Al Qaeda's War On Liberalism

The New York Times Magazine published a fascinating article by Paul Berman on Islamist philosopher/theologican Sayyid Qutb's totalist theories of Islam. Qutb hated Western secular liberalism. "The truly dangerous element in American life for Qutb wasn't capitalism or foreign policy or women's independence. It was America's separation of church and state," writes Berman. Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders were educated by Qutb's disciples. If Berman's analysis is right, the clash between Islamism and liberalism may have been inevitable.