Never Forget: bin Laden was a Product of Religion

I rarely celebrate anyone's death, but today I'll make an exception. Osama bin Laden was a terrible person. He was the ultimate vandal, destroying everything around him purely for his own ego gratification and the joy of destruction. I don't believe for a moment that bin Laden believed his own propaganda about jihad and Islam. He was nothing more than a sick, murderous sociopath, and religion was nothing more than an excuse.

So today I'll make an exception and join America and the world in celebrating the death of this evil man. Congratulations to the Navy Seals who did an incredible job carrying out their mission. Congratulations to our intelligence professionals who found bin Laden and made the mission possible. And congratulations to the President and his generals, who showed restraint and wisdom. Their leadership ensured that the appropriate amount of force was used and that no civilians were killed.

But as we dance in the streets and celebrate, let's not lose sight of the real problem: religion-fueled terrorism. Osama bin Laden may be dead, but the religions that allowed him to justify his crimes are still alive and well.

Without religion, there would have been no suicide bombers, lured by the promise of martyrdom. Without religion, there would have been no young men volunteering to be bin Laden's soldiers. Without religion, bin Laden's televised rants would have fallen on deaf ears throughout the Arab world. And without religion, there wouldn't have been any volunteers willing to fly airplanes into skyscrapers.

Without religion, Osama bin Laden would have been seen by everyone, Arab and non-Arab alike, as a simple madman. He would have been captured like a sick animal and locked away forever. Without religion, you wouldn't even know his name.