Let Islam Win

Seeing Pakistan cut deals with Islamic extremists to institute religious law in sections of the country may make Western stomachs churn, but Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria says that such moves are a necessary price for security. According to Zakaria, America has failed to distinguish between Islamic extremism and violence, not realizing that many ultra-conservative Muslims are unlikely to turn to terrorism despite their radical reviews. Instead, Zakaria writes, the trend is largely in the opposite direction whenever religious zealots are given greater control. "Bin Ladenism has already lost ground in almost every Muslim country. Radical Islam will follow the same path," Zakaria writes. "Wherever it is tried—in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in parts of Nigeria and Pakistan—people weary of its charms very quickly. The truth is that all Islamists, violent or not, lack answers to the problems of the modern world."