Editor, Gazette-Journal:

In November of 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was brutally murdered for the crime of offending Islam by making a film critical of Islam. Recently, our embassy in Libya was raided and our ambassador murdered, ostensibly because an American filmmaker made the grievous error of offending Islam.

The rush to apologize was remarkable in its condemnation of the "offensive" film. The trailer that I viewed of "The Innocence of Muslims" was amateurish and humorous in its melodramatic portrayal. However, no matter its amateurish character or its offensiveness, it is totally in keeping with our First Amendment. No apology is necessary or required.

The eternally aggrieved Muslims are expressing the true tenets of the theology of Islam. That theology is but a doctrine for domination. America should study the history of Islam—its current, recent past, as well as its ancient origins—to disclose its true nature. Islam becomes visible in its true nature when it advocates, as Allah says it must, Islamic holy law on the whole of society, including non-Muslims. As one of our early presidents noted:

"The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Mahomet is the Prophet of God." —John Quincy Adams

Please recall that Jefferson found it necessary to retaliate against the forces of Islam when the Barbary pirates began to seize our ships and demand tribute.

The current refrain that Islam is a religion of peace is without a foundation in the historical context. It is neither a religion and certainly not peaceful. It is a tyranny and a threat to the peace and stability of the world. We must recognize Islam for its true doctrine—domination and submission.

Andrew Maggard

Port Haywood, Va.