OPINION

10 Questions for Secretary of State John Kerry

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During a roundtable with the media this week, Secretary of State (say that without shuddering) John Kerry said the following:

“(The U.S.) has to start major efforts to delegitimize ISIS’s claim to some religious foundation for what its doing and begin to put real Islam out there and draw lines throughout the region. And I think this is a wake-up call with respect to that because every Arab leader there today was talking about this, about real Islam and how important the Friday sermons are and where they need to go.”

Finally.

Instead of perpetuating this post-9/11, politically-correct charade that Islam is “a peaceful religion hijacked by a few extremists,” it’s good to see our chief diplomat has decided to pursue a conversation about “real Islam.” Since I’m almost not-at-all positive Secretary Kerry actually thoroughly vetted and researched this subject matter before spouting off about it, I have a few questions for our newest theologian.

10. Is the jizyah, the infamous tax levied by Muslim conquerors upon unbelievers in exchange for tolerating (and not executing) them, considered “real Islam?”

9. Is it “real Islam” in Saudi Arabia where women still aren’t allowed to drive?

8. Is it “real Islam” every time Hamas breaks a cease-fire with Israel?

7. Was it “real Islam” when Souflikar personally executed thousands of people by hand-held strangulation for the Ottoman Empire?

6. Is the rampant female genital mutilation in Muslim cultures “real Islam?”

5. Was it “real Islam” when the Q’uran said Allah turned the Jews into monkeys for their disobedience?

4. Was it “real Islam” when Tamerlane’s conquering Muslim hordes killed 17 million people (5% of the total world population at the time)?

3. Was it “real Islam” when Mohammed married a child bride?

2. Was it “real Islam” when the Hadith quoted Mohammed as saying, “There is another act which elevates the position of a man in Paradise to a grade one hundredth higher, and the elevation between one grade and the other is equal to the height of the heaven from the earth: Jihad in the way of Allah! Jihad in the way of Allah!”

1. Is it “real Islam” when the Q’uran calls for going to war with unbelievers over 100 times?

Finally, Mr. Secretary, if those 10 questions prove too difficult for you, allow me to submit a bonus question:

Where in the world today are Muslims better off living in a culture under Sharia Law than they would be if they lived in the United States?