Dear Editor, So according to Michael King, I am prone to "hysterical denunciations of 'Islamist fascism'" [“Postmarks” online, March 30]. Well Mr. King, you need to read the op-ed piece in the April 3 Wall Street Journal by Dr. Tawfik Hamid. This brave man is a reformed Islamist fascist terrorist and knows from where he speaks. He makes the point perfectly that there is a murderous, tyrannical, and barbaric strain of Islam that is generally accepted by mainspring Muslims. He also drives home the reality that those who practice Western progressive moral relativism and political correctness enable the spread of this terrible ideology. Contrary to Mr. King’s contention that I am hysterical, Dr. Hamid’s lucid testimony illustrates that my opinions regarding Islamist fascism are rational and accurate. If Mr. King and his neo-leftist cohorts were serious truth seekers, they would relish Dr. Hamid’s existential message. But somehow I don't see them able to grasp that level of moral honesty. However, let me be perfectly clear: I would love to be proven wrong by Mr. King having such a monumental epiphany.
Vance McDonald
[Michael King responds: It's good to know that this week Vance McDonald is making a grudging distinction between a "murderous, tyrannical, and barbaric strain of Islam" and something he calls "mainspring" Islam, something he's been persistently unwilling to do. We're making progress, but I am curious: Does he feel the same about the murderous, tyrannical, and barbaric strain of Judeo-Christianity that underlies and sustains the illegal U.S./British invasion of Iraq, the illegal and brutal occupation of Palestine, and now the illegal covert war on Iran, all of which for too long has been generally accepted by "mainstream" Christians and Jews? When he's willing to acknowledge the beam in his own eye, I'll take more seriously his lectures on religious correctness.]