Mainstream foreign policy analyst John Hannah wrote in March that “both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama understood that we wouldn’t be able to just kill our way out of the conflict with radical Islamists. Each devoted considerable resources to what’s been called the ‘battle for hearts and minds.’”
The idea was to show that the Americans weren’t as bad as jihad propaganda claimed, and were ready to be helpful, generous friends. This effort was predicated on the assumption that good will gestures would be appreciated and reciprocated. Yet as I show in my new book The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS,these assumptions were wrongheaded from the start, and doomed to failure. This is because the jihadis generally know the Qur’an, and know that it teaches warfare against unbelievers, including unbelievers who are kind to the Muslims. An example: in the 830s, the Byzantine emperor Theophilus asked the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun for a peace accord. Al-Ma’mun responded:
I should make the answer to your letter cavalry horses bearing steadfast, courageous and keen-sighted riders, who would contend with you over your destruction, to seek Allah’s favor by spilling your blood….
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