Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Czech Dhimmitude

Islamization in the Czech Republic is not the same urgent problem that it is in most of Western Europe. The Czechs came late to the Multicultural Party, having spent the first forty years of it under the boot of their Soviet comrades. All those years of experience with a centrally imposed totalitarian utopia have made them wary of outlandish ideologies.

The number of Muslim immigrants in Czechia is relatively small. The latest figures I have are from 2004, and show somewhat over twenty thousand Muslims in a population of approximately ten million — under one quarter of one percent. No doubt the number of Muslims has increased over the last four years, but accurate figures are hard to come by.

Still, it’s obvious that the blade of the scimitar is not yet at the Czechs’ throat. But that doesn’t stop the politically correct appeasers from engaging in preemptive surrender.

Here’s the latest story. A nationalist party, after hearing about Geert Wilders’ problems with Network Solutions, is offering to host his movie on their servers in the Czech Republic.

And how has the Czech government responded?

By staunchly supporting the right of their citizens to express themselves freely, right?

By asserting that forty years of Soviet domination has made their nation acutely sensitive to the importance of free speech, perhaps?

Wrong. The ruling party in Czechia has done itself proud as full dhimmi member of Eurabia.

First, an article from Al-Arabiya:

A Czech nationalist party has offered to host a film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders critical of Islam on its website, prompting denunciations Monday from mainstream politicians.

The National Party, which has no seats in parliament, said it was ready to host the 15-minute film “in reaction to the cowardice of Dutch and European Union politicians who themselves spread panic and are unable to support the chairman of the Freedom Party Geert Wilders in his fight against Islam.”

To do so would be a response to “Islamic terrorists whose blackmail and attacks damage our countries,” the far-right party added in a statement seen on its website.

Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer attacked the offer as “stupid”.

[…]

Dutch officials have unsuccessfully urged Wilders not to air the film, fearing a repeat of violent protests that erupted in many countries when European newspapers printed cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Wilders has said he will release it “before April 1” on the Internet if no conventional broadcaster will show it.

Several Muslim countries — including Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran and Afghanistan — have already protested against his plans.

A Dutch newspaper that has seen some of the opening images said it depicts the cover of the Koran, and then “a decapitation in Iraq, a stoning in Iran and an execution in Saudi Arabia”.

And look at this NYT-style bit of editorializing on the part of AFP (which is the original source of the article):
- - - - - - - - -
The National Party is known for its xenophobic views and calls for a resurgence of conservative national values. It frequently makes headlines with sparsely-attended demonstrations against immigrants and minorities.

I’m also known for my xenophobic views, and have also called for a resurgence of conservative national values. And I know what happens to anyone who asserts the right of a nation to control immigration and maintain its traditional culture: we’re all racists, bigots, white supremacists, xenophobes, Islamophobes, neo-Nazis, fascists, and any other derogatory epithet that can be mined from the bottomless lexicons of leftist insults.

As it happens, the National Party (Národní strana) has a reputation for anti-Semitism and being non-supportive towards Israel. I’m no expert on Czech matters, so I’ll let our commenters weigh in on the justice of this characterization.

But my point is that, to the MSM in Czechia or anywhere else, we’re all the same. All cats are black in the darkness of the legacy media, and all conservatives are extremist, marginal, bigoted, and racist. That’s just the way it is.

Regardless of the political opinions of the National Party, and despite the hurt feelings of Muslims about a movie they haven’t seen, the Czech government should have stood behind the free speech rights of a group of its citizens who offered asylum to Geert Wilders’ persecuted movie.

But they didn’t. They did the EU Dhimmi Two-Step, the dance with which we’ve become all too familiar in the last few years. According to CeskéNoviny.cz:

The offer of the Czech nationalist National Party (NS) to place on its foreign server the controversial anti-Islamic film of Dutch ultra-right MP Geert Wilders is an absurd idea of some ignorant persons, Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer said today.

Jeronym Tejc, head of the opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) security commission, and former interior minister for CSSD Frantisek Bublan also condemned the NS’s offer as irresponsible.

The film release on the web would pose a security risk to the Czech Republic’s citizens, the politicians said.

“I believe that silly ideas of some idiots will not draw attention. The best way…is to ignore it, because they need exactly a media show and promotion,” Langer (senior ruling Civic Democrats, ODS) said.

