THE JERUSALEM POST:
With no end in sight to Islamist violence, perhaps the time has finally come to muster up the courage and take a long, hard look at why it is afflicting dozens of countries around the world.
For much of the past 13 years, ever since al-Qaida attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the West has found itself confronting an increasingly dangerous foe in the form of jihadist terror.
From New York to London to Madrid, Islamic extremists have carried out brazen attacks, targeting airplanes, public transportation and, of course, innocent civilians.
They have left a trail of tragedy and bloodshed and it would appear that the struggle to defeat them is far from over.
But despite the passage of so much time, and the gallons of ink that have been spilled in reporting on their actions and analyzing their motives, there is one critical question that has been largely ignored by the mainstream press.
It is a sensitive issue, the kind that makes people shift uncomfortably in their seats and anxiously clear their throats, but it is one that must, nonetheless, finally be addressed.
Simply put: If Islam is a religion of peace, then why are so many of its followers in so many countries killing so many people with such brutality? And, no less important, why are Western leaders so insistent on telling us after each attack that Muslim terrorists are distorting Islam? Each month, literally hundreds of people, if not more, are being killed by Muslims in the name of Islam in a multiplicity of conflicts around the world.
» | Michael Freund | Monday, October 27, 2014
