Time to stop being politically correct

This debate is becoming completely ridiculous. Twelve more innocent Israelis are dead and all that the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan can say is that he ‘appeals to all Palestinian groups to stop such senseless acts of violence.’ Let’s take a moment here to remember that not three weeks ago the body count for the beltway sniper had reached nine and the country was gripped in fear. Twelve Israelis coming home from Sabbath prayers were shot and blown to bits by grenades, and what will the world say? Will European countries simply keep their mouths shut as they have done in the past and give tacit approval to this behavior? Will the UN simply condemn this act and appeal for an end to this ‘cycle of violence’ as it has done for the past two years with no effect at all?

I am beginning to see a pattern here. Maybe I am alone, but I think that there is something going on here that is deeper than a Palestinian desire for a state. Does anyone remember Camp David, where Arafat was offered a Palestinian state including parts of Jerusalem as a capital, yet he declined?

Here is a fact: Islamic Jihad, the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the recent attack, is a group devoted to the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state in its place. What about Hamas? Hamas does very altruistic things for the Palestinian people such as building schools and helping to provide an infrastructure, but they too call for the destruction of Israel.

At Palestinian rallies, the people do not just call for an end to the supposed ‘occupation’ which is in fact a blatant disregard for history. At these rallies Palestinian people call for ‘the destruction of all Jews’ and an end to Jewish sovereignty in Israel. It is curious to me that the world has no problem with Saudi Arabia being a country completely based on the teachings of Islam, but it has a problem with a Zionist country such as Israel.

It is true that not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim. Can we stop being politically correct for a moment and consider that every single terrorist on the planes of Sept. 11 were Muslim? Every act of terrorism in Israel is committed by Muslims? The recent terrorist attack in Russia was committed by Muslims. Daniel Pearl was killed by Muslims. And guess what? The beltway sniper was a Muslim.

I have known many followers of Islam who were very nice, decent people. On the same token, I find it strange that every major act of terrorism against the United States (and indeed against western culture in general) besides the Oklahoma City bombing has been committed by Islamic fundamentalists in the last two decades. I hate to pigeonhole anyone, but when airport security guards are checking 75-year-old women for weapons while letting 21-year-old Moroccans with head dressings board a plane with no search, I get very angry.

Can we stop being politically correct long enough to realize that sometimes there are bad people in the world who don’t deserve the same rights as us? Sometimes people just want to hurt you, and you have to get them first. This is what the impending war in Iraq is about, this is what the war in Afghanistan was about, and this is what the war in Israel should be about.

I simply ask people to trust their guts in this situation. Do not assume all Muslim people are terrorists, it is simply not true. It is true, however, that there is something fundamental about Islam that makes its followers more likely to commit these acts. I won’t quote the Koran to tell you what it has to say about those who do not believe in Islam, but here’s the gist: kill all those who do not believe in Allah. Regardless of how angry this letter makes you, please do a little research and find out the truth for yourself. In this world there really are people who have to be qualified as ‘wrong’ and ‘evil,’ despite what politically correct CNN anchors may tell you.