He added he is convinced that Wilders’s film would not be on the web in the end.

Langer stressed the NS has no support in Czech society and the Czech Republic distances itself from the nationalists’ activities.

“I think that this step by the nationalists will only unnecessarily escalate tension,” Tejc told CTK.

“It increases the risk of possible terrorist threats in the Czech Republic in the future,” Tejc warned, adding that the nationalists want to promote themselves at the expense of citizens’ safety.

Note that because some deranged psychopaths might commit violence, the people who host the movies are the criminals, and not the poor misunderstood Muslims who do the maiming, killing, burning, and looting:

If the film were really released on the website, the police should investigate whether this act was a crime or not, Tejc added.

It is potentially risky as it can stir up indignation, probably not among the Muslim community in the Czech Republic but abroad, Bublan said.

He recalled that the Dutch authorities did not allow to broadcast Wilders’ film called Fitna, an Arabic word used to describe discord, in fears that the film might stir up protests in the local strong Muslim community.

If the film stirred up racial hatred, its release could be prosecuted as a crime, Bublan said, adding he does not know the film.

Nobody knows the film, but everybody seems certain that screening it would be a crime. Threats of murder, burning cars or buildings, violent street actions — those are trivial distractions, not worth the attention of the authorities.

But making movies like this — now that’s a crime. Lock ’em up and throw away the key!


Hat tips: Viktor Svoboda and TB.

13 comments:

kepiblanc said...

They did the EU Dhimmi Two-Step...
According to Islamic law, dancing is Haram - with one exception: the "Danny Deever-dance". So they better realize what awaits them when the Mullah's take over...

spackle said...

I would be curious as to how Vaclav Havel feels about this? Being the first president of a post communist Czech Republic and a playwright who had to deal with censorship personally. I suggest these PC tools re-read his play "the memorandum" to remind them of the bad old days. And to anyone out there in GOV land I recommend reading it. It is truly a great play.

Anonymous said...

Agence France-Presse writes:

"The National Party is known for its xenophobic views and calls for a resurgence of conservative national values. It frequently makes headlines with sparsely-attended demonstrations against immigrants and minorities."

Interestingly enough, pro-immigration leftist groups frequently stage demonstrations in France in order to claim blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants.

These demonstrations are usually very "sparsely-attended": a few hundred activists at most, even in the middle of Paris.

However, Agence France-Presse and most of French media regularly "make headlines" with such demonstrations. The exposure which they are given is vastly at odds with the actual number of people involved.

Reading or watching the news, you would be excused for thinking that a sizeable proportion of citizens support illegal immigrants.

However, when you really look into the figures, you realize this opposition is entirely staged.

One frequent trick is to quote a national figure for demonstrators. It could be 10 000 or 20 000, which does not sound too bad. But such events are usually organized in many towns across the country. Do the math, check the individual statistics that might be available, and more often than not, you will discover that this "very important national mobilization" has produced 150 demonstrators in Paris, a city of one or two million people, and ten million for the greater Paris.

So it's all right for AFP to hector foreigners about tiny groups of right-wing demonstrators and big headlines, but when it's tiny groups of left-wing, domestic demonstrators, AFP will supply the big headlines itself.

The left-wing, pro-immigration, pro-islam slant of French mainstream media is staggering.

Henrik R Clausen said...

From my friends in Eastern Europe, I got some signals that the politicians never really learned to govern their own countries. After the chaotic years of walls and dictators falling, the prospective EU memberships took the place, and told them what laws to implement. They busied themselves doing so.

Membership accomplished, the politicians are at loss finding new principles for government and societal development, philosophies and coherent strategies for the future.

This expressed itself most clearly in Hungary a year or two ago, when the prime minister admitted to lying systematically in order to win the elections. Big demonstrations, but no clarity came of that. My Hungarian friends tell me that the parties are more various strands of populism than promoters of any stringent ideology.

Also, the Czech Republic had a rather radical Islamic society. An undercover film came out some 3 years ago about it.

Same problem everywhere. We have enough work ahead of us, and would have it even if it wasn't for Islam...

Diamed said...

We must live in a bizarro world. It is illegal to 'hate,' but it is apparently fine to make death threats, threats to riot, and intimidate and bully your country into submission to the laws of Islam, even for people who aren't muslim. No one is acting against the muslims who are the Cause of the violence, rather they blame the publishers for 'provoking' it. Every other group is insulted all the time but since we don't riot and murder, that's not a problem.

