Islam in Action

PRESIDENT Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Pope John Paul II are among leaders repeating a mantra that Islam is peaceful and tolerant. The firmest of distinctions must be drawn between the religion and terrorism carried out in its name. There is no quarrel with Islam as such, but only a just war against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime behind him.

One understands the great and the good, of course, and the worthiness of their endeavor. This war is more difficult to win without the support of states adjoining, or close to, landlocked Afghanistan. With the exception of China, these states are Muslim. It costs little to appease the Islamic susceptibilities of nervous allies, and tempt them into an Allied coalition. And haven’t we all been conditioned by yesterday’s multiculturalism into thinking that the world’s cultures and religions are already blending into a harmonious adult-education class in perpetuity?

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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PRESIDENT Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Pope John Paul II are among leaders repeating a mantra that Islam is peaceful and tolerant. The firmest of distinctions must be drawn between the religion and terrorism carried out in its name. There is no quarrel with Islam as such, but only a just war against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime behind him.

One understands the great and the good, of course, and the worthiness of their endeavor. This war is more difficult to win without the support of states adjoining, or close to, landlocked Afghanistan. With the exception of China, these states are Muslim. It costs little to appease the Islamic susceptibilities of nervous allies, and tempt them into an Allied coalition. And haven’t we all been conditioned by yesterday’s multiculturalism into thinking that the world’s cultures and religions are already blending into a harmonious adult-education class in perpetuity?