After his speech in South Carolina asserting a “religious-check” at the border, Donald Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he would support conducting a religious test to reject Muslims before they enter The United States. To say this has created backlash and outrage would be an understatement.
If we take his comments as anything more than posturing, they are a bit puzzling. I’m in favor of pausing any immigration or travel from specific countries, but not on the basis of religion. However, Trump’s suggestion of Muslim-visa denials does prompt an important question, one that is necessary to answer in order to solve our security crisis: Why do so many Muslims become radicalized and join groups like ISIS?
Here’s what we know: Most ISIS fighters have similar traits as drug addicts. They are lost in life and attempting to find their identity. They feel rejected by the culture that surrounds them and they develop resentment and rage. The flashpoint of their radicalization occurs when ISIS operatives make them feel included, as individuals, and legitimize their resentments.
"Islam was born out of the unforgiving harshness of the desert," Dr. Glenn Bassett, expert in social psychology, explained on my radio program. He continued that the “seed of an unforgiving nature sits at the core of many who practice Islam.” Many have serious doubts of who they are and what they should be doing.
Many Muslims have the same problem as many Christians. The overwhelming majority of American people identify with Christianity, but, regretfully, use their own distorted application of it. This is best described as “fluffy.”
The difference between the cores of Islam and Christianity is that Christianity calls for forgiveness, love and caring for others. In that regard, Christianity is simple to follow even if our verses are complex or the faith is being distorted. Despite the fact that both religions have plenty of followers with “fluffy” and immature views, the disparity is rooted in the complexities of Islam verses the simplicity of Christianity. The Quran consists of over 100 verses that call Muslims to go to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. You have to have a deep understanding of the Islamic faith in order to insulate yourself from radicalization. Combine these complexities with an ignorant, shallow and lost person, who feels somehow rejected from society, and the result is potential radicalization.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful and loving in their deep understanding and practice of Islam. Even most immature Muslims who exhibit these shallow traits, distortions and societal rejections, never become a terrorist or harm others. But some may not reject the views of the terrorists. We commonly call them sympathizers.
Experts tell me that radical Muslims typically exhibit the following traits: They don't have parents. They are traumatized, demoralized and have damaged psyches. They have a void they are trying to fill. Normally people find faith to fill that void, but use a distorted, haphazard, made-to-order approach leaving them more confused than informed. Some even begin to feel embarrassed of being Muslim and thus get frustrated and angry.
A terrorist is developed when someone with the above mentioned traits is met with a radical leader, who makes them feel included and valued.
At their core, many Muslims reject the legitimacy of Israel and, to some degree, want it eliminated. Some believe America is too involved in the Middle East. They loathe our traditions, heritage and values. Others wish to practice Islam in peace and without persecution from oppressive regimes. Yet many haven’t fully determined the sacrifices their families need on the path to becoming American-Muslims, specifically in terms of rejecting previous cultural norms. In Southern terms, some “want to have their cake and eat it too.” Enter American Liberals, who think they should.
When we inject liberal policy of blind tolerance, politically correct, anti-individualist politics with this distorted version of Islam, the result is catastrophic. All immigrants should be required to learn our language, study our heritage and obey our laws. The mere assertion of such requirements is arrogantly deemed intolerant in the minds of liberals.
Due to our increasingly liberal policy, we are subjugating our values to decay and subjecting our Muslim citizens to struggle, failure and thus societal rejection. This isolation breeds anger and resentment, which in turn is combined with the distorted view and application of Islam. ISIS and other terrorist groups have mastered the art of finding a percentage of these rejected citizens, making them feel valued, and thus manipulating them into terrorizing and killing innocent people. This is the “ISIS Crazy Cycle.”
How do we stop it? First, we should never block someone from immigration or a visa because of their religion. But we should temporarily stop refugees, immigration or visas (with few exceptions) originating from those countries with the most ISIS-operatives (such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Syria, etc). Next, deportation of illegal citizens is regretfully our only option. This should be done without prejudice -- meaning all illegals from any origin must be deported. And we must require all residents who are not yet citizens to meet the basic criteria of learning our language, heritage and laws, before they are granted citizenship.
We must accept that removing radicalized citizens who intend to harm Americans will be harsh, expensive and painful. In other words, this is not a task suited for the politically-correct, easily offended, weak-minded, emotional liberal.
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