Which is worse, Islam or Progressivism?

Submitted by Ron Thompson (United States), May 28, 2014 at 14:04

This is a piece of fascinating literary history. Around most great public issues, it often turns out that some writer has written presciently about an issue in former years, as say a Russian writer (name forgotten) who wrote in 1896 that a major war fought with the tools of the Industrial Revolution would produce a cataclysmic wasteland beyond what anyone imagined..

So a harbinger novel like Chestrton's written 100 years ago about Islamic beliefs and Sharia Law being accepted in England is indeed fascinating and sobering.

But I'm still curious about two things. Even describing, in Chesterton's novel, what Islamic beliefs would mean in England, Dr Pipes still hold back from any dramatic criticism of Islam itself.

Instead, he seems to blame "leftists" rather than Islam for the harms that are coming from the growing intrusion of Islamic beliefs and practices into English life. This seems very strange.

And second, by his unrestricted criticism of "progressivism", does he mean that English life was perfect in pre-1914 Britain? Is he by inference criticizing every reform in the 20th century, including the welfare state in England and the New Deal measures and Social Security and Medicare in the US?

This seems a curious imbalance, or choice of focus - "progressivism" is more dangerous than Islam - in English and Western life? Or am I missing something?

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