"And ye shall know the

truth, and the truth shall make you free."

John 8:32 (KJV)

There are those who will accuse

me of narrow-minded insensitivity for what I am about to write. They will

call me a religious-right bigot. So be it. I've been called worse. It

is time to proclaim a truth that has needed to be said for some time now,

but never more desperately than since Sept. 11, 2001.

Conservative writer and commentator

Ann Coulter was dismissed recently from her position as a columnist for

National Review for daring to write that we should conquer the Arab world

and "convert them to Christianity."

While I cannot share Ms. Coulter's

enthusiasm for a 21st Century Crusade Christ never converted anyone at

the point of a gun I understand her frustration. Like her, I have grown

tired of hearing that Islam is a peaceful religion that has been perverted

In a commendable effort to

prevent retaliation against Americans of Arab ancestry, the powers-that-be

have bombarded us with the message that "terrorists practice a twisted

version of Islam." Perhaps, but the proof is in the pudding, as they

say, and precious few American Muslims have been publicly vocal in their

condemnation of the attacks on their adopted homeland. Meanwhile, many

in the Middle East embrace this violent interpretation of how their beliefs

should be practiced.

Islam has kept the Arab world

in economic and cultural darkness for a thousand years. Conversely, the

United States of America, the most prosperous and free nation the world

has ever known, a nation into which most of the rest of the world is constantly

trying to gain entry, was conceived out of Judeo-Christian principles

and teachings. It was not created as a theocracy, but there is

no denying that it sprang from Biblical roots.

In fact, there are no other

roots from which our system could have sprung. Despite the anti-Christian

propaganda we have had to endure for a generation from feminists and the

ACLU, no religious doctrine on earth is more freeing than that of true

Christianity. It is Christ whose teachings have set captives free for

2,000 years. Americans have not always practiced His truth, but it was

the great lessons of the Bible that served as the inspiration for our

Founders to proclaim that "we are endowed by our Creator with certain

inalienable rights."

There are millions of Arabs

in the United States. They are here for a variety of reasons. Some have

converted to Christianity and for that reason alone fear for their lives

in their native lands. There are others who have come here pursuing a

far better economic life for themselves and their families. These people

have enjoyed the fruits of our culture while clinging to a form of their

own religious beliefs. Under our system, that is their right.

Then, as we have learned with

a jolt in recent weeks, there are those who are here on a mission. Their

sole purpose is to use the freedoms guaranteed in our divinely inspired

Constitution to destroy us.

American Christians have watched

as our beliefs have been mocked and ridiculed for decades. We have seen

our right to practice our religion in the public square curtailed repeatedly

Yet, our leaders bend over

backward to defend the religion of our sworn enemies while refusing to

do everything in their power to identify those who would kill us, for

fear of being accused of racial profiling. It is the first duty of our

federal government to protect our borders, yet at this time of war, when

our enemies continue to plot and execute their terror within our own borders,

we wring our collective hands over whether or not to suspend retaliatory

attacks during Ramadan in order to honor an entire month of Islamic religious

observances.

Furthermore, we deliver yet

another slap in the face to our only true Middle East ally, Israel, by

proclaiming to the world that we intend to reward our enemies by supporting

one of their main goals, the establishment of a Palestinian state.

There is indeed such a thing

as holy war. Our enemies have sworn to destroy everything our Judeo-Christian

culture represents. They hate us and they hate God, and if civilization

as we know it is to be preserved, they must be destroyed by whatever means

necessary.

It is time once more to allow

the truth to make us free.

[Doug Patton is a freelance

columnist who has served as a speechwriter and policy advisor for federal,

state and local candidates and elected officials. His work appears in

various newspapers and on numerous web sites, including GOPUSA.com, AmericasVoices.org,

EnterStageRight.com, EtherZone.com, SIANEWS.com and ConservativeThought.com.

© Copyright 2001 by Doug Patton.]