Ignorance of Islamism Hurts Israel and the West

Submitted by Dave (United States), Dec 22, 2015 at 21:09

The unfeasibility of an Israeli pipeline through Turkey at this time seems so obvious that Israel's leadership should hardly waste much time on the prospect. The fact that they are doing so says a great deal about their ignorance of Islamism. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye here, but most of what I've read about their deliberations focuses on the dynamics of power politics, but very little on the underlying Islamist ideology which is so fundamentally hostile to Israel. Indeed, it's amazing that a country reputed to be so capable, which is situated in the middle of all those Muslim countries, could have a leadership that can actually be quite obtuse about their neighbors' thinking, but then there was the Oslo fiasco as evidence that that could indeed be the case.

And Israel is hardly unique. Listening to the presidential candidates shows that American attitudes are similar. The Democrats seem to think that any discussion of Islamic ideology should be taboo, as evidence of racism or Islamophobia. Even on the Republican side, the emphasis has been on smashing ISIS and other tactics, but very little has been said about ideology. Only Donald Trump, by default it would seem, has brought up the issue of the "hate" permeating so much of the Islamic world, a disturbing phenomenon that should be on everyone's mind and lips. When it comes to Islamism, ignorance is not bliss.

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