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Fanaticism: The Moderate Version

Sep 24, 2015 10:39 am By Michael Devolin

Tarek-Fatah

“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.” – George Santayana

I would not say that the apologists for Islam, even the most shameless, have forgotten their aim. I think one of their highest hopes is that we, the opponents of Islam, forget the aim of these apologists, which is to achieve in the Western world, if not complete political clout and religious preponderance, then, for the time being, a reputation for good the religion of Islam has never acquired complete possession of. They are contented with the fact that we are conveniently distracted by the many violent examples of Islam’s most extreme blood-junkies while the less noticeable proponents of this insalubrious faith, with all the privileges our Western democracies provide, stealthily emasculate all willingness on the part of our elected leaders to resist the erosion of our traditions and our freedoms. We are asked to combat and halt the expansion of ISIS in the Middle East while simultaneously the apologists for Islam here condemn us for not accommodating the same religious garb the ISIS henchmen require their multiple wives and traumatized sex-slaves to wear over there.

The axiom “You can’t have it both ways” is rendered ever more meaningful by noetic contortionists like Tarek Fatah. His ilk promotes the premise that Islam is good, but only without the extremists and those “moderate” Muslims advocating sharia law. The problem with their premise is, obviously, that Islam is seldom, if ever, found anywhere in the world today without the extremists and sharia law advocates. Apologists like Fatah, while playing the Muslim-defender-of-Western-democracy card, are all the while defending the religion which, initially, gave birth to the extremist and those warped minds advocating for the implementation of sharia law into Western courts of law. I find no difference between the fanaticism of these self-deluded apologists and the fanaticism of the Islamists they condemn. Only they, and no one else, these apologists tell us, know the truth about Islam (which sounds very much like the Islamist boast). As Mr. Fatah once told a Canadian senator who was bold enough to question his defense of Islam, “Senator, I resent the fact that you’re teaching me about my religion.” I would have told Mr. Fatah, had I been that senator, that Islam is not his religion alone but also (and more precisely) the religion of Mohammed, of an atrocious history left in its wake, and of a few billion other Muslims along the way. I would have told Mr. Fatah also that Islam cannot be judged by the examples of a very few well-behaved Muslims but only by the masses whose behaviour, at the behest of the tenets of this angry ideology, is far from exemplary.

Islam cannot be exculpated from blame simply because, as Mr. Fatah tells the world, its application has been transmogrified long ago by violent and Jew-hating sheikhs. Islam is what Islam was and has become. There is only Islam, an ideology never intended to be non-aggressive and without imperialistic aims. Neil Kressel writes in Mass Hate, “And we are left with the bigger question, whether hatred traveling under the veil of extremist Islam will succeed in overpowering the more tolerant humanistic forces within the religion. Recent events leave us with few reasons for optimism.” As it turns out, Kressel’s book Mass Hate was published in 2002, and “recent events” since then (this being the year 2015), in my opinion, leave us absolutely no reason for optimism.

For Fatah and his kind to purport that Islam has no obvious connection to Islamist violence and Jew-hatred is as much fanatical behaviour as the Islamist proclaiming that this same violence and Jew-hatred is advocated by the tenets of Islam. Even more harmful than the Islamist fanaticism is the fact that the fanaticism of Fatah legitimizes Islam’s 7th century ideals and exculpates these same ideals from any responsibility for, or connection to, Islamist violence and barbarity in the world today. To dissemble that Islam does not advocate Jew-hatred and intolerance against all other religions (but especially against Judaism), to purport that all anti-Jewish violence on the part of Palestinians against Israeli civilians (Muslim, Jew, and Christian) would cease so soon as the State of Israel made room in their already tiny country for a Palestinian state is to expose oneself as a sophist driven more by Islamic imperialistic tendencies than one in possession of an honesty effective enough to publicly acknowledge the real reason for the lingering, ever-present impasse between Arab and Jew in the Middle East, which is the religion of Islam. As Raphael Israeli has written, “…when one bears in mind, on the one hand, the harsh, even fanatic, reaction of Muslims worldwide to what they perceive as the profanation of their holy sites or any slur to their culture, or the enthusiastic and self-assured way they go about spreading their faith and imposing it on others; but on the other hand, the unbearable ease with which they deny others’ religion rights, and even step in to obliterate the religious heritage of other faiths.”

