Are Islam Bashers to Blame for Terror Threat?

Whatever happened to Newsweek? In a recent article two of the magazine's contributors suggest that the rise of anti-Islam parties throughout Europe is somehow connected with the raised terror alert on the continent. Not only do the authors fail to explicate a connection between the two; they fail even to substantiate this assertion.

According to the magazine, people in Europe are "afraid, caught between terrorists who are plotting attacks against them and politicians who are not only exploiting the public's fears but, in some cases, openly taunting the terrorists." I can't speak as to the mood in every part of Europe, but in general, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of fear around. Indeed, American news media have been more anxious to report on the terror plot that Al Qaeda affiliates were or are supposed to planning against France, Germany and the UK than their European counterparts.

The authors conveniently glance over the near absence of extremist parties in those countries though. They point out that "from Sweden and Denmark to Italy, Holland and Hungary" anti-immigration parties are on the rise (which is true), and they conclude that "It's been years since the clash of civilizations seemed so real and so imminent" (which is preposterous).

If the mounting popularity of Islam bashers in the aforementioned countries were to incite terrorism, why aren't those countries targeted? The answer, of course, is that unlike those countries (with the exception of the Netherlands), Britain, France and Germany have actually fought terrorism instead of Islam, from Western Africa to Afghanistan. That's why terrorists are attempting to strike against them.

Muslim extremists make a lot of fuss when someone like Geert Wilders declares Islam a "fascist ideology" and suggest that the Qur'an should be outlawed, but Geert Wilders isn't taking the war to them. France, Germany and the United Kingdom are.

Obama, Not So Sure About Ground Zero Mosque Anymore

Just when you thought Obama was making a stand for liberty, defending the construction of a "mosque" near Ground Zero, New York on Saturday, he's back to trying to please everyone today, assuring people: "I was not commenting on and will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there."

Obama Defends Construction of Ground Zero Mosque

Credit when credit is due: President Barack Obama defended the construction of an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, near the site of where once stood the towers of the World Trade Center, saying the country's founding principles demanded no less.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," the president said at an annual dinner in the White House State Dining Room celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," he continued. "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

Fareed Zakaria: Don't Demonize Islam

Fareed Zakaria, making perfect sense:

How Anti-Islamic Rhetoric Strengthens Extremists

About that mosque that's supposed to be build near Ground Zero, New York. From Slate:

Several astute writers [...] have explained the idiocy of the anti-mosque campaign. By opposing the mosque, [Newt] Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, and other Republicans think they're standing up to Bin Laden. But Bin Laden isn't fighting for Islam. He's fighting to transform a war of terrorists against civilization into a war of infidels against Islam. He's fighting to persuade Muslims that they belong on his side, not on ours.

And you're helping him, Newt. You're giving him exactly the fight he wants. Nice going.

Their comparison of Bin Laden and Gingrich quotes is a bit far stretched but the conclusion is sound: by pretending that this is a clash of civilizations, the West only ends up strengthening the crazies.

At the same time, there's no need to be ashamed to proclaim Western values as superior, nor to give way to ideologies that are totalitarian and oppressive. Fundamentalist Islam is despicable and dangerous. The West should offer freedom as its alternative instead of bigotry and fear.

A Mosque Near Ground Zero?

There's been much heated discussion recently about the possibility of a Muslim prayer house being erected near Ground Zero in New York City, until September 11, 2001 site to the World Trade Center. Since it were Muslim terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers, building a mosque nearby would be close to an abomination, opponents allege. I beg to differ.

The propaganda which is espoused by Muslim fundamentalists and which inspires naieve Muslim youngsters to extremism, even terrorism, portrays the United States as a bulwark of intolerance and hatred, set to destroy Islam in favor of what they perceive to be barbarism. (We call it liberty.) Sadly, they're not wrong entirely on at least one score: since 9/11, discrimination against Muslims has been on the rise, both in the United States and in the rest of the Western World.

The United States was founded by people who sought to escape from religious persecution in the Old World. They sought out a free haven to live by their own rules and express their own beliefs and they succeeded. For over two centuries, the United States has been home to many religions which, nearly always, managed to coexist peacefully. Quite a feat considering that religion has so divided people all over the world for so many centuries.

Muslim extremism poses a unique threat however. Unlike virtually all other religions and sects established in the United States, Islamic fundamentalism (though certainly not Islam as such) denies the very order which ensures religious freedom: one that is steeped in a firm commitment to personal liberty.

The extremists allege that the United States is a nation of excess. They claim that it fosters ignorance, intolerance and hatred; that it is imperialists because it has, at times, sought to impose its values and its will upon different parts of the world.

What better way to prove them wrong than by erecting a monument to the very religion which they believe cannot exist in harmony with the American Way of Life, near the very place where they launched so violent an attack against that way of life? What better way to prove to the world that in America, liberty always trumps tyranny, than by remaining true to the principles which have guided the country since its very inception? New York should build a mosque near Ground Zero because no terrorist act, no matter how destructive, may shatter America's commitment to freedom.