Ban Jihad

Mark Steyn thinks the sinking support for the war is due to the fawning by politicians toward Islam. Possibly. If I get his point, he's saying that Americans are getting fed up with the idea that most Muslims are peaceful. We haven't really seen very many of them, so how do we know that the Iraqis, who can't seem to form a government, won't turn into jihadis as soon as we're out of the country?

I support the war and I think it's gone quite well, despite the current hold-up. The idea of polticial diversity and regional compromise is obviously foreign to them, and will take some time for them to figure out. Yet, Arabs have a strong affinity for mediation, because Islam gives a lot of emphasis to peacemaking. They may get in bloody feuds, but there is always some Shaykh who will try to enhance his status by negotiating peace between the feuding parties. Mohammed was famed for being a mediator.

I think it would help if Bush and a number of judges were to announce that our respect and tolerance for religious beliefs ends with things like jihad. Any Muslim cleric urging jihad, without making clear that he means inner struggle with one's desires, will be deported. We made the right moves up to now, but giving a pass to creeps like Muqtad al Sadr is a step backward. We have to make a clear statement that
advocating jihad is verboten.