We do our jihadi enemies a great favor by simply assuming that their form of Islam is the true form of Islam. Our jihadi enemies seek to expand their view of Islam even as they seek to kill us. The two are not unrelated.
Yet we have Yale University kowtowing to the most radical elements of Islam, as Hitchens states:
The capitulation of Yale University Press to threats that hadn't even been made yet is the latest and perhaps the worst episode in the steady surrender to religious extremism—particularly Muslim religious extremism—that is spreading across our culture.
Don't think this is unrelated to this development in Gaza:
Two years after its takeover of the Gaza strip, Hamas has faced down its greatest challenger: A militant, Al Qaeda-inspired organization that says Hamas is not Islamic enough.
Last Friday, Hamas forces and the Jund Ansar Allah (Soldier of God) movement fought a day-long gun and artillery battle that killed about 30 in the southern Gaza town of Rafah after the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Abdel Latif Moussa, declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza and denounced Hamas. Mr. Moussa was killed in the fighting, centered on the mosque where he and his followers had gathered.
It was the first time an Al Qaeda-inspired group had directly challenged Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip but it may not be the last. Fueled by the failure of Hamas to address the area's growing poverty and isolation, and Hamas' relative recent restraint in its confrontation with Israel, analysts say such organizations are growing in the territory.
How are moderate Moslems supposed to retake their religion if the West takes the same position on Islam's true nature as the radical nutballs?
The Yale book incident is disheartening. No matter how good our soldiers are, our society needs to be just as strong. Winning the war on terror would take a great leap forward if only we had the confidence in our own society that we deserve to beat the jihadi scum.
UPDATE: Even moderate Malaysia will do this in the name of religion:
A Muslim part-time model will be caned next week, becoming the first woman in Malaysia to be given the punishment under Islamic law, after she pleaded guilty to drinking beer, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
An Islamic court in July ordered that Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, be lashed six times with a rattan cane after she was caught drinking alcohol in a raid on a hotel night club in eastern Pahang state last year.
In Malaysia, bartenders aren't required to inquire about the religion of those who buy a pitcher of beer.
But perhaps we should take bets about which Western jurisdiction will be the first to require bartenders to not sell alcohol to Moslems. It's not a real big step from banning pictures that displease radical Islam to banning pitchers.
I'll take Malmo, Sweden, as the likely suspect.
