Do you know this term?  It is really important that you know it and really important that you understand it, too.  Why?  Because according to Islam, it's where you live.

According to the adherents of Islam, the world is divided into two parts: the House of Submission and the House of War, Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb.  The House of Submission, Dar al-Islam, exists wherever a Muslim government rules according to sharia (Islamic law).  All lands that have not submitted to sharia constitute the House of War, the Dar al-Harb.

You probably do know the word "jihad."  Jihad is holy war.  Jihad is all about expanding Dar al-Islam.  Islam requires of its believers jihad until all of the House of War is subjugated and has thereby become part of Dar al-Islam.

That means if you live in America or Europe, you live in the House of War, and Muslims are in a perpetual state of war with you and your fellow citizens.  This is the explanation for the headlines we are presented with every day, dateline: Manchester, England; Paris, France; and many other places.

The American Founders learned what it meant to live in the House of War early on.  At the time of the Founding, Muslims were conducting jihad on a grand scale on Mediterranean shipping.  Colonial America's ships in the Mediterranean had been under the protection of the British navy.  When Britain withdrew its protection, the Founders were forced to confront jihad for themselves, so in 1786, John Adams met with Tripoli's ambassador in London.  At that meeting, Tripoli's man explained to Adams that American Christians were fair game for piracy because it was the right and duty of Muslims to plunder and enslave all who had not acknowledged the Prophet of Islam.  John Jay and others soon argued for ratifying the new Constitution so America would have a central government and navy strong enough to defend her citizens and interests.  And it was America's decision to suppress this threat that sent American Marines to "the shores of Tripoli."

But if Islam is in a state of perpetual war with every part of the world outside the House of Islam, what is all this talk about Islam meaning "peace" and Islam being a religion of peace?  In the first place, Islam does not mean peace; it literally means "submission." 

In the second place, when everyone either has submitted to Islam or is subject to rule by sharia, everyone will live in Dar al-Islam, the House of Submission, because of course the House of War, Dar al-Harb, would no longer exist. 

Muslims claim that worldwide submission to Islam constitutes peace.  It is not, I believe, what you and I mean by peace. 

Robert Curry is the author of Common Sense Nation: Unlocking the Forgotten Power of the American Idea from Encounter Books.  You can preview the book here.