Liberalism, Liberals And Another Lost Generation

Notwithstanding Bill Clinton’s grave pronouncements that the anti Islamic sentiments that are becoming more common in Europe are comparable to the anti Semitism of pre WW2 Europe, the fact remains that any such comparisons remain absurd in the extreme.

In fact, unlike the persecuted Jews, many Muslims seek out the badge of victimhood, and wear it with pride. There are many Muslim voices that carefully craft the public perceptions of Muslims as victims of a grand conspiracy designed to perpetuate the subjugation of Muslims and strip them of their religious and cultural identities. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.Governments and communities go out of their way to accomodate Muslims- their religion, customs and culture are afforded the utmost respect and consideration. Muslim groups, Houses of Worship and social services have been geared to serve the Muslim community. Public holidays in Western countries are sensitive to Muslims, so much so that many communities go out of their way to include Muslims or deemphasize other religious beliefs and manifestations. This is hardly comparable to what the Jews were forced to endure. To even imply there is some kind of correlation to the prewar Europe is absurd and flies in the face of reality.

Many Muslims point to persecutions of Muslims, be it in Iraq, Chechnya, Guantanamo Bay or the Occupied Territories of Gaza and the West Bank. They point out that Muslims are suffering horribly.

Naturally, there has to be a suspension of reality to pursue that delusion.

In fact, the vast majority of Muslims are oppressed by other Muslims and in fact, suffer horrific fates at the hands of their co-religionists. They also suffer at the hands of those they have oppressed- and have chosen to retaliate. That truth is a constant. The slaughter at Sabra and Shatilla by the Christian Phalange, the resistance of Christians in East Timor and Nigeria and the outrage of Hindus at Muslim atrocities in India, have all been the result of a deliberate Muslim agenda to impose their political and religious will, by force, on others.

In fact, even the military persecution of Muslims by westerners came about as a direct result of actions taken by radical Muslims. The actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saddam in Iraq and the Palestinians, have been directed at destabilizing and terrorizing innocents. There is no bias against Muslims in the west. As has been noted many times before, Muslims in the west have more freedom than their co religionists in the Arab world. The west came to the aid of Muslims in Bosnia, a truth many Muslims still refuse to acknowledge.

There is, however, a bias in the west against terror and totalitarianism, both of which are tolerated and encouraged by Muslims all over the world.

Notwithstanding that bias against terror and radicalism, Western leaders are careful to remain respectful of the faith of Islam. Contrast that with the filth that emanates from ‘Islamic leaders and scholars,’ as they disparage Judaism, Christianity and the Hindu religion. While Muslims insist that there is a concerted western anti-Muslim agenda, that is belied every day. Not one western democracy believed that a new Iraqi government, for example, need shun Islam as an integral part of it’s identity and constitution.

There is not one single example of a Muslim regime, anywhere, at any time, that was so mindful and accommodating of another faith.

For Muslims to clam they are being persecuted in the same way that Jews were in per war Europe is absurd.

The capitulation by western journalists and others after Danish cartoon episode will prove to be the proverbial ’slippery slope’ of accommodation gone wild. Notwithstanding the claim by outraged Muslims that the cartoons were a form of ‘racism,’ the truth is far different. There is no reason that Islam need be designated a ’sacred cow.’ over any other religion. There is no reason that Muslims be afforded a superior status. The caricature of Islam is no different than the caricature of any other religion. In fact, it is no different than satirizing any other religion or set of beliefs held sacred by some. Why should Islam be treated differently than feminism, animal rights, environmentalism, liberalism or conservatism?

It is true that Muslims perceive themselves as persecuted and ‘outside’ the mainstream. It is certainly true that many Muslims are victims of racism. However, rather than try and overcome stereotypes and work towards a better life (as did the Irish, Italians, Jews, Greeks, Asians and every other minority in free societies), Muslims are turning en masse to radical Islam as they search for an identity. That is a far easier endeavor than actually working towards a better life. Whereas Jews hated their victim status and did everything they could to become a part of society, many Muslims believe that being ‘oppressed’ and being defined by their religion as opposed to their behavior, bestows upon them a certain dignity. Wearing religious garb, for example, negates the hate and violence and turns that hate into something sacred, they believe. They do not see actions and behaviors as relevant to definitional to their identity.

As immigrant Jews, Catholics, Lutherans and Presbyterians built hospitals to become a part of and to serve the communities they lived in, no such effort can be found in the Muslim communities. They myopically focus on themselves and then wonder why they are not being integrated into the community at large. They do not understand that become a part of a society requires active participation and and passive demands.

All the while, western liberalism and a perverted notion of ‘multiculturalism,’ only serves to reinforce much of the negative behavior. Liberalism is helping to perpetuate the cycle that keep the disjointed and negative behaviors as ‘acceptable.’ Ambition and success, the engine that has proved to be the most powerful motivator in improving the lives of people, is given short shrift and denigrated by much of liberal ideology. Rather than focus on what is possible and within reach, many Muslims with the help and blessings of some, will place the blame of Muslim disenfranchisement in Europe and America on events in far away places and far away conflicts. They have to- they have not been the victims at the hands of free democracies, no matter how much they wish to be, or pretend they are. They want to be the persecuted Jews, because somehow, that too bestows a special status- and maybe, just maybe, they will come out of it as successful as the Jews. They do not see how very unlike the Jews they really are and how different their values are from other groups. Other immigrant groups were repulsed by the notion of victimhood. They were to prove just how strong they were by lifting themselves from the bottom rung of that social totem pole.

It is ironic that Muslims, who claim such great strength, are proving to be so weak. The need to bask in victim status and to threaten those who do not pay homage and those who refuse to celebrate that status, can only lead to one ending:

Another generation lost.

*UPDATE* A reader, Ray, reminded us that Dr Sanity had an excellent post, The Idiots Guide To Victimhood- Getting it and Keeping It. The piece is an excellent primer on the ‘what makes victimhood tick’ side of the equation. In fact, her post is an excellent insight into the fundamentals of what is the insidious momentum that is victimhood. Please read Dr Sanity’s post. In addition to providing an excellent source of cogent background material, the piece provides some far more sophisticated nuance. In other words, you’ll be a whole lot smarter after you read the post.

While you’re in a reading frame of mind, read From Cradle To Car Bomber, in case you missed it. There is the slight possibilty that there is more room up there than we thought possible.