Submitted by Seton Motley on May 8, 2007 - 10:06am.
Death by a thousand multi-culturalisms
My compatriot Mohamed Elibiary and I were on April 25th privy to a Congressional screening of Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.’s film Islam vs. Islamists: Voices from the Muslim Center. Such a select showing was necessary because the Public Broadcast System (PBS), which saw fit to fund its production, deems it unfit for an appearance on its airwaves. PBS is now holding the product hostage, not allowing Gaffney to take it to anyone else with a broadcast license. His only option for its airing is before relatively modest, piecemeal gatherings such as this.
The picture introduces and juxtaposes practitioners of Islam in various European, Canadian and American cities who are outspoken in their antipathy of murder and mayhem in the name of their faith with fundamentalist, Jihadist, Islamist Muslims who reside in their respective locales. The former are, of course, under threats of death and must endure round the clock protection from the latter and others of their ilk.
(Muslims) know there is the tremendous problem of Jihadist barbarism, but see the Western solutions of democracy and liberalization not as a one time fix, but an ongoing and ceaseless transformation. What would begin as a comforting fire would end up an inferno engulfing those who had gathered seeking its warmth. |
It is a middle of the road, unideological presentation of their stories, and one is left utterly flummoxed as to why it has been universally spiked by PBS.
Gaffney, a prominent Conservative, and its Director, self-described Left-of-Center-ist Martyn Burke, were on hand and stated they made their movie to show that there are indeed “Center” Muslims who are openly opposed to Islamist barbarism, as well as to broaden the dialogue of how best to address the political application of Islam that is responsible for the violence from which the world today suffers. They were eminently successful on both counts.
Mohamed (who is a Muslim) and I, along with another Christian friend, afterwards made our way to my car engaged in one of these hoped for discussions. We quickly reached a blockbuster conclusion, which we now, modestly, present to you.
|
The Ken Kesey Prescription |
The resolution to the problem of global militant Islam is a(n un)healthy dose of Liberalism.
We envision a last straw for the vast majority of Muslims who are right now quietly sitting by while the very few engaged on either side of the violence problem wage their war of bombs and words, one that will finally pull them into the fray and begin the tamping of the militancy that right now plagues our planet.
Let us say this tipping point would be a fatwa, issued by the Iranian mullahs or some other religious group of import, condemning the act of condemning suicide bombings, honor killings or female circumcision. It would incite the sort of backlash from the great many of Muslims for which we Average White Guys have long been waiting.
Led by those of the faith who reside within the Great Satan, we would see the inception of the Leftist assault on Islamist militancy, the same all-encompassing, on all fronts Liberal attack that has been the detrimental, degredating hindrance to success and achievement in all other facets of global life.
For example, American Liberals hate U.S. aggression executed in our defense, but do not seem to at all mind, and in fact seek to rationalize and justify, the innumerable Islamist attacks on and ritualistic beheadings of civilians, be they American, Israeli, British, Canadian, Australian, or even Muslims of any and all nationalities, ethnicities and sects. It would only stand to reason that the newly minted Islamic Liberals would openly condemn all Muslim acts of violence, regardless of whether or not they could be deemed reasonable or prudent.
We would see a liberalization of all facets of Muslim cultural life. Women would be privy to a whole new world of sartorial possibilities. More than merely Nancy Pelosi would be going for the Versace hijab (headscarf), and think of all the designers rushing to colorize and accessorize the abaya (overgarment/dress). What was once a sign of Islamist homogeneous oppression would suddenly become one of individualistic, girlish expression.
You would see the rise of a thousand MoveOn.org-type groups and movements, all intent on saving Islam by destroying it. The ICLU (Islam Civil Liberties Union) would bandy about filing countless lawsuits undermining the preeminent tenets of the faith and its culture and societal doctrine. For gay believers there would be the Log Cabin Muslims, determined to show that what the Qur’an says about homosexuality is not even close to what it really means.
|
An Islamic Liberal Petroleum Protest |
And just imagine the effect the Islamic environmental movement will have on the principal economic activity of the vast majority of the nations of the Muslim world, the drilling and distribution of oil. American Liberals have made it impossible for us to extract our domestic sources, thereby forcing us to turn further to the greatest pool on the planet, that located beneath the Middle East. It is inexorable what will then become of their petroleum production whence the Islamic Liberals set in.
There are myriad other examples of the sorts of creeping rot that would infest the Muslim world following the rise of this new movement.
The American Liberal was born of the need to meet some legitimate challenges and effect some necessary changes, but long, long ago passed the point where he should have left well enough alone. So too would the Islamic Liberal address the vital problem of Islamist militancy, but then have absolutely no idea when to say when.
It is why the vast majority of Muslims today, currently sitting out this imperative internal struggle, are so reluctant to become engaged. They know there is the tremendous problem of Jihadist barbarism, but see the Western solutions of democracy and liberalization not as a one time fix, but an ongoing and ceaseless transformation. What would begin as a comforting fire would end up an inferno engulfing those who had gathered seeking its warmth.
One looks around our nation’s deviantly friendly confines and sees the wanton crime, sex, sexuality and spiritual and cultural dilapidation into which we have fallen, and can hardly blame them for fearing a similar outcome in their corners of the world.
Better perhaps, they determine, to pass on our prescriptions for their ills. Their decision may very well be that (what is in their minds) a little barbarity is better than a lot of decadence.
If so, we are all truly in for a long, long Islamist night, with the overwhelming preponderance of Muslims noiselessly sleeping right through it.
Seton Motley is, along with Mohamed Elibiary, writing The Average White Guy’s Guide to Islam: Conversations on the Spiritual, Cultural and Societal Divide between East, Middle East and West. Mr. Elibiary is the President and C.E.O. of the Freedom and Justice Foundation, an organization dedicated to the bringing together of Muslims and Conservatives.
