Infidels:

The term infidel is a translation for the Arabic kaffir (plural Kuffar) which is usually taken to mean someone who does not believe in Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) and the Message of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam).

Generally, when speaking of non-believers, the term kaffir is used. However, there are - in my opinion - some occasions when the somewhat stronger translation of infidel or infidels may, or even should, be used. This is when the kuffar in question have shown themselves to be, through their deeds or words or both, to have "overstepped the limits" in their opposition to Islam.

A good example here is George Bush, currently (at the time of writing, 26 Jumaada al-Thaani 1423) the President of the United States. His actions in support of the Zionist occupation of Palestine, in killing Muslims in Afghanistan, in humiliating and imprisoning captured Mujahideen, in supporting corrupt rulers in Muslim countries, in waging a world-wide war against those striving to do their Islamic duty through such things as Jihad, his use of covert operations and "black propaganda" against Muslims (one thinks here, for instance, of the forged videos of Sheikh Osama bin Laden) and his utter hypocrisy, have surely entitled him to be called an infidel.

Thus, in many of my writings I have opted to use the terms infidel and infidels in preference to kaffir and kuffar.

The West:

By the West I mean those modern nations which form most of Europe, the United States, Canada and countries such as Australia, and especially the way of life and so-called "culture" that predominate in these countries.

The way of life of the modern West is essentially derived from the capitalist-consumer ethos with its reliance on usury, while the "culture" of Western societies is the mass culture that has come to dominate the modern world: the "culture" of modern "pop music", advertising, sport, mass entertainment which appeals to the baser instincts (often "sex") and so on. Not without reason, this "culture" has been described as Americanization.

The Western way of life is one of industrialization and the desire for continued economic growth where the Earth, and its peoples, are viewed are resources to be used, or exploited. Part of the ethos of the West is the belief that we human beings are, or can be, masters of our own fate and that there is some kind of ideal society which we can, or should create, or which we should progress toward through making and enforcing laws based on our own political and social ideas.

The way of the modern West is in complete contrast to the Way of Al-Islam. For Islam, what is important is the Will of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala): for instance, the laws which govern our societies should be Allah's laws, as evident in the Shariah just as our foremost aim should be to do what Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has asked us to do, as evident in the Quran and Sunnah, for thus may we enter Paradise. In contrast, for the West, our aim is to achieve happiness, or wealth, or power, or enjoyment, or security, in this life, just as, according to the ethos of the West, our laws can and should be changed with each new change of government whose leaders always assume or believe in their arrogance (and often hypocrisy) they know what is best for the people they govern.

Numinous: