As Europe Yields To Islamofascism, Is U.S. On The Same Path?

As Europe Yields To Islamofascism, Is U.S. On The Same Path?
thebulletin ^ February, 2008 Herb Denenberg

Herb Denenberg: The Advocate As Europe Yields To Islamofascism, Is U.S. On The Same Path? By Herb Denenberg, The Bulletin 02/13/2008

The once mighty, the once invincible, the once courageous and brave-beyond-belief Britain is in the process of surrendering to Islamofascism without firing a shot. Here are the latest examples indicating how far along that process has gone:

British government ministers have declared that Islamic terrorism will no longer be so described. In the future, Muslim fanatics, murderers and suicide bombers will be referred to as pursuing "anti-Islamic activity."

This new language, turning the truth on its head, was announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. She said that these Islamic murderers and terrorists were behaving contrary to their faith and are not acting in the name of Islam.

In her statement, she said, "As so many Muslims in the U.K. and across the world have pointed out, there is nothing Islamic about the wish to terrorize, nothing Islamic about plotting murder, pain and grief. Indeed, if anything these actions are anti-Islamic."

Other phrases that are not be used by people at the top of the British government are "war on terror" and "Islamic extremism." The director of public prosecution has also chimed in by saying that phrases that liken London to "a battlefield" will no longer be used. This perversion of language would even embarrass George Orwell.

The British government seems to be excusing and apologizing for those blowing up Britons in the name of Islam and Allah, and they are doing it without even being asked. One conservative member of parliament, Philip Davies, said that no Muslim constituent had ever complained to him about the term "Islamic extremism."

Mr. Davies went on to explain, "Whenever anyone refers to Islamic terrorism, they are not saying all Muslims are terrorist. Everybody knows what people mean is terrorists doing it in the name of Islam, misguidedly. If the government spent less time worrying about this and more time worrying about things such as having effective border controls, we would be getting somewhere."

Here is another step in the path of surrender to Islamofascism: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, recently called for the recognition of Islamic law in Britain. He said, "We have to think about the rule of law in a society of overlapping identities." The Web site www.thisislondon.co.uk reported, "He declared that sharia and parliamentary law should be given equal legal status so the people could choose which governs their lives. This raised the prospect of Islamic courts in Britain with full legal powers to approve polygamous marriages, grant easy divorces for men and prevent finance firms from charging interest."

His critics rightly said this is sleepwalking to segregation and encourages segregation rather than integration. The archbishop has a formula to assure not the unification of Britain - but its disintegration.

The archbishop said it would be possible to develop "a scheme in which individuals retain the liberty to choose the jurisdiction under which they will seek to resolve certain carefully specified matters so that power holders are forced to compete for the loyalty of their shared constituents. This may include aspects of marital law, the regulation of financial transactions and authorized structures of mediation and conflict resolution."

One critic put it this way, speaking of the archbishop: "He's one of the most influential Christian prelates in the world, and he is supposed to be standing up for Christianity. What he's doing is abandoning his own religion. If people come to this country, they should be prepared to compromise their own traditions to fit in with the host country." Another critic, an MP, said, "Freedom under the law allows respect for some religious practice. But let's be absolutely clear: All British citizens must be subject to British laws developed through Parliament and the courts."

These two developments suggest that Britain has lost confidence in its own laws, culture, values, history and traditions. And it suggests it lacks the confidence and strength to resist the coming onslaught of Islamofascism. Kenneth Clark, in his book Civilization, noted, "It is lack of confidence, more than anything else, that kills a civilization. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion just as effectively as by bombs."

This calls to mind one of the great points made in the book America Alone by Mark Steyn, whose work also appears in The Bulletin. He tells the story of a British general in India, when it was still controlled by the British Empire. This general was confronted with suttee, the Indian custom of burning on a funeral pyre, by the widow of a man who had just died. He told the Indians, "You have your culture and we have ours. You can build your funeral pyre, but next to it we will build our gallows." That kind of confidence in the British culture has been replaced by a kind of cowardice and lack of confidence, reflected in these case studies.

If you read America Alone, Londonistan by Melanie Phillips and While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer, you'll be convinced that Europe is lost to Islamofascism and that soon, in Mr. Steyn's words, it will be "America alone" to defend freedom. These two case studies, described above, show how far the British have gone from the spirit and tradition of Winston Churchill to sniveling and surrendering cowards that have lost their center and their way.

One of the world's most renowned and respected scholars of the Middle East and Islam agrees with this grim view. Prof. Bernard Lewis says that the Muslims "seem to be about to take over Europe." He says that Islam is about to become the dominant force in Europe because the Europeans have abdicated the battle for cultural and religious control in the name of political correctness.

