Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Campus pro-Hamas encampments are an omen of Western societal demise

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Since the October 7 Hamas massacre, rape and kidnapping of nearly 2,000 Israelis, Western democracies have been engulfed in what are commonly called “pro-Palestinian protests.” Aided and abetted by a leftist legacy media, naïve and ignorant university students, and spineless politicians at all levels, our city streets and university campuses have become battlegrounds. But battlegrounds for what? Is this really about Israel and Gaza, or is something more insidious going on?

An answer to this question lies in events that took place in Hamburg, Germany at the end of April, where more than 1,000 Muslims marched through the streets demanding that the country transform itself into an Islamic caliphate.

In recent weeks, the focus has been on encampments which have sprouted like toadstools on university campuses. An examination of what goes on in these tent cities might provide us with a glimpse of what the future could hold.

These insurrections are not about Israel, or Palestine, or even Gaza. The end game is anarchy, chaos, and finally a nation defined by Sharia. The methodology is simple – intimidation. We see it weekly in the marches that shut down our streets, take over the public spaces, and overrun our universities.

Therefore, it is not surprising that any attempt to counter the hateful propaganda embedded in infantile slogans, with facts, is met with howls that the “freedom of speech” is under threat. Yet, how much “freedom of speech” really exists in the encampments? Videos taken by visiting journalists are revealing. Media tents have been erected by entrances. Only “approved” journalists may enter or ask questions, and only designated activists may answer. Attempts to speak to the students directly are met with responses that they are not “trained” to speak to the media; then these students direct the questioner to the “media tent.” In cases where unapproved journalists did manage to enter the encampments, they were soon met by an organizer who inserted himself between the journalist and the student to prevent any dialogue from taking place. Tight control over what is said and by whom is the order of the day. Freedom of speech for some, but not for others.

Everything is supplied to the campers: brightly colored pup tents, banners and signage, facilities, and food, and anything that might easily be transformed into a weapon. There is big money behind this.

Police who have entered the encampments tell us that the majority of campers are not university staff or students, but well-trained and well-financed outside agitators, who are training the compliant students in civil disobedience tactics. How did this happen?

As someone who spent 28 collective years teaching at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and the University of Toronto (UT), I watched with growing alarm as these institutions began their transformation from places of serious learning and research into purveyors of political correctness, replacing history with preferred narratives, delivered by propagandizing and indoctrination, and hiring and admissions practices prioritized by identity as opposed to merit. A UT instructor with many years’ experience was called out by outraged students when she demonstrated the use of an Indigenous “rain stick” for calming students and getting their attention in the classroom. Rain sticks, I was told, were for sale all along Bloor Street, not limited to Indigenous people. More recently, a music instructor conducted a class in African drumming. Angry students confronted her, saying that as a non-African, she had no business teaching African drumming. In both cases, the hapless instructors received no support from the administration, and were subjected to disciplinary interviews. In my own experience, a student called me out as a “racist” for reprimanding her for rude and unprofessional behavior. Receiving no support from the administration, I refused to teach that class and retired shortly thereafter. The “African drumming” instructor, a new hire, fulfilled the terms of her contract, and then resigned.

As a friend and former colleague lamented to me recently, “All the good people are leaving.” Who would want to have their teaching hamstrung by wokeness and a spineless administration? These actions are forcing all of us into silos where we are comfortable communicating and interacting only with our own kind, lest we inadvertently give offense. Thus students are deprived of the benefits of learning and enriching their lives, from other cultures.

In 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, as an undergraduate, I joined others at my university to protest the presence of Dow Chemical, which was on campus to recruit graduates. I knew very little about Dow’s role in the war, beyond what my fellow students were saying and what I saw on the posters that mushroomed on campus. But it felt good to be part of something larger than myself, and we were so convinced of the moral rightness of our campaign. I didn’t need to know any more than that.

With the wisdom that comes with age and experience, with spending many years in the workforce, and being married to one of Canada’s foremost journalists, I learned to stand back, to not be so quick to accept everything I was told, but to find things out for myself. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was to fight for what I knew in my heart to be right and good, even when others did not agree. Standing up for what you know to be right and good can be a lonely place. It is always easier to run with the herd, to trade moral clarity for acceptance, and not look too closely at the issues, because you might find yourself forced into an unpopular stance, isolated, reviled even, and in today’s world, their physical safety in jeopardy. For young people, this is a frightening prospect.

Few, if any, understand that the ultimate goal of the organizers is the dissolution of Western democracy.

Like the university administrators, a dearth of our elected officials at any level of government seems to have the stomach and moral clarity to put a halt to these tactics. Mindful of a quickly growing Muslim demographic, politicians are hesitant to act. When votes are at stake, morals and ethics go out the window, and the comfort and safety of Canada’s Jewish community is the currency with which they are willing to buy Muslim votes. History, however, has shown us that what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.

This astoundingly short-sighted and dangerous approach is reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s warning to Neville Chamberlain, when he signed the Munich Pact in 1938, effectively selling out Czechoslovakia for “peace in our time.” Churchill said, “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.”

In short, America, Canada and the West are now in a struggle for its ongoing existence as free societies, which parallels Israel’s struggle for its existence as a Jewish state. Given the cowardice of our politicians and the seeming ignorance of much of the citizenry, the future looks grim.

The West needs insist on a return to order and integrity at all levels and in all our institutions, and most importantly, we need to promote our values and insist they be respected. A hopeful sign is that the Germans protested against the Muslim caliphate rally.

To turn a blind eye is to gamble on our future and that of our children and grandchildren.

