But no policy can be effective without an honest diagnosis of the problem it is intended to address.
That is why Barack Obama’s statement to last week’s global summit on extremism was so disappointing. Coming from a man who ridicules the proposition that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, Obama’s claim that “No religion is responsible for terrorism, people are responsible for terrorism”, combined mendacity with hypocrisy.
The jihadis may indeed be “madmen”, as Obama said; but to deny they act in the name of Islam is as absurd as denying the crusades were fought under the banner of Christianity.
Nor was Obama on more solid ground in blaming Islamic extremism on poverty and disadvantage. Few claims have been as decisively rejected by social scientific research; and so has the claim that the radicalisation of Muslim youth in western countries is caused by social exclusion. (+ video) » | Henry Ergas | Columnist | Sydney | Monday, February 23, 2015
