The New York Post today published a cover story attacking the President and his refusal to name Islam as a root cause for terror attacks worldwide. Perhaps this is because he was speaking at a summit on extremism and terrorist action and many of the officials he invited were, in fact, Muslim.
Regardless, he stood before the crowd and once again repeated a litany of now overtired talking points:
“No religion is responsible for terrorism – people are responsible for terrorism.”
You might say that falls in line with the conservative argument against gun control: “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” And it would be true, if guns were outfitted with user manuals that directed all gun-owners to carry out the slaughter of everyone who disagreed with them. Ever.
“We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.”
For a brief moment, that sounds a lot like the condemnation of Christian extremists who bomb abortion clinics to prevent the deaths of more babies. And again, it would be true if “killing the infidel wherever you find him” was a perversion rather than a direct quote from the Qu’ran. (Sura 2:191) I challenge you to find a passage in the Bible in which Jesus directs – or even condones – vigilante justice or murder.
Obama repeatedly referred to Al Qaeda, ISIL (of course, he had to throw that little barb at Israel as well), and other terror organizations as “groups” – avoiding the painfully obvious thread that ties them all together: Islam.
He mentioned Islam only to say that it, like other religions, had been perverted and that it was the perversion and extremism that was the problem. What he and so many others either fail or refuse to recognize is the fact that the terrorists are not the ones perverting Islam.
From the very beginning, Islam has been spread at the point of a sword. Christians go into the world carrying hymns and Bibles. Buddhists and Hindi share philosophy and speak of peace and understanding. Only Islam has a rich history of offering “salvation” with one hand and death with the other.
It’s not “radical” Muslims who are terrorists. Rather, it’s the fundamentalists – Muslims who read the Qu’ran and apply it literally. But maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised – this is not the first time the President has misused the word “radical” in this way. After all, aren’t all those who read and apply the United States Constitution literally considered “extremists” by this administration? And don’t even get me started on those who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible…
