Sure, some Moslems are sympathetic to the grievances that the jihadis spout off, but that is true for many of the professors in our campus faculty lounges and fans of leftist web sites, as well. They are free to hold such views even as they must be fought if they try to act on them.
But this isn't just a plea to avoid tarring all Moslems with the brush of jihadi guilt. I've addressed that before on this blog and even emphasized it in the days following 9/11 in this essay:
Above all, vigilance must not degenerate into paranoia. We must trust that our Moslem and Arab neighbors share our values. They or their parents or grandparents immigrated to America because they too cherish our freedoms and way of life. Like most Americans, they are here because someone in their family fled poverty, oppression, or both, to build a better life for their children. They are horrified and angry like all Americans. "They" are our friends and neighbors and are part of "us." Some, whether citizens or residents, will be guilty of cooperating with the enemy or even actively fighting us. This is not new. Fascism and communism had their admirers here even in our darkest hours during those fights. Those betrayers were guilty as individuals and not as members of any religion or ethnic group. Let us not descend into the logic of our enemies that the perceived or actual guilt of one condemns all similar innocents. Our enemies will have won the war in a fundamental and lasting way if we become like the terrorists even as we physically destroy our terrorist enemy.
I still hold that this is true. Strategypage discusses this as well.
But what I want to emphasize now, even as so many on the left are complaining that "Islamophobia" is on the rise in America, is that it isn't Islamophobia to fight the jihadis. And it does no favor to the vast majority of non-violent Moslems here in America if people cry "Islamophobia" every time someone raises worries about jihadis. Doing so just implies that jihadis must represent all Moslems, since the assumption is that all Moslems will be offended if we target jihadis.
Getting the jihadis will help the vast majority of Moslems who don't want to be associated with terrorism to work with our government and Islamic leaders here to stamp out jihadi ideology, identify and nab the jihadis, and make sure that Moslems can build new lives as Americans--just like other immigrant groups have done over the last several centuries.
This is like a far less violent version of counter-insurgency, based on police work and intelligence. Target the enemy, protect the people from the enemy, and avoid collateral damage that either creates more enemies than we get rid of with our targeting of the enemy or lessens our determination to win the struggle.
Fight smart--but by all means, fight.
