The impeccable [1] Diana West takes on the peculiar unreality that prevails at the White House:

So what if Article 2 in the Iraqi constitution states, "no law that contradicts the established provisions of Islam may be established." If people participate in an election for anything -- including sharia, including Hamas -- it's the Spirit of '76 all over again, or so our leaders say. Never mind that worried Iraqi Christians, concerned for religious freedom, say they're likely to ask Pope Benedict XVI to intervene. Meanwhile, according to the Bush Happy Face Doctrine, if any religious book goes onto the White House shelf, including one that's uniquely venomous toward "infidel" non-believers, it's a Hallelujah moment....

After September 11, Mr. Bush declared "Islam is peace." Now, he insists that "extremists" "distort the idea of jihad" into a rationale for terrorism. Maybe Mr. Bush will read his new Koran and discover that the idea of jihad is itself extreme. Better still, maybe Mr. Bush will go so far as to add another book to the White House collection: "[2] The Legacy of Jihad" by Andrew G. Bostom. This extraordinary compendium of primary and secondary source material, much of it translated into English for the first time, elucidates the theory and practice of jihad over 1,400 years. With its chronological span across the centuries, "The Legacy of Jihad" goes a long way toward bridging the void in Western understanding of the institutional role of jihad within Islam.

The White House may have its own Koran now, but the president's reckoning with the legacy of jihad is still overdue.

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