Not Religious Enough to Be a Terrorist: Salih Khater’s Muslim Supporters Indict Islam as a Religion

Accused terrorist Salih Khater, who was just arrested for ramming his car into cyclists and pedestrians near the British Parliament buildings, has been staunchly defended by his family and friends and Muslim neighbors, all of whom say he’s not religious enough to be a terrorist.

Among the defense: “He’s a good guy, a normal guy.”

And this: “There is no sign that he had been radicalized.”

And this: “He was not deeply religious.”

So that’s the defense of this terrorist — that he couldn’t possibly have committed this act of terror because he didn’t appear to be religious enough?

From the blog of Mateen Elass:

Three days ago, on August 14th, at 7:37 am local time in London, a driver rammed his Ford Fiesta into cyclists and pedestrians waiting at a light before speeding the wrong direction over curbs into a security lane next to British Parliament buildings. Witnesses reported that the driver had both hands on the steering wheel, was looking straight ahead and accelerated to almost 50 mph before ramming a security barricade, where he was quickly apprehended by police and taken into custody. Authorities quickly announced they were treating this as a terrorist incident.

The accused is a 29 year-old Sudanese-born, recently naturalized British citizen named Salih Khater, a Muslim residing in Birmingham. Image result for Salih KhaterLate in the evening of the 13th, he drove from his home to London, arriving just after midnight. After meandering around Tottenham Court Road and Whitehall in the early morning hours, he continued to the area of Westminster, which he circled for about an hour and a half before initiating his presumed attack.

Friends, family and the local Muslim community in Birmingham are shocked by the news that the Salih they know could be a terrorist. They refuse to believe it, offering explanations like, “It must have been an accident;” “He was spooked by ambulance lights behind him and panicked;” “He’s a good guy, a normal guy, a stable person;” “So polite, a decent chap;” and the kicker: “There is no sign that he had been radicalised (sic). He was not a fervent worshipper…; he was not deeply religious.”

The Metropolitan Police, however, have reported that Salih is refusing to cooperate with their investigation, and have received court approval to hold him in custody until Monday, when they must either charge or release him.

That doesn’t sound like the action of an innocent man who was spooked into an accident, nor does the fact that he sports the Salafi-style beard common to Sunni extremists (see arrest photo) bode well, but time will tell as we await further information.

What interests me more at the moment are the implications behind the protests of innocence made by the Muslim family members and friends of Mr. Khater. The first defense is that Salih Khater is a normal guy, a good guy, a stable person. If it turns out that he has intentionally carried out a terrorist attack, the “Islam means peace” apologists will be in a bind. One of their favorite tactics to separate “true Islam” from the violence of Muslim terrorists is to claim that the perpetrators are mentally ill and thus Islam is not responsible for their atrocities. There is no hint of mental instability in Salih Khater.

The second defense is even more damning, regardless of whether Mr. Khater turns out to be a terrorist or not. The Muslim community around him is arguing that he can’t be a terrorist because he was “not a fervent worshiper,” he was “not deeply religious” — that is, he showed no signs of radicalization. What this directly implies is that for the Muslim community at large signs of deep religiosity and fervency in mosque attendance are red flag indicating a fellow Muslim may be on the road to extremism and terrorism.

Another way of saying this is that Muslims themselves understand that the more committed a Muslim becomes to the core teachings of Allah and his prophet, the more likely that individual is to be drawn to the use of violence and persecution of “the enemies of Allah.” Salih’s Muslim family and friends can’t believe he could be guilty of terrorism because in their opinion he’s not that committed to Islam! If he had been a regular fixture in the mosque, if he kept the five mandatory daily prayers and engaged in further dua (voluntary prayers of intercession), if he studied the Qur’an, Hadith traditions and Sira biographies of the prophet assiduously, if he spoke out about the sins of the West against the aggrieved Muslim community worldwide, then it would be understandable that his passion for Islam would lead naturally to such a terrorist attack — because Muslims know that hatred for the infidel and violent jihad is commanded by their prophet until the whole world cowers in subjection to Islam.

By their very defenses, Salih Khater’s Muslim supporters indict Islam as a religion. Fortunately, most Muslims ignore the militant, misanthropic calls of their god and prophet to bloodshed against the non-Muslim world (named Dar al-Harb in Islamic theology), which means the “Encampment of War,” Image result for dar al harband instead wish to find ways to get along with their non-Muslim neighbors — inspired more by the teachings of Jesus than Muhammad, whether conscious or not. Only the most committed Muslims (in the eyes of other Muslims) earn the accolades of Allah and his prophet by picking up the sword of jihad for the sake of Allah and mowing down Islam’s opponents.

Salih, according to those who think they know him, was not that committed.

He couldn’t be a true jihadi because he was not truly devoted to Islam.

What a sad defense! In seeking to get Salih off the hook, the Muslim community condemns true Islam as a religion which preaches and expects violence and conquest.

Whether or not Mr. Khater in the end is found guilty of creating a path of mayhem and wanton destruction, there is no question about the path that Islam has taken over the last 1400 years, and to which it is committed for its foreseeable future. Its guilt is undeniable.