In the mysterious designs of providence, perhaps the Islamic challenge to the West will have beneficial effects on our own democracy by promoting reduced reliance upon fossil fuels, especially from foreign sources. Surely, it’s the mother of all addictions, and a significant factor in all social pathology because it leads to a more than just political and economic ordering here at home. If it results in a more balanced, healthy and human pace to our general way of life that would be a positive outcome.

In the end, it is spiritual renewal in our national life that we are most in need of, that can provide us with the best hope for peace and justice here and in the world, and that can lead to a realization of the essentially shared ideals of the three great spiritual traditions of monotheism.

Paul Corrao, Auburn