Key Points:
Author William Federer argues that Islam is not only a religion but also has political and military dimensions that conflict with the US Constitution.
He compares aspects of Sharia law with American constitutional principles, including equality, punishment, marriage and self-governance.
Federer discusses the history of Islam, Muhammad’s leadership in Medina, Islamic expansion and the concept of the Caliphate to support his argument.
THE QUESTIONS about how compatible Islam is with the Western constitution, democracy, and the concept of free speech have been discussed by many scholars. Some scholars argue that Islam focuses on God’s will and Sharia law, while in a democracy, people are supposed to govern themselves. In a lecture published on Real Life with Jack Hibbs, author and public speaker Dr. William Federer explained why Islam is incompatible with the American Constitution.
Federer started by naming his book, titled What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an: A History of Islam & the United States, and then continued to explain how Islam started spreading around the world and how quickly this transition took place. He argued that Islam is not compatible with the American constitutional system because it is not just a religion but also a political and military ideology. He said that while countries provide religious freedom to people, Islam, in his view, cannot be treated as only a religion.
Federer said, “there's freedom for all religions in America. But Islam is not just a religion because Muhammad was not just a religious leader. He was also a political leader and a military leader.” He argued that the military and political aspects of Islam are inseparable from the religion and, according to him, Islam should not receive blanket protection as a religious institution under the First Amendment of the United States.
Federer’s main argument was that Islam is not just a religion but a political and military system that calls itself a religion. He tried to explain his argument by discussing the history of Islam and the biography of Muhammad. Federer described three roles of Muhammad at different stages of his life: a religious preacher, a political leader, and a military leader.
In his case study, Federer focused on the Medina period, where he discussed the three major Jewish tribes: Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza. He said that Muhammad fled to Medina in 622 AD, where these three major clans were present. According to Federer, there was tribal warfare between the clans, and they allowed Muhammad to enter the territory as the first Muslim immigrant.
After gaining influence there, Federer said, Muhammad began working as a political leader, and soon after gaining enough followers, warfare broke out in the region. He explained that this was how Muhammad became a religious, political, and military leader. He said that after Muhammad came to Medina, which he described as a Jewish city, within five years there were no Jews left in the city. He explained that the rivalries between the three clans eventually allowed Muhammad to conquer Medina.
He further claimed that Islam spreads through three steps: immigration, increase, and elimination. He said, “Immigrate into a host country as a religious refugee. Increase the number of your followers amongst the minority neighborhoods. And then you have random outbreaks of violence, knifings, acid attacks, and so forth. And the previous inhabitants of the neighborhood no longer feel safe and they move out and they take over the neighborhood.”
Federer also discussed what he described as differences between Islam and the American Constitution, highlighting why he believes the two are incompatible. He first referred to the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and contrasted it with his interpretation of Sharia law, which he said calls for the cutting off of the hands of thieves.
While the amendment says that the person who committed the crime should be punished, Federer argued that Sharia law punishes the victim. He explained this by saying, “So a woman who's been violated is punished a hundred times for allowing herself to be used as a tool of Satan to tempt the man. So the women have to wear the burka to look unattractive on purpose.”
He then discussed marriage, saying that while American law recognizes marriage between two people, Sharia law, according to his interpretation, permits polygamy: “if you were to marry them, marry other women of your choice, two, three or four.”
While the Constitution treats equality as a fundamental value, Federer claimed that Sharia law requires the testimony of two women for that of a single man because, according to him, a woman’s mind is “deficient.”
He also discussed age-of-consent laws. “And then age of consent laws. Muhammad had a dream two nights in a row of him marrying a six-year-old,” he said. The girl’s name was Aisha, who was the daughter of Muhammad’s general, Abu Bakr. Federer further claimed that Muhammad consummated the marriage when Aisha was nine years old.
William Federer explained how Islam spread geographically across different nations and claimed that, in the first century only Islam had already expanded from Arabia to Paris. While claiming this he referred to the period between the year of Muhammad’s death in 632 CE and the Battle of Tours in 732 CE. He then said that Charles Martel then halted the expansion of Islam into France. He also mentioned the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and referred to it as part of the age of Islamic expansion. He further discussed several other wars associated with the history of Islam and Muhammad.
Federer explained that, according to his interpretation, the ultimate goal of these battles was a one-world government called the Caliphate, which would be led by a Muslim leader called the Khalif. He said the leader would handle political, religious, and military matters according to the will of Allah.
Federer further claimed that there are two ways to advance Islam and achieve this goal. According to him, the first is the fast way, through military action, which he called Jihad (holy war), while the second is the slow way, through migration, which he called Dawah (to invite).
Federer also said that Muslims have an ideology of victimhood, highlighting the historical persecution faced by the community in Mecca and arguing that it was used to justify retaliation. “Muhammad claimed he and followers were victims of Mecca’s intolerance, justifying retaliation.” He said that this victimhood has been embedded in their DNA, “it's where the victim is at fault for attracting hostility. And so Sigman Freud called it psychological projection where they accuse you of what they're guilty of.”
While Federer criticized what he described as the political and military system of Islam, he also drew a distinction between the system and individual Muslims. He said, “Most muslims are moderate.” He explained that moderate Muslims are not thinking about the world submitting to Allah immediately. “Moderate Muslims believe the world will submit to Allah later. Maybe in the distant future, maybe at the end of the world, maybe it's even figurative.” He said that they are simply living their lives and not thinking about this.
However, Federer said that fundamentalist Muslims are the violent ones who are happy to kill moderate Muslims because they believe they have departed from the path of Allah. His arguments mainly targeted what he described as the structural architecture of Islam as a governing system. He said that Sharia law places what Allah says above everything else and requires everyone to follow it, which, according to him, is completely in contrast with the constitutional value of self-governance.
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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