It Is Not Just The Terrorists
Following the coordinated Easter/Passover bombings in Sri Lanka, in which some 200 Christians and Westerners died, it’s easy to become mesmerized by bold faced Islamic terrorism. And it is true that such horrific violence leaves an indelible mark on one’s consciousness. But, it’s vital to realize, never-the-less, that the threat to our way of life does not come from terrorists only.
We are told, again and again, by everyone from George W. Bush to Barack Obama to Pope Francis, that Islam is a “religion of peace” and that the terrorism that we witness over and over again has “nothing to do with Islam”. They say this EVERY time a new terrorist atrocity shocks the world. Unfortunately, repetition does not make it true.
An extremely important voice on the issue of Islamic violence is the former Director of the Harvard Center For International Affairs, Samuel P. Huntington. In addition to his tenure at Harvard, Mr. Huntington has served as the Director of the United States National Security Council. In 1996 he authored, “The Clash Of Civilizations” (Published by Simon and Schuster and available through Amazon and other retailers), considered to be the definitive work on post Cold War world order.
To quote Mr. Huntington, in NINETEEN NINETY SIX: “American leaders allege that Muslims involved in the quasi war are a small minority whose use of violence is rejected by the great majority of moderate Muslims. This may be true, but the evidence to support it is lacking. Protests against anti-Western violence have been totally absent in Muslim countries. Muslim governments, even the bunker governments friendly to and dependent on the West, have been strikingly reticent when it comes to condemning terrorist acts against the West”.
Mr. Huntington goes on to say that: “The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic Fundamentalism. It is Islam, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power.”
He then went on to conclude that Islamic extremism would become the biggest threat to world peace. This was in 1996. Food for thought.