Young Zionista Enthralled with Daniel Pipes...

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Hey all,  looks like a little "Zionista" is as busy as a Zio-bee propagandizing. We ought to invite her and her little gang over here for a good verbal thrashing.

-------
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Daniel Pipes' Speech Tuesday Night

As I posted before, Daniel Pipes spoke at my university on Tuesday night. I attended with my camera and notebook and therefore have copious notes and a few photos to post. First, for the photos:

The "Stop the Hate" protest didn't quite have the turnout that they were expecting or hoping for, I'm willing to bet.


The turnout was pathetic at best, considering that these people had put up a copious amount of signs all over campus.

The speech itself was called "Vanquishing the Islamist Enemy and Helping the Moderate Muslim Ally." Pipes started off by dissociating himself with the term "Islamofascism." He said he dislikes that term because he finds it to be misleading. Though there are similarities between Islam and Fascism, there are also notable differences, namely that Islam is a religious movement and Fascism was a governmental movement. Pipes wanted to make it clear that although he was technically speaking at our university for Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, he did not endorse the term.

That being said, Pipes addressed the first issue: the differing opinions about the threat of what he calls radical Islam. Those on the right of the political spectrum are concerned about terrorism, while those on the left say it is not much of a threat to us at all. First, he said, we ought to define who our enemy is. The government says it's "terrorism" in general, which is a vague, euphemistic, and inaccurate term. Nor, according to Pipes, is the enemy Islam in general, for the following reasons: historically, we did not have problems with Islam until a few decades ago. Moreover, the government cannot respond to a religious movement.

Pipes says that the enemy is radical Islam, or rather, Islamists--people who say that Islam is the solution to everything. These people want a larger version of what the Taliban had in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. They want an Islamic caliphate and they see the West as the main obstacle to this, with America being the strongest power in the West. These people have a utopian view of what they want the world to be like and seek world domination. They would want to control all aspects of our lives. And, they are, in Pipes' words, very dangerous--this is the "third radical movement of our time."

These Islamists, Pipes says, are approximately ten to fifteen percent of the Muslim population, or every one in eight Muslims. If the entire population of the Muslim world is one billion people, then this is about one hundred fifty million people. Pipes here explained that his definition of an Islamist is a Muslim who wants sharia law to be enforced.

These people are very capable of taking over because they evolve over the years. Pipes pointed out the difference between Ayatollah Khomeini's rise to power versus Erdogan's rise to power--the former took power in a violent revolution, the latter through democratic means. There are two main methods that the Islamists use to gain power and advance their agenda: violence and working through the system. Violence is immediately recognisable because it includes such acts like terrorism or use of WMDs. Though these horrify us, Pipes believes they will ultimately not be the favoured means of the Islamists because historically, there are reactions against terrorism. Instead, the Islamists will work through the system, as they have done in Turkey and are doing in England. This will prove ultimately more dangerous because it is harder to see such infiltration.

There are two things we can do in response to these threats: co-opt or confront these people. Co-option--working with them to address grievances--will not work because the Islamists seek to change us. There is a sense in the Muslim world that something has gone wrong in the last two hundred years because they used to be powerful. So appeasement will not work--instead we must confront them. It is the inevitable path--just as we confronted and defeated Fascism and communism, so we must do so with the Islamists.

To do this, Pipes says, the moderate Muslims must ultimately play a role. Only they can offer solutions to their fellow Muslims. This isn't just Islam versus the West; it's also radical Muslims versus moderates. But in the end, it ultimately boils down to one thing: civilisation versus barbarism. Will we be free, or will we be slaves? It is our choice to make.

Since that concludes my summary of Pipes' speech, let me now share some pictures of the man himself.






Now, for my own comments. I have very mixed feelings about Pipes' speech. I have a fundamental difference of opinion regarding Islam: it's not some radical form of Islam that's the problem--it's Islam itself. Islam is inherently very, very violent. And to categorise it simply as a religion is a bit inaccurate: it is more than a religion. It's a political and social movement as well, and it encompasses all aspects of life. Nor, I believe, can it be reformed--it would not be Islam anymore. The Qu'ran is the be-all end-all for Muslims and cannot be questioned, and it is very clear in saying that it is every Muslim's duty to wage jihad on the nonbelievers, and to convert them or kill them.

Of course, this portrays an even more depressing view of our world. And it raises the ever-important question of what are we to do with these people. There are options, but they are rather grim. Our tensions with the Islamic world will probably erupt in bloody war in the next twenty-five years or so, and it will be a war we cannot afford to lose. Think of all that will be lost if we become an Islamic civilisation.

I know I said that I disagreed with Pipes on some issues, but he is right about this: the Islamic threat is one of the greatest we have ever faced, and our very freedom is at stake.

Also at NeoConstant.

Posted by Natalie at 11:33 PM 3 comments  

Categories: Essays, Islam

http://littledoor.blogspot.com/

Blogs I Follow
Gates of Vienna
Jihad Watch
Liberal Fascism
Red Alerts
Republican Riot


mailto:natcat200@gmail.com">natcat200@gmail.com