16 posts tagged “europe”
A few days ago ACT! For America sent out one of their timely e-newsletters which was quite long. Its length inspired me to read it later. It turns out this was the day I did so.
ACT! For America found an older Fjordman essay entitled, “The Twin Myths of Eurabia.” The reason ACT has brought attention to the essay is to provide an understanding of the real Islam. In essence the facts starkly contradict Western Leftist and Muslim politically correct revisionist historians. One example of revisionism is the attempt to paint a picture of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) as a time of civilized, tolerant and enlightened Muslim rule in a period which Europe was in the early stages of its uncultured Dark Ages.
The only things that are correct about this revisionist history are that Europe was indeed in the Dark Ages and Islamic culture was more learned academically (although lacking in originality).
The real truth that is left out by revisionist historians is that the Muslim version of Iberia known as Al-Andalusia was not a pleasant time for Christians and Jews. The typical Islamic treatment to non-Muslims of humiliation, forced conversion, pillaging, slave raids, sex-slave concubinage and violent death was the norm. Tolerance and peace for dhimmis was the exception rather than the rule.
JRH 9/5/09
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Here is the intro from the ACT e-newsletter sent out September 2, 2009:
The Twin Myths of Eurabia
The article below is longer than we typically send out, but it is so important to the understanding of what we are facing that we are making an exception and emailing it to you.
The article exposes the myth of the “tolerance” that Muslims extended to “infidels” during the Islamic occupation of Spain. It also exposes the myth that the Islamic culture in the Middle Ages was superior to that of non-Muslim cultures, by documenting how Islamic imperialism reaped the benefits of cultures such as the Greeks and Byzantine Empire, but offered little in the way of innovation or renaissance.
Why is this important to us today? It’s well-worth reading the article below to learn the answer.
[Editor: The ACT e-newsletter posted most but not all the Fjordman article. Here is “The Twin Myths of Eurabia” from the Brussels Journal]
John R. Houk
© September 3, 2009
European history is rampant with anti-Semitism stretching from the farthest reaches of the West to the farthest reaches of the East. Misguided Christians were taught to hate Jews for being Christ-killers. Even though Jesus descended from mother Mary (as son of man) has a Jewish pedigree and the nature of the Early Christian Church has its direct roots in practicing Jews who believe Jesus the Son of God is the Messiah promised by Moses.
Amazingly secular Europe that is less Christian and more humanistic is re-visiting anti-Semitism again. What has causes this new hatred toward Jews? Is it the old Christian prejudice based on “Christ-killers” or the extreme myth of sacrificing Christian babies for their blood?
NOPE! Most indigenous Europeans have forsaken the practice and influence of Christianity in favor of the moral relativity of Secular Humanism.
One does not need a statistician or a scientific survey to make an educated guess for the existence of European anti-Semitism. The migration of large chunks of Muslims to European nations has both re-instilled hatred for Jews and to view any Israeli act of self-preservation as an act of aggression against oppressed Arabs who want to be called Palestinians.
Europeans and the Middle East even extrapolate myths from actual occurrences in other geographical areas. The classic case for that is the FBI bust that caught public officials and Orthodox Rabbis in corruption in New Jersey and New York. A significant amount of the culprits were of a Jewish ancestry whether observant or not. All the crimes were related to public corruption and money laundering to gain an illicit buck. The part that stands out to anti-Semites is that one of the Jewish culprits was part of an organ harvesting ring - Levy Izhak Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum is the only one of the 44 arrested in which his involvement was money for organ harvesting. After a quick perusal of the list of 44 I could pick out roughly 16 that appear to have a Jewish heritage by name association (mind you it’s just a guess). This would mean over half of those arrested were of the typical ethnic melting pot of America.
This brings us back to reemerging European anti-Semitism. The largest circulated daily newspaper in Sweden is known as Aftonbladet. Freelancer Donald Boström wrote a scathing notorious blood libel that the Rosenbaum organ harvest crime is an example of why the IDF needs to be investigated for harvesting organs from unwilling Palestinians. The blood libel of harvesting Palestinian organs is like one of the propaganda lies perpetuated by Arab-Islamic terrorist organizations.
Match this blood libel with the fact that Sweden has between 400,000 and 500,000 Muslims out of a population of roughly nine million Swedes with a huge anti-Semitic bias.
