by Tom Brennan,
The Caliphate and its two rival entities, al-Baghdadi and Iran are at reality tribal. Society’s most ancient organized structure was based on the immediate family, the clan and the clans into tribes. The Middle East is first and foremost tribal. Although Western culture take a certain pride in stressing individuality it has done so at the risk of isolation and cultural weakness. The Caliphate has no secular, it moves from a single-minded and no holds barred commitment to the 7th century Jihad that moved Islam from Arabia to most of the East and into Asia. It was stopped at Europe by a commonly united force that worked in unison to stop it. Today that united force is nonexistent. The Christian church is in up to 50,000 denominations all with varying degrees of Biblical interpretation and internal doctrines. Western governments are under the impression that classifying The Caliphate as a group of felons and seeking to bring them to justice is the solution to the lightning advance of the Jihad juggernaut. These governments also believe that these underprivileged and misunderstood individuals will see that being entrepreneurs and starting businesses and living the middle class life as we all do will change their minds. These governments also believe that Iran will negotiate as well to become a good neighbor in the region, a United States ally and surrogate so we can devote ourselves to other domestic causes in the Obama Administration’s agenda for the next two years.
As usual the only knowledgeable persons are those with their boots firmly on the ground: Israel and its developing allies Egypt and Jordan. Israel was re-established from a tribal society that had been spread many times into a hostile world. The deportees and refugees took Israel with them. They acquired Western dress, languages and customs but still remained a tribe, a spread out one but the links were always there. Their enemies are a tribe as well, a brutal one that does not fear death, uses suicide bombers and modern weapons and puts their horrific executions on the internet to frighten and intimidate their enemies. They are not terrorists: terror is one of their weapons and they are fearless and brutal warriors in a cause they fully believe in. Western nations lack their dedication and call them fanatics, but they are growing and attracting recruits and other groups worldwide who pledge their allegiance.Recruits are drawn by the chance to be part of a tribe. They are part of a higher cause and share a goal they can be lost in. Past religious experiences, nationality, economics or education are irrelevant unless The Caliphate can use these as advantages. One Jihadist online can carry out an operation anywhere and anytime and be a significant part of the war. Martyrdom is a badge of honor and they move from someone whose person has been disrespected or even bullied to one who is feared and will be feared even for a brief moment as they murder or degrade an infidel. The emotional strength of the tribe has been mocked and overlooked by our modern Western cultures and that’s why The Caliphate is gaining.
Israel has been a tribe of Chosen People since the time of Jacob. His sons were the patriarchs of the 12 Tribes who saw so many events, exiles and diaspora. Yet there are still 12. No matter where they were exiled they were a tribe and somewhere there were others. The Law of The Return opened up Israel to all who chose to return. They came from all nations.
Western culture for all its advances and culture is a lonely substitute. Our liberty to indulge our minds and egos, to rewrite truth to fit our own circumstances, our pride and prejudices all have led to this moment when a violent tribe is rampaging across the fields of what was Babylon, Assyria, and perhaps Armageddon. Only another and stronger tribe can defeat them. A house divided cannot stand. We Christians must stand with Israel because our own houses are divided.
The Native Peoples of America are still here. Some are on their original lands. Some retain their stories, knowledge of the land and how to live within nature. They are tribes and are regathering their numbers. We must learn from the Native Peoples and especially from Israel that some relationships were never meant to be broken for any reason, the tribe is one of them.
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