Free Republic

The scene inside the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino hours after the deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 still had the hallmarks of the holiday festivities that brought the victims together and the bloodshed that followed There was the Christmas tree in the corner. The holiday decorations that covered more than a dozen tables. But there were also the bodies and bullet holes. Ceiling tiles had been knocked down, bullets had pierced the walls, carpet and chairs. A Christmas stocking lay over one of the victim’s bodies. “The room was in disarray,” and almost all the victims had gunshot wounds...

Saaliha Khan scrolled through her Facebook feed and pored over posts expressing sadness, dismay and disapproval, the kind of messages that always appear after an attack carried out in the name of Islam. It was just past midnight on Monday, and two Muslim gunmen had been killed about six hours earlier in a shootout outside a controversial cartoon contest in Garland, Texas, which featured images of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. “If you want to defend the honor of the Prophet, do so in a way that is consistent with prophetic manners and ethics, not violence,” Omid Safi, director Duke University’s...