Fecteau: Why Doesn’t President Obama Say Radical Islam?
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
There has been an escalating amount of opprobrium over – of all things – how President Obama condemned the ISIS-inspired attack in Orlando; he merely called it an “act of terror and an act of hate.” This was notably absent a reference to Islam, but there is an intricate reasoning for this.
After President Obama’s – some dubbed – lackluster condemnation, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump emphatically proclaimed on Twitter: “Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism?” While just one of Trump’s many rants, it begs the question: why doesn’t President Obama condemn radical “Islamic” terrorism?
While easy to condemn the President’s tact, the President is much more concerned with the message. There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, a vast, vast majority that have nothing to do with terrorism. By labeling this latest attack as an “Islamic” terrorist attack, it reinforces the so-called Islamic State’s narrative; the west is at war with Islam.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSuch condemnation has profound military implication as well. We need not to alienate our Muslim allies. Our military members work side-by-side Arabs and Muslims from different countries each day. These critical partners despise and loath the radical extremist organizations just like any American. It is the Iraqi Army, and Syrian rebels who are mostly fighting to liberate their country from the so-called Islamic State.
The maniac who brutally murdered those innocent people in Orlando simply didn’t care to understand the Quran, or even consult any Islamic scholars (jurists). He became radicalized by “internet” scholars, with likely little or no experience.
The Quran is complex as the Bible, but a violent, or unstable person can find an anecdotal versus or passage that justifies any action (Osama Bin Laden justified the use of suicide bombings by the citing Prophet Muhammad’s use of catapults to lay siege to a city that held women and children). This latest atrocity is just like the deranged mass murderer whom shot up the Planned Parenthood in Colorado. This one particular case didn’t involve a Muslim, but a Christian that considered himself “a warrior for babies.” Yet, we don’t paint all Evangelicals with the same brush.
There are some clear, yet important distinctions. We are fighting a war against a violent extremist organization, the so-called Islamic State, that paints itself as Islamic. It has loosely defined territory (cannot say that for Evangelicals), and claims to represent Islam. It also has the capability via the social media to inspire lone-wolf attacks in the United States. This is why messaging is even more critical. This extremist organization continues to cloak its sickening, perverted behavior behind the mask of Islam, justifying insanity as proof for love of God (e.g. the Orlando shooting).
This madman that butchered 50 people, and wounded another 50 shouldn’t get to be called a Muslim, nor a “Soldier” (as the so-called Islamic State calls him). This fanatic is no different than a serial killer, rapist, or murderer. From our elected officials, he should not be given a religious distinction, nor should this group of terrorists called the Islamic State.
The so-called Islamic State and its adherents are Islamic, and I have called them such, but I certainly am not the President. Before we condemn the President’s statements, let’s take a step back and think, ‘what do the terrorists want?’ and let’s do the exact opposite.
Matt Fecteau ([email protected]), of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, lost to U.S. Rep. David Cicilline in last 2014’s Democratic primary. He is a former White House national security intern and Iraq war veteran.
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