This is an excellent point made last night on Twitter, and one that the Mandarins inside the beltway will carefully ignore.
@CharlieBrownsDi By denying the Islamic roots of ISIS & other terrorists, we block any opportunity for moderate Muslims to push reform
— MWR ن (@nowhere_nh) November 20, 2015
That being said, I am unsure whether moderate Islam exists. The deafening silence from the 1.6 billion Muslims of the world after every terrorist attack suggests that either apathy toward or passive agreement with the savagery of the Salafi Jihad is the order of the day. But by denying any link to Islam, we have handed those moderates, mythical or just quiet, a perfect excuse to ignore their responsibilities as members of the human race.