Posted by
Doctor Bart on Monday, May 28, 2007 11:05:35 AM
On the newswires this weekend was a frightening report that a survey of American Muslims revealed that 26% of Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30 thought that it was justified under some circumstances to use suicide bombers in defense of Islam.
Let that dwell in your mind for a few minutes. One out of four Muslim young men enjoying the freedoms of our nation can envision a scenario in which they would blow themselves up to kill others. Not in defense of our nation, but in defense of Islam. 2% of these young men replied that suicide bombings are often justifiable.
I can only wonder as to what "threats against Islam" would justify such deadly attacks. Cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed? Books such as "The Satanic Verses"? We must remember that the young men responding live in a nation where they are free to worship with out limitations or restrictions. They have a freedom to speak out in favor of their faith and against the country in which they live, yet they can imagine a need for suicide bombings to defend their faith. How can anyone proclaim Islam as a peaceful religion? I would wager everything I own that no survey of any other major religious group in our country would find 0.1% of its adherents that embraced such a view.
If a survey of Southern Baptists yielded similar results the outcry would be overwhelming. The Southern Baptist convention would react in horror and take immediate and definitive steps to root out the problem.
Yet how did the media respond?
USA Today titles its article "
Poll: American Muslims reject extremes", and no where quantifies the number of young men with such extreme views. I do not understand how anyone seeing these survey results cannot react with a sense of foreboding and fear. The enemy is among us.