| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Jihad Watch | Robert Spencer | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog |  |
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The difference in Muslim behavior in the U.S., as compared to that demonstrated in Western Europe, is owed primarily to several factors.
First, and most important, the Muslim population is a much smaller proportion of the American population -- scarcely 1%. And of even that 1%, most of the Muslims are homegrown Black Muslims, whose own easygoing and at times even syncretistic interpretation of Islam in the past caused the orthodox at Al Azhar to refuse to recognize Elijah Mohammad's group as really Islamic at all.
But what if there were not 3 million Muslims (two million of them identified as belonging to the "Black Muslims") but rather 15 million -- that is, 5% of the total population -- or even 30 million, or 10% of the total population, as may already be true in France? Wouldn't local Muslims, already so aggressive and unyielding in the demands of their so-called representative groups (e.g. CAIR), be far more aggressive and even more demanding, even more uncooperative with the authorities on matters of security, even more aggressive in demands to changes in our legal and political institutions, in our schools, in our social understandings and arrangements, in our everything?
Second, the non-Muslim population of the United States contains far more believing Christians and self-identifying Jews than anywhere in "post-Christian" Western Europe. They are powerful and self-confident, and will not yield as the French and English have yielded. America is a more violent society. Part of that violence includes a willingness, even an eagerness, to have those who threaten that society suppressed -- thank god -- unapologetically.
Third, the pre-existing mental pathologies that have helped Muslims to find allies of sorts in the countries of Western Europe are antisemitism, which remains a permanent presence in the Western world which nothing can eradicate, but which in the United States, for all sorts of reasons (including the identification of so many Americans, including the earliest Puritans, with the Israelites, and the role of the Old Testament in American intellectual and religious history) has been reduced far below its European levels. The second pre-existing mental pathology cleverly exploited by Muslims and their willing collaborators in the countries of Western Europe has been anti-Americanism, strongest in France and England, less strong in Germany and especially, thank god, in Italy -- and visible on this side of the Atlantic only among media figures.
Fourth, Muslims are not provided with as many benefits paid for by Infidel taxpayers as they are in Western Europe, and so cannot rely on the dole for their every need, nor on fiddling the system to the degree that is now de rigueur in England and France. They need, therefore, the good will of non-Muslim customers and employers. This may -- for a while, even a long while -- inhibit open political activity for the advancement of Sharia principles. After all, if one realizes that one's contribution to CAIR or one's open support for Muslim goals may cause direct economic losses, one may hesitate.
Fifth, in this country there are many more non-Muslim refugees from Muslim lands -- Christians who are descended from those Maronites who arrived between 1880 and 1940, or Jews who left Arab lands but did not go to Israel, or pockets here and there of smaller sects, including Assyrians and Chaldean Christians -- who are able to provide to those around them unpleasant monitory truths about Islam and its tenets, its attitudes.
Sixth, there are far more people in this country who have remained in possession of their senses, and who are quite capable of refusing to accept the party line of the members of MESA Nostra, and to find out for themselves about both the theory or doctrines of Islam and about Islam in practice -- as evidenced by 1350 years of Islamic conquest of non-Muslim lands and by the subsequent subjugation, and killing or forced conversion or reduction to the status of dhimmi, of the vanquished non-Muslims.
Seventh, given all that, it is cleverer to wait, to bide one's time. Who knows what will happen in ten years, or twenty? Why make moves too soon, when there is such a danger of imperiling oneself and one's ability to remain in this country, at this point?
But no one should remain sanguine. Look at Mike Hawash in Oregon, that Intel engineer, earning $360,000 a year, with his American wife and Little-League playing children, and the stout stand-by-your-man support of Intel executives, who nonetheless returned to that old-time religion. That old-time religion turned out, for "Mike" (Maher) Hawash, to be Islam. So after 9.11.2001 it was off to western China in the hopes of reaching Afghanistan and killing fellow Americans who were, for Mike Hawash and all the Mike Hawashes of Islam, not fellow Infidel citizens of an Infidel nation-state, but enemies to be killed -- because they were Infidels, and because they stood in the way of, represented an obstacle to, the spread and future dominance of Islam. And the would-be murderer in Chapel Hill, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, gunning his SUV and running over non-Muslim students, was the son of secular Iranians in exile -- but he, too, in a moment of intellectual and vocational confusion, apparently found Islam. And in finding Islam, he became the would-be Jihadist who would kill Infidels who had done nothing to him. Why? Because that was what Allah wanted, that was what Muhammad wanted. He spelled it all out in long handwritten letters written while in custody. And there are many such -- people who are outwardly fine, until one fine day they are not so fine, and then, whatever the reasons, they have at hand someone to blame, someone to kill -- the Infidel.
