Reality is not easy, but all this make-believe doesn't make it easier.

Young people, some of whom are not born into the faith, are being fired up by preachers using basic Islamic scripture and mobilized to wage jihad by radical imams who represent themselves as legitimate Muslim clergymen.

In 1985 as a teenager in Kenya, I was an adamant member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

I come from a world where the word 'trauma' doesn't exist, because we are too poor. I didn't have an easy life compared to the average European. But compared to the average African, it wasn't all that bad.

In the real world, equal respect for all cultures doesn't translate into a rich mosaic of colorful and proud peoples interacting peacefully while maintaining a delightful diversity of food and craftwork. It translates into closed pockets of oppression, ignorance, and abuse.

No one in the American Enterprise imposes their beliefs. We clash, and I think that's what the West is all about.

I'd like Muslims to look at their religion as a set of beliefs that they can appraise critically and pick and choose from.