Not at War With Islam?

"Let me say this as clearly as I can," Obama said. "The United States is not at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject."

I'm not going to apologize... Islam IS at war with the United States.

Let me remind our Commander In Chief, they attacked US - they continue to attack the West, and anyone who disagrees with them.

It is about wishing the world to return to 1066, vs Our Modern World.

Islam is, in fact, the only civilization which ever put the survival of the West in doubt. The Battle of Tours halted their advance into Europe in 732 AD.

An interesting aspect of the modern conflict flows not simply from the differences between the two civilizations, but from their similarities.

You know the saying that two folks too much alike cannot easily live together? Islam and Christianity (which for the sake of argument and discussion serves as culturally uniting factor for the West) are absolutist, monotheistic religions. Both are universal, in the sense of making claims to apply to all of humanity rather than one location or tribe. Both are missionary - or expansionist - in nature, having long made it a theological duty to seek out and convert nonbelievers. The Jihad and the Crusades are manifestations of the religious duty to convert... which parallel one another.

But this doesn't entirely explain why Islam has had so many problems with all of its neighbors, and not just the West.

In all these places, the relations between Muslims and peoples of other civilizations - Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Hindu, Chinese, Buddhist, Jewish - have been generally antagonistic; most of these relations have been violent at some point in the past; many have been violent in the 1990s. Wherever one looks along the perimeter of Islam, Muslims have problems living peaceably with their neighbors. ...Muslims make up about one-fifth of the world's population but in the 1990s they have been far more involved in intergroup violence than the people of any other civilizations. (Huntington p. 256)

Why is there so much violence associated with Islamic nations? One suggestion is that the violence is a result of Western imperialism. Current political divisions among the countries are artificial European creations. Simply put, there is a lingering resentment among Muslims for what their religion and their lands had to endure under colonial rule. However, this seems to be a cop out since this does not explain the bad neighbor problems in the Sudan, India, or China.

As a religion, Islam started out violently - not only with Muhammad himself, but as Islam spread by force throughout the Middle East.

A second issue is the so-called "indigestibility" of Islam and Muslims. According to Huntington, this describes the observation that Muslims do not easily assimilate to host cultures when new rulers arrive (for example, with colonization), nor do non-Muslims easily assimilate to a culture under Islamic control.
I guess Huntington did not notice the rioting in France last year with the Muslims not-assimilating in the West? How about all the fun the Danish are having with Muslim guests? Whichever group is in the minority, they always remain distinct. Christians however easily absorb custom and culture to their own, for example, Easter bunnies and Santa Claus.

Another thought is simply demographics. Muslim countries have experienced a population boom which has lead to an increase in unemployed males between the ages of fifteen and thirty. Ask any Sociologists in the United States, and they'll explain that this demographic can create the most social disruption and causes the most crime - and even in a relatively wealthy and stable society.

And in Muslim countries, wealth and stability is really only to the political elites. Thus, the disruption potential of that group of males is much greater, and their search for a cause and an identity can create even more difficulties.

It would be a good idea for our President to understand that while he may feel that we're not at war with our Islamic neighbors, they absolutely are with us.

Perhaps someone who has seen the hole at 1 World Trade Center at West and Liberty would like to explain it to us? Or rather, to our leader?