Bat Ye’or Speaks in Toronto

Bat Ye’or is one of the best-known counterjihad writers in the world. She has gained a place in history with her writings about the history of Islamic aggression against non-Muslims, for her studies of the condition known as dhimmitude, and for coining the term “Eurabia” for a Europe in thrall to its Third-World Muslim immigrants.

Niall Ferguson has written that “[n]o writer has done more than Bat Ye’or to draw attention to the menacing character of Islamic extremism. Future historians will one day regard her coinage of the term ‘Eurabia’ as prophetic. Those who wish to live in a free society must be eternally vigilant. Bat Ye’or’s vigilance is unrivalled.”

Yesterday she spoke at an event sponsored by the Fraser Institute at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. The Flygirls of Vigilant Freedom were present with a video camera, and last night they transcribed the recording. The video itself will eventually be posted online, and I’ll let you know as soon as it is available.

The Flygirls had trouble hearing certain words on the audio track, and those have been marked in the transcription below with [square brackets]. I took it upon myself to fill in some of the lacunae with my best guesses, but most of them I left as the Flygirls sent them. I have not done a close proofreading of the text, so if you find any typos or other obvious errors, please let me know and I will make changes.

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Address by Bat Ye’or
The Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto
June 29th, 2007

Ladies and gentlemen I would first like to thank the Fraser Institute for having invited me to this very important conference and that it is very important issues which are very topical for our time. I have to congratulate the Institute and the speakers for the clarity of their speech that were pronounced and the acute examination of problems of today, current problems. Coming from Europe, I must say that I am full of admiration because such a conference would have never taken place in Europe. Maybe in Italy, maybe, but with such topical discussion, so much frankness and sincerity and also objectivity is really remarkable. So my thanks to the institute for having invited met to participate in this very important conference.

I have learned much from the distinguished speakers who exposed their policies to prevent the immigration of terrorism of its development into Canada. This problem emerged from two modern phenomena: mass immigration and global Jihadism linked to petrodollars. However, there is no reason to see that all immigration are impact to terrorism, especially if the immigrants share the democratic values of their host countries. Immigration is identical for western democracies, values and of the host countries. If this immigration is linked to global Jihadist ideology, if it is culturally and religiously hostile to western values to secularism, if it refuses integrations and aims at replacing the western Judeo-Christian culture and secular political institutions by a Sharia Jihadist system.

Terrorism must be seen as the ultimate attack on the human being, on human rights and freedom, as a modern expression of physical and intellectual misstatement. I want to take this opportunity to express my deep admiration and sympathy for all victims of terror, whatever their religion and who are persecuted because of their resistance to tyranny.

And this situation is not limited to dictatorships but it exists also in Europe where intellectuals, professors and journalists are threatened and have to hide or have to be guarded just for having exercised their constitutional rights. Terrorism is the means used by foreign forces to dominate and control other countries therefore for instance, using their leaders as puppets. This [lattel] if they submit maintain the functional appearance of independence and democracy while in effect, the whole system is corrupted and can [camp] suddenly giving way to civil war.

For historical geographical strategic reasons, the situation in Europe is different from that in America, but from what I heard since yesterday, I found striking similarities between the situation in Canada and in Europe. In fact, the situation we see, we are living now in Europe, is the result of the decisions that have been taken in the 1960s and 1970s and of the pressure Europe then surrendered to the terrorists’ threat following two events:

Palestinian international terrorism in Europe from the start, from the start 1968 and economic terrorism with Arab oil count in October 1973 against European countries friendly to Israel. The then 9 countries of the European unity accepted the conditions to the PLO and Arab league and these were: European recognition of and legitimization of Arafat, support for the PLO and the adoption of the anti-Israeli and anti-American poise. The political agreement went together with economic and cultural collaboration with our countries and the PLO and the new immigration policy whose consequences we are seeing now.
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This framework set up between the European countries, the European commission and the Arab league states with the PLO was institutionalized in the Euro-Arab dialogue from 1974 and 1975. From this moment, started politically, economically and culturally, the Palestinization of Europe. This means that terror was no longer a crime but a worthy and glorious act performed by Palestinians heroes against two evils: Israel and America.

