It will be the first world war of its kind. It will be a war between Muslims states with disintegrating borders, a war between new confederacies with unlikely alliances. It will be called World War M. The incremental staging is already in place for this event, so let us move into droplet research. It is a slow process, which involves taking droplets of information and letting them coalesce into a pool of thought. I have used droplet research for over a decade. It works well for me. As I write these words, I am reminded that there is a prayer for rain. There is the rain that falls from Heaven to wash the face of the earth but there is the need for rain, which washes the face of man, opens the eyes to see and sets things in their proper order. Digital rain is falling and preparing the souls of men for World War M. To look at the rain — this incremental staging for greater acts of war — we must cast our gaze behind the headlines. The incremental staging for World War M moves forward. Individuals are lining up in their ranks, behind the news of the day. Travel behind the headlines to look at the 21st century movement of humanity within the Muslim majority nations. Follow these movements in the same way a radiologist watches the dye coursing and crashing through blood vessels during an arteriogram. Large movements of Muslim refugees across borders eventually functions as a giant eraser against national borders. With greater streams of refugees comes greater peril. Political amplitude is heightened during massive and sudden movements of refugees in transnational fashion. Anarchist opportunities multiply exponentially. When do Syria, Lebanon and Iraq cease to be anything other than loosely defined political confederacies that support figureheads of governance? What happens when Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states move to a stronger counterbalancing act through — hold your breath — an alliance with Israel? What happens when Yemen barks and Iran decides to bite? Do Turkey and Jordan survive? And what reactions are being noted within an increasingly destabilised African continent? What happens when the Taliban’s political mainframe overpowers its neighbour? Guardianship of nuclear assets and/or transfer of such assets will flip the military switch for another nearby nuclear nation. At what point does chronic low-grade conflict morph into full-scale multi-region anarchy? The incremental staging for World War M is already in place. A headline this past week diverts our gaze from World War M. The clunky delivery of ‘news’ that the government of Angola has banned Islam and closed mosques comes with the usual consternation and misinformation but a singular focus on the external ‘enemies of Islam’ — a thought that brings immense happiness to more than a few — can detract from a stark reality. It is the enemies from within the house who are currently doing a cracking job of bringing the Islamic roof right down on your collective heads. This latest alarmist regurgitation reminds me of my analytical friendship with an al Qaeda loyalist, a PhD with an enemies-of-Islam brain who was hoist on his own petard. Speaking of being hoist on their own petard, this week, ‘The Islamic State of Iraq and Sham’ posted a few graphics to remind us of the virtues and commands of Islam. The first three are titled ‘Command of Jihad’: “Then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush,” al-Tawba 5. The attached graphic shows a soldier beside a personnel carrier. The second image shows two plumes of grey smoke from an attack in progress. “Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not,” al-Baqarah 216. The graphic for this one shows men being peppered with bullets. “Oh you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness. And know that Allah is with the righteous,” al-Tawba 123. This graphic shows an assault rifle pointed out of the cab of a truck. It is aimed at the head of a man in an adjacent vehicle. I will not bore you with the ‘virtues’ posters, things that are now besetting your nations: jihad, tourism and martyrdom operations against non-combatants. The land of stationing no longer exists solely within the confines of a geographic spatial reality. Ribaat (border) has moved into the psych-ops phase and takes up residence inside a space about the size of a field melon. I am speaking of that space between your ears — a space meant to be filled with higher mathematics, literary treasure and a cornucopia of art is being reduced to a waste receptacle for dogma. The incremental staging moves forward from behind your headlines. Observe the forward movement toward World War M within the madarassa. Your children are being raped of their intellect. They are being taught — or rather programmed — to actively participate in this future World War M. When they hear the call to jihad they will respond as naturally as a child responds to a mother’s call for dinner. Here is the deal: it is better for your nations to work toward a model that supports peaceful, functionally literate children educated within government schools. It is extremely dangerous to allow children to be indoctrinated en masse by fake imams. Allah, the Day of Judgment, angels, books and prophets aside, children have sensitive neurobiology that is best served by the message of peace. Leave the discussion of the ‘big five’ to the parents. You are allowing fake spiritual guides to damage the wiring within your children’s brains. Fagin had his street urchins. Muslim nations have their mullahs X, Y and Z. And soon, you will have World War M. The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswofford@yahoo.com