The website Honest Reporting details the total lack of proper journalistic investigation by Donald Boström. Both Boström and Aftonbladet editors have admitted there is NO verification of the anti-Semitic story. Even so Aftonbladet has backtracked a little by claiming the story falls under editorial freedom of the press. The problem is the original Aftonbladet story was not on an editorial page. It was written as factual reporting.
Yossi Klein Halevi places European anti-Semitism in stark terms. His article “Incite to Murder” is a must read.
JRH 9/3/09
I just read an awesome essay by a fellah that calls himself Martel Sobieskey. The name must be a pseudonym or his parents had a good understanding of Muslim aggression against Christianity.
The Frankish leader Charles Martel decisively defeated Abd-ur-Rahman (aka Abdur Rahman, Abdur-Rahman and other variations) the Muslim (Mohammedan or Saracen) leader in a place in present day France between Tours and Poitiers on October 10, 732 AD.
Charles Martel’s victory abruptly stopped Islamic ravaging of Christian lands from the Middle East through North Africa up to present day Spain.
The “Sobieskey” part of Martel Sobieskey’s name no doubt is from the hero Jan (John) III Sobieski. In late 1683 Sobieski’s smaller force won the day against the brutal Muslim Ottoman Turks who had been ravaging Christian Eastern Europe. Sobieski was not only hailed as the hero of defending Vienna but as a savior of Christendom in all of Europe from Islamic invasions and raiding parties.
Understanding the historical significance of Martel Sobieskey’s enables one to comprehend his theme in the essay “Demoting Islam’s Religion Status.”
The theme is Islam is NOT a religion in the Western sense of religion. At any rate Islam is NOT a religion of peace, rather Muslim writings obviously convey the image of a religion of war. The mindset of Islam is to transform the globe to Islamic The-political ideology by force or by stealth from within.
Martel Sobieskey expounds a recurring thought by anti-jihadis; i.e. that Moderate Islam is a myth. The reasoning behind calling Moderate Islam a myth is the Muslim writings beginning with the Quran. The Quran is considered infallible by Muslims of strict adherence, moderate adherence and even secular minded Muslims. Thus a true Muslim follows the words of Allah delivered by its prophet Mohammed and the observations of Mohammed’s life by his companions. Whether it is Allah or Mo’s buddies, the picture is that of violence to anyone perceived insulting Islam, its prophet or it Allah. This is not a pretty picture.
I personally lean toward a mixture of disbelief of a Moderate Islam and a reformed Islam. I believe Islam can discover a miracle and join the beliefs of modern global religions, which is a better afterlife through faith or the discovery of Nirvana or Moksha or whatever individual religious experience that releases a person from world thinking which is suffering.
Right now Islam only has a peaceful release for devout Muslims and Jihadist Martyrs of whom many look forward toward carnal pleasures disdained by most religions.
The website Muslims Against Shariah (Their Blog) proclaims itself to be a reform movement. This obviously an extreme minority of Muslims who may be put to death as Apostates if they lived in Muslim dominated societies.
JRH 3/24/09
Europe has picked on the rare devout Christian within the borders of the European Union; however it is few that have the name recognition of Geert Wilders.
If you are a typical Leftie you have probably bought the line that Wilders is a fringe Right Winger that is a bigot. Actually I know little of Wilders’ politics (except he definitely is not a Leftie) or his faith or if he is a practioners of anything theologically Christian. For all I know Wilders may buy into the Secular Humanist values system (which I guess would tarnish his Right Wing standing).
The one thing that Wilders does stand for is the protection of the Western Cultural paradigm that has coalesced over the centuries from Judaism, Christianity, Greek Thought, Roman Thought, Renaissance Thought, and Enlightenment Thought and so on leading to a society of civil rights that is a little constrained in Europe but nearly wide open in America.
I used the word “protection.” The political spectrum from Left to Right should be asking, “Protection from what?”
I am yelling from the rafters of Liberty telling you, “Western Culture needs proactive protection from Islam which is trying to assimilate the West rather than be assimilated by the various nations of the West!”
