Shortly after 9/11, President Bush described and later retracted our fight against terrorism as a "crusade." In his first news conference after last week's thwarted terrorist plot to blow up several aircrafts the president said, " This nation is at war with Islamic fascists." The use of the phrase "Islamic fascists" has drawn the ire of the American Muslim community. As Muslims, we use "Islamic ethics" to mean ethics based on Islamic teachings that guide our behavior. Similarly, "Islamic art" draws its inspiration from Islamic teachings that discourage certain types of art (immodest imagery or certain life forms). When the...
