Muslims and Islamic nations are not our enemies. Quite the contrary, it should be our hope that Islamic nations can emerge with modern democratic reforms and political accountability, where people of all religions are free to worship God without fear. The enemies we fight are the anti-nationalist forces of radical jihad, and we should be glad when their leaders – like bin Laden – are caught or killed. Every nation, be it Iraq or Israel, has a right to exist and the nations with the greatest power have the great responsibility to help those nations.
Sadly there are those on the left and right who confuse this. It seems that liberals these days will only use words like “jihadist” and “terrorist” when speaking of conservatives. Conservatives, on the other hand, are more likely to extend these terms to Muslims in general. Presidential lightweight candidates Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty, and Herman Cain seemingly fall into this category by playing off American fears of Islamic jihadism while seeking to appear stronger on foreign policy.
Thankfully there is a conservative governor like Chris Christie who understands that Muslims are not a threat to democracy. In fact, he nominated a Muslim judge to the state Superior Court, saying that Sohail Mohammed is “an American citizen who has been an admitted lawyer to practice in the state of New Jersey, swearing an oath to uphold the laws of New Jersey, the constitution of the state of New Jersey, and the Constitution of the United States of America,” while noting that the thought of rejecting him because of his Muslim faith “is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies.”
Christie doesn’t sugar coat the truth – and that’s why he polls so high among the men of New Jersey.
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