Intolerance: Islam in Conflict with the World

In the 21st Century, civilized people should have no tolerance for intolerance. A man's* religion -- be it tablets from a mountain; a crucifixion; a revelation in a cave; teachings attributed to an awaken wise man; finding a book from God under a stone; or even an atheistic existential being and nothingness -- is his own business. But, to think your religion is supreme over any other and those who are "nonbelievers" should be killed or enslaved, is not only foolishness, but deserves our strongest condemnation. 

Tolerance is a two-way street, whereas Islam is a one-way street. Islamic countries deny the legitimacy of any other religion. That being the case, why should non-Islamic States permit the practice of Islam, as an expression of religious freedom? How many Churches, Synagogues, or Temples have been built in any Islamic Nation in modern times?  Freedom of religion for me but not for you is not only wrong -- it is intolerable.

In Islam, religion and politics are synonymous. As the renowned Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis posits, “Religious truths and political power are inextricably linked: the first sanctified the second; the second confirmed and sustained the first.”  Professor Lewis further notes: 

“In the Islamic world … there is no distinction and therefore no conflict between the Pope and Emperor (Imam and Head of State). The basic Muslim creed is that God is one and Muhammad is His prophet, and no one who rejects either of these propositions can be considered a Muslim. Beyond that, loyalty to Islam is expressed, not by correct belief but by correct behavior … (including) obedience to the head of the Islamic state.”

Consequently, since Islam is infallible, an Islamic state is also infallible, and therefore requires a scapegoat. The West, the Infidels, the Outsiders, have historically served this purpose for Islamic heads of state. By deflecting the blame to the West for all that is not right the Ruler cannot be blamed. Their perfidious gambit has been a carefully crafted campaign of political doublespeak. On the one hand, in English, and behind closed doors, they lament to Western leaders how terrible this all is and that freedom of expression is as important to them as you. And on the other hand, in Arabic, Farsi, Türkçe, and Urdu, they increase their funding to the Mullahs so that they may spread their attacks against the West throughout the Muslim world, and beat the drums of hatred through their state controlled media. This is a farrago of disingenuousness.

Furthermore, this double game played by Islamists of proclaiming respect for democracy and individual rights in public and sponsoring de jure and de facto strict adherence to the Qur’an and Shari’a Law is duplicitous.  In other words, you must respect their culture and religious laws, while at the same time, an Islamist does not have to follow the laws of a country that are in conflict with his own beliefs. This is not simply hypocrisy; it is criminal and subversive.

The Pope (Benedict XVI) makes a speech in which he philosophically quotes a 14th-century Byzantine Emperor (Manuel II Palaiologos) critical of Islam. The result? Most of the Islamic world is up in arms - literally. The Middle East erupts - literally - over a cartoon. And**, on September 11, 2012, the United States Ambassador to Libya and three of his staff are murdered by an Islamic mob, while the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, is stormed and the American flag is torn down and burned, by another Islamic mob. At no time did the security forces of either country intervene to protect US personnel or property in accordance with International Law. In fact, hundreds of police stood by in Cairo, clad in riot gear, as the demonstration and destruction ensued. Because, presumably, an American citizen in California produced a film that reportedly portrays the Prophet Muhammad in a bad light? 

These events should not be minimized or ignored as a cultural misunderstanding or the machinations of an Islamic lunatic fringe. These events and others like them are being used as part of the propaganda war orchestrated by Islam's Goring’s and Goebbels. It is time to stop pretending that the West and the world of Islam, where terrorism is seen as a legitimate expression of political opposition, can peacefully coexist.

Apologists such as Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton will proffer that hatred and violence is the exception. That it is our fault for not understanding Islam and ‘hurt the feelings of Muslims.’ This excuse has become more and more common as others became less and less easy to find. The ever-increasing acts of Islamic violence throughout the world categorically contradict this habitual refrain. 

An addled liberal Western mass media has betrayed Western society. It is easy to be an Apologist; it is less easy to be alert. Islamist apologists search for friendship, and possess an unwillingness to pass judgment. They have a desire to make the best of difficult situations by seeking to empathize with their adversaries, and prefer talk rather than confronting an unpleasant reality. Yet, by reading and listing to what they say, the evil aims of Islam are easily forecast. 

The Appeasers tumble over themselves in an attempt to pacify Islamists such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Taliban, at every turn, without acknowledging that pacification is not the prudent and fruitful policy objective they sought. Rather, it is a means of delusion and ultimate destruction to Western values and principles. 

The situation is intolerable.

*   The pronoun “man” is gender-neutral.
** Blog updated 9/12/2012 to include the events of 9/11/2012

Serbian President's Government Appointment: How Dare He

Serbia’s newly elected President, Tomislav Nikolic, is apparently guilty for appointing a political ally, Jorgovanka Tabakovic, to head Serbia’s Central Bank. The cack-handed powers that be in Brussels and Washington are incredulous that Serbia did not clear this appointment with them before hand, as well as changes to the country’s banking laws.

Peter Steno, a spokesman for European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, vented:

“We are concerned about the content of the new amendments to the law on the Central Bank … (the European Union) was not consulted on appropriate levels, including not being consulted with the European Commission.”

For those of you fortunate enough not to speak European Union, here is what he said. Who are the Serbs to think they can make their own laws for their country? We, the European Union, will decide what is best for the people of Serbia. We will tell you what you can and cannot do.

Do you honestly believe that Ben Bernanke (US Federal Reserve Bank) is an “apolitical technocrat,” and not an Obama operative? Or for that matter, that Mario Draghi (European Central Bank) and Christine Lagarde (International Monetary Fund) are not fully certified apparatchiks in the cabal called the Euro zone and European Union. Jorgovanka Tabakovic’s appointment as head of Serbia's central bank is at worse no different.

I’ll say it again; Serbs will not be serfs. Southern Europe will soon understand and imitate what is playing out in Serbia. It may be old-fashioned, but it’s as rudimentary as the air we breathe – its called freedom. It’s called national sovereignty.

In the end, you have to ask yourself this question. Do you really want to be a member of an organization that has Messrs van Rompuy, Juncker, Barroso, and Lady Ashton, as leaders?  Well, do you?