Watch out for Canadian terrorists

Seen any Canadian terrorists recently? Better watch out for those Canadians - they can be dangerous.

Probably get it from the bears.

This article is just one of many I want to focus on : Canadian charged in murder of 5 US soldiers in Iraq.

First six words?

"An Iraqi national living in Canada"...

Oh. Ok, so maybe it isn't Canadians generally. I didn't think the ones I'd met seemed that dangerous.

Must be Iraqis then.

But hey - I met some Iraqis too. Not sure they were really a risk.

Oh - the article says more :

"The case offers a glimpse into the murky world of Iraqi resistance fighters who allegedly trolled Arab countries for young, impressionable Muslims willing to give their lives for a promise of Islamic martyrdom."

Ah - I see. Not just any old Iraqis. Muslim ones.

So why does the headline suggest Canadians are a danger? Isn't "Muslim" a more accurate predictor of terrorist tendencies?

Why do so many "newspapers" insist on referring to terrorists as "Asians" or any other designation that disguises the fact that most of them are motivated by their adherence to their understanding of Islam?

What value is a political correctness that dulls us to the dangers around us?

Imagine learning to drive a car by only looking out sideways for dangers. You wouldn't get far. And we try to drive nations like that?

Sure, I know heaps of friendly muslims, as do you.

But let's not pretend that randomness turns hat-toting Canadians into gun-and-bomb-toting terrorists.

In years of yore, they thought that flies and mice arose spontaneously.

We now call that superstition.

Mice and flies arise from specific circumstances.

So too does Islamic terrorism.

Call it what it is, identify how it spreads, and do something about it.

Just stop pretending Canadians or Asians are the problem. Something in Islam is.

Yes, maybe not something in the Islam that Abdul next door practices, but something in the wider range of beliefs called Islam is doing a very good job of encouraging people to blow themselves up to kill non-muslims. Call a spade a spade. These are Muslim terrorists. And they even boast about it, and even tell us that their religious beliefs drive them to these actions.

And don't call it "extremism" either. Forsaking wealth and living every day to quietly serve those dying in pain - that's extremism. That's the kind of extremism Mother Theresa - yep, her again - resorted to. Extremism - even religious extremism - is simply something a long way from the norm, whether good or bad. It's often good. It's often bad. So don't say "Muslim extremists". In fact, from their perspective, you represent extreme evil - hey, that's why they wanna blow you up.

In fact, I could mount a pretty good case that destroying a baby's future life rich with choices, in the name of choice, is atheistic extremism. But you wouldn't want to change your view on that now, would you...

So drop "extremist". Investigate. Enquire. Open mouth to ask. Shut mouth. Listen intently. Don't assume. Ask next question. Whoohoo - now we're getting somewhere.

The Muslims are not all terrorists at heart. Phew! I'm glad about that. Very glad. But the terrorists of greatest risk to us today are Muslims. Let's not pretend otherwise.

UPDATE : Just another of many examples : German man arrested over alleged al-Qaida plot