Bud: The West will not be blackmailed into silence

This should have been posted yesterday. Sorry, Bud. NJC


The tag-team demonstrations against the cartoons continues unabated. Just this week, it was Libya's turn to try to burn down an embassy--Italy's this time. Irony must be absent in the Islamic world if they can't see the vast contradiction of violence used to defend Islam's supposed peacefulness. It is amusing to see how the demonstrations have managed to shift away from offending newspapers to include anti-semitism, anti-Christianity, and invariably, anti- Americanism. In Nigeria there have been 11 churches burnt down and over 50 Christians killed. These victims couldn't have picked out Denamark on a map, yet they were fodder for the homocidal rages of their Muslim neighbours.

But of course, these "spontaneous" street riots are highly orchestrated by dictatorial governments and Islamic extremists. During the burning of the Danish Embassy in Beirut, almost a third of the people arrested were Syrians. Hezbollah supporters made up the greater part of the rest. The worst part of this is how easily these friends of al-Qaeda can whip the people into a frenzy. There is frightening mindlessness underlying this rage. Despite our largesse with aid to these failed states, they still hate the West for their plight. God, forbid they should take any responsibility for this state of affairs. There is so little logic behind these continuing riots that any dialogue mid-point position seems impossible.

Unfortunately, these hysterical demonstrations only highlight the intrinsic danger of a religion that is supremist in theology. The murderous attacks on Christians stretches around the globe --from Indonesia, to Iraq, to Pakistan. Saudi Arabia doesn't even allow infidels to visit Mecca. Can you image the universal outrage Muslims would feel if they were told they were forbidden to visit The Vatican or Westminister Abbey? The Muslim world is very adroit at wanting to have their cake and eat it too. Robert Fulford had it right in his National Post column (Sat. Feb. 18) when he flatly stated that he has no respect for Islam. To begin with, its treatment of women offends him as a humanist. That is not his only complaint. He is simply echoing what the majority of Canadians feel, but most Canadians have been silenced by political correctness (and the cult of multicult) from expressing it. Well, the liberal elites who champion multiculturalism and every homosexual demand should consider that there are no gay parades in Islamic countries. Persecution, torture and death are the fate of most gays there. Fulford cannot abide the hypocrisy inherent in Islam. When the Jews won the war of 1948, the Islamic countries retaliated by expelling hundreds of thousands of native-born Jews. Israel took them in. That was not the case with the Palestinians. Jordan, which did allow Arafat and his PLO to settle in their country in the early 70's, had to use the army to drive them into Lebanon after they tried to take over the country.

I don't want to turn this into a book, so will not go into the vast intolerance that is at the heart of many Islamic societies. However, there is one recent story that illustrates this. A Muslim cleric has raised a million dollar reward for anyone who kills the Danish cartoonist, who created the "blasphemous" cartoons. His rationale was that if America can put a reward on Osama's head, why not an Islamic reward on a cartoonist's as well. The equation between a mass murderer of innocents world-wide and a cartoonist basically says it all. Any rabbi, minister, or priest who propose assassination for any reason would be immediately defrocked. But this cleric is probably worshipped for his "principled" stand. The face of our cultural enemy has been nakedly exposed; yet that twisted logic behind the cleric's threat is not even acknowledged by many Muslims. It might be wise for Muslims to remember that their own religion (and Christianity's) was prrceived to be blasphemous to the earlier religions.

The West is finally awaking to the threat of radical Islam, which reaches deep into the giant pool of immigrants in the West. The polls--taken after the London tube bombings--showing the disgust that Muslim-Britons hold for their adopted country, could be reproduced in most Western countries. The mindless arson in France spoke more forcefully that even a poll could do. The unstated, but implicit aim of Islam is to deter through fear any criticism of its beliefs. Condemning the wretched state of women in their countries is blasphemy. Ditto, oppression of homosexuals and almost any belief that contradicts the state's official brand of Islam. Their lack of condemnation of the situation in Darfur (Hey, they're only blacks) shows their commitment to universal brotherhood and peace. In fact, everytime the UN tries to criticize a Muslim atrocity, the other thugocracies stand shoulder to shoulder with the "Arab League" to oppose the resolution. If Islam really is a religion of peace and brotherhood, why hasn't the Arab League agreed to send their troops to defend the people of Darfur? Those who live in glass houses .... Mohammed's followers spread their faith by the sword in the past; now they are doing it again through global intimidation and terrorism.

Despite the bloodshed and arson, the Islamic world has done the West a favour. The same insane rhetoric seen on the "Arab street" is festering in a muted form among some in our societies. Now we can see it clearly and the backlash has begun.

What the demonstraters don't realize is that their chances of emigrating to Europe will be severely limited. Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, and even England have introduced laws (some draconian) making Muslim immigration much more difficult. Read Lawrence Solomon's article in The National Post (Friday, Feb. 17, 06, FP19) for some of the steps European nations are taking. The sub-heading says it succinctly: "Muslim immigrants will be expelled from Europe unless they reverse the growing perception of them as a social threat." North America may be forced to shut the door too. Caught out will be the the true moderate Muslims, who are planning to flee their increasingly retrograde states. Also, in some cases, the Western aid handouts which prop up many of these Islamic regimes will be reduced and tourism revenues--well, forget about it. It is time for them to step back and realize their actions present the mailed fist of fanatical intolerance. We defeated that ideology in WW11. It was an enormous sacrifice, but one that was necessary to our democratic way of life. We will do that again, if necessary.

Just what mindset I'm talking about here is summed up by Mark Steyn, who said, "You talk to some Muslims, and in the same breath, they claim Jews were behind the Sept. 11 massacre, yet it was also a great victory for Islam."

© Bud Talkinghorn