Anti-Islamic Rhetoric is Aiding Recruitment

The rhetoric against the Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan continues on...

I had stated in my "You're either with us or against us" blog,

Now, the the right wing Republican demagogues, such as Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, are painting all of Islam with the extremist brush.  They are, in fact, helping to fuel additional recruitment to these groups because it is seen more and more that the U.S. blames all of Islam for the terrorist attacks.

This NYT article seems to back this up.

“When the rhetoric is so inflammatory that it serves the interests of a jihadi recruiter like Awlaki, politicians need to be called on it.”

It doesn't take much for these Jihadi recruiters to latch on to and effectively recruit more members into their ranks.  It makes their jobs a lot easier when it is mainstream U.S. politicians such as a Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich making these statements.  The sad part is that it makes it even harder for moderate American Muslims to be effective in defense of a tolerant U.S. society.


The very second we turn our back on the Constitution and the freedoms of religion and speech that it guarantees, regardless of whether we perceive something as tasteless, crass, inappropriate, or hurts somebody's feelings, then we have granted a victory to those who would like to destroy us and those freedoms. By trying to use demagogy to deny them their right, and in abidance of all the laws of our nation, then we become no better than them. We must be better than that. We must take the high road.