In the early morning hours of Saturday, November 14th, ISIS terrorists attacked Paris, France. They did so from 7 different locations at the same time, including a theater where a concert was going on, and the soccer stadium where a game was going on, and French President Francois  Hollande was in attendance. When the shooting and bombing was done, 129 people had died. Paris went on lockdown, issuing the first curfew since the 1944 Nazi bombings, and they closed the borders.

These are my thoughts on this horrific tragedy.

Mentioned links:

Quarter of British Muslims sympathise with Charlie Hebdo terrorists

What Do People in the Middle East Think About the Islamic State? These Poll Results Will Surprise You.

Paris attacks put dagger through heart of liberal Europe

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The rising tide of Muslim converts to Christianity

Show transcript

As we know, in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 14th, ISIS terrorists attacked Paris, France. They did so from 7 different locations at the same time, including a theater where a concert was going on, and the soccer stadium where a game was going on, and French President Francois  Hollande was in attendance. When the shooting and bombing was done, 129 people had died. Paris went on lockdown, issuing the first curfew since the 1944 Nazi bombings, and they closed the borders. As I’m writing up this episode, they’re rounding up suspects, and have already bombed ISIS targets.

For starters, I stand with the French people as they stood with us on 9/11. This is a horrible tragedy, and ISIS has specifically targeted civilians, which makes this what I’d call true terrorism; not against military targets, but against non-combatants. It is the lowest of the low.

But it does create the intended emotion; terror. ISIS is hoping that this will indeed get France to make more of an effort in the war on terror, and thus give them something to show to potential recruits. They want this to be a war, and a war against Islam specifically, because it gives them recruiting power. And with that recruiting, they intend to expand their Caliphate.

But I want to point out these items.

First, yes, it is a war. It’s not workplace violence, it’s not just lone wolves, it’s not just disaffected youths, and it’s certainly not the JV team; it’s an organized war. Perhaps not against a nation, or at least not a recognized nation, even though they call themselves the Islamic State, but it is war, and the sooner we realize that, the better.

Second, a lot more people sympathize with them than you might think. For example, a poll back in February showed that 27% of British Muslims sympathized with the gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo attacks; over 1 in 4. And while support of ISIS is extremely low in the Middle East – 3-5% in some places, almost non-existent in others – it’s still millions of people who have some amount of support for a radical Islamic group bent on terrorism.

I am not saying that we should round up all Muslims and stick them in internment camps for the duration. Nor do I think that any attacks against Muslim people or their mosques here in the US should be tolerated. Persecution of innocent Muslims just encourages others to join ISIS. I’m not even saying that we should reject all those Syrian refugees fleeing the ...