Victory over Palestinian Muslims

Submitted by Prashant, Mar 25, 2018 at 12:34

Dear Dr Pipes, I hope that your observations about Israel's decisive victory over (so called) Palestine are true and the ideas that Israel needs this victory and Palestinians also need this victory are both true. But I remain a skeptic for many reasons.

First, Islamic wars never end. Many Muslims still fantasize about Spain being an Islamic land. Maps published by ISIS still show entire India under Islamic rule. Historically, Islamic invaders have shown the tendency of attacking and re-attacking foreign lands until they achieve one final victory after which they completely destroy and demoralize the losers. Mohammad Ghauri, the medieval Islamic invader, is said to have attacked India 13 times until his last and final victory and the rest is history (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_of_Ghor). Islamic expansion and progression through Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and, now, even Kashmir is the case in point.

Second, Islamic population growth remains a problem. Israel may win a short term military victory but it will not be able to win the war against population explosion. Until recently the birth rate among Muslim Israelis was more than 1% higher than that among non-Muslims. Add to that the fact that millions of Muslims are more than willing to illegally or legally immigrate to Israel. Currently 17% of Israeli citizens are Muslims. The percent of Muslims in France is lesser and people are already talking about the Muslims becoming a majority in France in next six to seven decades. I see no reason why Israel will be any different.

Third, Islamic countries and Muslim people have little respect for democracy and golden rule. In our current world I do not see any qualms among Muslims about most Islamic countries being Islamic theocracies with infinitesimally small rights for non-Muslims. Islamic mindset is fundamentally undemocratic (This is by definition because Quran and Sharia have answers to all questions! I have read statements from many Muslims that it is good that Quran and Sharia prescribe the 'right path to follow' for all people and does not give people the right or responsibility of making a choice).

Four, Jews in Israel have no significant desire to convert anyone to Judaism while Muslims consider it an occasion to celebrate when someone accepts Islam (not to mention that conversion through marriage highly encouraged by Muslims).

Let me quickly repeat that Muslims are not necessarily always at fault. If other religions are shy of converting or are incapable of winning converts, it is not Muslims' fault. However, absence of democracy in Islamic countries and democratic mind-set in almost all Islamic societies is, indeed, Muslim's fault that needs to be corrected. That is where the hope for rest of the world lies.

Luckily, in this age of social media where all vices and virtues can spread unblocked across the world, Islamic societies will not be able to remain as much under the control of elders, religious leaders, and dictators in the next fifty years as they have been during the last 1400. You see, democracy, freedom to think, freedom to act, and the right to live without from fear are good values. We all love them. They exist not because some one imposed them on us. They exist because this is how God created us as humans. And, Islam has been able to control people enough in the last 1400 years to not realize that these freedoms are important. In this age where every person is a broadcaster and no one can isolate themselves from the outside influence, it is just a matter of time when Muslims start discovering that freedom is better than non-freedom and it is even more important to grant freedoms to others than to take them for themselves.

So the next fifty years will be very different for all countries and religions but they will be most different for Muslim countries and religion. In these fifty years call for freedom will penetrate Islamic societies. Israel may not win its wars against (so called) Palestine but that war may not be that necessary to win because the so called Palestine is going to lose most other important wars.

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