With Nazism creeping back, Europe became the greatest supporter of Palestinian Jihadist terrorism against Israel. Such development and power to the European ends of Nazism and communism, linked to the Arab states by the common Judeo-phobia and anti- Americanism all by economic links and interests. The dialogue framework was at largest in 1995 by the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, the so-called Barcelona process, which created the largest structure including this [  ] in Israel. This structure is a partnership which encompasses numerous economic, financial and legal instruments. These two processes, the dialogue and the partnership encompass massive immigration into European community, which became in 1993, the European Union. Such immigration was then considered the most important component of the European common strategy for security and defense in the Mediterranean and became for this reason, a double subject. It was forbidden to speak about the problems of immigration by the media and by the political [  ].

We see therefore, because of Palestinian terrorism, the European community had feared its common defense strategy in the Mediterranean on its alliance with a Jihadist terrorist organization, the PLO, rather than relying on an independent military force, like America has done. This choice and this policy led to a new theory of peace management: the theory of multi-lateralism and international governance based on the appeasement of terrorist gangs which compromises rules and regulations mutually accepted by the state and on building an economic interdependency.

In this view, the Europe-Mediterranean partnership establishes linkages and networks between the civil societies and the NTO’s of the two shores of the Mediterranean. It created common functional synergies and solidarities between Europe and Arab worlds and develops common deceptions and cultural partnerships at all levels and this is the reason of the British boycott of the British [  ] against Israel because of these linkages, and it also encompasses Muslim immigration in Europe. This policy is detailed in several EU documents. I mention that in my book.

This structure that links several areas: politics, economics, culture, security; all that together with immigration, was implemented at the highest level of the EU and it engendered a proliferation of networks that are the very count for anti-Israel and anti-American policies and also for Judeophobia in Europe and anti-western activism, and as well as [promas (14:02)] propaganda, the denial of terrorism and of Jihadism and for support for immigration.

Such policy of close alliances with Arab league states and PLO induced European leaders to deny Jihadism and terrorism, hence terrorism, is a Jihadist tactic, which is well-explained in the little book of Jihad, which dated from the 8th century- Jihadism is attributed to America and Israel like in the Arab and Muslim world.

Note that the EU, the European Union considered seriously a problem of border controls and for these reasons mainly: Europe has no borders. It is seen like the EU technocrat as a system of continual expansion, expanding into Africa and Asia, hence, the idea of controlling borders is irrelevant in this case.

As for immigration, we have seen that it was welcomed within the legion of a new political and cultural order: a Mediterranean society whereby the mixing of religions, multiculturalism, will allow the emergence of a new Islamic and tolerant society. This could be achieved only by multiculturalism and the destruction of local European nationalism and in order to allow [incut] to integrate into a plural society. In fact, the European Union was planning and is planning the death of the European nations - this is in the policy of European integration. And in order to replace the European nations by a Mediterranean construct — what I have called Eurabia — because multilateralism/ multiculturalism is limited to Europe since the Arab countries and Turkey moved over to exclusive Muslim societies. After a decade of this policy, you can see that Europe’s policy to protect itself from Jihadic terrorism in the 1970s by expulsing the terrorist Jihad against Israel, has in fact led to its cultural Islamization, to a [  ] of the Arab world and to a negation of its Judeo-Christian identity.

At the same time, Europe has become the fanatical champion of Palestinianism, supporting it by a vicious political and cultural war against Israel. Hence we can see that Palestinian terrorism has succeeded to transport Europe into a dhimmi-subdued continent. It has impacted on its home policy by opening the gates to immigration and on its foreign policy, changing its relation from friendly to hostile toward Israel and America. And this could only be achieved thanks to powerful European collusions and collaborations. But now the developments of indigenous terrorist sects in Europe, general security, the reconstitution of [Sharia Dait] society among millions of migrants (although many are very well-integrated into Europe) and the [hospitalization] of the mother countries, which are the main sources of immigration into the West, has let strong European anti-immigration and requests for immigrants to integrate to European society. However, such policies are considered by the powerful organization of the Islamic conference as racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic hence, Doudou Diene, the UN special reporter on racism, xenophobia and related intolerance of the human rights council Geneva links immigration controls, security measures and European cultural and national revivals to Islamophobia.

