“Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.”

Since the dreadful attacks in Brussels, there’s been a barrage of pundits and political figures throughout the western world suggesting that perhaps it’s time to declare societal war with Islam.

Some are labelling the Brussels attacks — so close to the Paris attacks of 2015 — a turning point in the relationship between the West and Islam; that this ghastly tragedy marks a now clear-cut “clash of civilizations.”

The German Foreign Minister declared that these attacks “aim at the heart of Europe”, while French Prime Minister Manuel Valls — after a crisis meeting called by the French president following the Brussels attack — has gone as far as saying “we are at war,” and that “we have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war.”

Some are now calling for a re-examination of not only how Islam and Muslims are perceived in western countries, but even how they ought to be treated by Western governments.

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