There is a culture war in the West over Islam. It has flared up again following last year’s attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, the daily predations of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the ongoing violence of Boko Haram in Nigeria; but the contretemps has roiled through every major violent episode involving Islam at least since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Hawkish voices say that Islam is hard-wired for violence and incompatible with democracy and human rights and that the West must fight a long civilizational struggle against this threat. Dovish voices hold that Islam, like every religion, is historically malleable and diverse, home to a few extremists but otherwise hospitable to human rights and democracy; that the West’s history of colonialism and military aggression is responsible for no small part of Islam’s problems; and that dialogue and peacebuilding are called for. Along these lines, the two sides square off, again and again.
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