DEFINING SHARIA: For those who may not be familiar with the term or meaning of Sharia, Islamic theology divides the world into two spheres locked in perpetual conflict: The House of Islam and the House of War. The House of Islam (dar al-Islam) embraces territory where Islamic law (Sharia) is the law of the land, while the House of War (dar al- Harb) comprises the rest of the world. The House of Islam is enjoined by Allah to make war upon the House of War until the latter is permanently assimilated into the former. The term jihad, which literally means “struggle,” denotes the military effort to bring new lands into the House of Islam. While the state of war between the Islamic non-Islamic worlds is sometimes hot or sometimes cold, it is permanent until Sharia law reigns over the entire planet. Westerners assume blindly that Muslims practicing their faith are not so very different from the true believers of other religions. This assumption is not merely wrong it is deadly. Today’s preachers of multiculturalism and tolerance, who champion Islam at the expense of Western mores, demonstrate ignorance of a suicidal order. Sharia law is used in many Muslim countries to justify shocking acts of barbarity including stoning, and the subjugation of women. Sharia does not permit freedom of conscience; it prohibits Muslims from renouncing their Islamic faith or converting to another religion. The penalty for doing so is death. Sharia does not support religious liberty; it treats non-Muslims as inferior and does not accord them the same protections as Muslims. In these and other instances, Sharia is explicitly at odds with core American and Western values. It is an explicit repudiation of freedom of conscience and religious liberty as well as the premise that citizens are equal under the law. (WMD/ Former US Republican Senator, Rick Santorum.)