Radical Islam. The phrase that will supposedly bring us better luck in the fight against ISIS.
President Obama has been receiving ample criticism from his GOP counterparts as of late over what to call ISIS. Republicans strongly believe they should be called "radical islamists" because if we don't properly define them we will never beat them. Obama, on the other hand, doesn't feel this distinction will make any difference. He defended his position in a press conference last Tuesday, June 14th.
He poked fun at the idealistic belief saying, "Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away" and wrote it off as a "political distraction." And it is. Donald Trump is having a field day criticizing Hillary Clinton and Obama for not calling ISIS radical Islam. It has become a part of his mantra on the campaign trail.
I personally stand with Obama. Calling terrorists radical Islamists creates a hostile environment for the Muslim-Americans of our country. Not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslim. In fact, the Muslim community vehemently rejects any terrorist who tries to speak for their religion. Muslim-Americans stand with us as victims in these attacks. They hurt with us.
After the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando this past week, the Muslim community came out to donate blood to those who were injured. They waited in line for hours in the heat even though they are celebrating Ramadan this month, which requires fasting from dawn to dusk. It is important to note that Ramadan is also meant to be a time of refraining from sinful behavior. If the man who committed this hateful act was a true Muslim, this tragic event would have never happened.
This is why it is important we do not tie Islam to terrorism by calling terrorists radical Islamists. As Obama said in his statement, this is what ISIS wants. They want us to be divided and to create an environment in our country that is anti-Muslim. Trump's call to temporarily ban Muslims coming into our country will do nothing to stop terrorist attacks. As we saw with the Orlando shooter, it is very easy for people to become radicalized over the Internet.
The hate that is accumulating against the Muslim community needs to stop. Banning them from entering is wrong. Tying all Muslims to terrorism is wrong. We are a country built on diversity. We are supposed to accept the differences in each other. We offer religious freedom. That is what makes us so great. For a country that is constantly trying to protect its Second Amendment, we're doing a very poor job of protecting our First Amendment.
