Blake Keating: Correct descriptions needed to combat ISIS

The atrocities of ISIS against civilization – both genocidal as to nonbelievers and the destruction of cultural artifacts and sites – represent an attempt to take the world back to the 7th century and the world of Muhammad.

In the videos showing the destruction in the Mosul Museum, a jihadist can be heard chanting from the Quran and then declaring that Muhammad destroyed statues and idols when he militarily conquered Mecca in 630.

The vandals cite both Quranic scripture and the actions of Muhammad himself as justification for their destruction of historical treasures.

It may be politically correct – like the description of the murderous rampage by Major Hassan at Fort Hood as “workplace violence” – to claim that the Islamic State has nothing to do with Islam as President Obama repeatedly tells us, but it strains credulity and indeed is a fiction.

We need leaders to identify the threat accurately and confirm what the jihadists want in order to defeat them and end the threat to all in the modern civilized world, including the vast majority of Muslims. Being politically correct, but incorrect in fact, is a danger we can no longer afford.

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Blake Keating: Correct descriptions needed to combat ISIS."