Murray via Rubin

I followed the link and read this article by Murray based on this recommendation from Barry Rubin: "It is the best single article on Western internal responses to Islam and Islamism that I've ever seen." It isn't sufficiently pointed for me, but it does come close to putting a finger on the main problems, associated with truth and with feelings. Here is the best short passage I could find to quote:

As we come to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, we can begin to discern certain patterns in our recent behaviour. For the last decade, we have fought the war against Islamic extremism on exactly the wrong terms. And though Britain has led the charge in the wrong direction, the US is now following.

Defeating the Soviets during the Cold War required a large box of tools. They ranged from the doughtiest Washington-based Cold Warriors to Polish socialists who disagreed with tenets of Russian communism. In the same way, the war against Islamic extremism will only be won by a large toolbox approach. That will include Muslim reformers who will work for many years to try to wrench their religion away from its magnetic literalism. But it will also include those like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and others, who believe that we must be allowed to say what we see when we look at this religion and retain the right to shine a light on it.

from Douglas Murray: Warning To The US: Don't Play By Islamic Rules
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