Stephen Schwartz has written, “But even if Palestinians were not directly involved in September 11, many of them support the terror campaigns of the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Are they not victims of Israel? Do they not suffer in wretchedness, cooped up in camps? In reality, the answer is No…” So how does such a constituency, the same constituency responsible for setting Hamas into power in Gaza, appear to Tarek Fatah as so capable and willing to exist contiguously with the State of Israel? How could anyone not a fanatic suggest out of one side of his mouth such a perilous contrivance for the citizens of Israel while out of the other side of his mouth publicly inculpate the government of Israel for not acting in accord to such a perilous contrivance? And if it is true, as Mr. Fatah insists, that Mohammed’s Islam was hijacked along the way by Wahhabis and extremists and the subsequent despoiled version deceitfully imparted to the umma as the original Islam, how should we expect the same Umma (and especially the Palestinian segment), corrupted in such a manner, to live peaceably beside a predominantly Jewish state?

Again, Mr. Fatah, “You can’t have it both ways.” I believe your aim has always been to construct a mythical, modernity-friendly Islam, albeit a non-existent Islam, as a counterpoise to a very violent and unfriendly veridical Islam, the Islam that exists in the world today, just as it has since the time of Mohammed. But time is running out for you, Mr. Fatah. Two American presidential candidates have recently remarked unfavourably in regards to Islam. Of course, these statements must surely have caused great consternation and horror in the news rooms of what has become a morally defunct and epicene Western media. And these candidates, to my knowledge, are not retracting their statements. Your advocacy, on behalf of an Islam that has never existed, that will never exist, that you insist does exist, will soon be exposed as nothing short of the same fanaticism synonymous with so many of your fellow religious. Only yours is the “moderate” version.

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Filed Under: Featured, Moderate Muslims Tagged With: Tarek Fatah


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Comments

  1. jihad3tracker says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 10:51 am

    ++++++++++ EXCELLENT SHORT [ 8 MINUTES ] VIDEO — HIGHLY RECOMMENDED +++++++++++

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHdMlT3E7cg&feature=player_embedded

    Especially valuable because the first 3 minutes & 10 seconds talk about the difference between the Qur’an and the Torah & Bible. That huge misunderstanding leads, of course, to hundreds of millions of clueless fellow Americans assuming “Islam is similar to the other two Abrahamic monotheisms, right?”

    Note: constant piano doodling in the video background is highly irritating, but volume can be lowered enough so the narrators voice predominates — and everything he says is also displayed as text. Please send this on to all your clueless family, friends, AND CLERGY ! ! ! !

  2. Angemon says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 11:11 am

    All muslim Pakistanis I know, as well as all muslim Pakistanis I encountered online, hate wahabism and accuse Arabs of misinterpreting and distorting islam. Most don’t say “wahabism”, they just blame the Arabs – I’m certain there’s racial animus somewhere in that.

    • Jay Boo says

      Sep 24, 2015 at 11:37 am

      “There is only Islam, an ideology never intended to be non-aggressive and without imperialistic aims …”

    • vlparker says

      Sep 24, 2015 at 12:02 pm

      And if western leaders had any brains they would be exploiting these differences and pitting them against each other.

      • sinantara says

        Sep 25, 2015 at 7:57 am

        the golden age of Islam was when the Abbasids acknowledged the genius of Persians, Greeks and others–khalif Ma’mun paid books translated from Greek with their weight in gold. The Ummayyads still called converts mawali (former slaves because they didn’t like non Arabs convert to have the same status. Then the Mongols destroyed Baghdad and that was the end of this golden age. Power transfered to the Turks (Mamelukes, Seljuks, Ottomans) and the Arabs went back to their tribal desert culture living in a neglected corner of the Ottoman empire which was obsessed with conquering the west but failed. Arab nationalism was the invention of British and French and failed the Arab people. What functioned were presidential dynasties but again the west intervened and created chaos. So the people turned to eschatological Islam–which has failed again, the exodus to the west is proof. However, the west is dismantling the west and calls for multiculturalism, only underwriting a failure. In Indonesia some people start to call Islam Arab cultural imperialism, carried by oil… But what are the alternatives? Christianity has a message but is politically weak. In the end Islam will win because Muslims look at the west and see weakness. So they are just applying the yankee adacagio, don’t give a sucker a chance. But but Islam and Arab still goes together because of oil–although the Iranians want to change that. What is Shia, among others, the cover for ethnic hatred, the Persians have never forgotten the violent conquest of their country. The indigenous Egyptians are reminded of their loss day and night, and the Syrians are actually not Arab either. Many peoples are trapped in Islam but don’t know the way out.

        • Western Canadian says

          Sep 25, 2015 at 3:05 pm

          There has never been a golden age of islam…. It has always been a blood soaked crime against humanity. And quit blaming the west for islam being violent!! It is islams fault that it is islam!! Your post is gibberish.

  3. Michael Copeland says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Fanatical ? Extremist ? Consider these instructions from the Koran, which is part of Islamic law, and which cannot be changed or denied:

    Between us and you animosity and hatred forever 60:4
    Allah is the ENEMY of non-muslims. 2:98
    Allah does NOT LOVE the non-muslims. 30:45
    KILL the non-muslims wherever you find them. 9:5

    This is not “extremist” or “fanatical”. This is ordinary basic standard Islam.
    Islam is not defined by “what the vast majority of muslims feel”, nor by other kinds of opinion polls.
    Islam is defined by its source texts.