In Afghanistan, or right here in Chapel Hill, or New York City, or anywhere at all.
Posted by Hugh at October 27, 2006 1:26 PM
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First, and most important, the Muslim population is a much smaller proportion of the American population -- scarcely 1%.
Unfortunately, the Republicrat party is working on increasing this total with lax immigration rules. And since the immigrants tend to be fruitful and multiply we'll soon have even more "shariavilles" all over the place.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 27, 2006 1:38 PM
The USA has proportionately less muslims than Western Europe for 3 reasons:
1) Geography - You are further away from Islamic countries than Europe.
2) Welfare State - Europe had an idiotically generous welfare provision for those who come to our contries amd have never paid a penny in tax.
3) More stringent immigration procedures (or should that be slightly less stupid than Europe).
However, American muslims do not have a different version of the koran than their European counterparts. If the numbers ever get up, they will start pushing just as they have in Europe.
Oh, and the USA is pretty big. So it's easier to live in an area where islam is not an issue.
Posted by: Celsius at October 27, 2006 1:51 PM
"Second, the non-Muslim population of the United States contains far more believing Christians and self-identifying Jews than anywhere in 'post-Christian' Western Europe."
True, but they have been marginilazed by PAC-financed legislators and media demagogues. Any hint of public outcry on the part of judeo-christian entities about muslim immigration issues will either fall on deaf ears, or result in public villification of the "fundementalists" by the media and academic elite. Rosie O'Donnell and others are already piling on the "let's get the Christian's too!" bandwagon.
Posted by: Clive at October 27, 2006 2:00 PM
8th . Lots of us in America are armed to the teeth.
Posted by: MP at October 27, 2006 2:43 PM
You said it, MP.
One reason why riots such as the paris one last year cannot be sustained here is that any two-bit muzlim rioter looking to burn a car could have his head blown off by the car's owner.
Posted by: voletti at October 27, 2006 3:16 PM
Also, Geography maybe important but does not explain all that much.
Canada has many mroe muzlims and is as close to sharia' as Europe is, all the while sharing in America's geographic blessings.
at October 27, 2006 3:17 PM
The Muslim population appears to be growing very rapidly in the U.S. in certain areas. I live near Columbus, Ohio, and for the past 6-12 months we have seen a Muslim woman with head covering EVERY TIME we go shopping. This is in ADDITION to the 50,000 plus Somalis they have imported here.
What is going on?
Posted by: SF at October 27, 2006 3:21 PM
"Rosie O'Donnell and others are already piling on the "let's get the Christian's too!" bandwagon."
Posted by: Clive
----
I wonder what the hell is wrong with Rosie O'Donnell. She's Catholic yet she wants to condemn christians all the time just to please her self-loathing. It's pathetic.
Posted by: EliasAlucard at October 27, 2006 3:32 PM
Hugh said
But no one should remain sanguine.
Agree. Maybe we are doing things better than Europe, but it's still not nearly enough.
Let's not go accepting any consolation prizes yet.
Posted by: special_guest at October 27, 2006 3:32 PM
Duh, what I mean is, none of the factors listed are due to any awareness of the dangers of Islam. None of them deserve any jingoist slef-congratulatory pats on the back. (There was none of that in the article, but sometimes appears in postings by others). No, the same quirks of fate that put most of the oil reserves in Islamic lands also made the U.S. remote for Muslims. Thank goodness, but no thanks to this Administration or any of the past 50 or so years.
Posted by: special_guest at October 27, 2006 3:38 PM
Slef, self, whatever.
Posted by: special_guest at October 27, 2006 3:48 PM
Probably millions of American Christians, and thousands of American Jews, are PC multiculturalists, and as such, they are no help but a positive hindrance to our problem of Islam. The mere strength of Christianity or Judaism in America is not necessarily a good thing, if too many of their members have become infected with the PC virus.
Posted by: remote_control at October 27, 2006 4:33 PM
The Muslim population appears to be growing very rapidly in the U.S. in certain areas. I live near Columbus, Ohio, and for the past 6-12 months we have seen a Muslim woman with head covering EVERY TIME we go shopping. This is in ADDITION to the 50,000 plus Somalis they have imported here.
What is going on?
Posted by: SF at October 27, 2006 03:21 PM
____________________________
There has been a increase of hijab and even the full veil in the suburbs of the Chicago area as well. I would say that most likely it is do to 2nd or 3rd generation muslim immigrants that are a lot more strict in their religion than their parents. Plus, the media and PC is on their side right now. There was a book out about Christian's saying that young adults happen to also be more orthodox than their parents.
