A different point --

Submitted by Roleke van Antwerpen (Belgium), Jun 1, 2005 at 08:17

I can only agree with you but I think the point is different:

You focus on "radical islam", on terrorism, on islamism. Indeed Theo van Gogh was killed by a radical islamist, but...

- The message of Theo wasn't much about radical islam, it was about _islam_. About the status of individuals in Islam, and especially women, and the growing influence of _normal_ Islam on the dutch society. I think Theo didn't take the death threats seriously, precisely because he wasn't addressing radical islam. The average feeling of peaceful Muslims here after Theo's death, was not a feeling of shame, it was more like "ok it's not good to kill people, but somehow he deserved it".

- This distinction between a radical, violent islam, and a peaceful islam, is an oversimplification. Sure, most muslims in Europe and elsewhere want to live in peace. But there is a political agenda, and more important there is a demographic agenda. For a muslim, islam means peace and peace means islam. The want peace: they want hegemony. They don't feel at ease as a minority.

- Some young fanatics throw bombs. But the main weapon is not bombs or knives. It's demography. Visit a maternity ward in Amsterdam or many other places in Europe, and you'll get my point. It's going FAST. Now in order to use demography as a weapon, they must keep entire control over their women.

- Theo van Gogh is dead, but the target was Ayaan Hirsi Ali. What she is saying essentially, is that muslim women in Europe are the sacrificial lambs of our multicultural religion. Multiculturalist (including feminists!) are telling these women: "we don't want you to emancipate". Hirsi Ali says the opposite: she says: we don't want to be a baby factory. We want to have our share of modernity and freedom. And if we love a non-muslim, may (s)he be a Dutch or a lesbian, then don't force us to marry a muslim.

- Say that and they'll kill you. No, not the al-Qaeda fanatics. Just your muslim neighbours.

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