In the Friday Sept. 27 edition of this publication was a very intriguing Op-Ed piece about Islam in the United States.

If you are not familiar, the author, Sumaya Attia, argued that a certain media pundit named Bob Beckel asserted Americans who practice Islam should speak out against the attacks like the one that happened in Kenya earlier last week. If they do not, he said, they are cowards.

Beckel, a progressive democrat, who worked in the Carter administration and is now a Democratic Party strategist, predicted the unfortunate backlash that Muslims will face should they not denounce violent Jihadist attacks.

He looks straight at the camera and said if this does not happen, Muslim students will not be given visas and the building of mosques will be censured in retaliation.

To this, Attia wrote that Beckel has said he believes all practitioners of Islam approve of terrorism if they do not speak out against it. It seems Attia took offense to this as she wrote:

“In spite of all the grammatical errors peppering his rant, Beckel’s point was very clear: a Muslim is a Muslim is a Muslim is a Muslim. No amount of political spinning would cover up the racial and bigoted implications behind these statements.”

In fact, Beckel point was exactly the opposite. By asking American Muslims to denounce Jihadist organizations, Beckel is implying that there are wide differences between the practitioners of Islam.

Many sources say true Islam””the enlightened word of the prophet Muhammad””does not advocate the kind of wanton, violent jihad perpetrated by extremists organizations like al-Qaida, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood and al Shabaab””the group responsible for the mall attack.

Near the end of her work, Attia asserts that Beckel (an archetype of many Americans, apparently) wants Muslims to apologize. However, he never uses the word “apologize.”

Beckle said Muslims not advocating violent jihad should speak out and separate themselves from those who do. This is to bolster their faith, by helping non-Muslims understand that all Muslims are not alike.

If American Muslims are not willing to separate themselves from violent Jihadists, how are non-Muslims Americans to understand the difference? How are we to find common ground?

If the Islam intended by the Prophet is what “moderates” say it is, why would they not stand up and cry out against a perverted and hateful version of the text responsible for so many death, rapes, and mutilations?

As a Christian, when I see extremist groups like Westboro Baptist Church I immediately insist that their interpretation of The Old and New Testaments are not in lock-step with my own. I do not believe soldiers are killed because this country has made strides to respect the civil rights of gay men and women.

I want non-Christians to understand the difference between my faith and that of Westboro Baptist. Myself and many other Christians want our fellow Americans to find common ground with us, so we may stand together against hateful, hurtful false prophets.

In offense to what she presumes are Beckel’s assertions, Attia writes Muslims (and we assume American Muslims) should not be expected to speak out against jihadist attacks. Her reasoning: the United States has perpetrated violent acts of war in Middle Eastern (and predominately Muslim) nations.

Granted, there have been some gruesome events in which civilians in these nations were killed or injured.

Attia cites U.S. military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya and Yemen. She believes these are comparable to Jihadist bombings, executions and rapes. After all, she writes, “Wouldn’t we as a nation be the ones in fact waging the holy war, given the uncomfortable fact that the United States is the lead aggressor when it comes to waging war on foreign soil?”

Does she not realize that many of the actions taken by the U.S. military actually defend “moderate” Muslims from the wrath of the “extremists” or brutal dictatorial regimes?

If this were not the case why would Syrian rebels and Egyptian protesters want aid from the American government?

Personally, I am not a fan of the United States military involvement in the Middle East, as I believe this part of the world runs under a rule of law we in West neither advocate nor understand.

However, I take offense to a fellow American comparing U.S. military members to rapacious, murderous jihadists.

Even more ridiculous is Attia’s accusations of Beckel’s not speaking out against U.S. presence in the Middle East. In a March 2012 USA Today interview Beckel said he believes that in the aftermath of the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, it is indeed time the U.S. troops come home.

Muslims should be denouncing the acts of extremist jihadist groups. Their denouncing violence should be automatic if their belief system is indeed a purveyor of peace””regardless of the behavior of the U.S. military. Should they not, it gives the impression that indeed “a Muslim, is a Muslim, is a Muslim.”