Islam is not mentioned in this story, but it has everything to do with it. The West has been indulging for decades now in an orgy of self-flagellation, such that every man on the street and schoolchild knows that George Washington was just a slaveowner, and that colonialism is responsible for all the ills of the world. This all-enshrouding fog of self-incrimination that now envelopes the West is one of the chief reasons why it is proving so difficult to summon the will to resist the global jihad.
For Western analysts are unable to see nonwhite, non-Christian non-Westerners as anything but victims, and this feeds into the Never Apologize, Never Explain mode of the Islamic world, whose spokesmen have cannily adopted the victim status conferred upon them by Western Leftist intellectuals and are using it for their own purposes. No Muslims are consumed with guilt for the Muslim slave trade within and outside Africa, which was much more extensive than the trade conducted by Europeans, and which endures in some areas to this day. And no descendants of such slaves are asking any Muslim states or entities to examine that slave trade and make any atonement for it.
This is also symptomatic of the displacement of responsibility that stokes the global jihad: listening to Muslim spokesmen, you will get the impression that Muslims and Islamic states have lived up to now in a state of pristine innocence, interrupted only by utterly unprovoked attacks from fanatical Christian Westerners. The idea that the Islamic world might bear any responsibility for its past history or present actions does not enter the minds of either Western or Muslim analysts.
From Reuters, with thanks to Looney Tunes:
HARARE (Reuters) - Hands aloft and tears streaming down her cheeks, Alicia Chipoyi prayed in a high-pitched voice for spiritual healing for the wounds caused by years of slavery and colonization of Africa by Europeans.Chipoyi was one of hundreds of people attending a European-African-American church prayer meeting on atonement and reconciliation for the West's past role in the exploitation of what has become the world's poorest continent.
In prayer sessions punctuated by wailing and weeping, song and dance, delegates said the West had to repent before God as the first step to reconciliation with Africa, which blames many of its problems on the legacies of enslavement and imperialism...
African leaders including Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe have in the past called for reparations from the West for its part in the slave trade.
Chris Seaton, who leads the Europe-Africa Reconciliation Process, a London-based Christian pressure group that seeks to persuade Europe to admit its past role in colonialism, said more Europeans were now aware of the "dark side of colonialism."
Whenever I hear someone tell me that the Crusades was an abusive, unprovoked attack by ancient Catholics on unsuspecting, peace loving Mohammadans, I politely point out to them that the Christians were minding there own business, making pilgrimages to the holy land, as they had been doing since the Ascension, when the Mohammadans started harrassing, kidnapping and then selling those Christians into slavery. The Christians weren't trying to take over anyone's land. They were visiting the places that Christ had walked on the earth and then going home.
Ever heard of Peter Nolasco or Raymund Nonnatus? These two men are both Catholic saints who during their lifetimes raised tons of money under the order of Our Lady of Ransom to free Christian captives who were enslaved in the name of Islam. St. Raymund even traded places with one of the captives because he ran out of money one time and endured Islamic "hospitality" for eight months until his order could ransom him.
I know I've heard enough about the plight of the Muslims. I remember reading an article in a major newspaper a few years ago about crying and whining from some Muslims in Egypt because of their ancestors treatment by Crusaders. That same disinformation and our lack of knowledge of history makes us stop and think, should I feel guilty? Based on the evidence that Islam so willingly provides to us every single day about the way it's followers treat fellow human beings, the answer is a resounding NO!
NO GUILT - NO APPEASEMENT - NO TO ISLAM
This is a revolting story.
A group of gullible and naive western liberal Christians bending over backwards to fawn over Robert Mugabe, one of the worlds most oppressive dictators.
The Mugabes of this world are able to kill today's Africans at a much greater rate than western colonialism ever managed, yet western moralisers just make excuses for him.
Of course colonialism is the root cause of the pathetic state of current day Africa. Had no white man showed up there, the native leaders would've rocked and they'd now be designing & manufacturing advanced microcircuitry and software applications, no?
I mean, did Al Gore not invent the Internet after a series of intense meetings with Nigerian engineers in Lago, right?
I say let's pay two trillion dollars to the Africans and let them spawn a rich and diverse economy. Their inherent genius has been held back too long.
Would that EVERYONE was a little more honest about history!
I will not dispute the atrocities that Muslims inflicted on Christians. Indeed, the Crusades were a counter-attack rather than an act of aggression (save against the Jews of the Rhineland and against the Byzantines).
Colonialism had its especially dark moments--especially in Africa. King Leopold of Belgium's ruthless exploitation of the Congo and drastic reduction of its indigenous population evoked a horrified cry of outrage across the civilized world. William Henry Sheppard, a Black American Southern Presbyterian missionary there, was one of the voices that made this horror known in the USA. The German treatment of Southwest Africa (now Namibia) was also exceptionally brutal. Hermann Goering's father was a colonial judge there, and part of the problem.
