What should we make of a world that finds unity in a plane crash but sits back and lets a broken religion hold people in terror? We have a stunning ability to come together and set posturing and differences aside when tragedy strikes. Sadly, it too often takes a disaster to bring some semblance of unity.
The world’s governments also give lip service to unity after Islamic terror attacks, but it’s not quite the same because they refuse to acknowledge the ugly truth behind remarks about coming together and refusing to bow to terror. Why is it that the non-Muslim world can’t come together to label Islam a broken religion that kills and needs to be held accountable?
Unity from disaster as a religion kills
They may not have realized it, but nations as disparate as the U.S., Malaysia, Australia, and China shared a moment of unity as they searched for the wreckage of an AirAsia jet. At the same time, in the wake of the terror killings in France we got nonsense from Secretary of State Kerry about fearful extremists despite constant reminders that Islamic terrorists are anything but scared:
No country knows better than France that freedom has a price, because France gave birth to democracy itself. France sparked so many revolutions of the human spirit, borne of freedom and of free expression, and that is what the extremists fear the most.1
Like Kerry’s statement, President Obama’s remarks ducked the issue of Islam and decided to focus on shared values and an attack on freedom of speech and the press.2 He could have labeled this an Islamist atrocity from the start. The reason for the attack on Charlie Hedbo certainly didn’t seem to be a secret. There would have been no other reason for him to bring up freedom of the press. Non-Islamists don’t routinely carry out terror attacks shouting “Allahu Akbar!” What was most disturbing, though, was not Obama’s ongoing refusal to acknowledge the problem with a religion that kills, but his concluding remark:
And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they’ll be forgotten. And we will stand with the people of France through this very, very difficult time.3
Forgotten? Islamic radicalization is a growing threat and the sheer number of followers of this broken religion means its disdain for the West and freedom in general is not going away. Instead, it’s going to get worse. How much more evidence do we need after the rise of ISIS? We shouldn’t have to hold our collective breath while we wait for the world community to label Islam a terror threat and demand some accountability for extremism, but the man who should be leading the free world has already told us that ISIL is not Islam. Does this also mean jihadists aren’t Muslim?
Why is broken, corrupted Islam off limits?
Barack Obama has never hesitated to slap the broken label on whatever he dislikes or disagrees with in America. On the other hand, the broken Islamic religion is off limits no matter how corrupted its followers have made it. Is this because of fear, respect, adoration, or diplomatic necessity?
One of the president’s most successful tactics is to stir up our people to hate America’s laws and institutions. He has yet to point the same blameful finger at Islam no matter how many times this broken, corrupted religion kills. As a consequence, we have failed as a world leader and the West in general has refused to draw the line when religious freedom intersects with evil (see: Terror Threat Less Scary Than Washington Politics). Our jihadist adversaries certainly don’t have that problem. They will draw the line anywhere they choose, too often after they have used their religion as an excuse to kill.
We still haven’t figured out that you can’t deal with a religion like Islam from a religious freedom perspective because that value doesn’t apply. As you say, disagreement can mean death, as we saw once again in France last week.
One of the biggest errors in understanding the Quran is that it demands that those who disagree with its teachings should be killed as is the current ISIS attacks on Christians and others. Teaching people to kill, so that they will receive 72 virgins in their self sacrifice of dying for their cause is demonic in reality of life. The Muslim religion is a way of life to be lived by as well as worshiped under. Man kind was not created by God for self distruction but to live in over site of what had been created. Obama will not take issue with Muslims since he was raised under that teaching and is fearful of what might happen if he crosses them. We as a Christian nation will have to elect a leader who will standup and defend our founding fathers freedoms under God as written in our Constitution.