Jan 10, 2008 / 19:35 pm
The internal struggle within Islam over how it interacts with the modern world has spilled out onto the world stage over the last few years with sometimes disastrous consequences. In the midst of this upheaval, George Weigel is offering his thoughts on the roots of this “intra-Islamic civil war” as well as some policy suggestions in his new book “Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism”.
CNA had an opportunity to talk with Weigel about his book and discuss the current dialogue with Islam.
Q. Why did you write Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism?
A. In a sense the book began with my reflections on Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg Lecture, which identified two serious and linked problems with global impact: faith detached from reason (as in jihadist terrorism, which is based on the irrational notion that God commands the killing of innocents), and a loss-of-faith in reason (which leaves the western world incapable of defending its commitments to religious freedom, tolerance, and civility in the face of the jihadist challenge).