A great op-ed by Diana West, pointing out that the gap between the truth of Islam and President Bush’s “Islam is peace” mantra is becoming increasingly obvious: Bush and Muslims.

What was that the president was saying about Judaism, Christianity and Islam being equally committed to freedom of religion? It sounds like the voice of diplomatic politesse — as it does every time Mr. Bush insists the Muslim terrorists waging jihad on Western civilization “are evil people who have hijacked a great religion.” It may seem nice and neighborly, but such a formulation categorically denies the fact that there is something inherent to that “great religion” — jihad and dhimmitude, for starters — that inspires the supposed “hijacking,” shaping a theology that has always been part terrorist manifesto. This same soft-soap routine also obscures the desperate need for Islamic reformation, an accommodation with modernity that would allow other religions to coexist with Islam without fear.

The impulse to hide the truth about Islam — about its connection to terrorism and its disconnection from Western civilization — is a shocking fact of the “war on terrorism.” Addressing reporters on the day of his Ramadan dinner, Mr. Bush said Muslim leaders have asked him: “Why do Americans think Muslims are terrorists?” Instead of answering, “Because an unending pattern of catastrophic terrorism against the United States has been perpetrated by Muslims, that’s why,” Mr. Bush replied: “That’s not what Americans think. Americans think terrorists are evil people who have hijacked a great religion.”

In this article, Diane links to Robert Spencer’s new LGF-designed site Jihad Watch.