Islamic Totalism
by Joseph Morris

I read with great interest Alan Keyes’ essay, "Why It IS a War on Terror" in WorldNetDaily.

I have to say I think Rick Santorum is right on this one and Mr. Keyes is wrong. His focus on the tactics of the enemy is too narrow. The worldview and goals of the Islamic fascists are themselves objectionable as well as their tactics, and it is right that we should so declare.

The objectives in question? Nothing short of the conversion or death of every non-Muslim on earth; put bluntly, world domination. Unlike Franco's fascism, which Keyes cited, the ambitions of our current enemies are hardly limited to their "own nation." Indeed, their ambitions are greater even than those of Stalin, who eventually embraced at least a transitional goal of "socialism in one country".

Their worldview? Islam is a total (as in "totalitarian") vision of the world which embraces, without compartmentalization, all matters of politics, economy, family life, individual status, culture, social relations, epistemology, science, and religion -- along with everything else, if there is anything else. That is the point Pope Benedict tried to make in his recent discussion at the German university that was so widely misunderstood. They completely reject individual liberty, the rule of law, and the market system. They admit of no valid distinction between mosque and state or between the civilian and the military.

What is more, their tactics are not limited to mere terrorism. Hezbollah did not conduct simple "terrorism" recently against Israel; it was a broad front war, which included artillery attacks on Israeli troops and a missile attack on an Israeli warship. Both pre- and post- September 11th, and as recently as last week, the Taliban has mounted open military campaigns. Iran maintains a standing army, navy, and air force, and is probably developing contingency plans for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction against its enemies by any of several means, only some of which may fall within typical definitions of "terrorism".

The Islamic fascists have entered into alliances, to be sure, with people who share their hatred of America and the West and their willingness to use terror as a tactic, such as the global Left and the North Korean regime, who do not also share their goals and worldview (even though their goals are similar and the worldview is equally totalitarian). But why should Islamic fascists be any different on this count than, for example, Hitlerian fascists who entered into comparable alliances of convenience with Stalin or with, of all people, the radical Islamists of the 1930s and 1940s (conspicuously including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem)?

In sum, Islamic Fascists should be condemned and opposed for much more than their tactics. And, in declaring the broad ground of condemnation and opposition to them, we are entitled to demand the support of all humanity for the common cause of opposition. Everyone on earth, and not just recent or likely targets of terrorism, is the intended victim of this enemy.

Joseph A. Morris practices law at MORRIS & DE LA ROSA in Chicago.