Mr. Pipe's courage to speak his mind

Submitted by GK (United States), Aug 18, 2003 at 20:49

1. Pipe's comments, tough very critical of Islam and Muslims, are valid criticisms. Muslims need to appreciate hearing other's views, but I am afraid that they generally believe that criticism of Muhammad or Islam are mortal sins, and, unfortunately, some militant Muslims feel a duty to address blasphemy or sins. This isn't like the agree-to-disagree style we are accustomed to in the West.

2. If we want to defend western liberal ideals, that is liberty and freedom, then we have to be diplomatic, but we have to either support Mr. Pipes when we agree with him, or we have to be more willing to defend the ideals of freedom and liberty against theocrats who would take those intangibles away from our world.

3. If anyone thinks that that last comment is a bit alarmist, my apologies. But just look how backward some parts of the Muslim world are moving with respect to freedom, liberty and woman's rights. And at the same time, the Muslim population is on average about 23 y.o., because of the extremely high birthrate in these countries. Saudi Arabia, for example, will see its population double every 17 years from 24 million to 48 million by 2017, to 96 million by 2034 to perhaps 192 million by 2051! And the entire collection of Muslim world has exploded, quadrupling in population from about 300 million to 1.3 billion since 1950!!! (At the same time, the rest of the world grew by 1.7x and the Western world, while rising modestly, is trending toward smaller populations as boomers and pre-boomers experience higher mortality, and as women experience lower fertility (far below replacement level). As a result, some countries will see their native populations dwarfed by the numbers of immigrants and their descendants from North Africa and the Mid East.

4. The real crisis may come politically within Europe, as its population ages over the next 2 decades. Because, like France which is 10% Muslim, Europe's population will experience a surge in immigration from North Africa and the Middle East. When the boomers begin flooding into retirement, the immigrants will begin flooding into Europe and the Western markets.

These trends imply a lot of political changes from America's largest block of allies and trading partners.

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