Just as KKK is not Christian, ISIS is not Islamic

A vast majority of Muslims would be offended by the term radical Islamic terrorism. As a Christian pastor, I would have been offended if the Ku Klux Klan had been labelled as radical Christian terrorism. In fact, I never heard that term used to describe the KKK even though its members claimed to be Christian. They were more violent and more powerful than any radical organization in American history; they did not deserve the label Christian.

ISIS is extremely violent and powerful, but the group does not deserve the term Islamic although it claims the label. Will the same Americans who insist on “radical Islamic terrorism” now say “radical Christian terrorism” when referring to the KKK? The Klan engaged in shootings, hangings, burnings and mutilation for more than a century. It had the approval of a significant number of Christian Americans in some regions. It was never representative of the majority of Christians.

Will Donald Trump, who has been endorsed by the KKK, insist on the term radical Christian terrorists?

I hope not. The KKK is not Christian. ISIS is not Islamic.

— the Rev. John Fairweather, Des Moines