Still, it might behoove the Brits to apologize for disrupting that fine old African institution of slave raiding and trading, too!
On the other hand, many years ago, some Christians in Fiji invited the relatives of a 19th century missionary named Baker to come to Fiji to apologize for their ancestors having eaten that worthy individual!
After all, repentence and forgiveness are an important part of the Christian religion. They probably get abused from time to time, too!
How does one handle mixed backgrounds? If my ancesters on one side were Native Americans who tried to wipe out the colony of Virginia (unsuccessfully), then a few years later my English military ancestors came in and killed my Native American family members, does my right hand give the money to my left hand? How do I apologize to myself? And do I care?
Kepha: as a matter of fact, the Byzantines had been asking for it for decades. Between 1180 and 1200, there were no less than four officially sanctioned massacres of Franks, during which thousands of Westerners, mostly Venetian merchants, were butchered on orders from the Emperor. Even earlier, Venetian nobleman Enrico Dandolo had been arrested and thrown into jail for no reason at all, merely in order to humiliate the Venetians; he was the Doge (Venetian head of State) in 1204, and manoeuvred the Crusaders against Byzantium. And if you want another instance of suicidal Byzantine arrogance and violence, study the behaviour of Isaac Ducas Comnenos, lord of Cyprus and pretender Emperor, in 1191: in the middle of the Third Crusade, with the vast armies and fleets of the Kings of France and England around in the Mediterranean, he saw fit to arrest the bride of the King of England, Berengaria, and throw her escort in jail to die of hunger. That King was none other than Richard the Lionheart, and it took him barely more than a shove of his hand to overturn Isaac and take Cyprus over; incidentally, he treated him rather better than Isaac had treated his men. These things are evidence that the Greeks were, first, falling into a purposeless anti-Latin loathing, and, second, quite deluded as to the balance of forces. The final tragedy of 1204 was brought about, in every way, by themselves, down to the direct cause - when a claimant to the Imperial throne thought to use the Crusaders to enforce his claim and then dismiss them without payment. Uh-oh! Dumb move, Imperial Majesty, dumb move.
In other words, Kepha, there is no need to believe in the black legend of the Crusades, even where the said black legend is pro-Greek rather than pro-Muslim. It is mostly self-hating bullshit anyway.
Robert's introductory comments to this piece are superb.
Isabella,
"I politely point out to them that the Christians were minding there own business, making pilgrimages to the holy land"
You might also add that not only were Christians making pilgrimages to the Holy Land at that time, Christians (and Jews) were living there and had been for centuries before the Muslims came to conquer as an expanding Imperialistic power, using cruel and savage tactics of warfare.
Every night, I whip myself and pray God to forgive me for being a white male of Western culture. My greatest wish is to convert to Islam and move to the poorest country in Africa to atone for my sins.
I do not agree with Alarmed Pig Farmer.
Why would we expect an uncolonised Africa to be a scientifically advanced continent, with the latest technologies and communication methods?
What works in Europe doesnt have to work in Africa.
Africa was a continent dominated by tribal warfare groups and maybe the tribal way of living worked for them. Maybe they didnt need the cars and apartment buildings and skyscrapers and multinationals in their continent. Maybe the Africans would have evolved in their own manner without foreign intrusion, and thereby maintained an equilibrium, and eventually, if they started leaving their continent, would have at some point had the necessity for modern lifestyles and then GRADUALLY implemented changes in their economy.
Had no Europeans intruders invaded and turned lopsided the African continent, Africa may not have been the most advanced continent on the planet today, but they certainly wouldnt be as f_c_ed up today. Africa would have evolved at its own pace, like every nation has the right to.
Just because they were not industrialising did not mean that industrialising was meant for them. Maybe they would never industrialise. Maybe the concept of tribal states work better in Africa, and not a concept of "nation state" as they had in Europe.
There is no arguing that the Europeans messed up big time in Africa, and certainly in other parts of the world that were colonised. Remember: colonialism never meant for any good to come out of it to the state being colonised. Any positive effect was always a mere byproduct.
Apart from trillians of dollars of mineral wealth that the Europeans stole from the African continent, the prejudice, hatred and inferiority complex that the Africans are left with today, as a direct result of the slave trade, cannot be replaced with any amount of apology or donation. Pride is irreplacable, and that should never be forgotten.
Muslims are the world's foremost colonists, but they never leave once they gain power, and they never grant independence to the nations they invade and conquer.
