January 11, 2013:   Decades of negotiations with Palestinians, Taliban, and al Qaeda have failed, largely because the West misunderstands the Moslem concept of what terms like “negotiate” and “peace” mean. Westerners tend to lose sight of the fact that Islam is the most militaristic and controlling of all the major religions. Unlike the other faiths, Islam established itself in war and initially spread largely by military conquest. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the other major faiths were more into preaching as a means of gaining new adherents. Then there is the militancy of Islam, which presents itself as a way of life, not just a religion.  And part of that lifestyle includes fighting to gain new converts or to defend existing ones from forbidden ideas (especially other religions). This extremism is a way-of-life for Islamic conservatives (like many Saudi clergy and their followers) and radicals (Taliban and al Qaeda).

Islamic scripture is quite clear on how one “negotiates” with non-believers. Since you are on a Mission From God, anything is permitted. That includes hudnah, a term usually translated in the West as “ceasefire” or “truce.” But Islam defines hudnah as a deception used against infidels (non-Moslems) that involves pretending to agree to a ceasefire or truce while preparing to continue attacking when the forces of Islam have regained their strength. The basic idea here is that Islam has been commanded by God to convert the world to Islam and there is no such a thing as coexistence (except when it is hudnah) nor any sense of fair dealing during this sacred endeavor. As a practical matter, Islamic countries ceased to be capable of conquering infidels over 500 years ago. At the same time Islamic conservatives consider this long inactivity as one long hudnah and any day now the Islamic armies will be on the march again.

Naturally, any good Islamic radical is not going to explain the reality of hudnah to infidels. Instead, in ancient hudnah fashion, they tell the infidels whatever it appears the infidels are willing to believe that will further the Islamic cause. Thus the Palestinians and Taliban are always bringing up peace talks, especially when Islamic combat capabilities are weak.