Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command of al-Qaeda delivered his own “commemoration” of the September 11 atrocities by calling on all Muslims to attack the United States.
I believe that Michelle Malkin has the best response in the Arabic phrase lan astaslem — “I will not submit”.
That’s exactly what the terrorists wish us to do — they take the very literal meaning of the word islam – “submission” — and make it not a voluntary act by those who choose to follow the Muslim faith, but a demand which must be followed at the penalty of death. Not only does this go against the Qu’ranic dictate that “there is no compulsion in religion” (Sura 2:258) but it also means that the ideology of those we fight is innately totalitarian.
We must never submit to those who would seek our destruction, physically and culturally. When Islamist radicals wish to force our citizens to submit to the will of shari’a law, we must tell them lan astaslem. When terrorists demand we end our protection of the people of Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the answer must be clear: lan astaslem.
That’s the answer al-Zawahiri, bin Laden, and the rest of their ilk should get, and he should get it loud and clear.