Mr. Lewis makes it clear that what is at stake is not just the form of prayer or whatnot. He is concerned about the growing Muslim power in Europe along with its rising support of extremist and terrorist movements within Islam. Mr. Lewis says that Europe has not fought the threat, and has just given up.

This development is of great concern not only because of the importance of Europe in the free world, but also because many believe the United States are on the same track toward Muslim domination, just at a less developed stage than Europe.

Ms. Phillips writes, "The [British] government had quite simply handed over policy on extremism to the extremists. This was no accident but a deliberate policy of riding the Islamic tiger. Asked why the government was using radicals in this way, [then British Home Secretary Charles] Clarke replied that it was to demonstrate to the Muslim community that democracy entailed engaging with a range of views rather than blowing up one's opponents.

"Clarke appeared to think that he could use dialogue with the Islamists as a kind of role-play, which would have no effect on government policy but would show that talking was the 'British way.' This was hopelessly naïve. It took no account of the fact that it raised the profile of such radicals and gave them credibility and thus even more clout within their community. Above all it showed that, like so many others, Clarke did not grasp that religious ideology rather than bombs was the principal weapon in the war."

Mr. Lewis explains how and why Europe is giving away its culture, religion and values. He says, "Europeans are losing their own loyalties and their own self-confidence. They have no respect for their own culture." He says that Europeans have "surrendered" on every issue related to Islam in a mood of "self-abasement," "political correctness" and "multiculturalism." Some observers of the American scene say that is exactly what is in the process of killing us. Yes, America is also awash with deadly self-abasement (anti-Americanism), political correctness and multiculturalism.

The Cybercast News Service reports, "Members of Congress are seeking more information regarding the firing of a top terrorism expert at the Pentagon following reports that he was dismissed for being too critical of Islamic law. Earlier this month, the Pentagon Joint Staff told Stephen Coughlin, a specialist on Islamic law at the Pentagon, that his contract would not be renewed in March. The firing apparently resulted from pressure by pro-Muslim officials working in the Department of Defense, according to numerous news reports." This story was broke by intelligence analyst Kenneth R. Timmerman, author of Shadow Warriors.

Emanuel Winston, a respected Middle East analyst, wrote that this is more than a bad personnel decision: "There is every indication that Islamists have deeply penetrated the organs of the U.S. government. An expert on Islam in the Pentagon [the aforementioned Coughlin] was recently fired due to pressure by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England. This dismissal was provoked by Hesham Islam, a personal aide to England. Heshem Islam was born and raised in Egypt. He is reported to be heavily involved with the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), which has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terror funding case involving the Holy Land Foundation. Strange things are happening at the Pentagon and intel agencies but not so strange as what is called the Arabist U.S. State Department. Recently, according to John Bolton, former American ambassador to the U.N., the State Department sent several of its pro-Arab staff into the Pentagon and 16 American intel agencies to initiate their own policy."

This whole problem and process has been aggravated by the incessant anti-American journalism of the mainstream media, and the virulent anti-American scholarship and pronouncements coming from so many of our colleges and universities. And this trend will be further aggravated if political power shifts leftward - to politicians and a Democratic Party that appear to lack the will to fight and win the war on terror and the war against Islamofascism. It is no exaggeration to say that the ongoing political campaign may well determine whether civilization as we know it will survive, and whether America - alone or not - can fight and win the war against Islamofascism that has been thrust upon it.

Those with questions about the direction of the Democratic Party and the left should look more closely at its driving force. David Horowitz, author and founder of the online newsmagazine FrontPageMag.com, has written many important books, but this may be his most important: Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left.

He writes, "This is a book about the political left in America, its problematic allegiances with Islamic radicals, its influence on the Democratic party, its opposition to the war In Iraq and its impact on the war on terror." A more comprehensive and less diplomatic summary statement might go like this: The American left - including the driving force of the Democratic Party, most of the mainstream media and most of our major colleges and universities - have become irrationally critical of America, its military and its foreign policy. They have also made alliances with or lent support to our enemies and have damaged our ability to defend our shores against radical Islam and other sources of terrorism. They are one of the reasons we may, in Kenneth Clark's words, lose the confidence it takes to maintain and defend our civilization.

Herb Denenberg, a former Pennsylvania insurance commissioner and professor at the Wharton School, is a longtime Philadelphia journalist and consumer advocate. He is also a member of the National?Academy of Arts and Sciences. His column appears daily in The Bulletin. You can reach him at advocate@thebulletin.us.

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