MICHAEL GOVE has a clear-eyed evaluation of Islamism. In its invocation of the glorious past of Islam, it seems to see thuggish brutality and barbaric behavior as the way the Caliphate will be restored, ignoring the fact that it failed when Arabs came up against enemies they couldn't conquer. While Islam, in turn, converted the Mongols and Turks, it was not necessarily because it was better for the people, but for the conquerors, who found adopting it an expedient way to pacify their new subjects. A true religion of peace doesn't need a conquering host, an empire or even a band of Assassins.

If God is truly the Greatest of All, he can kill without henchmen like al-Zarqawi.