Ted, You keep telling us that but what is the cause of extremism..........and its not just confined to Muslims. There are all kinds of extremists.......so what causes people to identify with an ideology of extremism? That's another mistake you and Obama are making. You are extremely reluctant to call out this particular type of extremism, namely Islamic extremism, because you fear the backlash and the discrimination against all Muslims.
That's why Obama had to bring up the tired old "Crusades" comparison, as if Christian extremism these days is anything more dangerous than the trolls at Westboro Baptist Church.
As for ISIS, they are following an extremely literal interpretation of the Koran, one that takes all of its commands, including the violent ones, as gospel. Many Muslims consider those violent commands to be obsolete and only appropriate for the time when the Koran was written, but not ISIS. They believe it is their God-given duty to follow them to the letter.
And once they do, they'll not only see their reward in heaven (the 72 virgins or whatever), but they'll also establish their long-desired caliphate on Earth, which is their ultimate goal.
OF COURSE we need to give them alternatives, but that's like saying we should have given the 9/11 hijackers "alternatives" as well, despite them enjoying their "alternatives" at strip clubs and what not before they piloted the jets into the Twin Towers.
Tenchusatsu |
