The terror camp vs. the camp of life

Haaretz:

"Israel's right to exist is today the international criterion for distinguishing between the terrorist camp and the camp of life," says Magdi Allam, the Egyptian-Italian journalist and writer who is now visiting Israel.

"On one side, there is the Hamas government, Iran, fundamentalist Islam and even parts of the extreme left and right in Europe." On the other side, he says, are Western countries and "supporters of the right to live." The West, he believes, has consistently failed to grasp its situation: It does not understand that it is under attack, and it is trying to conduct a dialogue with the Muslims attacking it.

Allam, 54 and a native of Egypt, immigrated to Italy some 30 years ago and studied sociology at La Sapienza University in Rome. Today he is the deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper, and is one of the country's leading journalists. In a series of books, articles and public appearances, Allam has not hesitated to criticize radical Islam openly. He even attacks the weakness he claims the West in general - and Europe in particular - show in the face of the growth of radical Islam.

"The West thinks the Islamic terrorism that struck New York, London and Madrid is a reaction, a kind of uprising of the poor against the wealthy," he says in an interview with Haaretz. According to Allam, the West does not understand that it is facing an organized attack that is gradually gaining supporters around the world. Following September 11, he says, a new and dangerous front has emerged of Muslim radicals and extreme left- and right-wing elements that must be dealt with forcefully.

"Denying the right to exist of Israel necessarily leads to approval of the use of violence and terrorism in order to erase Israel from the map," he notes. "This is the main characteristic of the 'culture of death' that advocates killing those who deny Islam."

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"My goal is to free the West from the nihilism that has spread in its midst, from the lack of values that leads to the growth of radical Islam," says Allam. "In the face of the threat from radical Islam, the West must be united and formulate a shared value system that sanctifies life and denounces the right to kill."

Therefore, he says, there should be sharp criticism of those who argue that the terrorism in Israel and Iraq is legitimate because it is being committed against occupation and in the name of independence. "Whoever says that supports a culture of death," Allam argues. "It may perhaps start with a show of some understanding, but will quickly spread to granting permission to destroy anyone who is not Muslim."

Allam is against any attempt at dialogue with the Hamas government.

"I oppose any middle way," he says. "I oppose any type of dialogue just for the sake of dialogue. Hamas is part of the global Islamic front. It is an organization that prefers to worsen the conditions of its citizens rather than recognize Israel. The terrorism it wages against Israel is ideological terrorism. It would be a big mistake to think that it is resistance, because they are not trying to promote a Palestinian state. They have simply been trying, ever since the signing of the Oslo Accords, to destroy every effort to achieve peace."

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There is more. A very interesting man.