If such a young nation as the U.S. could make it to superpower status, we could do it as well.

Islam was like a mental cage. At first, when you open the door, the caged bird stays inside: it is frightened. It has internalized its imprisonment. It takes time for bird to escape, even after someone has opened the doors to its cage.

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.

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

Muslim leaders should ask themselves what exactly their relationship is to a political movement that encourages young men to kill and maim on religious grounds.

My conscience is informed by reason. It's like Kant's categorical imperative: behave to others as you would wish they behaved to you.

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