With NATO member Turkey’s recent downing of a Russian aircraft sparking fears of WWIII, a rather politically incorrect question needs to be asked: should a Muslim nation have NATO membership?

Having a country as part of the NATO alliance is no small matter.  Since an attack on one member nation is considered an attack on all, an escalation of the Russian-Turk crisis resulting in military action against Turkey by Russia could, conceivably, lead to a WWIII.  This is why it’s imperative that NATO members be rational actors. 

As to this, I have a theory about the shoot-down of the Russian plane.  It’s just a theory, and admittedly it’s “probably” not the explanation in this case.  Yet I think it’s worthy of consideration, especially since it could be a factor — and a profoundly dangerous one — at some point in the future.

When Turkey was admitted to NATO in 1952, the Cold War was ramping up and the nation was relatively secular.  Today, however, it’s well known that Turkey has been Islamizing and that its president, Recep Tayyip ErdoДџan, is an Islamic supremacist.  Also note that Turkey was the location of the last great Islamic caliphate, the Ottoman Empire.  And some think that just as Benito Mussolini wanted to resurrect the glories of the Roman Empire, ErdoДџan and others want to reclaim the far more recent Ottoman dominance. 

Now, let’s say you’re an Islamic supremacist regime leading an Islamizing nation.  Let’s say that, as is par for that course, you believe the whole Earth should be conquered for Islam and have an apocalyptic worldview.  You look at the geopolitical scene and see a decrepit, secularizing West on one side, a place that itself is being Islamized as it slowly descends into irrelevancy.  And opposing this you see Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the only remaining major nation unapologetically Christian, a nation that has rejected the West’s destructive leftist agenda (Putin himself, whether it’s principle or posturing, has served notice that Russia is willing to be Christianity’s standard bearer). 

Before elaborating further, it must be emphasized that an Islamic apocalyptic worldview is so foreign to most Westerners that they can’t even conceive of it.  As to this, however, it has been said that if former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had supreme decision-making power in his land, he would "sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel.” Remember, we’re dealing with adherents who frequently blow themselves up in an effort to take just a few non-believers with them.  And with this suicide/homicide-bomber mentality so prevalent, it does follow that, sometime, somewhere, it would have to penetrate into Muslim halls of government. 

So let’s say this is your mindset.  Is it unfathomable to think you might want to start a war between the Christian and secular “infidels”? Might you not hope that Russia would be destroyed or at least neutered and that the already waning West, in a Pyrrhic victory’s wake, would be left teetering and all the more susceptible to a hot or cold Muslim takeover?

Even if what resulted wasn’t the sudden rise of the final and greatest caliphate, it’s logical to assume that a WWIII could lead to a new world order.  Also realize that most of Dar al-Islam (that apart from Turkey) would most probably sit on the sidelines during such an affair; thus, it would likely emerge stronger relative to the West and the rest than it had been before.  Turkey, of course, would take it on the chin as part of NATO.  But what does that matter to a “half my country for Allah” type?

Also note that it wouldn’t have to be the Turkish regime’s official policy to spark such a war for the action in question to be taken; rogue elements within the government or military could be enough.  And regardless of how it all shook out, wouldn’t the prospect of getting the “infidels” to kill each other be very attractive to a suicide-homicide-vest type? All it means for the Muslim “collateral damage” is that a lot of men get their 72 virgins far sooner.  And given that jihadists have sacrificed themselves for the sake of killing just a few non-believers, what kind of an appeal do you think wiping out millions of them would hold?

Once again, the aforementioned is just a theory, and an unlikely explanation, insofar as the downing of the Russian plane goes.  But how likely or unlikely is it that it could be a factor in the future? All we need is just one apocalyptic jihadist at the right nation’s helm.

There are two Islamic countries in NATO, Turkey and Albania.  The latter is only 58 percent Muslim and a quarter irreligious, yet even it spawns some terrorists.  And is having Muslim nations in NATO much like having Muslim individuals in the West? Is it just a matter of time before one of them takes up the sword for Allah?

Of course, many will scoff.  It’s important here, however, not to fall victim to that common human failing of mirroring, when we project our own values, priorities and mindset onto others.  As Michael Caine’s character explained in the film The Dark Knight, “[S]ome men aren't looking for anything logical, like money.  They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.  Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

And some men want to burn it to buy the promise of Paradise. 

Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com.