I do not object to the term “cult” as applied to the Islamists. It is entirely appropriate.
I object to applying it to the entire religion of Islam for two reasons:
I personally know Muslims who do not AT ALL fit this stereotype. (However, I am not a Muslim myself.)
It is bad tactics to take actions that will increase your number of enemies. Calling all Muslims terrorists and cultists will tend to cause even moderate Muslims to feel a common cause with the extremists. It’s a bad idea to help your enemy recruit.
BTW, I have no problem with “eradicating” Islamists. Go for it! I have a problem with the idea of “eradicating” all 1B+ Muslims. That would put us better than 80 times ahead of the Nazis.
Talk about appeasement.
BTW, where ARE all those "moderate Muslims" - are they the ones who are speaking out loud and clear against the Islamists? Only we can't hear them...
I’ve spent a good deal of time here lately defending the idea that the majority of Muslims, especially in this country, are decent people who deplore violence.
However, I do see some validity to the notion that even the non-extremist portion of the faith is being permiated by creeping cultism. For example, 25-30 years ago it was rare even in Dearborn Michigan to see Islamic women covering up their heads, let alone their entire bodies. But today it’s rare when you don’t see such garb.
One characteristic of a cult is the way it raises coercion above the level of individual free will. I have to say that I’m concerned about that even among many moderate Muslims. Note the great and growing reluctance among many of them to speak out against the extremists.