The Problem of Islam and the Islamic State

Allah in Arabic (Wikipedia)

Editor's Note: Originally posted at Morning Star News 1 day before the terror attacks in France. AW

(Morning Star News) – Two remarkable pieces about Islamist violence were published last week in mainstream media – one answering the ambivalence thoughtful people feel on what to do about the Islamic State, and the other answering perplexity on what to do about Islam.

They are remarkable first because, unconcerned about political correctness, they strongly assert that anyone should do anything about either. They are also remarkable in that they fly in the face of the inertia of the majority. Few in the United States are eager to go back to war in Iraq, and few in the postmodern era are apt to critique a religion, much less have the stomach to suggest reforming one that includes widespread elements threatening to kill its critics.

But there they go again: Advocating Islamic reform by recognizing the roots of Islamic extremism in Islamic scripture and mainstream Islamic scholarship, Somali atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Foreign Policy magazine once again provides, as an ex-Muslim with bona fide “insider” credentials, a brilliant, level-headed argument against those who insist that terrorists have merely “hijacked” Islam for their purposes. And in the National Review online, staff writer, attorney and Iraqi war vet David French’s appeal for Christians to call for U.S. military involvement against the Islamic State cites how a great man of peace in Baghdad is calling for war.

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