In a recent report of January 12th, 2007, he says that racism and xenophobia “most often take the form of legislation and policies that approach immigration and asylum issues solely from a security point of view and criminalize immigrants and asylum seekers.” He deploys the growing emphasis of rhetoric based on “defense of national identity”, which promotes the defense of identity vis-à-vis immigration. Diene declares that “questions relating to the place of foreigners in society, immigration and asylum are treated increasingly on the basis of two criteria: the security imparity and the defense of national identity.” He condemns as Islamophobic “the purely security-based approach to the inspection and surveillance of places of worship and culture and even the teaching of Islam and thereby, in the resurgence of policies and the adoption of legislative, administrative and police measures, that stigmatize or criminalize national or foreign minorities of the Muslim faith as demonstrated by the increase in the number of Imams who have been deported. Lastly, the rejection of diversity and multiculturalism is manifested by the creation of obstacles to the construction of mosques and by intolerance and repression of Islamic cultural expressions and symbols and attire and therefore is very visible.” He also condemns “the selective profiling in airport stations and at borders of people with alleged Islamic appearance, whether physical or because of their clothing”.

These accusations are, of course extremely serious because they deny to Europeans their own human rights to security and at the pretext of Islamophobia, while in fact, security for the human being is a basic and primal right that comes before for the rights of immigrants. In the same spirit, the sovereign, national and cultural rights of Western societies are denied in order to promote those Muslims to immigrate into these societies with their own traditional rules, languages and customs. We see therefore, that the institute of terrorism and immigration touches in some ways, the Jihadic principle of the right of Muslims to immigrate in the [  (23:50)] the land of war of the infidels, to Islamize it and that this right has primacy over the rights of the infidels for security and that national or cultural rights, which are anyway not recognized. Doudou Diene requests Europe to accept (and this is repeated constantly in his report), that it is multicultural if Europeans should renounce their own culture and own patrimony in order to accommodate Muslim immigrants. He calls their refusal Islamophobia.

Let us remember that the regulations concerning immigrants were conceived in the 1960s in a totally different global context than today and I think this was said by Salim [Asur] yesterday. Then, immigrant movement represented smaller numbers and there were not the repeated ways of millions of today and people could easily integrate into the host societies. But now, immigration movement has changed and gotten massive and moreover, this occurs in a situation of global war because Jihad is a war, and it obeys theological rules and not to international continents, hence international jurists have to examine how to adjust the viewed rights and regulations to a current situation of Jihadic war against the West.

This last aspect does not appear in Mr. Diene’s report. As a conclusion, I will add one remark: the position of Doudou Diene resembles that of Europe against Israel, in relation to its concern over the security of citizens and their sovereign rights. In their constant condemnation of Israel, European officials totally overlooked the reality of terrorism and sanctioned Israel as if protecting innocence or being killed, [  ] was wrong. Now the West, in particular Europe, will have to fight to impose the recognition of the rights it has denied to Israel, mainly the right to security against Jihadist terrorists and the recognition of full respect for the Western sovereign national and cultural rights. Thank you.

