Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, recently elected to the House of Representatives from Florida's 22nd district, makes no bones about describing the true nature of the Islamist threat against America and the West. This was in response to a question from a reporter from Red State who prefaced his question with an account of a recent remark by leftist reporter Helen Thomas, who had stated that the Islamic radicals had "perverted Islam" in order to carry out their war on the West, with the goal in mind (according to Thomas) of securing their independence from Western domination.
Colonel West made it clear that, far from being a perversion of Islam, the Islamic radicals were following the exact road map laid out centuries ago in the Koran itself.
I agree with West wholeheartedly, although I would add the caveat that, in my opinion, the Islamic radicals, though they do follow the Koran in the way it was intended, are nevertheless a minority. At least I hope that's the case, but whether I'm right or wrong, its irrelevant. The so-called "moderates", whether they are in the majority or the minority, are themselves irrelevant. They just do what they're told, and otherwise shut up. Not all the outreach and interfaith dialogue in the world is going to change that fact one iota, not now, not in the near future, and not decades or centuries from now.
Keep your eye on West. He's one of the few willing to call it as he sees it, and at least in this case, he happens to be one hundred percent correct. Hopefully, we're going to hear a lot more from him in the years to come.
Hopefully, we will have the wisdom, and the courage, to listen.
