Right now the ISIS terrorists are attacking a town in Syria very close to the Turkish border. 

Civilians are fleeing in panic because these ISIS savages are known to slaughter innocent people.

Meanwhile Turkish tanks and troops do nothing, sitting on their side of the border, watching the carnage unfold.

Turkey is a Muslim country.

Throughout the world, there are about 1.6 billion Muslims, and 35 countries practice some kind of Sharia law.

That means they are governed by people who abide by principles of Islam that are controversial to say the least.

In some places, you even can be stoned to death for committing a sin.

A study published by the Pew Research Center last year asked Muslims if they favor Sharia law.

In Afghanistan, 99% do.

Pakistan, 84%.

Iraq, 91%.

Egypt, 74%.

Jordan, 71%.

And even in Great Britain, a national opinion poll found that 78% of British Muslims believe people who criticize Mohammed should be prosecuted by civil authorities.

So you can see that millions of Muslims think their religion should dictate what happens in society.

Enter uber-liberals Bill Maher and Ben Affleck.

Mr. Maher is an anti-religionist.  He despises all organized religions, and makes no secret of that.

Mr. Affleck is a traditional liberal -- a fervent supporter of President Obama and of many left-wing causes.

Over the weekend, Mr. Maher, an author named Sam Harris, and Mr. Affleck debated Islam.

BILL MAHER, COMEDIAN: “All I’m saying is that liberal principals like freedom of speech, freedom to practice any religion you want without fear of violence, freedom to leave a religion, equality for women, equality for minorities, including homosexuals, these are liberal principles that liberals applaud for but then when you say in the Muslim world this is what's lacking, then they get upset.”

SAM HARRIS, AUTHOR: “Yeah, liberals have really failed on the topic of theocracy; they’ll criticize white theocracy, they’ll criticize Christians, they’ll still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happen in 1984, but when you want to talk about the treatment of women and homosexuals and free thinkers and public intellectuals in the Muslim world, I would argue that liberals have failed us.”

((EDIT))

BEN AFFLECK, ACTOR: “So hold on. Are you their person that understands the official codified doctrine of Islam?  You’re the interpreter of …”

HARRIS: “I’m actually well-educated on this topic.”

AFFLECK: “I’m asking you. So you’re saying that Islamophobia is not a real thing?  That if you’re critical of something… “

MAHER: “Well it’s not a real thing when we do it.”

AFFLECK: “Right.”

HARRIS: “I’m not denying that certain people are bigoted against Muslims as people.”

AFFLECK: “That’s big of you.”

MAHER (TO AFFLECK): “Why are you so hostile about this concept?”

AFFLECK: “Because it’s gross! It’s racist!”

MAHER: “It’s so not.”

AFFLECK: “It’s like saying ‘you shifty Jew.’”

MAHER: “You’re not listening to what we are saying.”

((EDIT))

HARRIS: “We have to be able to criticize bad ideas.”

AFFLECK: “Of course we do!”

HARRIS: “Islam at this moment is the mother lode of bad ideas.” 

AFFLECK: “Jesus Christ.”

MAHER: “That’s just a fact.”

AFFLECK: “It’s not a fact. It’s an ugly thing to say.”

Interesting how Mr. Affleck invokes the name of Jesus Christ.

Now, who is correct?

As far as condemning all Muslims, Mr. Affleck is on the side of the angels, pardon the pun.

As Talking Points stated last week, most Muslims are peaceful people even if they do believe in Sharia law.

That's a flaw in their thinking; it doesn't mean they are violent maniacs.

Also, like the Bible, there are violent passages in the Koran.  That doesn't mean much.  Interpretation of scripture is what separates a fair person from a hateful fanatic.

However, Mr. Maher is correct on the overall effect Islam is having on the world.

The truth is, many Muslim nations have not confronted Islamic terrorism, have not attacked violence in the name of Allah, and have not even condemned the jihad.

There are exceptions, but they are few.

Therefore militant Islam continues to drive worldwide terrorism and have plenty of sanctuaries from which to commit their evil.

Ben Affleck should well understand that he would be beheaded in a heartbeat by these ISIS animals, and that even though they are the most extreme element of the jihad, they are not that far away from their fanatical cousins.

You may remember that hours after America was attacked by al Qaeda on 9/11, thousands of Muslims celebrated in the streets.  They were happy that more than 3,000 innocent people were murdered.

Again, these people are a minority but they were not called out in an official way by Muslim nations.

The truth is that the Islamic jihad could not exist if not for Muslim nations turning away.

Turkey could crush ISIS, but it does nothing.

The Afghan people could turn against the Taliban.  They do not.

The Pakistani government harbored Osama bin Laden.

Those facts are something that Ben Affleck and others who agree with him should think about in any discussion about the overall effect Islam is having on the world.

Talking Points well understands that for centuries Muslims co-existed peacefully with other religions.

But now terrorism and the jihadists are again on the move, and most Muslim nations are not joining with the West to confront that.

Therefore criticism of Islam's role on the world stage is certainly valid.

The Muslim world needs to take a hard look at itself.

And that's the memo.