Infinite MonkeysVictor Davis Hanson is always brilliant in his analysis of the Middle East. So it's hard to say that that this is somehow exceptional. But it is still worth reading the whole thing. A few excerpts of an important topic we've ignored lately around here:
And after the multifarious failures of Yasser Arafat, the Assads in Syria, Muammar Gaddafi, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Saddam Hussein and other corrupt autocrats, many have, predictably, retreated to fundamentalist extremism. Almost daily, some fundamentalist claims that the killing of Westerners is justified - because of a cartoon, a Papal paragraph or, most recently, British knighthood awarded to novelist Salman Rushdie. The terrorism of Osama bin Laden, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban is as much about nihilist rage as it is about blackmailing Western governments to grant concessions. ...
The poor terrorists of Arafat's old party, Fatah, seem to shriek that they have been out-terrorized by Hamas, and desperately con more Western aid to make up for what has been squandered or stolen.Muslims flock to Europe to enjoy a level of freedom and opportunity long denied at home. But no sooner have many arrived than they castigate their adopted continent as decadent. The ungracious prefer intolerant sharia - denying to their own the very freedom of choice that was given to them by others.
It is hard to deny that VDH treats the Muslim Street and their agitators and indulgers like children. It is equally hard to deny that he is wrong to do so.
UPDATE: For a more depressing (if that's possible) analysis of the Muslim Problem, read the column by my former colleague, Tony Blankley, which reviews the book by his friend and moderate Muslim scholar, Professor Akbar Ahmed. (The book is "Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization"). An excerpt from the column:
His conclusion: Due to both misjudgments by the United States and regrettable developments in Muslim attitudes, "The poisons are spreading so rapidly that without immediate remedial action, no antidote may ever be found." And Dr. Ahmed has always been an optimist.
Seriously. Read the whole thing.
Posted by Dr. Zaius at June 21, 2007 02:30 AM