In His Gut

This from my old friend and former boss Marty Peretz:

I wouldn't close my eyes or our eyes to the increasing number of both naturalized and native-born citizens who enlist in the Islamic terror networks of our time, here and abroad... [A]mong those Muslims led by the Imam Rauf there is hardly one who has raised a fuss about the routine and random bloodshed that defines their brotherhood. So, yes, I wonder whether I need honor these people and pretend that they are worthy of the privileges of the First Amendment which I have in my gut the sense that they will abuse.

The First Amendment is not, so far as I know, a "privilege" earned by some Americans and not earned by others. It is a right. And it applies as powerfully to Muslims as to Catholics and Mormons and Jews and evangelicals alike.

There have been fewer more distressing experiences these past couple of months than witnessing the casual conflation of al Qaeda with American Muslims. It is obviously counter-productive in winning the war; but it is also a statement that even the most moderate of American Muslims are guilty until proven innocent. I'm sorry but I find that deeply unfair to a community that has, unlike some in Europe, integrated and succeeded in this country and deserves respect and inclusion, not suspicion and fear.