Free Republic

Islamic extremists who carry out acts of terror are simply applying what their faith requires of them, according to Jesuit Father Henri Boulad, an Islamic scholar of the Egyptian Greek Melkite rite. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Father Boulad said that “Islam is an open-ended declaration of war against non-Muslims” and those who carry out violent jihad are true Muslims who are applying exactly what their creed demands. Those who fail to recognize the real threat posed by Islam are naïve and ignorant of history, he said, and unfortunately many in the Church fall into this category....

Here we go again. This is like having to prove that water is wet or that Hillary Clinton is crooked, but since Barack Obama has once again affirmed that jihad terrorists are twisting and hijacking the Religion of Peace, once again it is necessary to prove that unfortunately that is not the case. Obama is right about one thing: this question matters for what strategy the U.S. and the free world should pursue against the jihadis. That’s what makes his denial and willful ignorance nothing short of catastrophic.

President Barack Obama has taken a lot of criticism from political opponents over his rhetoric when it comes to terrorism. But on Wednesday at a CNN presidential town hall, he was asked to defend why he refuses to say "Islamic" terrorism to a Gold Star mother. "My son gave his life for acts of terrorism," audience member Tina Houchins told Obama at the town hall moderated by CNN's Jake Tapper. "Do you still believe that the acts of terrorism are done for the self-proclaimed Islamic religious motive? And if you do, why do you still refuse to use the term...

CIA Director John Brennan said Wednesday “words or comments that taint a religion as being the source of the problem” are “detrimental to our interests” in dealing with the Muslim world. Brennan argued incendiary remarks about Islam do not help “to arrest this cancer that has taken over so many of the communities because of a lot of the underlying conditions that exist within the Middle East and Africa, South Asia areas because of economic deprivation, political disenfranchisement, lack of opportunity.” He said that “fanatics, extremists and terrorists … are driven by this ideology that is not rooted in Islam.”...

It is both draining and energizing to compile a list of scores of things that just feel wrong in today’s America.  Trust me, because I just did it, and the result is the newly released Upside Down: How the Left Turned Right Into Wrong, Truth Into Lies and Good Into Bad.Talk about a target-rich environment.But amid my various laments about our worsening fiscal nightmares, the attacks on our Constitution and the abandonment of many traditional values, there is a chapter that addresses one noxious modern phenomenon that already has an established death toll that will only get worse if we...

DNC Vice Chair Tulsi Gabbard: Obama Working Hand in Hand With Islamic Extremists. Video at link.

On Easter Sunday in Lahore, Pakistan, Christian women, children and their families went to a park to congregate and celebrate their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The day turned to horror when they were targeted for their faith by an Islamic suicide bomber, who detonated his vest and killed 72 people while injuring hundreds more. The Pakistani Taliban, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS, quickly took responsibility for the attack and specifically stated the crowd was targeted because it wasn't just any crowd, but a Christian crowd worshiping on one of their holiest, most joyous days.  "We claim responsibility for the...

As Guy mentioned in his post, President Obama explained again yesterday why he decided to watch baseball alongside Raul Castro, do “the wave,” and chat with folks from ESPN. It had to do with not letting the terrorists disrupt our daily lives, while channeling how Boston pressed on following the marathon bombing in 2013, specifically how they taught the country a lesson by grieving, catching those responsible, and then getting on with their day-to-day activities, like shopping. He mentioned this in a joint press conference with Argentinian President  Mauricio Macri yesterday; Argentina is part of the president's planned Latin American trip. Obama...

Earlier this year, my column asked, "Will the West Defend Itself?" I pointed out that America's leftists and progressives believe that the U.S. should become more like Europe (http://tinyurl.com/nfk2c4d). I wonder whether they also want to import European policies that created barbaric extremism among its Muslim population. France's recent tragedy is not surprising, given some of its policies that are not widely publicized abroad. France has no-go zones, which are officially called "zones urbaines sensibles," or sensitive urban zones, where police are reluctant to go. Some of these zones are dominated by Islamic extremists. According to some reports, there is...

Behold, the woman who shall soon be crowned Queen of the endlessly self-righteous and self-congratulatory "Reality Based Community:" "Let's be clear: Islam is not our adversary. Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism." Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 19, 2015 This is pure claptrap. Everyone understands that the West is not at war with Islam broadly, and that an overwhelming percentage of Muslims reject violent extremism.  It's been beaten into our heads by politicians of all stripes since 9/11, and we're generally bright enough to draw the relevant distinction: "These Muslims over here are just peaceful, faithful...

