Take a moment for a thought experiment.

Suppose there was an ideology.

Not a religion, an ideology – like conservatism, or socialism, or communism. An “ism” that’s not a religion.

Just suppose.

Suppose the adherents of that ideology wanted you dead.

Suppose the adherents of that ideology wanted to destroy everything you know, everything you love, everything you think of when you hear the phrase “Western Civilization.”

Suppose the adherents of that ideology were instructed by their leaders to spread that ideology by any means necessary. Meaning violence, up to and including wanton mass murder of civilians.

Suppose the adherents of that ideology believed:

• Homosexuals and transsexuals should be executed.
• Women should be punished for the crime of being raped.
• The word of a woman is worth half that of a man in a court of law.
• Western culture, including pluralism, tolerance, freedom of expression, the rule of law, etc. is an abomination.
• Men can beat their wives for such transgressions as refusing sex or leaving the house without permission.
• Men can divorce their wives by saying three times “I divorce you.”
• Women should not be permitted to drive.
• Girls’ genitals should be mutilated to ensure that as adults they do not experience sexual pleasure.
• Anyone who strays from the ideology should be put to death.
• Anyone who disagrees with the ideology is inferior and should be subjugated, and subject to harassment, extra taxes, and other punishments.
• The teachings of the ideology take precedence over the United States Constitution and federal code.

Suppose that adherents of that ideology were responsible for 99% of terrorist attacks worldwide, including some 27,000 documented terror attacks since 9/11, 169 just last month.

Suppose that thousands of adherents of that ideology wanted to enter your country – perhaps someday live in your neighborhood. Suppose they hail from war-torn countries with no reliable sources of population data, and yet your government assures you that it will screen out the ones that might engage in violence.

Not a religion, mind you, but an ideology.

How many adherents of that ideology should we take?