Author's Note: This article originally appeared in the June edition of Berkshire Jewish Voice
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On May 5th, 2011, Fox News hosted the first 2012 Republican Presidential debate. Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who has made insensitive remarks regarding Islam in the past, was asked if he was anti-Islam. Santorum responded with the following statement:
"I am not anti-Islam, first. What I’m doing is just recognizing the reality, and the reality is that the version of Islam that is practiced in the Middle East, that is growing and spreading, [is not] one that we are going to be able to deal with very easily. It's one that requires... reformation. It requires some sort of retrospection within the Islamic world…”
What Mr. Santorum did with this statement was defend himself against charges of being anti-Islam by making more anti-Islamic remarks. I wonder what he meant by “the version of Islam that is practiced in the Middle East”. This seems to be a sweeping generalization that reflects a lack of understanding about the cultures, religions, diversities, and complexities of about 1 billion people.
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