Host of and investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson dropped a bombshell of information today during an interview with Steve Malzberg. According to sources close to the White House who Attkisson has spoken to, President Obama is now flat out refusing to accept or hear about intelligence surrounding radical Islamic terror groups. "I have talked to people who have worked in the Obama administration who firmly believe he has made up his mind, I would say closed his mind, they say, to the intelligence they try to bring him about various groups he does not consider terrorists even if they're on the...

What is it with people on the left that brings them to the conclusion that the Islamic State isn't evil, let alone be angry with the perpetrators of the horrific Paris attacks last Friday? In the 11th Arrondissement, or administrative district, of Paris, some residents aren't angry with ISIS, nor do they consider them evil (via Haaretz): A group of friends was standing near the candles that had been lit at the foot of the monument at the square, trying to find out if the waiter that had served them at La Belle Equipe, one of the restaurants attacked in...

Greenville, South Carolina - Ted Cruz used the backdrop of the terror attacks in Paris as the latest evidence that Christians are under siege, making a pitch on Saturday to evangelicals here that tied together his take-no-prisoners foreign policy with his faith-driven domestic agenda. The Texas Republican, kicking off his most extensive trip yet in South Carolina, had planned for a month a large, highly-produced "Rally for Religious Liberty" that mirrored a similar event this summer... But Friday's attacks in France recalibrated Cruz's message and its overall tone: He began the event with a lengthy moment of silence, and Cruz...

Islamic extremists in Germany are trying to recruit Syrian refugees to their cause, the country’s domestic security service has said. The warning was issued as one of Germany’s best known Islamist preachers published a list of suggestions on how best to approach refugees. Pierre Vogel, a former boxer and convert to Islam who has been described as “Germany’s most influential Salafist preacher,” an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam, called on his followers to seek out new recruits at refugee shelters. The preacher told his followers to take gifts and donations with them, and to volunteer to help staff with the...

The political left in America is blind to the agenda, desires, and reality of Sharia law. Liberals are literally scoffing at the professed desires of Islamists and jihadi radicals that want to murder in plain daylight hundreds of citizens for drawing a cartoon of the historical person Mohammed. They do so in the aftermath of two jihadis having attempted to carry out just such a plan. The left does not recognize Sharia as a threat to America. The New York Times in 2011 wrote: "The crusade against Shariah undermines American democracy, ignores our countryÂ’s successful history of religious tolerance and...

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but perhaps only if it comes with a fully automatic assault rifle with RPG attached. As the staff of Charlie Hebdo discovered when just two assassins took out most of it with only a couple of Kalashnikovs. That's all they needed to make their statement. So much for eloquent principles in the face of ruthless fire power. Yes, there was a great outpouring of public defiance and brave words ("Je suis Charlie!") as the blood was being washed off the sidewalk outside, but where is all that defiance now? It seems...

While American leadership on the Islamic State terrorist group has been marked by reluctance and lethargy, the response of its Australian ally has been strikingly different.The anodyne words of the Obama Administration in describing the terror threat have been conspicuously absent in the highest levels of the Australian government. The latter has demonstrated repeated willingness to identify the enemy, with repeated references to “Islamist” and “the Muslim community”, and is yet to use the term “violent extremism”. This comes amid reports that Prime Minister Tony Abbott canvassed unilateral action against ISIS in Iraq with 3500 ground troops, with Australia’s leading...

Mr. President, Your recent summit to “Counter Violent Extremism” was flawed from the start—beginning with its name. Extremism is indeed a threat (especially a threat to Christians), but that is not what we face when confronting ISIS. On that issue, I’m afraid you’re confused. First let’s look at the definition of extremists: namely, people who advocate or resort to measures beyond norms to enforce their views. To look at textbook examples of extremism, one doesn’t need to look abroad. Let’s enumerate some acts of extremism inflicted by the US government: Removing the Bible by force from schools after it had...

Why has the Obama administration tied itself in knots over what to call Islamic terrorism? We know the president has rejected the term in favor of "violent extremism," ordering his administration not to refer to Islamic terrorists like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as Islamic. "No religion is responsible for terrorism," Obama declared at the recent White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. And yet in the same speech, Obama uttered the word "Christianity" once, "Judaism" once, "Buddhism" once -- and "Islam" or "Muslim" 52 times. If a listener did not know better, he might think there was...

As the White House kicks off day-two of a summit on combating generic violent extremism, President Obama has published an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times titled, "Our fight against violent extremism." While the administration has overtly refused to specifically name "Islamic" terror, the piece finally acknowledges (albeit inadvertently) the regular existence of violence inside Islam. Still, Islamic extremism isn't specifically named and won't be during the three-day conference at the White House this week. The United States has made significant gains against terrorism. We've decimated the core al Qaeda leadership, strengthened homeland security and worked to prevent another large-scale attack...