"I was a fanatic"

Okay, look, I didn't say it ... he did. I've never spoken out against "Islam" or made it my crusade to show the evils of it. Indeed, the Muslims that I've known have been quite moderate and baffled by this "kill the infidel" notion. Some I conversed with patiently explained to me, "Yes, it's in the Quran, but it doesn't mean what it says." And when I asked them, "So, why this animosity with the U.S.?" they would reply "foreign policy". Well, I hate to break it to them, but this guy disagrees.

According to this self-proclaimed ex-member of the British Jihadi -- a Muslim extremist -- the reason that Muslims are trying to kill Westerners is because they're not Muslims. Not only that, he claims that it's simply part of their theology. God says it. You gotta do it. That's it.

One has to wonder how true the assertion is. You see, if he is right, it has larger implications. If he is right, for instance, the rosy concept of a "democratic Iraq" is a foolish pipe dream that will be derailed by its own religion before it can come to fruition. We had good intentions, but we're simply feeding them stuff they don't want. It would be like feeding a devout Jew your finest cut of pork. "No, really, it's excellent stuff!" "Yes, thank you, but if I eat it I'm defying God." That kind of puts an end to it, doesn't it? "Yes, we can see how nice democracy would be, but it defies God." So much for that one.

If he is right there can be no "end to terrorism". There can be no "war on terrorism". It would, by definition, become a "war on Islam", and no one wants that. I remember watching a PBS special (years ago now) on the Vietnam War. They said that what the U.S. never quite understood was the ideology of the people of North Vietnam. We saw them as imperialists of sorts, trying to take land. They didn't. They saw themselves as freedom fighters, trying to free their southern brothers. So dedicated to the freedom of their family were they that they would have fought to the death to obtain it ... like any good family would. In this case, ordinary war doesn't work. Winning in Vietnam was impossible because it required the death of nearly every North Vietnamese citizen to achieve. Here we are again. We think we're defending people against terrorism and, as it turns out, their theology requires that they live the way they do and we are just in the way.

I can't say. I'm not a Muslim. I can debate Christianity. I can explain biblical values and theology. But I'm not a Muslim, so I won't try to tell you what their beliefs require of them. It seems, however, from two aspects that we are in for trouble. First, the declared reason that Islamic militants are trying to kill non-Muslims is that their religion tells them to. Big problem. Second, the "moderate Muslims" are keeping quiet. That's very disturbing. When a Fred Phelps steps up and yells stupid things in the name of Christianity, Christians shout him down. But Muslims are keeping quiet about what appears to be extreme Islam ... and that suggests that it's not so extreme. They're just not willing to be as open about it. I suspect that it's going to get worse -- much worse -- before it gets better. And this from "the religion of peace."