9/11, American jihad, CAIR

Suicide bombings OK: one quarter of young US Muslims

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The Associated Press reports that a recent Pew Research survey, “the most exhaustive ever of the country’s Muslims,” found:

One in four younger U.S. Muslims said in a poll that suicide bombings to defend Islam are acceptable in at least some circumstances, although most Muslim Americans overwhelmingly rejected the tactic and said they are critical of Islamic extremism and al Qaeda.
…
Though nearly 80 percent of U.S. Muslims said suicide bombings of civilians to defend Islam cannot be justified, 13 percent said they can be, at least rarely. That sentiment was strongest among those younger than 30. Two percent of them said it often can be justified, 13 percent said sometimes and 11 percent said rarely.

“It is a hair-raising number,” said Radwan Masmoudi, president of the District-based Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, which promotes the compatibility of Islam with democracy. He said most supporters of the attacks likely assumed the context was a fight against occupation — a term Muslims often use to describe the conflict with Israel. U.S. Muslims have growing Internet and television access to extreme ideologies, he said, adding: “People, especially younger people, are susceptible to these ideas.”
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In other findings:

* Just 5 percent of U.S. Muslims expressed favorable views of the terrorist group al Qaeda, although about a fourth did not express an opinion.

* Six in 10 said they are concerned about a rise in Islamic extremism in the U.S., while three in four expressed similar worries about extremism around the world.

* Only one in four consider the U.S. war on terrorism a sincere attempt to curtail international terror. Just 40 percent said they believe Arab men carried out the attacks of September 11.

* By six to one, they said the U.S. was wrong to invade Iraq; a third said the same about Afghanistan — far deeper than the opposition expressed by the general U.S. public.

* Just more than half said it has been harder being a U.S. Muslim since the September 11 attacks, especially the better educated, higher income, more religious and young. Nearly a third of those who flew in the past year said they underwent extra screening because they are Muslim.

It would have been interesting to have seen who the other 60% believe carried out the 9/11 attacks and the reasons why so many U.S. Muslims disagree with the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Political wind

Thoughts about the best ever former President

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In case you missed it, former President Jimmy Carter recently called the current President Bush administration “the worst ever” before semi-retracting his statement.

The New York Post offers:

Actually, we understand his bitterness – as president, Jimmy Carter’s leadership skills hardly inspired the kind of loyal support that Blair has shown for George W. Bush. Carter’s naive decision to throw the shah of Iran to the wolves essentially precipitated the humiliating 444-day hostage crisis that ensued. That, and the comical farce of a rescue attempt that Carter ordered up, weakened America’s position in the region – and, indeed, the world.

Indeed, a lot of people would call Carter’s administration – with its long lines at the gas pumps, its near-tripling of crude oil prices, its double-digit inflation and 18 percent mortgage rates – the worst in history. At this point, though, such lessons are lost on Jimmy Carter. He is what he is – a thoroughly embittered ex-president so desperate for attention that he has embraced a succession of dictators and hard-left wannabe world leaders.

Scrappleface came up with a quote:

“I know that President Carter and I have had our differences,” said Mr. Bush, “But I think most Americans will agree with me that he’s a terrific ex-president. Things have never been better since Jimmy Carter left office.”

And our friends at Cox&Forkum think Mr. Carter has a Guilt Complex:

Guilt Complex

Click on the image to read the commentary and for an explanation of the attack bunny.

Update: Cox&Forkum later added a link to an editorial entitled Look Who’s Talking:

On taking office in 1977, Carter declared that advancing “human rights” was among his highest priorities. America’s ally, the Shah of Iran, was one of his first targets, with Carter chastising him for his human rights record and withdrawing America’s support.

One of the charges was that the Shah had been torturing about 3,000 prisoners, many of them accused of being Soviet agents. Carter sent a clear message to the Islamic fundamentalists that America would not come to the Shah’s aid. His anti-Shah speeches blared from public address systems in downtown Tehran.

The irony, as noted by Steven Hayward of the American Enterprise Institute in his book, “The Real Jimmy Carter,” is that the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini “executed more people in its first year in power than the Shah’s SAVAK had allegedly killed in the previous 25 years…”