Terrorism and political correctness share a common aim, which is to stifle speech that some consider unutterable — and the link between them is on full display today in fight over the rightness of the phrase "radical Islam," says former Republican. Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma.
"We should not have to walk on eggshells when we talk about radical Islam," Istook, a columnist and radio host for The Washington Times, told "MidPoint" Host Ed Berliner on
Newsmax TV Tuesday.
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Istook drew a parallel between critics of that wording and the French Islamist gunmen who killed 17 Parisians this month in order to punish — and silence — critics of their religion. The attackers targeted the journalists and cartoonists of the irreverent weekly Charlie Hebdo for its unflattering depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
"There is a philosophical link there," said Istook, adding, "that's what people do in the name of political correctness: They attack people who insult them. Political correctness is a form of terrorism.
"Now, it does not go around beheading people," he said. "It's not that type. But it does try to terrorize us by limiting and restricting our behavior. Now, that's the object of terrorism itself. It's also the object of political correctness."
Istook said that prohibiting people from discussing radical Islam for fear of "offending the jihadists" also hampers the effort to detect and prevent would-be attackers who are motivated by religious fervor.
"It cannot be off limits to talk about it," he said. Otherwise, he said, "we fall asleep and don't defend ourselves."
Istook traced the origins of political correctness to college campuses, where radicals "integrated themselves into the professorships" and promoted black studies and other disciplines catering to minority interests and categories of people viewed as oppressed.
The campuses then developed speech codes, he said, "to restrict what people say, and then they built out from there."
The ethos then spread into political culture, primarily through the Democrat Party, which Istook described as "a coalition of different minority groups that have come together … trying to form a majority-of-minority interest."
Because the Republican Party "represents more mainstream people," said Istook, its opponents feel free to insult conservatives, whereas "the Democrat coalition tend to be people that are part of minority groups who feel that they are more sensitized to insults."
"And the epitome of political correctness is … you cannot say something that a Muslim finds offensive," said Istook.
"Now, I realize, most Muslims … don't have the thin skins of these radical jihadists — the terrorists — but nevertheless the ability to talk about other people's religion is a key part of it," he said. "But they want that to be a taboo topic.
"That's political correctness carried to its extreme," said Istook. "I would like to see world leaders marching in Paris and in Washington D.C. not only saying, we have free speech when it comes to radical Islam, but we have free speech when it comes to political correctness. Wouldn't that be refreshing?"
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