Question and Answer Session

Q:		Thank you very much, I’ll just remind people again: if you write questions down, we’ll gather them up. I’d like to ask a question which follows on your last remarks about sovereignty: Is what we’re seeing in Europe somewhat of a battle over sovereignty between perhaps, the people on one side, state on another and an immigrant community that is not well integrated. Somehow, is there a conflict over authority and who is the final authority in Europe in these nations’ states?
A:		Yes, there are many battles which are fought now in Europe and I am afraid that this can take some time. This might take bloody aspects because of the censorship that was imposed on a very serious problem linked to terrorism and immigration. So, the battle is between so many different forces and it is in so many areas - it is the battle for the recognition of the security rights of Europeans but also the cultural rights and the universities, for instance. There have been for years a cultural Jihad which has Islamized the universities and also the media and this has been done thanks to the approval of the government because this policy was all organized and in collaboration with the Arab states by the European government. So there is, as you have said, an opposition against immigrations, an opposition also and a battle against the customs of Sharia [  ] (29:46)] relations that are developing in European society by the immigrants and also an opposition to the policy of the government and to the EU. Because what we see now, is a result of the EU, the European Union policy. It was a policy which has total lack of transparency. The European people know what was going on and suddenly they are faced with a situation which is very critical and so there are many movements in Europe which demand the abolition of the EU.
Q:		I have several questions about the new president of France, Sarkozy, saying that he’s pro-American and more friendly to Israel than his predecessor and essentially asking about a) the role of France and the development of current policies and b) whether things going to change now under new leadership?
A:		Yes, this is right about Sarkozy being pro-American and we have to be happy about that and I think also closer to Israel which means not so much closer to Israel but at least not so partial, so anti-Israeli as his predecessors. And what he will do, it is difficult to say how he will manage the terrible situation we have now in Europe because the European countries have lost so much of their sovereignty and this is what Blair fought against in order to maintain some sovereignty. So, so much has been destroyed by the European Union construct and whatever the policy of France will be, it will have to adjust to the regulations of the European Union and therefore, to the regulations of the 27 countries. Now the European countries are no more free to act independently.
		But certainly there is a greatest awareness in Europe. This is thanks to America, I must say, about all these problems and I hope also of Canada because the discussions of the terrorism issue and the decline of Europe in American newspaper have pushed Europeans to react and to speak about those problems. So, I think that if we all engage in those discussions it will be profitable for all of us.
Q:		I have a question and I’m going to add a bit to it: It says if the Israel-Palestinian conflict is resolved, will Europe change its policy towards the Arab region and I want to add to that - do you think the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be resolved?
A:		Well the Israeli- Arab conflict is a part of a wider conflict which is the Jihadist conflict against the non-Muslim countries and the Arab-Israeli conflict has taken such poignancy/prominence because also, it was seen by the Arab league and Arab countries as a way to play on European anti-Semitism in order to bring an alliance with the Arab countries and by this way, to infiltrate into Europe and impact on its policy. But even if this conflict will be resolved, I don’t think that this will bring an end to the problem. I think the problem is for the Muslims to abandon the Jihadist ideology which is an ideology, and to recognize that this has been set up and explained in books, little books, theological books in Muslim jurisdictions from the 8th century, however nevertheless, we are now in the 21st century and we have to share together this planet and we have to establish good relations between all types of people in all religions and start to abandon the Jihadist view which wants to implement one religion, Islam, all over the planet. And I think this is our duty to do it, to work out that with our Muslim friends because our Muslim friends who speaks like [  (35:43)] so many other which I know very well, very courageous, they are part of our battle and they’re conducted with even more courage than us because they are threatened more than us. And it is a battle that we can all win, I hope so, because we can all win if we are frank, if we have the courage to expose the problems as they are.
Q:		I have a more critical question for you saying that terrorism in Europe has a long tradition which predates the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and so on. The European Union has succeeded in preventing another Franco-German war. This writer says that Europe is more resilient than you fear and less Judeo-phobic than you claim. Don’t you think that you’re over-dramatizing the situation?
A:		Well, first of all, yes, that’s true that it is a tradition of terrorism in Europe before the PLO. We have the [  ], we have the [  ] movement, we have the Irish terrorism so that’s true, however, those terrorisms are linked to local situations and they are not theological-inspired terrorism. While Jihadism is linked to a global Jihad and also to a theological interpretation of sacred Muslim text and we have to be very frank with this fact because if we hide it, we are only harming ourselves. We are trying to ignore the threat that will suppress us, so the other remark is if I exaggerate. Well, I will say that me personally, I live in a small place and I am not very social. I don’t know European anti-Semites, I have not met them. I think that European anti-Semitism was created by the European states. It is a culture that has been imposed over the European people in order to develop this anti-Israeli cultural and political war. And this is mentioned in European text, that the Arab world has to acknowledge the cultural and political European efforts, support to the PLO as a strong asset for their cause because Europe could not send soldiers to kill and to destroy Israel after the Holocaust but they had established a whole network of hate, a global and world network of hate against Israel and the same can be said against America and this is because of the network and the alliance with the Arab and Muslim world because this in fact, is the guarantee of security of Europe. Europe has built its security system on the hate of Israel, on the hate of America and with the alliance with Arab and Jihadist movements and Palestinian movements.
