, the tide of Islam has continued its spread into Europe and the United States.

Islam is characterized by its fervent monotheism, strict adherence to law and tradition, belief in prophetical lineage, divine revelation, and a bookended Day of Judgement. Practitioners follow the divine revelations of Allah as it was revealed to the prophet Muhammad and captured verbatim in the Quran. Allah is believed to be the transcendent, all-powerful, and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. The absolute monotheism of Islam is preserved in the doctrine of unity (tawhid) and soveriegnty (rabb, ‘ruler’ or ‘lord’) of God that dominates Islamic belief and practice.² The core structure of Islam relies on conformity and obedience to a set of religious laws rather than theology, known as the Five Pillars of Islam.

The first pillar of Islam is Shahadah, which refers to a sincere declaration of faith saying, There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.³ This oath must be spoken at least three times in the presence of witnesses in order to affirm devotion to Islam, thus becoming a Muslim. Additionally, this prayer is whispered by a father into the right ear of his child after the baby is born and spoken as part of the second pillar of Islam, Salat.⁴ Salat is an obligation to perform five daily prayers to Allah with specific body movements, which must be spoken at dawn, midday, late afternoon, sunset, and between sunset and midnight.⁵ In Muslim countries, the call to prayer dictates the flow of daily life.

The third pillar of Islam is Zakat, which requires the payment of a charity tax in order to benefit the poor and downtrodden. It should be noted that Zakat does not refer to charitable gifts given out of kindness or generosity, but to the systematic giving of 2.5% of one’s wealth each year to benefit the poor, which only truly applies to commercial items and currency as there are different requirements for animals and produce.⁶ Following Zakat, the next obligation for Muslims is the fourth pillar of Islam, Sawm, which requires fasting during the daylight hours of Ramadan.⁷ Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is considered the month in which the Quran was revealed.⁸ Thus, adult Muslims must forgo all food and drink, smoking, and sexual activity during the daylight hours for the entirety of this sacred month, which concludes itself with a celebration called Eid ul-Fitr involving a visit to the mosque for prayer and gathering with family and friends of celebratory meals.⁹

The fifth pillar of Islam is the Hajj, which calls for an obligatory pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar at least once during a Muslim’s life as long as they are physically and financially able.¹⁰ After arriving in Mecca, the practitioner would don simple white attire and join in praising Allah together with the others that have journeyed to Mecca, which is meant to renew a sense of unity for all Muslims.¹¹ While I previously stated that there were five pillars of Islam, there is a disputed sixth pillar.

Jihad, or struggle in the way of God, is often considered the unofficial sixth pillar of Islam and includes both spiritual struggling as well as the war and conflicts fought in the name of Islam.¹² It is believed that following these tenants along with Muhammad serving as a role model and provider of divinely revealed law (sharriah) will allow for a harmonious Islamic state and society for the entire world. Though the interpretations of these revelations have led to divides within Islam and to the creation of various different sects.

Sects of Islam

Sunni Islam

Making up almost 1.5 billion of the 1.9 billion total Muslim adherents, and over 90 percent of the population in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, Sunni Muslims consider themselves members of the orthodox branch of Islam.¹³ Sunni Muslims are extremely traditional, choosing to focus on the words and actions of the prophet Muhammad as the guiding force behind their actions. In fact, the name ‘Sunni is derived from the phrase ‘Ahl al-Sunnah,’ or ‘People of the Tradition.’"¹⁴

This stresses the fact that Sunni Muslims see the Sunnah as the primary guiding doctrine, meaning that while other Islamic sects are guided by the Sunnah, it is not to the same degree as the Sunnis. Also, they choose to recognize the first four established caliphs as Muhammad’s successors and "have long conceived of the polity established by Muhammad at Medina as an earthly, temporal dominion and have thus regarded the leadership of Islam as being determined not by divine