Confessions of an Islamaphobic

Lawrence of Arabia was one of my all-time favorite movies. I took two semesters of Islamic History and Culture at Georgetown from a professor in the Foreign Service School many years ago. I regarded Muslims as natural allies against Soviet Communism. But none of that interest and sentiment changes my understanding that the Islamic political and cultural vision is a stagnant anachronism whose sheer inapplicability can only result in futility and violence. The recent "caliphates" created in chaos are the political and cultural equivalents of Jurrasic Park and unfortunately completely consonant with the essence of Islam.

John Kennedy had to make a strong speech in front of a convention of Protestant ministers to assuage suspicion of

Catholic allegiance to papal temporal power. Mormons are scrutinized. Jews are invariably accused of divided loyalties between the US and Israel. Bible-centered Protestants are invariably suspected of trying to "impose" their religion. However, Muslims, whose religion is more openly hostile to the tenets of secular democracy than any other, get a blanket pass under the rubric of avoiding the sin of "Islamaphobia." Why should Mitt Romney be asked how he can separate LDS teachings from his policy positions, while the equivalent question is never put to Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Rashida Talib or Minn Atty General Keith ("X") Ellison?

Consider the wording of the oath of office of every federal officer or employee:

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

There are over one hundred suras in the Koran that call for the death of non-believers, Jews and Christians in particular. The text also asserts an inferior status for women and the dismissal of female testimony in the absence of male Muslim corroboration. This seems rather "problematic" in the campus vernacular, to put it mildly. Muslims do not get to pick and choose nor devise modern re-interpretations of any part of the Koran. So, can a Muslim take the above oath without mental reservation?

The British equivalent expressly cites "democratic values":

Oath: "I, [name], swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, Her Heirs and Successors according to law."

Pledge: "I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen."

Every immigrant and every descendant of immigrants living in the West is a living affirmation of the superiority of the West. (Fifty years ago, I found the rather drab village left behind by a distant emigrant Irish ancestor and entered the sole pub in town to raise a pint in his honor for having left and made me an American.) Every step, every breath taken while living in a secular democracy like ours is an affirmation because one is always free to leave. Multitudes of residents of shariah-ruled nations seek to live in the West, but there is no corresponding horde of Canadians, Australians, Europeans, and/or Americans begging for citizenship in the Islamic world. That is because the West is superior. Period.

It should be acceptable to say to local Muslims when they are acting out, "Thank you for being here and acknowledging the superiority of the West, of secular democracy, and its Judeo-Christian heritage."

Islam cannot function in a diverse environment. It was designed to be an imperial religion with very centralized authority. Instead of relentless cultural pressure on resident Muslims to deal with the unique deficits of Islam, our elites welcome "authentic" behavior which can only be seen as weakness and an invitation to impose shariah. It does no one any favors and instigation of violence is assured. In that distorted arrangement, Islamaphobia can be our friend.