Know the Enemy

There has been a very interesting exchange this morning in various blogs discussing Islam versus Christianity and whether it is important to remind the non-Muslim readers what the Koran says about violence.

Bryan Preston begins the discussion.

Bill at INDC Journal provides a thoughtful response.

Dean Esmay offers a response that is considerably less thoughtful.

Robert Spencer, in his intelligent way, pretty much rips Dean Esmay's response to shreds using, oh my, facts and logic.

As for me, I understand that most Muslims do not buy into violent Jihad, at least not for themselves. They do want respect for their religion from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, too few are willing to openly oppose the Jihadists, I suppose, out of fear for their own safety.

Violent Jihadists are the enemy of the United States and all non-Muslims everywhere. To fight any enemy, one must get inside the enemy's head. One must know what makes the enemy tick. Osama bin Laden and his fellows have not been shy about telling us what make them tick. It is the plain language of the Koran. They reject the non-violent interpretations. We need to understand where they are coming from, because we need to defend ourselves.

Defenders of Islam miss the point. It is the interpretation by the violent Jihadists that is killing innocent people. Because they read it in the Koran and in the Hadith and because the Muslim religions leaders will not unite in opposition to that interpretation, violent Islamic Jihad is a danger to each of us.