Deafness

Submitted by Ed Halper (United States), Aug 16, 2006 at 14:56

There is a kind of systematic deafness in the west to the Islamists' message. They have articulated their message clearly and often, yet few in the west listen. What we have is a large group of westerners long critical of US foreign policy who see Islamic critics and assume, without listening carefully, that the Islamists have the same critique. This produces the bizarre spectacle of western leftists aligning themselves in defense of Islamic repression.

After the Madrid bombing al-Qaeda published a statement in which they called Spain occupied muslim land. The remark was barely noticed. I cannot recall seeing it discussed. I do not even know anyone whom I could convince to take it seriously.

It surely must have been like this in the 1930's. Hitler had published a book saying what he planned to do with, and people were familiar with it. I suppose that they just could not take him seriously. Hitler and the current Jihadists fell outside of people's standard categories. We in the west tend to project our values onto Islamists--even, indeed, especially the cultural relativists who should be best able to avoid this and most aware of this tendency.

So the introduction of the word "fascist" has the advantage of making a connection with something people have now come to recognize. Ultimately, the issue is not names. People need to wake up and see this movement for what it is. Islamists are not fighting colonialism, repression, oppression, economic circumstances, nor are they fighting for justice, opportunity or freedom. This is not a war for the things that we in the west have understood wars to be about. It is a religious war, but its aim is domination and oppression--of us.

Thanks, Daniel Pipes, for educating people about Islamists.

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