Michael Coren is author of the new book Hatred: Islam’s War on Christianity. In the wake of what happened in Paris yesterday, I asked him a few questions. – KJL

Kathryn Jean Lopez: Your book jacket says you seek to “speak truth to Islamic power.” Is that a dumb idea in the wake of what just happened to cartoonists in France?

Michael Coren: I don’t think so. We have to believe that there are still numerous Muslims willing to listen to reason and logic; indeed I know that there are. Remember, one of the murdered policemen was also a Muslim. There are at least 6 million Muslims in France, for example, and the majority of them no longer even self-identify as Islamic. Most Muslims condemn violence. The problem is what I call the “caveat syndrome.” They condemn, but they condemn with “however,” etc. Many Muslims genuinely reject terrorism but they will also tell you that freedom has limits and that nobody has the right to insult their religion or their prophet. This is worrying. It’s also acutely hypocritical in that — as I show in the book — Islam is invariably intolerant and mocking of other religions, particularly Christianity.

Lopez: Why write a book called “Hatred”? It’s quite unpleasant, needless to say.

Coren: Do you mean the title? It’s a horrible title to describe a horrible phenomenon. Christians are persecuted, beaten, raped, and murdered in most Muslim nations and the world does nothing. When Indonesian Christian girls on the way to school are beheaded, when children are murdered in front of their parents, when men are crucified or beheaded, hatred seems a somewhat gentle word.

Lopez: What’s behind the hatred?

Coren: Good question. It’s too easy and also wrong to simply say that Islam is the cause. There are some basic theological issues that we need to discuss, but the fact that billions of Muslims for centuries have not behaved badly towards others shows that this is not necessarily intrinsic to Islam. It’s a combination of many factors but we can’t simply blame ignorance and illiteracy; too many educated Muslims believe in violence and oppression. I think it’s a combination of a political and moral vacuum and an interpretation of Islam that is specifically Saudi and Iranian that has radicalized the faith and spread it to the heartlands and diaspora of the Muslim world.

Lopez: Is there an antidote?

Coren: If I knew what it was I would be screaming it from the rooftops! I am not optimistic. France is only one example of how bad things are. But in terms of Christian persecution, matters are becoming worse, not better. What we can do — must do — is put pressure on countries such as Pakistan — where we do have influence — and open our doors to Christian refugees. We also have to re-think our foreign policy. Forgive me, but the Iraq War was the greatest misfortune to befall Arab Christians in 50 years. Saddam was a brute but his fall left anarchy and we are seeing the same in Syria. President Obama has been a disaster in this area but his predecessor was little better.

Lopez: Why is the book relevant or essential reading for anyone who happens upon this interview? Say for an already quite busy American who might be an agnostic libertarian or a quite happy and successful son of God who doesn’t see a war on Christianity in his life?

Coren: Mere enlightened self-interest I suppose. Christians are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, a little like the Jewish people down the centuries. If Islamic triumphalism targets Christians, who is next? Liberals, gays, atheists, anybody. The cartoonists in Paris worked for a leftist magazine and wrote and drew more often about Catholics and conservatives than Muslims and Islam. All humanity should dictate that we care about Christians, and logic and preservation should motivate us to speak out.

Lopez: What most surprised you in researching and writing Hatred?

Coren: Muslim denial. I appeared on many shows in Canada in particular, and on one important program two Muslim scholars were a few feet away from me and simply denied the persecution was happening. I had just spent more than a year writing the book and several years speaking to victims. Now these two men — one a religious leader, one an academic — told me it wasn’t true. One refused to even look at me or shake my hand. The result was, however, an enormous flow of support for me from viewers, many of them not pro-Christian at all! They too were shaken by the obvious obfuscation of my opponents.

Lopez: How can you maintain that there is a war on Christianity when you admit that Islamic terrorism and persecution by Islamic regimes hurt Muslims and other religious minorities, too?

Coren: They’re not mutually exclusive. As I say, it is not that Christians are the only victims, but that they are the only victims that are targeted in virtually every Muslim country and in such a deliberate manner. Islamists may routinely murder moderate Muslims but their vision is a world free of Christians and Christianity.

Lopez: What has the feedback to the book been?

Coren: Extremely positive. The haters and the deniers have said a few things but interestingly it’s been alleged Christians more than Muslims who have spoken up to protest. One Catholic priest in Toronto was terribly upset at how “mean” I was being in exposing the mass slaughter of Christians. He actually seemed more concerned with defending Muslims than speaking up for persecuted and powerless followers of Christ. Shameful.

