The Palestinians are a miserable people...and they deserve to be.

I draw a distinction between traditional Islam and Islamism. Islamism emerged in its modern form in the 1920s and is driven by a belief that Muslims can be strong and rich again if they follow the Islamic law severely and in its entirety. This is a response to the trauma of modern Islam.

The Palestinians are a miserable people...and they deserve to be.

The Koran is a not 'a product of Muhammad or even of Arabia,' but a collection of earlier Judeo-Christian liturgical materials stitched together to meet the needs of a later age...A few scholars go even further, doubting even the existence of Muhammad.

You can't just read the Koran to understand Muslim life. You have to look at history, at personalities, at economics, and so on.

Ultimately, there is no compromise. Westerners will either retain their civilization, including the right to insult and blaspheme, or not.

There is no problem with Islam itself or with the Muslims, but these are difficult times, and the difficulty stems from radical Islam.