Indeed: Our Ostrich Elite

Submitted by Kepha (United States), Nov 23, 2019 at 15:29

Ignorance as tolerance--bingo.

One of the things that utterly disgusts me is this meme about "Islamic tolerance" and nurturance of civilization. Islam is tolerant as long as the Dhimmi know their [second-, third-, or fourth-class) place and acquiesce in extra taxes, periodic shakedowns, and the abductions of their most attractive daughters. As a high school history teacher, I am required to teach this as part of the curriculum; as if Ummayad Spain didn't ultimately give way to the Almoravids and Almohads, and Bajezet II wasn't the ancestor of the Sultan who launched the horrors against the Armenians, Anatolian Romaiots, and Assyrians. Indeed, my guess is that Bajezet welcomed the Iberian Jews not because he had any fondness for Jews, but because he saw more jizya for his treasury.

Oh, there's another time when Islam is tolerant: when Western countries are sufficiently strong and self-confident enough to make Barbary piracy a dangerous undertaking, and Sicilians and Calabrians feel it's safe to start moving off mountaintops and building villages on the sea.

I'd be all for an era when the West and the world of Islam are peacefully talking and trading; where there is no threat of demographic or armed jihad. But I believe recovering such an era will be extremely difficult, and our accommodating Western elites are only encouraging the worst in Islam.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".