The fall of the Iron Curtain was the result of the idea that shone into the dark from the light. Strange that in the fight against jihadism and the Islamist campaign to rule the world, hardly anyone points this out. One of the reasons for this is that in this age of political correctness and the tendency to tread lightly, few in the West have the courage to equate Islamism with the totalitarian ideas of the 20th century. Yet countless words and deeds prove that this is where it belongs….
And to be clear here: fascism, communism and Islamism have much in common….
It is time to translate novels and bring them into those states – be it in book form or via the Internet – where youths hungry to learn but lacking in hope search for ideas and find nothing but the intellectual vapours of Islamism.
Source: Jacques Schuster, chief commentator of Die Welt, October 7
Eric Koch’s new book, New Beginnings, was launched on September 20. The book is available from 
There is no doubt that the light has to be shone, and there is no doubt that the focus must be on Islamism not Islam, and on very specific practices which are beyond unacceptable in the 21st Century, and on specific Islamist (not Islamic) leaders who are encouraging destruction.
The internet needs to present a counterbalance which will appeal to disillusioned youth with a tendency to become obsessed when they find a place to act out against what they’re repelled by in their own lives. What can we attract them with that will break that evil spell? What - beyond words and images - will sustain them in as effective and compelling a way as the idea of destroying western liberal culture, from which they apparently get no nourishment or support?
I think you’re on very uncertain ground here with the terms. “Islamism” is black and white to those that see in black and white. I understand that many Muslims object to the use of “Islamism”. Also, many Muslims would no doubt believe that “the law” should rule all parts of life. Which is true for many religions. The issue, for many, may be who decides on the laws and how they can be changed. Totalitarianism seems to be clearer.
Another perspective to add to the Islam(ism)/ophile/ophobe debate:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/10/25/comment/an-open-letter-to-ben-affleck/