Many view Barack Obama as a president who is too quick to side with or “sympathize” with Middle Eastern Islamic countries. Those with that opinion always repeat catchphrases such as “he bowed down to the King of Saudi Arabia” while on a trip to the country, or “look at that bogus Iran nuclear deal.”

     By and large, I think there is a distinct difference between siding with/showing favoritism to a group of nations and being an idealist who thinks the United States can be friendly and diplomatic with our enemies, with Obama being the latter. After all, it isn’t like President Obama hasn’t bent over backwards to appeal to other countries that have long been at odds with the United States (i.e., Russia and Cuba).

    However, in trying to maintain friendly relations with countries in the Middle East, Obama has doubled down on a statement concerning Islam that, while presently accurate, doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.

    Last winter and again late this summer, Obama made the statement that “we [the United States] are not and will never be at war with Islam.”

    After pulling out a very large number of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and declaring an end to the war on terror during this administration, I guess it is fair to say that we aren’t currently at war with Radical Islam. However, just by deciding to step foot on Middle Eastern soil after 9/11, the United States guaranteed an eternity-long conflict with the countries they invaded. Couple that with the rise of ISIS and other terrorist organizations, and one thing is absolutely clear: Radical Islam will always be at war with the Western World, and especially the United States.

   Before going any into the reasons, mainly religious, that a conflict will always exist, let me preface it by saying that there are peaceful Muslims. However, much like I made the case last year that Christians (like myself) who try to justify being pro-gay marriage and yet claim to follow the bible hold logically inconsistent views, those who claim Islam is wholly a peaceful religion haven’t read the teachings of the Quran. Irrespective of the context of the “sword” verses found in the book, one thing is made clear in the Quran; if you don’t pledge some sort of allegiance to Allah, or you step foot on an Islamic nation’s home soil in the name of war, then those of Islamic faith have Allah’s permission to act violently in the name of religion. That doesn’t mean they have to, and it certainly doesn’t mean that all people who have faith in Allah are violent.

    What it does mean is as long as there are groups like ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; new acronym for ISIS) or Al Qaeda that take the message of the Quran and willingly expand upon and in some cases distort it for their own violent, terroristic agenda, there will always be a conflict between Islam and the Western World.

    Being friendly and diplomatic with countries around the world is great in theory. However, because of economic, religious, and philosophical reasons, some countries have been and will remain enemies of the United States. By saying things like the US will never be at war with Islam, this president is trying to show that the United States won’t allow ideological differences to further strain relations with countries in the Middle East. However, after seven years in office, President Obama should understand as well as anyone who and what the United States is fighting against. By not identifying Radical Islam as the threat that it is, Obama appears, if nothing else, to be blissfully ignorant to the state of world affairs. That’s not a good look for the leader of the free world.