It is also probably due to increase immigration and wealth, and at least around where I live, there is an Islamic school and a center. Community buildings provide a geographic center for a population to live together.
Posted by: Monkeywho at October 27, 2006 4:36 PM
Nobody in the US should become complacent or think that islam is under control here and will always remain an innocuous blob on the divine "mosaic" that the multi-culti morons worship and adore. Mosaics belong on walls or floors and should not be sanctified and worshipped like icons or gods. The unique and wonderful character of the United States happened spontaneously; for decades there was no other nation on earth that could claim a cohesive, united population comprised of people from everywhere in the world. I rather doubt if there is one nation today that can make that claim, despite the European craze for multiculturalism. With the exception of muslims; self-hating, politically correct globalists; the MSM; and academia, the United States is still a united country with the most diverse population in the world.
I am always amused when the anti-Semitic Europeans call Americans "racists", especially the French. It's interesting that the French didn't mind importing millions of muslims to do their dirty work as long as they lived out of sight and remained in their own assigned areas. If the French are so naturally egalitarian and pluralistic with not a racist bone in their bodies, why do they have some the most Draconian hate-speech, anti-racist laws in the world? The same could be asked about the U. K., which has established many laws and policies that appear to favor the immigrant muslim minority and discriminate against native citizens, a blatant double standard.
Despite the lies the BBC and other European media spew about America and Americans, the overwhelming majority of us are not racists or put another way, we're no more racist than Europeans. Europeans find it perfectly acceptable to stereotype and dislike Jews and many Europeans, although they would never publically admit it, stereotype and despise muslims and consider them inherently inferior to themselves. On that count I will agree, but Jews, if anything, are inherently superior to everyone in many ways. If you stand a muslim beside a Jew, I see a highly evolved human being, the Jew, and an atavistic barbarian, the muslim.
Muslims are victims of their culture and religion and probably have the potential to be normal people. But as long as they practice islam, they are barbarians, and barbarians do not fit well in civilized societies. We must never forget that if we are to preserve our country, culture, and society, even if there are only a few here now. They have re-emerged from their self-imposed exile after 9-11, more arrogant and demanding than ever. 9-11 blew their cover and they were really running scared for a while. They would still be running scared if not for the apologists, appeasers, useful idiots, and politicians who want their votes, and billions of Saudi dollars to finance their public relations campaigns and fund their many insidious, anti-American agendas. Money talks, and the Wahabbis have tons of it. They want America and they are buying it piece at a time.
at October 27, 2006 5:19 PM
Great article......with response to the reader about Rosie Odonnel being Catholic, she's about as Catholic as Madonna is. Rosie Odonnel needs to put on a burka and throw a pacifer in her fat mouth.......
Posted by: Ironman at October 27, 2006 10:29 PM
We have two other advantages over the Europeans: the First and Second Amendments.
I think Hugh Fitzgerald is right that the strong Jewish and Christian traditions in the U.S. have more upside than downside in the struggle against Jihad. It's true, as remote control suggests above, that there are many PC Christians and Jews who will offer little defense against inroads of Islamic law, but those Christians and Jews tend to be the more secular Christians and Jews. Remember there are also huge numbers of non-PC evangelical Christians and neo-conservative Jews.
I know the left sometimes is afraid that the evangelicals want to set up a theocracy, but I've looked into what the evangelicals support, and it's not theocracy. Ninety-nine percent of them believe in the biblical line about giving to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and separating church and state. Almost all of them want to live in an open society and want to work through private life and the legislative democratic process for more social conservativism -- not for theocracy, which they perceive as anti-biblical, particularly as far as the New Testament is concerned. They explicitly support the non-establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment. They are often clearer about these clauses than the activist secularists, who tend easily to grasp the non-establishment clause, but are sometimes not thoughtful about the free-exercise clause. Sometimes when evangelicals fight for free exercise rights, secular types mistake this for an attempt at establishment. This leads to some very Orwellian activities by secularists, along with all the truly excellent things secularists do. But now I'm off-topic, and I don't want to debate it.
Posted by: traeh at October 28, 2006 12:51 AM
Research shows the Democrats favor higher imigration over the Republicans, although the margin is small. Remember, congress attemped to pass the Kennedy bill, co sponcered by McCain.
Still, people here expect all living here to be Americans first, that may be where the racist label comes from.
People also may find fundimental christians here to be a true friend when the chips are down, don't count them out.
Superb post again, Hugh.
Posted by: Islofob IS-1 at October 29, 2006 12:47 AM
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