Interviewee to Glazov: Stop saying “Islamo-Fascism”!

Islamic terrorism expert Bruce Tefft tells Jamie Glazov in a FrontPage Magazine interview that “Islamo-fascism” is a false term that weakens us in our ability to oppose Islam. Tefft even dismisses the term “radical Islam,” which I occasionally use and which I offer to the Glazov types (along with “militant Islam” and “Islamic fundamentalism”) as an acceptable alternative to the totally unacceptable “Islamo-fascism.” Tefft is a hard-liner who makes me look like a liberal. He will accept no term other than “Islam” itself. Glazov squirms and struggles, looking for every possible escape hatch to avoid condemning Islam as such, but Tefft pretty much crushes him with his better arguments.

Tefft also agrees with my idea that the only thing to do with Islam is to contain it (though he says nothing about immigration). He tells Glazov:

The West has prevailed in the past—after the Crusades, the recovery of Spain from Muslims in 1492 and defeat of the marauding armies of Islam at the Gates of Vienna in 1529 for more than 500 years, Islam was contained. We need to recall that period, as well as the successful policy of containment from the Cold War, and again contain Islam to its existing borders and block its further spread.

Unfortunately, Tefft falls into the mistake of saying: “We are fighting a 14-century year old war against Islam and its adherents, Muslims.”

What he means to say is that we should be fighting a war against Islam. Since 9/11 conservatives have had this weird, disconcerting habit of grandly pronouncing that we are “fighting a war” against radical Islam or Islam, when, obviously we are not fighting any such war. Islam is in a war against us, but we are not yet in a war against Islam. People who see themselves as realists on the Islam issue need to realize that if they want America to fight a war against Islam, they have to argue for such a war, not keep imagining that such a war is already being waged.

Tefft is currently being sued by a Muslim in the NYC Police Department because the Muslim, who was voluntarily on Tefft’s e-mail list, says Tefft’s e-mails created a hostile work environment.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 27, 2007 02:54 PM | Send