Lopez: What, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack, would you point to?

Coren: The situation is still unfolding. I would say that every newspaper and magazine in the free world should publish a Charlie Hebdo cartoon and we must never, never argue that the attacks were in some way justified or that journalists and cartoonists somehow have to be more responsible or careful. Tragically I have heard even some prominent conservatives and Catholics arguing this in the past 24 hours. We must also look to the composition of our nations. Immigration is admirable — my family left Eastern Europe for Britain, I left Britain for Canada — but immigrants should want to become part of their adopted homeland, not recreate it in the image of what they have left. Muslim immigrants should be asked some fundamental questions about values and virtues. Our right to maintain our freedoms and civilization is just as important as our duty to be open and embracing.

Lopez: People understandably don’t want to offend people and their religion. Is that the wrong way to be looking at things?

Coren: Why? Why, why, why? I couldn’t give a damn if you offend my religion! I am a Catholic and my beliefs are far too strong to be damaged by some cartoon or joke or argument in a book. This fatuous modern notion of “being offended” is a moan, an annoying weep. I am offended, therefore I am. If you don’t like something, don’t read it or watch it. We are not made of glass and we won’t break. All I ask for is an even playing field. What happens now is that it’s fine to offend Christians but not to offend other religions. We have to be careful here. What matters in a healthy democracy is not the protection of feelings but the right to speak one’s mind. Remember, it’s the Left who tend to complain about being offended while habitually abusing the Right.

Lopez: What can be gained by talking about people’s tongues being cut off, as you do in the book?

Coren: We need to show the horror and intensity of the violence and, yes, the hatred. There is no point in pretending.

Lopez: Can you at the same time believe particular cartoons and commentary to be obscene or crude and wrong but still defend its right to be published? Is it crazy I have to ask you that? Have we lost that sense — of real freedom — in the West?

Coren: Of course. Cartoons are supposed to be rude or offensive. Satire, from the Greeks to Swift and Defoe to the Soviet dissident writers to modern French magazines, has to provoke. Otherwise it’s safe and pointless. Genuine liberalism is not about allowing that with which you agree; it’s about tolerating that which makes you extremely angry.

Lopez: Why should Asia Bibi and Rimsha Masih be household names in the West?

Coren: They are heroes, Pakistani Christians sentenced to die simply because they follow Christ. The situation in Pakistan is repugnant, especially with a blasphemy law that targets Christians. Yet the United States gives huge amounts of money to Pakistan. This has to be questioned.

Lopez: What/Who should Westerners constructively be thinking about when they wake up in the morning seemingly a world away from such heroes?

Coren: We can’t obsess, nor should we. But it is extremely annoying when North American Christians and conservatives claim there is a war on Christians in the West because someone is sued for not baking a cake for a same-sex wedding, etc. Every day in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and so on, Christians are beaten and killed. This is a real war. The body of Christ is bleeding, and shame on us if we think only of an occasional bruise on the most well-fed part of it.

Talk about it, know about it, pray about it. Do what you can. Make sure your politicians know how you feel!

Lopez: What does true tolerance look like? Do you see it anywhere in the world today?

Coren: The West is pretty tolerant. In North America and Europe there are blemishes but we are still tolerant societies. There will always be a clash of aspirations and sensitivities but generally we get it right here.

Lopez: Freedom. Persecution. Tolerance. Tyranny. How do we talk about these things sanely? Coherently?

Coren: Moderation and reason. There are fanatics in our midst who claim to be on our side. They say that have all of the answers, which is never a good sign. This is not about hating people but exposing the hatred of others. And never, ever condemn Muslim people — most of whom want only a good life and a safe home.

Lopez: What “conversation,” as we say in news and politics now, should we be having in the wake of the massacre in Paris?

Coren: Newspaper editorials are already arguing for “more responsibility” from other journalists. This is code-speak and extremely dangerous. People are saying that while violence is wrong, it is also wrong to be needlessly offensive. First, offense is indeed sometimes needed; second, Islamist thugs have murdered thousands of people who have never offended anybody. The conversation is really a monologue: Stop being offended, stop being violent, grow up, observe and obey the law, respect Western pluralism. The irony of the word “conversation” in this context is that Islamists don’t want any — they simply want to win.

— Kathryn Jean Lopez is editor-at-large of National Review Online, and founding director of Catholic Voices USA.