  4. Alarmed Pig Farmer says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    The axiom “You can’t have it both ways” is rendered ever more meaningful by noetic contortionists like Tarek Fatah. His ilk promotes the premise that Islam is good, but only without the extremists and those “moderate” Muslims advocating sharia law. The problem with their premise is, obviously, that Islam is seldom, if ever, found anywhere in the world today without the extremists and sharia law advocates.

    These tongue wagging blabbing Moslems, yes, that’s it, they’re purveyors of the noetic, hate wearing a fancy wig of college professor nonsense that can never wax poetic, even after an especially odious mass murder they go onto our flat screens as act all frenetic, but this is not genetics, the whole mess is sucked up through a straw from the Islam apologetics.

    Does this make sense?

    • Holy Prophet APF says

      Sep 24, 2015 at 1:23 pm

      Hey Alarmed Pig Farmer, I think you’re a wonderful poster in here, and would kiss your feet if given the chance, but you forgot “syncretic”. Improve your game.

  5. Sean says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    In defence of Tarek Fatah on watching him on Michael Coren’s old show and reading his twitter feed I’ve always felt he has been in a state of flux, alternating between his loyalty to the Islam he believes to exist and disbelief. Overall though I think he is a good guy but I do agree the Islam he wishes existed only exists in his mind.

  6. Brian Boru says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    “As Mr. Fatah once told a Canadian senator who was bold enough to question his defense of Islam, “Senator, I resent the fact that you’re teaching me about my religion.” I would have told Mr. Fatah, had I been that senator, that Islam is not his religion alone but also (and more precisely) the religion of Mohammed, of an atrocious history left in its wake, and of a few billion other Muslims along the way”

    My impression of Tarek Fatah (TF) is quite different to Mr Devolin’s and all due respect to Mr. Devolin as I consider him an excellent writer and in the vanguard of the counter-jihad. I also consider Pakistani moslems generally to be amongst the most dangerous cells that comprise the cancer that is islam.

    My understanding is that TF originally was somewhat of a crusader for the mythical ‘moderate’ moslem/islam upon arrival in Canada and has gradually broadened his views. I’ve seen him in many conversations with both Michael Coren and Ezra Levant on Sun News and both these anti-jihad stalwarts seem content that TF has rid himself of the cancer of islam due to numerous ‘islam-radiation’ treatments in the west. I like the guy. He lives under threat and if he is good enough for Levant, perhaps Canada’s leading anti-jihadist he is good enough for me.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarek_Fatah

    In reference to TF’s response to the Canadian senator. If you mean his response to senator Mitchell then you are mistaken. Mitchell is a moslem pandering politician and TF was NOT defending islam. On the contrary, he was advising the Canadian senate commission to HALT all moslem immigration from Pakistan, Iran and other islamic hellholes. Mitchell posited to TF that he has met many amazing moslems, contrary to TF’s views. The following is a video recording of TF’s answers to the committee. It is 45 minutes long and well worth viewing in its entirety to properly understand TF. The exchange with Mitchell begins at 44:06.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkBAH0Znm-g

    If you were referencing something else Mr. Devolin, I apologize.

  7. Angemon says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 8:31 pm

    As Mr. Fatah once told a Canadian senator who was bold enough to question his defense of Islam, “Senator, I resent the fact that you’re teaching me about my religion.”

    Wasn’t that a reply to a senator who not only claimed to know wonderful muslim people but was also asking Fatah if he had been to all mosques in Canada (Fatah said that every Friday prayer starts off by praying for the defeat of non-muslims at the hands of muslims)?

    • sidney penny says

      Sep 24, 2015 at 10:02 pm

      I am surprised that the Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell did not resign after what Tarek Fatah said to him.

  8. mortimer says

    Sep 24, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    Clearly, Tarek Fatah practices Islam-à-la-carte…a cafeteria version of Islam where you pick the items you want and avoid the ones you dislike on the menu.

    Cleary, Tarek Fatah hates the real Mohammed of the Sira and hadiths and creates his own fantasy version of Mohammed from his comforting imagination…a Mohammed who is a conflation of Jesus, Buddha and Confuscius.

    In other words, Tarek Fatah’s fantasy Mohammed is actually a man identical to Tarek Fatah.

    But does Islam give Tarek Fatah the right to create his own personal version of Mohammed?

  9. KrazyKafir says

    Sep 25, 2015 at 12:18 am

    Yup, so called moderate muslims are in the end just carriers of an Ideology that has almost zero chance of reform and still virulent.

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