IRAN-‘To defeat Islamic extremism, empower moderate Muslims’

IRAN

The Hill - Congress Blog

By Majid Sadeghpour

The massacre in San Bernardino opened another chapter in the history of U.S. mass shootings in an ominous but different way. Similar to the recent terrorist attack in Paris, the brutal massacre of innocent civilians in California highlighted again evils of Islamic extremism but this time, here in the United States.

The attack revealed that the U.S. is not immune from the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and that Americans, along with the rest of the world, must quickly but dynamically address this global threat. Deterrence and an increase in the cost to terrorists (and their sponsors) are valuable assets but the ultimate answer is active engagement with the moderate, both Muslim and otherwise.