I've come to expect tone-deaf commentary from OneNewsNow, the online "news" service of the American Family Association. But one of the silliest I've seen so far is in the latest column by Michael Youssef, pastor of Church of the Apostles in Atlanta. Youssef is somehow able to say with a straight face that Osama bin Laden has already won the war on terror.
In his late-night speech on May 1, President Barack Obama said: "The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam" but instead at war with Osama bin Laden and his motley crew. This blind denial of reality is how Osama achieved his greatest success. The President confirmed my worst fears: America was so focused on capturing one man that they let his ideology run free and rampant.
For those who don't know, it's pretty much an article of faith among several fundies that Islam is a front for terrorism. So this article offers a pretty revealing look into the fundie mentality. And given that OneNewsNow is (as I write this) featuring this on its Web site, one can only conclude that the Wildmons agree with this 100 percent.
Youssef argues, in part, that the strongest piece of evidence that jihadism is on the march is the Arab Spring that overtook Tunisia and his native Egypt and may be about to overtake Yemen. What Youssef conveniently leaves out is that the "pro-West" regimes that he laments were very authoritarian. Does Youssef think that calling for democratic reform is a masquerade for jihad? That's about the only thing I can conclude.
He also doesn't tell us that Yemen is a breeding ground for terrorism--and the situation is so bad there that last January, several countries had to close their embassies due to concerns about a possible al-Qaeda attack.
Looking at this, I have to wonder if Youssef actually believes what he wrote. It's hard to believe anyone following the news could possibly write something so ridiculous. But then again, I'm not a fundie.