But the problem in the global understanding of terrorism and the Islamic State, he said, is a basic misunderstanding of how they relate to Islam.

"I'm going to refer to two words that sound very similar, but have profoundly different meanings," he said. "Islam is a religion ... Islamism is an ideology. It's a violent, repressive ideology, under which Osama bin Laden said in 1998 that it's the duty of every Muslim wherever they may be to kill every American they can find.

"That's not Islam. It's this horrible ideology called Islamism."

One student spoke up, asking if IS is to Islam what groups like the Ku Klux Klan are to Christianity.

"That's a very good point," Johnson said. "The answer is in the case of Islam ... this version of Islam can be found in some of the writings and sayings. It's a perversion, it's illegitimate, but if you're a Muslim, and you take the profession of faith ... you become a Muslim.

"That means unless you renounce that profession, you are a Muslim. And so as grotesque, as vicious, as violent ... yes, they are part of Islam, much like the Ku Klux Klan considered themselves to be Christian."

So, he told the crowd, this is your world.

"Stay active, stay engaged, stay informed," he said. "Apathy and indifference kill more than malice and evil."

You must be logged in to react.

Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0