Admittedly in Europe the faith of Christianity has become an afterthought as a practicing religion of most Europeans. Western evolvement in Europe has been the egalitarian form of Liberty in which every human is entitled to free speech, thought, religion (if so chosen) and ideology as long as said Liberty does not offend or incite violence against individuals or groups of ideologues or people of religion. Being an America I find that sort of Liberty is diluted Liberty when considerations of incitement is above the act of violence. Diluted Liberty is saying the populace cannot be trusted to peacefully write or give a speech to contradict another’s outlook. Diluted Liberty is saying the populace will indulge in uncivilized acts of rage and carnage. Diluted Liberty is saying the government will prevent real freedom of speech because it fears to enforce civilized protections from an uncivilized raging populace.
This diluted Liberty is the very thing that European and International Muslim/Mohammedan organizations are using to shut Wilders’ mouth. For If Wilders’ mouth is not shut, the evidence that Islam/Mohammedanism is a violent religion according to their own writings would enlighten people to the contradiction that is Islam. AND if the West discovers this collectively it will be understood that Islam is doing the inciting against Western Culture whether it be secularist or Christian or Judaic or any other faith or ideology counter to Islam/Mohammedanism.
The point of Wilders could be that Islamic writings – Quran, Hadith, Sunna and Sira – have incited Wilders to educate all that will listen that Islam/Mohammedanism’s very existence is an incitement to submit to Islam or else.
Or else what? Dear God in Heaven look at an honest history book that is absent of politically correct egalitarian freedom and discover how from Mohammed’s conquest of Jewish and Christian Arab tribes in Arabian Medina through conquest of Mecca and beyond, Islam has been a harsh imperialistic Theo-Political movement of conquest, slavery and intolerance. The losers to Islam conquest were either brutally murdered and their women and children turned to slaves (oft times sex slaves) or turned into a sub-human class that exists to pay a humiliating tax for protection from the violence of Islam.
Courtesy of Andrew Bostom, he has posted a very erudite essay from Bat Ye’or as to why the Western World should be standing up for Geert Wilders.
Truly you need to READ IT.
JRH 2/18/09 (Hat Tip: ICJS Research)
Academics and Western intelligencia are labeling the days we live in as a post-Christian era. The meaning conveyed is that the haven of Christendom no longer views itself as Christian. The implication is that the West is a secular society abandoning all aspects of the Christian faith. Indeed many in the West – particularly in Europe – view Christian morality and values as archaic and mythological to a viewed reality evolving humanistic thought which is egalitarian and tolerant of all lifestyles post-Christian society deems acceptable.
Because of this Christianity is back on the footing of the early Church prior to Roman Emperor Constantine (circa 300’s A.D.). Indeed Academia has abandoned the Christian calendar of measuring time. A.D. (Anno Domini) has been renamed C.E. (Christian Era) and B.C. (Before Christ) is now B.C.E. (Before Christian Era). Anno Domini is Latin for the English “year of our Lord.” Thus you can understand why a Secular Humanist Christian rejecting Academia rejects the traditional measurement of time utilizing “A.D.”
In Europe this anti-Christian attitude is becoming ingrained into the minds of Europeans. The days of Christian persecution (thus far non-violent) have become a matter of practice in criminal and civil law in Europe. It is the nomenclature of society that if Christian faith offends it must be squelched even if it deprives a Christian Believer of Freedom of Speech. Thus Christian cannot preach Christian morality pertaining to homosexuality. Thus Christians cannot warn of the evils of the violent religion of Islam. Indeed European society has become so anti-Christian that it looks the other way when members of the Islamic religion preach violence against Jews, Christians and Western Society in general.
The irony of tolerating Islamic vitriol is that a significant amount of Muslims in Europe wish to have a double standard rule of law. This means one rule of law for indigenous and inherent Europeans and Sharia Law for Muslims.
HELLO! Sharia Law is the absolute opposite of even Secular Humanistic morality. Sharia Law calls for the snuffing out of homosexuals and retrograding civil rights of women.
For me that is incredulous! Christians are being prosecuted in Europe for standing for their Christian faith because it is particularly offensive to Muslims who view that Mohammed is the final authority of what faith should be. The very Secular Humanists that fear Christian Morality as a myth are validating Islam that is still living in a medieval mindset of violence as enforcement of belief. And Allah forbid a Christian or a Jew denigrates Islam in favor of an alternate faith. Honor for Allah must be maintained.
