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The Economist sneers at the defenders of Western culture

Apr 9, 2005 9:07 am By Robert Spencer

The Economist, which has shown egregious dhimmi tendencies in the past, does it again in this sustained sneer directed toward those who would defend Europe against Islamization, “Living with Islam: The new Dutch model?” (thanks to Dr JDJ):

FOR people who see themselves as the front line in an uncertain struggle to defend western civilisation””a struggle, moreover, which has already cost some lives””the cultural warriors of the Netherlands have a surprising spring in their step. “I see developments in the Arab world as very promising,” says Paul Scheffer, a journalist who is one of the leaders of an ideological movement that wants to counter Islamist extremism by putting more emphasis on the rule of law and less on accommodating differences.

Taking his cue from America’s political right

Message to Economist readers: despise this man. He is of “the Right.”

…he hails the fact that in some Middle Eastern countries ordinary people have challenged old elites and theocracies. In Europe, he reckons, traditional leaders who presume to speak for Muslim immigrants have it too easy, because governments pander to them out of a misplaced respect for cultural diversity….

“The very idea of a multi-cultural society is too conservative, because it denies the fact that the migration changes people,” says Mr Scheffer, a veteran of Amsterdam’s bohemian, canalside intelligentsia, a world where the right to be eccentric, and to change, is held dear. He and his friends have been arguing that all would-be citizens of the Netherlands must be presented with a clear message. As the price of living in an open, law-governed society, they should acknowledge the right of others to individual choice, dissent and “apostasy” from the beliefs of their own community.

Sounds great. But to The Economist, this in itself is “intolerant”:

In some European countries, such language might sound intolerant. But in the Netherlands of 2005, it has entered the political mainstream. Nor are all its advocates of European background. Indeed, its strongest advocate of all, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has a personal history which, in many people’s eyes, gives her a unique authority to speak about the dark side of religious fundamentalism. What she, Mr Scheffer and, in a different way, the maverick politician Geert Wilders””who recently left the centre-right Liberals to form a new, Eurosceptical party””all have in common is a sense, bordering on arrogance, that history is on their side.

From their viewpoint, the events of last November””the killing of a film-maker, Theo van Gogh, followed by a spate of tit-for-tat burnings of schools and places of worship””merely vindicated what they had been saying for years: immigrant communities that refuse to align their values to those of western democracy are a ticking time-bomb. Nor are they shy about voicing opinions on other parts of Europe. Mr Scheffer, for example, thinks Britain made a terrible mistake by allowing policewomen to wear Muslim headscarves, since uniforms are supposed to express the state’s neutrality between citizens.

Do these cultural ideologues have good reasons to feel confident, at least with respect to their own country? To some extent, yes. In all parts of the Dutch spectrum, politicians have to take account of a public mood that is deeply fearful of religious extremism and terrorism, and feels that too much stress has been laid on accommodating different values and faiths.

Horror of horrors! Not that The Economist has anything to say about Muslim groups in Europe that have shown themselves to be anything but accommodating of different values and faiths.

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