The recent conflict between presidential candidate Donald Trump and Mr. Khizr Khan has taken a very emotional and personal direction. It is now time to raise the discussion to a much higher level, one that can benefit the whole world.
Mr. Trump is now in a unique position to at last disperse the fog and confusion surrounding the true nature of Islam by asking the Islamic scholars and recognized leaders of the Muslim world to once and for all, clearly and unambiguously, reject the following standard Shariah principles:
- Beating women and stoning women to death for adultery.
- Calling Jews “pigs and monkeys.”
- Declaring war on Non-Muslims to spread Islam after offering Non-Muslims three options—subjugate to Islam, pay Jizia (a humiliating tax), or be killed.
- Enslaving female war prisoners and taking them as sex slaves (Ma Malakat Aymanikum).
- Fighting and killing Jews before the “End of Days.”
Mr. Trump might have the greatest opportunity in human history to expose the reality of Radical Islam. All he needs to do is challenge the leading Islamic scholars such as Sheikh Al-Azhar, leaders of Islamic organizations, and leaders of small mosques in the U.S. and Europe to denounce such violent principles — clearly, unambiguously, and publicly—within one week.
Ideally, he should appear in a highly publicized video and on television to put the challenge to them in such a way that they cannot feign ignorance or otherwise pretend to have been unaware of it. In fact, Mr. Trump should also consider offering the challenge in a full page ad in The New York Times, thus forcing the editors to show their colors.
If the leaders and scholars of Islam accept the challenge and reject these teachings, then Mr. Trump would be hailed as the person who started a great process of reformation within Islam. If, on the other hand, they fail to renounce these violent teachings and refuse to reject these Shariah Laws, then Mr. Trump would prove his point that the problem within the Muslim world is far greater than many people imagine.
Mr. Trump need not worry about losing Muslim support for his candidacy. In fact, moderates might feel more inclined to side against such open admissions of violent principles.
If thousands of Islamic scholars and mosque leaders in the U.S. and Europe fail to announce their rejection of such Shariah teaching within one week of the challenge, then the whole world will realize the true magnitude of the problem of Islamism.
It’s a win-win for Mr. Trump. His standing as the Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency would force the issue onto the world stage, and would help the world to begin a truthful discussion about Islam and Radical Islam.
Dr. Tawfik Hamid is the author of "Inside Jihad: Understanding and Confronting Radical Islam." Read more reports from Tawfik Haimd — Click Here Now.