European government officials look the other way for this mindless Islamic attitude and prosecute people religious or non-religious that wish to maintain the culture of their heritage.
A classic example of this is the Dutch persecution of Geert Wilders for producing his movie “Fitna.” Fitna is a movie short documentary utilizing imagery of present day Islamic influenced atrocities and matching them with Mohammedan scriptures of the Quran. Evidently exposing the truth is incitement and hate-speech according to the Dutch government and Muslims in general. Not to mention the so-called Religion of Peace has threatened Geert Wilders’ life for this truthful portrayal of Islam.
The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) provides other recent examples of persecution of Christians in Europe. The CADC warns that anti-Christian mentality is taking root in America. Christians in America can choose to sit on their laurels and await vilification or do something the American Left and Muslim-American organizations would fear; i.e. become active politically and socially in standing up for your Christian faith before it becomes illegal to do so.
JRH 2/5/09
Have you read by any chance that the spread of radical Islam in the Middle East, Europe and to a lesser extent in North America is the result of Western colonialism impoverishing poor Mohammedans leaving them frustrated and destitute?
The Nordic blogger with the pseudonym “Fjordman” draws a crystal clear historical analysis as to why this is a bunch of garbage from Islamic Supremacist who do not like being inferior to dar al-harb. Being a supremacist means anger and racism is brandished as terrorism by radical Islam.
The claim of Western colonialism and the old Crusader expeditions of the far past is the reason for the current condition of Islamic nations very simply is not true. Libya has successfully exploited Italian self-guilt and monetary remuneration based on this myth. Algeria is really pushing France for the same accommodation.
The reality is Europeans should be asking remuneration from the Oil wealthy Mohammedan nations and Mohammedan Turkey rather than pouring false guilt on the West readily accepted by dhimmi Europeans and Leftist Americans.
JRH 9/8/08
Okay, I know I am probably a neocon blowhard. I also know that Georgia is not in NATO.
On the other hand I know that Russia has oppressed the Georgian people either under Czarist or Soviet rule over the last two hundred years.
I know that Georgia was one of the “coalition of the willing” when America decided to end the genocidal terrorist supporting regime of Saddam Hussein while Russia was definitely one of the European supporters of allowing Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror to continue. Indeed Georgia had 2000 troops in Iraq that America airlifted back to Georgia to face the big bully Philistine Goliath Russia.
Where is the American and Western Democracies (that still a little military oomph) at in telling Russia get out or we will join and kick you out.
Yeah, yeah I know. The rest of Europe has become pussies because economically Russia is a huge supplier of oil and natural gas.
I know this is a tired cliché, but this fear of war thing to keep the status quo has become the entry level to future military devastation for quite some time. First the carnage of WWI became the set-up not to mess with Hitler and look what happened. Then Europe (and geez America) KNEW Stalin had turned the Soviet Communists into the evil empire and did nothing to nip in the bud what would be a half century of Democracy/Communist Cold War with blood spilled among mutual client States.
Just think if America and Europe had the cajones to act on George Patton’s warning of the Soviets rather than firing him. Sure WWII would have shifted from Germany to the USSR but the combined Democracies and the only nation in possession of a nuclear bomb would have crushed the Communist Evil Empire.
So what is the world’s Democracies doing about Russian aggression? Probably rightly trying to find a diplomatic solution for Georgia and Russia; however I place no trust in the Russian liars.
Russia has already said they have called a cease fire and pulled back and are not in Gori, Georgia. The news channel I was watching demonstrated Russia was a liar because they should live feed of Russian tanks moving into Gori rather than out of Gori.
It is time to rally the Democracies to step up and show preparedness for war. I mean NATO existed to thwart Soviet aggression. What’s the difference? Did not Western Europe receive the benefit of oil and gas from pipelines that were under the former USSR control? So if Brezhnev had said if you protect small nations from the USSR that were NATO members, would NATO fold because of the potential of an economic rough time?
I mean Turkey is part of NATO as well. This is a chance to demonstrate a modern government instead of an Islamic government and start toot’ in the anti-Russian horn.
Okay enough venting. This is what Yahoo News says about the current state of affairs in Georgia and Russian aggression.
JRH 8/14/08
As an American I think of Europe (particularly Western Europe) as a paradigm of democratic rule of law with socialism as the socio-political platform dominating Western European democracies.