*********

Joan O’Callaghan has spent 28 years teaching at Universities, including at the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. With an active career in freelance writing, with over 30 publications to her credit, Joan is also the author of three books, two published by Scholastic Canada and one by Rubicon. Joan has also been an English teacher and department head at schools in both the Halton and York Region Boards of Education.

Comments

  1. Any country in which mobs protest in favour of Gazans, ie HAMAS and does nothing to either deport or suppress them will live to regret it.

    • We need to get the support from foreign money off our College and University campuses. Foreign governments are indoctrinating our young against America for their benefit.

      The American education system is being bought and loaded with anti-American propaganda.

  2. Great article..!

    Unfortunately i think you can say the same thing about Police Departments.. Most if not all of the “good guys” have left and what remains are compliant drones who “follow orders..!!” It’s mainly happening in big cities but it’s spreading. Western Civilization is in trouble let’s hope more people wake up and see reality.!!!

    • truth,

      We are now seeing the same thing starting to happen in the US military.

      It can be reversed by Pres. Trump in 2025.

      But if the US Presidential election is again stolen, the United States will continue its freefall into the abyss…

  3. Some students are saying that it’s cultural appropriation for a non-African to teach Africsn drumming?

    That’s as idiotic as saying that, because the piano is originally an Italian invention, that non-Italians shouldn’t be allowed to give piano lessons!

    If that teacher was properly trained and accredited in the discipline of African drumming, why shouldn’t she have been allowed to teach it, even if she herself is non-African?

  5. Rudeness isn’t just on school campuses.

    Two examples from my daughter’s work experiences she shared with me.

    One: a woman wanted to buy cigarettes and presented her passport as ID. Asked, “Is this your current address?” the woman went into a rage, calling my daughter b…..and refusing to answer the question.
    Two: a woman wanted to buy fuel and presented her card at the kiosk. My daughter ran the card and asked, “How much did you want?”
    The woman refused to say anything while the question was repeated several times. Finally, she screamed, 15. Informed that she didn’t have that amount on her card, she became even more abusive. The amount she could get was decided and she was asked, “which pump” and again, she refused to answer.

    Rudeness for its own sake.

    mozlums are intent on taking over the world for islam. Murder, rape, lies, demands, whining, screaming….all for satan’s beast to enslave and then kill us all.

    Jesus said that “lawlessness” would increase and kill the “love.”
    Everyone with eyes can see this happening whether or not they believe in Jesus or read the Bible. Jesus was a Prophet like no other. People don’t have to believe He is Savior in order to benefit from His warnings about what is happening right before us, all over the world.

    The “wild beast” will kill with the sword those who refuse to bow down and worship its “image.”
    We can clearly see that happening everywhere. Young people in universities are working to make this happen along with those **paid** to educate them. Great sums of money are being spent to see that this happens.

    And most of the government officials in nearly every nation, are just fine with it all.

  7. College authorities must enforce rules that allow for ALL students to study in safety and not pander to muslim-leftist mobs.

    There are OTHER religions apart from islam you know.

    It would be good to hear from others.Hindus.Sikhs,Buddhists.Christians etc

    It is unacceptable for one group to be allowed to bully others.

    It should be made a condition of admission to a course to agree to respect the rights of OTHER students.

    It is not surprising that lefties/communist mobs are attracted to islam as political islam is not dissimilar from communist ideology;Authoritarian,intolerant of others,opposed to free thinking{islam has a death penalty for “apostasy” i.e figuring it out.Ludicrous!}

  8. Yes indeed, the West since the highly destructive 1960’s has been in the long, torturing and stupid process of losing its balls. Still no end in sight to the emasculation of the West (and real women as opposed to that curse upon the West known as feminists will know I mean no slight on women here).

  9. Just wondering about this “cultural appropriation” thingy:

    Near where I live, there are Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Thai restaurants.

    I’m Italian, so I guess I can at least eat at the Italian restaurant.

    I’d like to give the other restaurants some business, but…(sarc off)…

    • James, I can recall some of the ‘olden days’ when “imitation was the sincerest form of flattery.”
      If one tried to speak another’s language, or learn to cook some dish from another culture, it was viewed as having respect for the other person.
      Now, ‘good is bad’ and don’t you dare do anything like I do it. Although I can copy you if I choose to and you can’t complain.
      (not really you and I as I’m sure you know.)

    • James: but, if you “only” eat at Italian restaurants, then you’re being clannish, closed-minded, Italo-centric and racist! Don’t you see? All roads lead to condemnation, if one follows Leftist “logic” (pretty much an oxymoron in most cases).

  10. Apparently, masked rioters ‘hunted’ for the board of the University of Amsterdam. The ‘rector magnificus’ of the university actually ‘negotiated’ with masked rioters (probably wearng keffiwhatevers). These people are still completely unaware of the situation they’re in. Correction: we’re in. Our leaders are totally incompetent.

  12. I have been telling this to my friends and in many forums the same thing. This is a sign of dark cloud over America and the west. More to come. It is about Islamization. Let us take this to every levels of our society and create awareness. The evil of Islam is here knocking at the door. Robert Spenser, Briggitt, Pam Gelar and many have been sounding the alarm bell for long.

  13. Joan O’Callaghan’s article is sharp and to the point. The only thing missing is the inevitable conclusion: that the situation will be getting worse and worse, considering the Islamic population’s constant growth and the weakness and timidity of all politicians, all afraid, and probably rightly so. Therefore, that conclusion will have to be (a) for the Jewish population in all Western countries to move to Israel, or face perishing, as happened so many times before; and (b) for the rest of those countries, accept the Muslim demand to transform themselves to Islamic caliphates. Very sad.

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