Winds of Change.NET: Europe: Muslims, Immigration & Backlash

Europe: Muslims, Immigration & Backlash

by Joe Katzman at July 26, 2002 1:38 AM

The last couple of days have featured a series of postings on serious problems with rapes by Muslim immigrants to Norway and France, and the Leftie muticultists' apologias for same. The underlying issue in both cases: refusal to integrate into their host societies, coupled with a high crime rate, hostility to Western society, and support for terrorism. If this state of affairs continues, explosions are certain - figuratively and literally.

What are our options, and where is this trend taking us? Leave it to the Blogosphere to tie it all together yesterday, courtesy of Nick Denton in England (found via Instapundit.com) and Vegard Valberg in Norway.

Nick, normally a fairly liberal guy, looks at stuff like this and sees his values under attack. His response is to take a leaf from Islam's own book - the concept of the dhimmi, or tolerated minority:

"In other words, Western governments should make clear that the toleration of Muslim minorities is conditional. The West is a package deal: the prosperity that has attracted Muslim immigrants is a function of the Western tradition. Fundamentalist Islam is not, as the morally ambivalent would have it, as valid as any other system. Here's the Western dhimma: accept the supremacy of Western humanist values -- equal rights for women and sexual minorities, freedom of speech, and family law -- or leave."

Didn't Pim Fortuyn, that gay libertarian Dutch politician, say something a lot like this? Let alone Orianna Falacci.

Which brings me to Norwegian Blogger's article on "Right Wing Parties In Europe." He sums up the underlying issue thusly:

"We a high living standard, civil peace, and lots of neat gadgets, they want all of this. However the extremists don't like tolerance, democracy, womens rights, progress, and the things that gave us a high living standard, civil peace, and lots of neat gadgets."

The rest of his thesis, summed briefly, is this: the parties that generate a lot of wild reaction from the Euro-elite have in common a status as populist parties. So they acknowledge issues that the mainstream parties refuse to address. One of which is the fact that "immigration" per se is not seen as the problem - certain kinds of immigrants are. But no-one seems to be listening. Back to Vegard's post:

"Crime, immigration, integration, worry about the future, all they are told is "We will take care of it, there is no problem, you are a stupid little racist redneck, go away you horrible creature, can't you see we have solved the problems?" I exaggerate but that is the feeling a lot of Europeans get from their political parties."

Which leads to support for the populist parties. They may be marginalized, and they do have their share of whackos. But they're the only ones talking about these problems... and so they're getting stronger despite the real ideological differences among them. In European political systems based on many parties and coalition governments, that can't be ignored forever. The problem is that the longer the government and other parties fight to prevent a moderate solution to a problem, the more radical and powerful said solution is likely to be. Norwegian Blogger thus sees a "Time of Troubles" ahead. A conclusion shared by articles like "Allah Mode."

Our odds in North America are a bit better. "Integration or else!" has traditionally been the right's rallying cry. But as fundamentalist Islam upsets the Left's apple carts across the West and leftists begin to move past denial, it's possible to see that cry become more of a consensus again. Which is what we'll need to move forward. Which is why it's important to keep covering these "wedge incidents." It will irritate conservatives to hear me say this, but listen closely compadres: you will win or lose this critical policy issue on your ability to convert the liberals on their terms, not defeat them on yours. Salami tactics have their place, but don't lose sight of the main goal.

We have a war to win. Together.

POSTSCRIPT: "What about fundamentalists who were born here?" ask the liberals. "You know, Jerry Falwell etc.?" Some might say the liberals are already following a "love it or leave it" approach, as shown by the growing chasm between "red" and "blue" America. Here's my response: I'm sorry, Jerry has been an idiot sometimes but it just isn't the same thing. Imagine that Jerry Falwell had publicly advocated violence, and preached hatred of the USA or supported movements aiming to overthrow the government. Imagine that he had acted, in other words, like the American Muslim Council. One word: Waco.

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