Confusing Islam with Terrorism
Feb 12th, 2008 by nick
The Air Force Academy recently featured three speakers who claimed to be former terrorists who saw the error of their ways only after converting to Christianity. One of the speakers, Walid Shoebat, said, “There is no radical Islam; there is Islam itself.”
Many people have rightly spoken out against this event. However, their complaints have been misinterpreted. For example, the Colorado Springs Gazette wrote an inane editorial about academic and religious freedom, claiming that critics of this event wish to silence Christians.
My issue with this event is not that the speakers were Christian or Christian converts. The problem is that, in selecting these three speakers, the organizers of the event imply that all Muslims are terrorists, and the only way to stop terrorism is to convert them to Christianity. That choice overlooks the millions of non-radical Muslims who are no more terrorists than I am and lends credence to the misapprehension that the religion of Islam itself is the cause of terrorism.