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I would like to see the intellectual heft of the left engage more fully in the ideological struggle that SHOULD be being waged against the Salafist/Whahabi curent that seems to be generating most of the violent behavior among Muslims in the world (or cowing the rest into silence). If you look back in the Muslim world, this is where the current round of violent jihad thought seems to be spreading. To call all adherents of Islam "terrorists" is plainly wrong, since all Muslims do not adhere to this school of thought. But at the same time to deny that there is NOT a problem with the growth of this interpretation throughout the world is also equally wrong - with the equally valid question of why it is so appealing?
Al-Qaida was a problem long before 9-11 - in Khobar Towers, in Africa (Nairobi) and in Yemen (USS Cole), and the same ideology propelled the first World Trade Center Bombing in the 90's. But Al-Qaida did not invent the ideology at it's core - and that is the part that needs to be clearly addressed by BOTH the right and left in trying to find a way to neutralize its appeal among many in the Islamic world. The idea that drives so many to fight, to rage and to commit suicide HAS to be addressed in some way by the "West" unless a total catastrophe is to be averted.
I agree that while Christianity as a faith has had a bloody past, that is no excuse to use it as a club on ourselves today to prevent action against the violence of another faith. The West pretty well grew out of the violent phase with religion as we learned to tame the ideas that drove us to conflict. The same can be hopefully said in the future of the Islamic faith. But at this point - ideas and arguments and reasons need to be developed to counter the appeal of the fundamentalists. Since this kind of thought process gets you killed or imprisoned in the Islamic world - it better start being developed in ours if this insanity is to end.
