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Students of political science may recall that in a previous era of American history (say, six to eight years ago), Democrats were constrained by public opinion. They knew that a country like America, founded on the ideas of free citizens and a constrained government, was naturally hostile to anti-American leftist policies, such as the Democrat Party platform. They avoided congressional votes on controversial legislation before elections. When they were passing especially anti-American laws, the Democrats would figure out exactly how many votes they needed, and then figure out how many Democrats who were up for re-election in competitive districts could be allowed to vote against it. This gave those Democrats a chance at re-election and created the illusion of a moderate Democrat Party.
Now that Democrats control elections, such deception is no longer needed, of course. The very idea of a Democrat politician feigning an interest in the concerns of those who elected him or her sounds quaint in our modern age. But until very recently, the Democrats put a great deal of effort in concealing their true intentions, in an effort to change things against the tide of public opinion.
The day after Hamas invaded Israel and kidnapped, raped, tortured, wounded, and killed thousands of women and children, I made a prediction. I predicted that some Muslim groups around the world, some Imams, some Muslim political leaders – not a lot, but a few – some of them would release statements criticizing the tactics of Hamas. They would say that Islam is not, by nature, a violent religion. They would point out that most Muslims on this planet are not violent, and do not condone raping women or butchering babies.
This would be helpful to them, as Hamas attempts to win the public opinion war over Israel, even as pictures and videos of Hamas brutality seep out over the coming weeks. Just allow a few Muslims to say that while they are sympathetic to the cause of the Palestinians, they do not approve of these methods. CNN and BBC would jump on that, and manage the PR campaign for Hamas for free. Easy. Simple. Obvious.
I’m surprised that I’m surprised that that didn’t happen.
Imagine that some Presbyterians in Nebraska raped, tortured, and murdered some women and children at a neighboring Hindu house of worship. Christians around the world would be screaming from the rooftops that this does not represent the teaching of Jesus Christ, and that they unequivocally condemn the malignant morons who committed such horrible crimes. That's all you would see on social media and news media for weeks and months.
The fact that there has been no comparable public outcry from the world’s nearly 2 billion Muslims is very concerning.
Some will say their silence is simply evidence of their fear of violent backlash from other Muslims. That may be true, but that’s even worse. If I criticized my Methodist Church, I wouldn’t fear for my life. Because Methodists are not violent. We wouldn’t bring guns into Gaza – we’d bring covered dishes. Nobody fears Methodists. And they shouldn’t.
I can’t come up with a positive explanation for the silence of the world’s Muslims. It’s difficult for me to understand.
But then again, I’m not a Muslim. According to the Koran, Hamas is acting entirely appropriately. And Muslims understand this, even if Christians do not.
Israel must deal with Hamas. Right now. Obviously.
But once they do, this problem doesn't just go away. I fear the deafening silence of Muslims around the world. If they can’t speak out even against the horrifying cruelty of Hamas last week, then things are worse than I thought. Or, to be more precise, worse than I hoped.
Democrats stopped hiding their true intentions once they knew they couldn’t lose elections.
I don’t think a feeling of invincibility is why Muslims are making no effort to hide their true intentions. I think they believe that Hamas acted ethically and appropriately. They're all reading the same holy book, and that's what it says.
They’re not speaking out against the atrocities of Hamas, because they don’t think they’re atrocities.
I really hope I’m wrong about that, but I can’t think of another explanation.
What’s the solution to this fundamental problem? I have absolutely no idea.
God help us.
Discussion (72)
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The borders of Islam have been on fire for over a thousand years. Doc, you make today's situation sound like something new. It isn't. Islam is not compatible with modernity, nor with individual freedom, nor with Christian morality. As you say, the conflict is fundamental.
We know what it takes to control the problem; we have plenty of historical examples.
Fukuyama would have done better to call his book "The Return of History."
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The "root cause" of Islamic violence is Islam: It's in the Koran. It's in the Hadith.
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Public opinion polls have shown that although a small percentage of Muslims in the West fully support terrorists, a significantly larger percentage sympathize with them. And the great majority want to eventually overwhelm the West with numbers and subject us all to Sharia Law, aka tyranny.
Also very important: The many Westerners who help Muslims deceive us regarding their true intentions.
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Bill Clinton wouldn't say or do anything before the polls were in. Seems like ancient history.
Thank goodness for social media. Imagine how this situation would be reported if legacy media could still control the narrative. The atrocities can no longer be hidden. How many examples have we seen of individuals broadcasting their grief to the world?
And Thank You, Elon Musk!
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After the Twin Towers were hit, the silence was deafening.
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