The West & Islam – Perfect Match?
The West and Islam have been dating for years now. It has been one of those extended courtships. Rather surprising considering Europe’s historical conflicts with Islam. But then I suppose the world has all grown up since those dark years.
Parental European leaders have been telling their kids that it’s all good now. Despite the odd rough patches, most Europeans have seemingly welcomed the courtship. They’ve helped out with the impending nuptials by affirming the religion of peace.
However, there has been growing discontent among some siblings.
I became aware of the changing face of Europe back in the 80s and 90s. We’d sent our mother back to visit Italy on several occasions. Around the same time other relatives had also made first visits since migrating away in the 50s, and noticed how Italy was changing.
They were philosophical about the increasing presence of Northern Africans in key cities. After all, we were migrants once. My parents, uncle and aunts and their friends left Europe after the ravages of the WWII. We were also adding to the features of our host nation. Not all of its citizens were thrilled about it.
I grew up in a neighborhood mixed with Australian and European families. There were rough patches but we integrated well. Similarly with the post-Vietnam war influx of Asian migrants – there were initial and inevitable examples of racism. Yet Asian migrants quickly assimilated with the Australian culture.
The integration of Muslims into Australia is portrayed as seamless. That isn’t the case. There have been terrorist threat arrests; there are consistent demands of the Australian culture to accommodate Islamic needs and there is constant political lobbying to allow Sharia Law.
I can hear outcries of indignation shouting “prejudice” and “racism.” Note that there’s a distinction between ethnicity and the “religion of peace.” A Muslim may be any ethnicity. Islam is also more than a religion – it’s a way of life. Moreover, as scholar Mark Durie notes, the reference to Islam as a “religion of peace” is a 20th century construct.
As for prejudice, it’s true that not all Muslims are terrorists. Most are moderates who aren’t planning to blow you up. But how do many moderate Muslims see the West? Gatestone Institute recently cited a troubling survey conducted in the United Kingdom:
The 615-page survey found that more than 100,000 British Muslims sympathize with suicide bombers and people who commit other terrorist acts. Moreover, only one in three British Muslims (34%) would contact the police if they believed that somebody close to them had become involved with jihadists.
Some take-home points were that:
88% of Muslims felt Britain was a good place to live because they could do whatever they wanted; 23% want Sharia law to replace British law in high-density Muslim areas; only 34% would contact police if they thought somebody close was involved in jihad; 52% said homosexuality should be illegal; nearly all said it was unacceptable for gays and lesbians to teach their children; 31% favored polygamy while 34% of the 18-24 age group thought it acceptable to have more than one wife.
Former head of Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, warned:
There is a life-and-death struggle for the soul of British Islam – and this is not a battle that the rest of us can afford to sit out. We need to take sides.
It’s ironical that European leaders would find these views as antithetical to their own modern principles. Yet they continue to affirm that Islam dovetails with Western values. Radical behavior is excused by a number of “grievances” – one of which (of course) is Israel. As Guy Millière explains:
Hoping to please followers of radical Islam and show them Europe could understand their “grievances,” they placed pressure on Israel. When Europeans were attacked, they did not understand why. They had done their best to please the Muslims. They had not even harassed the jihadists.
Perhaps the disease of political correctness has infected the logic centers of their brains. Look at how Islam treats its women and minority groups (e.g., Christians) in the nations which Muslims have migrated from. This is the culture which you’re importing.
Can Westerners really expect these Muslims to change their “way of life” and assimilate into what they see as an essentially degenerate Western society? European leaders may well affirm Islam, but the feeling isn’t mutual!
Deep-seated prejudice prevents these people from recognizing the dynamic of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. They’ve swallowed the lie, such that the revel of the slaughter of Jewish civilians by proponents of the religion of peace is understandable in context of Israeli occupation.
There is another dark side to this story. It is the willingness of Muslim leaders to sacrifice their own people in order to achieve their goals. We’ve already seen this play out in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Though I don’t agree on all points, I commend David Goldman’s (aka Spengler) article: To be kind is to be cruel, to be cruel is to be kind.
Goldman relates a recent incident where refugees in international waters dangled infants over the side of the ship. They were said to be heading for Britain. They only calmed down after having been assured they wouldn’t be turned away from Italy. He also cites Erdogan’s attempt at extortion. Addressing European leaders, Erdogan said:
We can open the doors to Greece and Bulgaria anytime and we can put the refugees on buses, What will you do with the refugees if you don’t get a deal? Kill the refugees? the EU will be confronted with more than a dead boy on the shores of Turkey. There will be 10,000 or 15,000. How will you deal with that?
Again, according to Goldman:
The leader of a prominent Muslim country who claims to speak for the Muslim world threatened the Europeans with 10,000 or 15,000 Muslim deaths. When in world history has one side in negotiations threaten (sic) to kill its own people in order to gain leverage?
I learned several things in my stint as a market analyst. One them was the existence of corrective dynamics in trends. How many European women will accommodate a Sharia law district by veiling up? And how will Europe respond to increasing female genital mutilation? The incursion of Islamic demands, the rapes (see Sweden especially) and the terrorism will inevitably create dissension as it gradually affects more people.
Are Islam and the West a perfect match? Not unless the West converts. I wonder how many westerners would take to that. I believe Islam is a catalyst for some sort of correction, and it’s already on the way.
The question is: what form will it take?
Further reading:
ISIS or Islam: Which Breeds Terrorism?
Germany ‘Annexing’ Dutch Military As Secretive EU Army Begins To Take Shape
The Muslim Will vs. the Western Way
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