Q:		You talked about multiculturalism in Europe and critics of multiculturalism of being accused of Islamophobia. How do you defend your own views if one was to say that your views are Islamophobic.
A:		Well I will say that when I go for instance to India, I enjoy seeing the culture, the Indian culture in India. I think it is very good, very nice, very colorful. And I am very grateful to the Indians or to the Buddhists to have added their own culture to the world culture. In the same way, I am very happy to see European culture. I don’t think that European culture should disappear and I think that when Indians come and ask to live in Europe, they have to be grateful to the state that welcomes them and they have to respect the culture of this country. And I spoke about the Indians, the Indians are doing that without any problems, but the problems come from other populations - mainly Muslim populations but not all, who have in their historical traditions and their religious text also the tradition of fighting Jews and Christians. And to also, refusing to have contacts or to link with Jews and Christians as friends, so there it is a difficulty. This is in Koranic verses so there are two or three Koranic verses that say: don’t become friends to Jews and Christians - make friends with your own.
		So we have to know that there are these aspects in the Muslim religious texts which don’t exist for reasons in Hindu or Buddhist or other religions. So there is a difficulty there for integration. On the other hand also, we have to know (sorry for being a little long), that Islamic civilization was created by Jihad; that means by the conquest of Christians’ land, in Asia it was Buddhist and Hindu land but the Christian land that Muslims took over were from Hungary to Sudan to [Nukia (43:12)], which were Christian from Portugal till Iraq. And all over this enormous territory, over three continents, there were Christian populations living there with Jews. So when those lands were conquered by Jihadist army, the Muslim theologians and [jurid  ] established special regulations concerning Jews and Christians. Those regulations were oppressive; they recognized them the right to live as non-Muslim but on the condition that they would be humiliated and totally inferior to Muslims. So there is this tradition in the Islamic history and we have to take this into account and we must, in order to establish friendly relations with Muslim, discuss about these problems. It is extremely important; otherwise we will not be able to eliminate the problems between us.
Q:		I have a question about two other European leaders. Your views of Merkel in Germany and Brown in the UK regarding this issue.
A:		Well, Angela Merkel is, of course, a very admirable woman and she had succeeded in many things and especially I am happy with what she has done: she has abandoned the anti-American policy of the [  ] government and she also has adopted a more pro-Israeli stance. It is true that Germany has always had, since the Second World War, very good relations with Israel, has helped Israel, and has established friendly relations with Israel, and that is true. I think Merkel has emphasized this aspect but it is also good that she wants to see the current issue now of global Jihad. We didn’t allow a western alliance harder than having each Western country fighting against each other, which is of course [  enemies ??].
		Now about Brown, whether he just took over I think yesterday, it is too early to speak. But unfortunately, the timing here of plan of the Blair regime has been dreadful for the future of England because now England is in such a state and we saw this morning this kind of terrorism that I don’t know what he can to do in this situation. It is a situation in England which is the same for instance in France or in other countries: Belgium, Holland, Sweden. It is a very difficult situation because if we try to stop immigration, there will be certainly terrorist reprisals. If we try to do what you have said here, what Canada should do- if we try to do it in Europe it will be extremely difficult and we have to expect a period of terrorism.
Q:		I think we have time for one more question: What are the implications if any, for European development in Canada?
A:		It is very important because Europe is very important to Canada. If Europe becomes more and more Islamized — this is a process that I have examined in my book: the decline of recent Christianity, and I examine all the processes of Islamization of Christian civilization in society and this has allowed me to recognize that now I have seen that under my eyes developing - so if Europe is going on this path, it will have negative effects for Canada because it won’t be an ally to Canada. It will become an enemy to Canada, like it has become an enemy to America. I mean, when you read the book of Chris Patton, the European Commissioner for Foreign Relations of the last commission, he always writes in his book nasty things about America and he says if only Blair could impact and change the policy of America and since Europe has signed the litigation to America, in order to change the policy of America and to bring it to alliance of European-Arab position. And this of course, is a dhimmi-position, is a surrender position and this I’m afraid, can be done also to Canada, especially if Canada changes policy. According to Fraser Institute, there will be some grassroots works on those problems. Now about Canada, I must say that when I was reading the documents on the Euro-Arab dialogues and the Euro-Arab meetings, Canada was mentioned. So I think that Canada was also part of this policy which I have now described to you, which was European.