Another terrorist attack. Quickly, we see that the world is growing less shocked each time terrorists commit violence and mass murder. Terrorism in the headlines has become routine.

One Twitter comment sums it up well: “Je suis Paris (I am Paris), Je suis Belgium, Je suis Orlando, Je suis Ankara, Je suis Nice. Je suis sick and tired of this.”

And the list above only mentions a few of the past year’s attacks. It doesn’t even mention half the atrocities from the past two weeks.

The Terrorism Cycle

Fill in the blank below with the place of any of the recent attacks. The rest of the cycle looks the same:

1. The terrorist act happens in __________. We are all shocked. Many are dead and wounded. Our televisions carry live coverage on nearly every channel.
2. We mourn and express our condolences to the families who lost a loved one.
3. We start asking who did it and why. Then it is revealed that the attacker(s) was an Islamic jihadi.
4. Politically correct groups warn everyone that we must not connect these acts to Islam itself. They suggest we can call the perpetrators criminals, extremists, terrorists, and whatever other name we want to call them, but we are not in any way to connect them to the religion of Islam, even if they themselves announce that their motivation has been obedience to the teaching of Islam to jihad (fight) against infidels and kill them. Even if they shouted “Allahu akbar” when they were committing murders.
5. President Obama condemns the act and makes his usual weak statement trying not to offend anybody, especially Muslims. He makes sure to avoid mentioning Islam in his comments. After the attack on July 14 in Nice, France, he said, “On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent citizens. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and other loved ones of those killed, and we wish a full recovery for the many wounded.”
6. Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement that the U.S. government is working to determine if any American citizens were injured in the event.
7. We gradually forget and fall back to sleep until another terrorist event wakes us up again to restart the cycle that goes nowhere.

Breaking the Cycle

When are we going to break this cycle? When are we going to identify and address the root problem? We cannot solve the problem of terrorism if we refuse to identify its root. How can a doctor cure a disease if he does not dare identify the cause of the disease because the patient may be offended? When are we going to wake up from our slumber and look at the real issues in order to bring real solutions?

In the U.S., most of the media coverage is about WHAT the terrorist (jihadi) did with many details and pictures and footage. But they stop there and do not dare cover WHY he did this. They dare not talk about the motive of the terrorist even when he clearly states it in his writings and speech, even when he shouts “Allahu akbar” while he is killing.

I love Muslims. I am called to love Muslims and lovingly share the good news of Jesus with them. I have dedicated my life to loving Muslims. Nevertheless, the moment I mention that we need to look at the Islamic theology that motivates the terrorist, I am accused by emails and blog comments that I am a Muslim hater and that I am spreading hate!

Address the Problem, Love the People

Ronald Reagan was instrumental in bringing communism down because he addressed the problem of communism directly and boldly. He did not care about political correctness. It was the 1980s and the PC crowd had not yet risen to power.

This is what Reagan said about communism: “How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

If the PC crowd had a voice then, they would have said, “President Reagan, by making this statement, you are offending many good communist citizens. You may alienate them and hurt their feelings. You are spreading hate.” My guess is that President Reagan would have answered, “I hate communism, but I love the people who live under communism.”

We Must Have Courage to Speak the Truth in Love

If Reagan were alive today, I imagine he would say something like this about Islam: “Who is a Muslim? Well, it’s someone who reads Quran. And who is an Ex-Muslim? It’s someone who understands Quran.”

If we do not face the reality of Islam and the belief and theology behind these terrorist acts, we will never be able to address the problem of terrorism accurately and give realistic and effective solutions. We will be stuck (as we are now) in the cycle I described above. Unfortunately, we gradually become desensitized to the news—something the psychologists call “terrorism fatigue.” It will shock us less and less and gradually become merely a reality of living on this earth. As time passes, we may become even less motivated to identify the problem accurately and solve it effectively.

We must wake up to the reality that these terrorists are, in fact, Islamic jihadis following the teaching of Quran and the lifestyle and example of Prophet Mohammad. We must love Muslims but hate the theology of violence and murder. We must have the courage to discuss Quranic verses in our media. (A reporter in American can be fired by just quoting—and not even interpreting—Quranic verses in his speech and writing!) We must find courage to expose and discuss the teachings of Quran publicly. We must get free from this self-deception that Islam is “just another religion” and face the fact that it is a political and militaristic movement. Muslims who commit themselves to obey the teachings of Quran and follow the example of Prophet Muhammad end up becoming terrorists.

We must have courage to speak the truth with love (Eph. 4:15). It is the only meaningful way forward.

Linked Articles:

Thompson, Dargan. “Is Islam a Religion of Peace?” RELEVANT Magazine, June 16, 2016.