Since its inception, Islam has used the sword to advance and establish itself and today is no different (“When Muslims burn Korans,” Comment & Analysis, Tuesday). Although the means used today are more indirect, the goal of achieving world hegemony remains.
“Convert or perish” has given way to rioting and murderous mayhem as the preferred method for advancing radical Islam. And as recent events have shown, cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad or the burning of the Koran are all that is necessary to set radical Muslims off. When Islam is offended, weak-kneed politicians in the West respond by promising to abandon principles that are foundational to Western culture. As a result, bad behavior is rewarded - and extremists learn that Islamist objectives can be advanced simply by expanding the narrative of what offends them.
Today the offensive material is cartoons and burned Korans, but tomorrow it could be evangelical sermons or refusing the advance of Shariah. It comes as no surprise that liberals are unwilling to defend an American culture they find repugnant, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, should know better. His response to the latest Islamic bloodletting was to suggest rolling back our freedoms.
To Mr. Graham and others who are similarly misguided, I say, appeasing radical Islam will only encourage its advance.
Mount Vernon
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By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