Every country in the world was invaded and conquered at some time in its history. The biggest mistake the West ever made was to use its technology and expertise to get the oil out of the ground in the Middle East and allow the savages to maintain control of it and the wealth it generates.
Middle Eastern oil is our nemesis and we would be better off if it had never been discovered. Our Achilles heel is no secret and if Chavez, the Iranian psycho-mullahs, and the al Qaeda maniacs in Saudi ARabia have their way, the world economy will collapse when they find a way to cut off the oil supply.
If we don't discover some viable oil alternatives soon or begin drilling for our own oil, we are insane. How long can our "allies", the Saudi royals, maintain power and control of their oilfields? How long before Chavez cuts off the sale of oil to the U.S.? What are we waiting for?!
Western oil companies didn't exactly "allow" them to gain control of the oil supply. Once the Muslims realized that oil was valuable (though such value was discovered and realized by others, naturally), they sent in their armies and took the oil fields by force.
Slavery did not start with the Empire, Slavery has not ended since the Empire withdrew and the colonies were handed back to descend once again into fighting and civil war, In fact slavery it grew and is still growing.
There are more people in slavery now than at any point in the past.
The Mohammedan is one of the worst offenders. He takes it from his Koran that slavery is justified and that the black man, Mohammedan or not, is inherently inferior to the lighter skinned Arab, European or olive skinned Asian Mohammedan.
Fjordman has a new article. A choice excerpt:
'years of slavery and colonization of Africa by Europeans.'
Someone should inform Alicia that slavery would have been impossible without the active participation of African kings and chietains.
Several, like King Ghezo of Dahomey, made millions from selling captured enemies and his own people into slavery.
Paolo, grazzia for the info. Deecha, the role of black Africans as the captors and sellers of slaves is virtually a taboo subject in a lot of American [mis]education.
Isabella,
Thanks for mentioning Saint Raymond Nonatus whose feast day was last Thursday (Aug 31). Here's his bio for those who may not know about him.
He was born into the Spanish nobility in 1204 AD. Well educated, his father planned a career for Raymond in the royal court in Aragon. When Raymond felt drawn to religious life, his father ordered him to manage one of the family farms. However, Raymond spent his time with the shepherds and workers, studying and praying until his father gave up the idea of making his son a wordly success. He became a Mercedarian priest, receiving the habit from Saint Peter Nolasco, the order's founder. Master-general of Mercedarian Order.
St. Raymond spent his entire estate ransoming Christians, then surrended as a hostage to free another. Sentenced to death by impalement, he was spared because of his large ransom value. Imprisoned and tortured by the Muslims, he still managed to convert some of his guards. To keep him from preaching the faith, his captors bored a hole through his lips with a hot iron, and attached padlock. Eventually ransomed, returning to Barcelona in 1239.
Created a cardinal by Pope Gregory IX, Raymond continued to live as a mendicant monk. He died of a fever at Cardona, Spain on 31 August 1240 while en route to Rome to answer a papal summons and is buried at the chapel of Saint Nicholas near his family farm he was supposed to manage.
He is a patron of Baltoa, Dominican Republic; childbirth; children; expectant mothers; falsely accused people; fever; infants; midwives; newborn babies; obstetricians; and pregnant women.
A group of gullible and naive western liberal Christians
I doubt they are "Christians"...........it is a much abused term in the West signifying little more than an excess of Sentimentalism wrapped up in Humanism.
I am 3rd generation American. To the best of my knowledge, none of my family has ever "owned" another person. I will not be a party to this guilt trip.
You go Isabella! Thanks.
Especially refreshing after: "Hands aloft and tears streaming down her cheeks, Alicia Chipoyi prayed in a high-pitched voice for spiritual healing for the wounds caused by years of slavery and colonization of Africa by Europeans."
Alicia and company are attracting Islamist sadists. Somebody .. quick .. close the door.
I repudiate any attempts to burden me with a sense of guilt for anything that I personally was not involved with. Colonialism - sorry, not there. The potato famine - before my time. Kristallnacht - not there either. I have plenty of things that I've done in my life that I'm ashamed of, and that I bear responsibility for. The condition of the world as I have found it is not on that list.
Voyager writes: "I doubt they are 'Christians'...........it is a much abused term in the West signifying little more than an excess of Sentimentalism wrapped up in Humanism."
And I confess to my own doubts that Voyager is a Christian. It is a much abused term in the West signifying little more than an excess of smug self-righteousness wrapped up in intolerance.
Voyager's innane comment aside, I agree with most of the comments here. Slavery was not invented by white Europeans. It was invented by human beings. And the only places in the world where it is still tolerated now are places where white Europeans are very few in number. Blaming Whitey for all the evils and ills of the world is such a tired old song.