In this age he who throws the biggest tantrum gets the most 'protected' status and the social redistribution aid. Maybe we should turn the tables and, instead of participating in reasoned discourse which is a hate crime, just riot, loot, and murder which is perfectly legal and just healthy self-expression. How many muslims were arrested after Paris?

christian soldier said...

RE: "All cats are black...

A minor correction...

According to the MSM, B.H. Obama, Rev. Wright and et.al.------

All racist-xenos are White.

Lugundum said...

As a Czech citizen I'm truly outraged. I will sent that to my friends and I will compile polite but tough protest letter. Is anybody from GoV readers ready to contact Czech politicians? I can share their public contact info with you.

Baron and Dymphna, are you interested in printing some polite draft letters protesting the behaviour of Czech politicians?

Baron Bodissey said...

Lugundum --

We're always interested in printing open letters. But yes, do make them polite. They are much more effective that way.

LichenCraig said...

Maybe we need to draft one to the Dutch and to Network Solutions, while we are at it. Ha.

Gee Whiz, I didn't know it was a CRIME to stir up Muslim indignation.

But if you ask me, it should be a crime for a politician to betray his own country and heritage by cowardice.

Marian - CZ said...

The Czech politicians really messed up this event and stepped into a big ---- (you know what, but PG13 policy).

I wish you could read the debate threads under the relevant news on the Czech internet news-servers. It is quite a storm of them, and about 95% of them are derisive and jeer at the politicians for their cowardice. Also, the commenters seem to understand the principle of free speech well - that it is precisely the freedom to offend.

The remaining 5% are either local muslims, or the usual suspects from the radical left who blindly scream about Israel (one of the most radical ones, Janecek, spouts his nonsense from Seattle, BTW). OTOH, I even saw a comment from a local muslim who supported even offensive free speech and understood that islam should have no exceptions. Kudos to him.

The president, Vaclav Klaus, remained silent so far on this issue. I do not expect any dhimmitude from him anyway.

heroyalwhyness said...

Also, the Czech Republic had a rather radical Islamic society. An undercover film came out some 3 years ago about it. - posted by Henrik

The film you mention. . . "I, a Muslim" is 28 minutes long and available on Google video.

R. Hartman said...

Former foreign minister Hans van den Broek (CDA, Christian Dhimmy Appeasers) has called upon Balkenende's treason coalition to have the court decide whether or not Fitna should be banned. A judge should decide what's more important: Freedom of Speech or the country's interest. Like there is a difference between those options. FoS is the country's interest!

Van den Broek thinks it 'unsatisfactory' having to await the first killings before deciding upon action. Utter dhimmytude! It almost has to be an international conspiracy: it's totally implausible so many people worldwide would collectively and simultaneously have lost their mind. Remember that nobody has ever seen this film, although there are rumours that Dutch government knows about its content as they'd have illegally tapped Wilders' communication channels.

Frontpage Magazine had a good article on Fitna and the ludicrous idiotic panicky actions of the christian muslim appeaser Balkenende:
"Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has chosen capitulation. According to a story in the German publication Der Spiegel, he has met with Iran's foreign minister, who advised him to use an article from the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights to prevent the film's showing.

As the story correctly pointed out, Balkenende saw nothing base about accepting human-rights advice from a country where women are stoned and homosexuals are hanged. For Holland's political leader, respect for human rights appears to end at the Dutch borders.

Even worse, Balkenende saw nothing wrong with allowing a foreign country to interfere in the Netherlands's internal affairs. Balkenende's foreign minister has also met with 35 representatives from Muslim countries, including ambassadors, about the film.

Another major Middle Eastern human rights abuser, Syria, also got into the act when its Grand Mufti appeared before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, saying Wilders would be responsible if there were any "disturbances, spilling of blood and acts of violence" after the film's debut. Incredibly, no delegate of this legislative body that is supposed to represent enlightened, human rights-oriented Europe stood up and forcefully contradicted him."

Spinoneone said...

R. Hartman said, "Incredibly, no delegate..." Let me correct that to read, "As expected, no delegate..."
The Netherlands no longer enjoys freedom of speech nor religious toleration. They have become part of the ummah, so what should we expect?