Islam in theTwenty-First Century
Reader comment on item: Washington Finally Gets It on Radical Islam

Submitted by Arlinda DeAngelis (United States), Apr 25, 2005 at 21:54

Islam is a religion touted as "the religion of peace" and "jihad." Two religions in one.

Unless Islam stops oppressing and enslaving women it will always be the religion of oppression. Unless Islam gets out of government it will continue its totalitarianism. Unless Islam stops the terrorism and I mean zero tolerance ... cease all funding, support and acceptance of this form of warfare it will continue to be the religion of jihad. Unless Islam embraces Israel publicly, privately, and educationally, it will continue with its ideology of annihilation. They have dehumanized the Israelis and the Americans. It is an outrage and intolerable.

It is encouraging that the United States has now expanded its efforts into the madrassas and into the mosques where murderous hatred, prejudice and bias is the core of what is taught and what is preached. It will take decades to turn the Islamic belief system with its endless sources of cash and young lives to squander along with its omnipotent imams into a modern twenty-first century belief system.

America with its egalitarianism is capable of such a difficult and arduous effort. I just hope we have the patience of past generations to accomplish our goal. History is behind us. We've done this before in Europe and in the Soviet Union and we can do it again in the Middle East.

Bravo Dr. Pipes for your brilliant commentary on this matter.

I remember one of the darkest hours in this crisis was your that your appointment to the US Institute for Peace faced fierce opposition from the Islamists and from our own Congress. But you prevailed and we prevailed and this nation was one step closer to real victory. Your appointment is as important in the war against this totalitarianism as is our military effort. It was a quiet victory but a very powerful one.

Maybe it really is better to light that one candle than to curse the darkness.

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