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I take counterterrorism seriously. Politics and ideology are the enemy of serious and effective CT. Right now, we're witnessing the now-customary calls for sweeping crackdowns of unpopular viewpoints under the rubric of CT. Recent history shows how bad an idea this can be. /1
I spent many years after 9/11 explaining the nuances of radical Sunni Islam to Westerners who had no clue. Islam vs Islamism. Wahhabism (a term they reject btw) vs Salafis vs Muslim Brotherhood, etc. A lot of deep-in-the-weeds politics-meets-theology stuff. It's not simple. /2
Some people simply didn't want nuance. They wanted Islam-is-bad. Certain types still want that. When I asked them, pointblank, "If a religion that's been around for 1400 years and has far more than a billion adherents is The Problem, what's The Solution?" I never got one. /3
It's difficult to grasp from a safe distance that radical Islam (much less all Islam!) is not a monolith, that there are nonviolent Salafis, and not even all Salafis who endorse armed jihad are willing to countenance terrorism. None of this makes for good FNC soundbites. /4
On the other side, of course, others went to great lengths to deny that Islam has anything to do with jihadist terrorism. Which is as deceptively stupid as pretending that it's ALL about Islam. Looking at you, MSNBC. Most people don't want the truth, I concluded. I still do. /5
Be aware that the same temptation is now at work after Christchurch. Just as 9/11 gave cover for all the Islamophobes to act out, the NZ attack gives cover to those who hate everybody Right of Hillary Clinton to go on their own jihad. This is very unwise for several reasons. /6
The number of neo-Nazi types who seek violence in the West is very small IRL. Keep that in mind. If legitimate right-of-center views get silenced and intimidated now, that will prove the kook-right's point that the MSM and our elites seek to shut them up. Don't help them. /7
Nuance matters. Islam is a fact, even its edgier wing. Right-wing views exist, even in hard forms. The problem is violence and ideological support for it. That needs to be shut down harshly. But don't stifle dissent and differing views: that will only promote more violence. /8X