I just read an article by Diana West showing that Slanted Right Conservatism is slowly making a come back in Europe. Now this might sound dreadful since most people think of the Nazi and Fascist movements as Right Wing movements that screwed up the world.
The reality is that Nazis and Fascists were socialist oriented with race supremacist ideas that tried to get the people to focus on a political cult and a cult leader. Nazis and Fascists both overtly hated democracy and Communism. Really the only difference between Communism and Nazism is that the Nazis were up front about the State managing the lives of the people while the Communist pretended to have goals of a Stateless society in which working class people managed culture collectively. The Nazis relished in the power of the political cult, the Communists lied to the people about the political cult.
Diana West interviews Oskar Freysinger the leader of Switzerland’s largest Political Party (in a multi-Party Parliamentary system). The Political Party is called the Swiss People’s Party. The irony for me is that Political Parties with the name “People’s” included in the name are socialist or communist in nature; however the dominant Left Wing Parties of Switzerland collectively view the People’s Party as Right Wing and “bigoted” and thus not to be taken seriously.
Then again the Lefties in Switzerland might begin to take notice. The Swiss People’s Party has succeeded to get a Swiss Referendum on the ballot aimed at Mohammedan immigration as well as the building of the symbols of Mohammedan power such as minarets.
Diana West points out the Swiss People’s Party represents voters emerging slowly across Europe that are becoming fed up with Mohammedan supremacism potentially turning Europe into Eurabia. Read it, I know you will find of interest.
JRH 7/20/08
In Western politically Democratic secular nations religious interaction with taxpayer operated agencies is usually frowned upon, especially when linked to educational instruction.
In Europe (more so) and America religious instruction or practice is particularly frowned upon in Public Schools. This is abundantly the case with the Christian faith.
In America the practice of prayer and Christian interaction was a normal part of life until Secular Humanists and atheists gained the aid of Left Wing lawyers to convince the Supreme Court to reinterpret the First Amendment in which disestablishment clause states “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion”. The Supreme Court used an atheist suing about prayer in school to reinterpret the Disestablishment Clause from meaning the Government cannot establish a State Church to religion must be totally separate from the Government; i.e. the old myth of Separation of Church and State. The Supreme Court totally ignored the grammar of the First Amendment which follows the Disestablishment Clause by a comma and states “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Thus the Supreme Court single handily prevented hundreds of years of American practice prior to the 1960’s with the paradox of prohibiting religion in Government yet not prohibiting the Freedom of Religion. The paradox is by prohibiting zero religious interaction in Government (i.e. schools, Universities, Courts, taxpayer supported social programs et al) in effect prohibits the “free exercise” of religion.
Now here comes the real rub! Western nations are now expressly prohibiting the practice of anything Christian however with some kind of twisted thinking of diversity are forcing Public School students to learn the faith of Mohammedanism even to the extent of forcing the practice of its rituals. American Universities are even providing special Mohammedan exceptions that would be considered Leftist blasphemy for Christians to practice their faith on the taxpayer dime.
Now I am reading in the UK that two students were punished and reprimanded for refusing to practice an academic exercise that would force them to pray like Mohammedans. The article also mentions how American-Mohammedan organizations like CAIR have gone to Public School assemblies to preach the Mohammedan theology (which denigrates Christian Theological beliefs) to students on the taxpayer dime.
This is outrageous Left Wing allowed practices that I believe is perpetrated on American students and European students to undermine Christianity as the foundation of Western Culture.
If the free exercise of the Mohammedan religion is allowed on the public dime then BY GOD our cultural heritage of Christianity MUST be allowed as it indeed was prior to the 1960’s.
Here are some interesting thoughts on the Islamization of Europe by Daniel Pipes. Hopefully to inspire you to read the entire article, I think a good summation of Pipes’ point is this: Europe will voluntarily slip into Islamization or as Sharia Law confronts European Egalitarianism, civil war or civil wars will break out across European lands that have significant Mohammedan populations.
Just at the top of my head this would include most of Western Europe (e.g. Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and so on) and Russia.
Even though this essay is about a potential Eurabia, it would behoove America, Canada and Australia to take a long look at what a non-Western Culture can do to society.
JRH 4/15/08
