This is long, but it’s an excellent, concise explanation of the need to understand Islam in the US. I could not, though, get it to copy over. Please take time to click the link and read it. —Dorrie http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/269943/romney-s-religion-problem-andrew-c-mccarthy?page=1

June 18, 2011 4:00 A.M.

Romneys Religion Problem
Sharia is not about private faith, but public institutions.

Andrew C. McCarthy

Page 1.

Mitt Romney is said to be the early frontrunner in the GOP presidential sweepstakes. One rival, Newt Gingrich, is perceived as floundering in a swirl of unforced errors and staff insurrection. Yet when it comes to Islam, which will continue to matter mightily in the next administration, the frontrunner could learn a thing or two from the flounderer. The issue is not religion. It is the seditious Islamist political program.

Most Americans, myself included, would prefer not to have to think about Islam at all. Muslims forced their beliefs onto our consciousness by wanton violence and gross violations of human rights. While there are fitful efforts to reform Islam, and thus differing interpretations of its dogmas, mainstream Islam is still founded on sharia, Islams archaic, immutable legal framework (also known as Allahs law).

Excerpt: It is every bit as essential today to say “No” to Islamists who use the shield of American religious liberty as a sword in the service of a dark political program — one that has precious little to do with spirituality. It remains to be seen whether Republicans will offer a presidential candidate with the guts to do it. If Mitt Romney is to be that candidate, he’s got work to do. . . .

Andrew C. McCarthy, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, is the author, most recently, of The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America.