Wednesday, December 01, 2010

This Experiment Can Only Be Performed Once!

Our German correspondent Markus recently wrote an email to Daniel Pipes in reference to an open question they discussed when the latter was in Berlin a couple of weeks ago. With Markus’ permission, I am posting the text of his email below:

Problem Islam — or problem Islamism? Do we have the right to risk a one-time experiment?

I wish people were right who state that it is only necessary to worry about Islamism, and not about large Muslim populations in Western societies — but I doubt it.

Now, even if large Islamic portions of society could be seen as unproblematic, there has to be some strategy to avoid relevant tendencies towards radicalisation.

The complexity of the question thus evolves around the following points:

  • What strategies are proposed to inhibit/contain radical tendencies that tend to flourish in large Muslim populations?
  • Has this strategy ever sustainably worked in real life (see e.g. Lebanon, the rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey, or the incredible events in England around Remembrance Day)?
  • Is such a strategy unnecessary? If so, why?
  • What if this strategy (or the lack thereof) goes wrong? This question, and the topic as a whole, is crucial. It is basically the (intellectual) question of war and peace in our times, whatever form those may take.

I may clarify that I am fully aware that:

a) Islam as an ideology is the problem, not people of Islamic faith. Muslims themselves were, in the great majority, born into their religion and thus had no choice. Moreover, leaving Islam often leads to harsh consequences, from being socially excluded, through death threats, right up to murder. It is thus not their individual fault. Even more so since the supply of independent information about “infidel culture” and liberal democracy is not easy to spread inside Islamic communities.
b) The Cold War, for instance, although a massive confrontation, was fought and ended (relatively) peacefully. Nevertheless, in such a confrontation clear and decisive measures, including deterrence, would have to be taken and enforced in order to contain and roll back a totalitarian Islam.

My worries are based on the following assumptions:

a) Due to the self-imposed segregation of a respectable portion of the Muslim population — and thus the non-exposure to modern, liberal concepts of societies — groups of fundamentalist, Quran-based ideologues will almost unavoidably appear.
b) Even more so since frustrated humans with low self-esteem can find solace and a false self-esteem in the idea that they are “better Muslims” and thus “better people” if they adhere more closely to the teachings of the power-hungry guy they call their prophet. This tendency to a false self-(over)-confidence at the expense of unbelievers is further enhanced by the counter-individualistic submission-aspects of Islam and the tribal, clan-like culture transported by it.

The attempt/hope to construct a secular, liberal “Euro-Islam” in our times should be viewed with extreme caution.

This experiment can only be performed once!

Current developments do not hint at success. At stake are peace and the further existence of a free, civilized society in Europe, and thus 2500 years of development and emancipation of free people and free societies.

A closer look at societies worldwide, especially the Islamic ones, clearly shows that it is a folly to take the European case for granted as the natural state of affairs in human societies.

The responsibility to hand over this precious (and costly) gift of civilization we inherited to future generations is far too important to rely solely on luck in this unpromising one-time-experiment.

Markus blogs at Zivilisationscourage.

6 comments:

Zenster said...

In cases such as this one it is always instructive to examine the historical record.

To wit: Has there ever been a culture in all history that successfully integrated into it a substantial Muslim minority without ensuing bloodshed or competition for control by that same minority?

A similar and equally pertinent question is:

Has there ever been a single culture that voluntarily adopted Islam of its own free will?

To date, all investigation answers both questions with a definitive and resounding, NO!

EscapeVelocity said...

That formulation doesnt fly.

Nazism is the problem and not Nazis(Agents of Nazism)

Communism is the problem and not Communists(Agents of Communism)

Pedophilia is the problem and not Pedophiles.

And so on and so forth.

Anonymous said...

It's obvious that the tons of imported people to Europe are a problem too. Don't expect progressive politicians like Wilders admit that - I'm not even sure if he can do that legally.

gsw said...

How many times has it been said on these pages (and in articles by knowledgeable people) that the problem is the leniency of the judicial system and the 'tolerance' of the system.

If, the first time a taxi driver refused to take a blind person, his license was immediately revoked for 'discrimination' and 'acts of hate', the rest would not dare to do it.
If, the first time a women was refused a job as a hairdresser because she believed women's hair to be 'sinful', the courts had said "a person may refuse to employ someone unsuitable" instead of awarding her money, there would be less legal claims from people unwilling to accept that being paid for doing a job means doing the job the way your employer wants it done.
If, the first time a little girl was sent to school wearing a cover over her head, the parents were informed that school uniform means their school uniform and no other, maybe less little girls would grow up afraid of being raped by uncles or cousins if they show a little skin/hair.

If we in the west are not willing to stand up for the children of muslims, why should they stand up for us when they are grown?

Theo Prinse said...

I reject the appeasing ideological suggestion in: »the attempt/hope to construct a secular, liberal “Euro-Islam”« and »Problem Islam — or problem Islamism?«

Islam is a vehement, murderous politico-military doctrine ! Why is Gates of Vienna not paying more attention to the 370 pages PDF/internet report, Shariah; the threat to America written by James Woolsey, Frank Gaffney etc.

Anonymous said...

The question is not whether the problem is islam or muslims Velocity, but whether islam is the problem or 'islamism'
Of course there is no difference between islam en islamism: 'there is but one islam', say the islamists. The suggestion that there is such a thing as a moderate version is considered a preposterous western attempt designed to undermine islam, and there is nothing and nobody with the authority to sunstantiate the claim that there might be more ways of being a good muslim, other than by following the sunna

Please note that shia, sufi's and amadya's are all considered heretics and unbelievers by the slaves of the one true faith.