Can Islam and Western Civilization Coexist in Peace???

 The last 12 months have led to many discussions about the cause and necessity of the attacks on Iran. Are they truly necessary? Couldn’t we have just let them continue with their development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles? Other countries in the area have nukes, so why not Iran?  Why does it seem that the world is turning against Islam, . . . or is it the other way around?

I have followed Zuhdi Jasser for 22 years. I remember talking to him around 14 years ago about his efforts to create a reform movement within the United States Muslim community, and whether he felt he would be successful. He just shook his head and said he didn’t know; it was just so hard to get American Muslims to want a change in any part of the faith. They feel safe and free here. Why should they change? As for my view, I tend to agree with this statement:

 

"Islam reformed is Islam no more." - Lord Cromer *

 

As you can see, Lord Cromer’s statement sparks debate over whether reform within Islam would ever be possible. Some argue that reform is essential for modern relevance, while others hold that it dilutes or distorts foundational beliefs. And since every Muslim believes Allah wrote the Quran in heaven and then had Gabriel dictate it directly to Muhammad, every part MUST be obeyed. There is no process for consecrating a chapter or a particular command, but not others. So, here is the problem with reforming Islam. If you MUST obey everything the Quran tells you to do, then you have to go along with all the verses that call ALL Muslims to jihad (war/fight) with non-believers. With the ultimate goal of establishing a worldwide caliphate, i.e., a one-world government under Shari’a (Islamic law).

Now, people say, "Oh, the moderate Westernized Muslims won’t go along with the Jihadis.” Really? Have you forgotten how few, if any, Muslims spoke out against the 9/11 attacks? Why weren’t there marches by American Muslims condemning the attacks and declaring that this is NOT in accordance with Allah’s commandments? Didn’t you ever wonder WHY you didn’t see any pushback against the Jihadis by Muslims here in the States? That’s because every Muslim KNOWS that what the Jihadis did WAS in accordance with the commands of Allah. And, to NOT support a Jihad once it has been proclaimed is to condemn oneself to an eternity in Hell. Oh, that’s why. And yes, I am saying that the ones we call extremists, or radicals, are actually just living out the faith the way Allah has commanded through the Quran. This is why the moderate Muslims in Nigeria are being slaughtered along with the Christians; they are considered apostates.

Now, are there moderate Muslims among the nearly 2 billion Muslims on earth? Yes, there are 3 subgroups within the umma (the worldwide body of believers). There are the Orthodox, for whom the words and teachings of the Quran, the Hadith (the life and sayings of Muhammad, the second source for the Shari’a), and the Sunnah (traditions and practices of Muhammad) form their absolutes. They are legalistic in their approach to their faith.

Next, there is the Folk group. Their absolutes are more centered on heartfelt everyday concerns and the mystical power of prayer for inspiration and guidance. For them, jihad is more of a personal inner battle to be more pleasing to Allah.

And, finally, we have the Secular group. They’re more pragmatic, and their absolutes are centered on science and politics. Getting along peacefully with the infidels (non-believers) is acceptable for financial benefit. This last subgroup is found mostly within the Sunni sect of Islam.

The Sunnis are also the largest of the major sects, with 85-90% of the global Muslim population. However, there is the Wahhabi sect within the larger Sunni population. It is also the “official” version of Islam in Saudi Arabia. Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers on 911 were Saudis and Wahhabis. They are radically fundamentalist.

After the Sunnis, we come to the second largest sect within Islam. That is Shia Islam, making up about 10–13% of Muslims worldwide, and it is here that we find our biggest threat to Western Civilization.

Why? Because within Shia Islam, we find a subgroup known as the Twelvers. Recent estimates of the global Twelver population range from about 170–255 million, according to figures from 2025–2026. Therefore, Twelvers constitute the dominant group within the worldwide Shia population.

Most people believed that the Iranian leadership wanted nuclear weapons to destroy Israel, as they had declared, but they didn’t understand why they wanted to destroy Israel. And that is because the media never wanted to talk about it. They didn’t and still don’t want to go into the fact that Ali Khamenei and all of the leadership of Iran were of the Shia sect within Islam, and they were also “Twelvers.” In fact, so is the entire political and religious system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I have been aware of this since the 1979 revolution, and the implications for the future are incredible. Twelvers believe that the last of the twelve Imams appointed by Allah from the descendants of Muhammad is the one true judge and interpreter of Islam. They believe he is not dead but alive by Allah’s power, and he will return one day as al-Mahdi (“the Guided One”). At a time chosen by Allah, he will reappear alongside their version of Jesus, whom they call (Isa), to:

• Fill the earth with justice.
• Establish a GLOBAL Islamic government.
• Defeat all tyrants and the enemies of Allah.

Isn’t it funny how this sounds very much like the Antichrist and the False Prophet described in the book of Revelation within the Bible? Just a thought. But I have been proposing that scenario for a long time. I will be presenting an article about that in the near future.

Now, here is where the Iranian leadership’s Twelver beliefs become extremely dangerous for the rest of the Middle East and the world. They believe that they can ACCELERATE the return of the twelfth Imam by destroying Israel. Simple as that. And we must remember, it doesn’t matter what we believe; it’s what they believe and their intentions that matter. So even though Iran has been a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1958, its cooperation with the agency has been severely limited over the last decade. It was the IAEA that told the world that Iran had been hiding its enrichment of uranium and stonewalling them on inspections since 2021, inspections which they had agreed to. Then, when President Trump attempted to negotiate a new agreement with Iran on nuclear weapons, they BRAGED to our negotiating team and the world that they already had enough 60% enriched uranium to produce 10-11 nuclear weapons. That meant they would need only 1-2 weeks to bring that uranium to the 90% enrichment level required for weapons. They said they would NOT negotiate away their right to have nuclear weapons. In essence, they were proclaiming that they WOULD have nuclear weapons and that no one was going to stop them. That proclamation, along with their 47-year history of proclaiming their intention to DESTROY ISRAEL and the United States, left us no option other than to attack their ability to follow through on that threat.

President Trump’s decision to take out their weapons program saved Israel and the world from a catastrophe of monumental proportions. Now, those who say Iran was just Israel’s problem don’t seem to understand what would happen as soon as Iran launched a nuclear weapon at Israel. After the 6-day war of 1967, Israel established a policy it calls the Sampson Option. The Samson Option is a deterrence doctrine in which Israel would respond to an existential threat with overwhelming NUCLEAR retaliation, even if it meant catastrophic consequences for both Israel and its adversaries. The name references the biblical figure Samson, who destroyed a Philistine temple, killing himself and his enemies, symbolizing Israel’s willingness to use extreme measures if cornered. It is not a first-strike policy, but a last-resort strategy designed to make the cost of attacking Israel unacceptably high.  But the Twelvers believe dying in Jihad guarantees them a place in paradise with 72 virgins. So, again, it doesn’t matter what YOU believe; it’s what they believe you have to be concerned with. Then there is the issue of the nuclear fallout that will be drifting eastward from Tehran and Iran’s other cities. That fallout will be going right over China. How do you think they will react? Want to see WWIII start? Let Iran have nukes.

 

Knowing what you know now, do you still believe Islam and Western Civilization can peacefully coexist?  Do you still think it would have been okay for the Twelvers of Iran to keep working on acquiring ICBMs and Nukes? Or are you glad that after five Presidents have said “Iran can never be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” one President is actually doing something to stop them?   

 

(*) Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, was a British administrator and diplomat whose 24-year tenure as British agent and consul general in Egypt ran from 1883 to 1907. Therefore, his view regarding the ability for Islam to be reformed came from 24 years of experience living in a Muslim country.