Slate.com and Newsweek Supreme Court correspondent, Dahlia Lithwick, spoke about Islam and the war on terrorism.

According to Traciel Reid, public and international affairs associate professor, this is the fifth year of the speaking series.

“The focus mainly was on the policies of U.S. government on the global war on terrorism. Issues about the effects of Islam on the U.S. society were also discussed,” Reid said.

The talk was based mainly on the legal aspects of the issues like how the United States courts work, what is the government’s policy on global war on terrorism and the impact of Islam on the American society.

“It seems that the justice department does not know what to do about these terrorists like the 9/11 masterminds, the time square bomber and many others,” Lithwick said.

According to Lithwick, America is facing the problem of terrorism right from 1980s.

“How can it be that post 9/11, we are more afraid of terror. Rather than American values driving the laws of this country, shifts in law and its policies have let us to doubt our fundamental system of American values,” Lithwick said.

Lithwick calls the effect of terrorism on American mind set as ‘Terrorism Derangement Syndrome’.

Lithwick said, “We are more afraid today than we ever were before 9/11. Today, they [terrorists] are categorized as those who can be tried in civilian courts and those which ‘need’ to be tried in military courts.”

According to Lithwick, fighting war on terror is not at all easy. It is something that the President inherits.

“The difference between radical and peaceful islamists has gone from the minds of Americans. Freedom of worship seems to have been suspended altogether,” Lithwick said.