The United States has been at war with Islam since Sept. 11, 2001. Unless drastic steps are taken, this war will probably continue for another 15 years, maybe even longer.

What I find distressing about this situation is that trillion of dollars and thousands of lives have been spent in the name of combating Islamic extremism. Despite this, Americans have done very little to educate themselves about Islam. This is unfortunate, as I find it unlikely we will find a peaceful resolution to the War on Terror until this is done.

Conservatives believe that Islam can be suppressed through a series of military endeavors and democratic state building. Liberals believe that Muslims can be won over using a combination of diplomacy, humanitarianism and sheer niceness. I think both sides would benefit from understanding Islam better.

Personally, I have the impression that Islam is an ideology designed to create perpetual warfare. Granted, I have only read an English interpretation of the Quran once, and it was a long time ago. I am still open to changing my opinion.

But as I see it, Islam has a relatively simple formula for creating perpetual warfare. To begin with, Muslims have a bleak worldview that trivializes violence.

Within the first several suras, the Quran makes it clear that those who knowingly reject the Islamic faith will go to hell. Hell is described as a horrible place where one will be burned in a lake of fire for all eternity.

Atrocities such as suicide bombings seem less barbaric when one accepts the reality that the majority of people will spend an eternity in severe torture anyway.

Combine this with the fact that the Quran openly states that warfare directed towards infidels is a great way of gaining Allah’s favor, and it is not surprising why many Muslims readily take up arms.

The final piece of the formula is that Islam sets a low bar for when warfare is justified. All Muslims are supposed to behave as a unified force that come in defense of one another in the face of outside oppression.

Given that Muslims make up roughly one quarter of the world’s population, it is almost guaranteed that Muslims somewhere will be facing some form of outside oppression. This means that Muslims are almost always compelled to engage in warfare, regardless of their national origin.

Despite the violent nature of Islam, I do not agree with the current U.S. strategy of denying Muslims their constitutional rights. One could reasonably argue that Christianity, feminism and neo-conservatism are just as dangerous as Islam, especially when they are combined with one another.

However, I do not agree with liberals’ attitude of appeasement towards Muslims, either.

This attitude of appeasement is most prevalent in academia, where liberals want to create a safe and accepting environment that never challenges Muslims’ beliefs. This is unfortunate, as academia is one of the few places that has the necessary resources to challenge Islam on an ideological level.

If you disagree with my analysis, read the Quran for yourself and form your own opinion. Do not be afraid to share your opinion either, even if it offends someone.

Muslims are Americans too, and as such their ideology should be challenged the same way as everyone else’s: by subjecting it to fair scrutiny in a public forum.