Posted on 02/06/2006 11:26:16 AM PST by FerdieMurphy
An irrational fear of evangelical Christians deprives secular America of a true understanding of the dangers posed by radical Islam. But those who fret over an imagined American “theocracy” run by Christian zealots should take note that it’s not Bobby from Birmingham or Wally from Wichita that’s burning down embassies, raiding buildings, threatening executions and otherwise behaving like animals on the streets of (to name a few) Damascus, Gaza City, Jakarta and Baghdad.
By now you know the story. Last October, a Danish newspaper printed twelve cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in various postures: walking through a field; in front of a classroom chalkboard; and even with a bomb tucked in his turban.
The initial reaction was tepid. But then an Austrian newspaper reprinted the cartoons in January, followed by French, German, Italian and Spanish newspapers this month. The reprints set off a firestorm (Islamic law forbids depictions of Muhammad to prevent idol worship). Violent protests have raged since, reaching a head Saturday as Syrian mobs burned down much of the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus.
If the outbursts were small, isolated incidents in two or three countries it would be easier to write them off—just the work of a vocal—and exceptionally radical—minority, we’d say. But the demonstrations have been large and widespread. Indeed, if airborne disease spread through the Muslim world as fast as outrage, a simple case of the flu might afflict millions in minutes. Things get contagious.
If only Muslims had a better public relations strategist they might have avoided this brouhaha. Instead of letting the little-noticed drawings drift into oblivion, Muslim protests lit the fires of Western curiosity. What do these cartoons look like? Then the media swarm came and suddenly newspapers on the other side of the world were printing editorials titled “The freedom to blaspheme” and galvanizing armies of free speech advocates.
Nevertheless, there are two reasons why it’s better for the West (but not the Danish and Norwegian embassies) that it happened this way.
First, the timing is perfect. The latest issue of Rolling Stone depicts rapper Kanye West as a Christ-like figure in a crown of thorns with the title: “The Passion of Kanye West.” The cover shot is a disgusting affront to Christians, and certainly as blasphemous as the cartoons were to Muslims.
As a result, no one was surprised when Christians firebombed Rolling Stone headquarters in New York.
Oh wait, didn’t happen.
Okay, well no one was surprised when Christians threatened to firebomb the building.
Nope, didn’t happen either.
Rarely does history provide such a perfect point of comparison, and the contrasting responses could hardly be more telling: When faced with a nearly identical situation, one faith resorted to violence, threats and rage like unruly savages; the other was civil, responding (if at all) with letters to the editor, calls for a boycott and many public denunciations.
Second, the rage of the Muslim world again lays bare radicalism for all the world to see. A similar fervor was set off in 2005 in response to purported Koran desecration at Guantanamo Bay. People died then, many of them Muslims. But it didn’t matter. The rage is as overwhelming as it is contagious.
Victor Davis Hanson has called this the “lunacy principle,” that is, “these people are capable of doing anything at anytime."
That’s what makes Iran so scary. When President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and says “Israel must be wiped off the map” he really means it. And if his nuclear program continues unabated, he might just wake-up one morning and do it.
And that’s the thing, for all their shrewd and secret plots, most radical Muslims are remarkably forthcoming: they seek the destruction of Western civilization, beginning with Israel, in order to establish a world-wide caliphate.
That blueprint should scare secular America more than, say, a well-organized group of pro-life activists. But in many cases, it doesn’t. Trace it to comfort or laziness: it’s easier to create a paper tiger out of the “Religious Right” and to rail against their “bigoted” and “intolerant” policies than to acknowledge the true threats posed by radical Islam.
It’s early yet, but the cartoon protests may go a long way in changing this mentality, in expanding horizons beyond the water’s edge. President John Quincy Adams once said that America should not go “abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” Well, he might have added that America should not create monsters at home over relatively tame ideological differences. After all, these days we don't have to search very far for monsters. They're already in the streets, calling our name.
Mr. Specter, Mr. Leahy and the entire gaggle apparently could care less!
Worth repeating. It is also wortth noting that this irrational fear is fostered by the MSM and leftists.
Maybe if us Christian started riotin' we could get some respect 'round here.
the infowarrior
"If only Muslims had a better public relations strategist they might have avoided this brouhaha."
180 degrees wrong. This is something the radicals want. What better than to whip up the religious masses, not keep them calm. Any wonder that Syria and Iran are busy playing this up? I'm sure they will get many "good" muslims willing to fight the infidels out of this.
Sorry, I think you have it backwards Steve!
That varies from leftists how?
Every liberty the west enjoys is the product of Christianity.
It was Baptists in particular who fought for and achieved the establishment of the Bill of Rights.
It was Christians who fought and died to end slavery.
It was Scottish bible-thumping Presbyterians and Calvinists who established the concept of government by the people and for the people.
And such liberties are ensured only when the government acknowledges that such liberties "are a gift of God" and not some privelege granted by men.
First of all I have a very low opinion of Islam as a religion. I do have have sympathy for those Muslims who are trying to live as ethical lives as they can despite being a part of a relgion that DOES advocate total supremacy in whatever society they are a part of, that jihad is an outward struggle against the infidel as well as an inward struggle to lead "purer" lives, and is to it's core set up to be a theocracy. I doubt the ability of the US in it's desire to bring democracy to Muslim countries in the long run. It's great that we got rid of Saddam, it's great that the Iraqi people have voted (which they couldn't under the Baath), and it's wonderful that the kind of torture and oppression that happened under Sddam has ceased and people are freer to speak their minds. Islam is incompatible with western democracy. Don't forget that all the main players that we entertained to push forward a post-Saddam Iraq have been exiles Chalabi and others---(Iraqi National Congress types). They have been westernized (thus capable of acting democratically). The great bulk of Iraqis, both Sunni and Shia are tribal and more or less rather devoted to Islam-- maybe not quite Wahabists or Khomeiniites, but lets say, that stuff has a murky soft spot in their hearts. For thousands to set upon & torch embassies just because the picture of the Prophet Mohammed appeared in Euro newspapers (grant it, it wasn't complimentary) can't just be dismised with the flick of the wrist "Oh it's just Wahabi instigators riling the masses up). The best thing we could have done in Iraq was set up Ayad Allawi and have Baathism lite (possibly a good bit better than that). It would have put in a reasonably pro-western leader in Iraq, neutralized the threat of WMD's against the US and Israel, and for the most part ended the outrages committed by Saddam. By setting up Allawi, Iraq wouldn't have been a democracy in the western sense, but America would have secured her won backside and the chaos the Iraq is today would have been minimized. Now a good hypothetical question would be: What kind of deal would Allawi made with the Kurds and Shia?
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