« Now THIS Is Irony | Main | Not A Bomber Afterall. Damn. »

July 23, 2005

Bombings In Egypt

So, they've set off car bombs at a crowded resort in Egypt, killing mostly...muslims, just as in Iraq the terrorists kill mostly muslims. I'm sure that there are those who still maintain with a straight face (foam-flecked though it may be)that this is all the US's fault (or those pesky Zionists, natch) in spite of the mounting death toll of muslims killed by muslims. It seems to me more and more that this is what we're involved in:

Polarizing the Islamic world between the umma and the regimes allied with the United States would help achieve bin Laden's primary goal: furthering the cause of Islamic revolution within the Muslim world itself, in the Arab lands especially and in Saudi Arabia above all. He had no intention of defeating America. War with the United States was not a goal in and of itself but rather an instrument designed to help his brand of extremist Islam survive and flourish among the believers. Americans, in short, have been drawn into somebody else's civil war.

Religious/ideological civil wars are horribly, insanely violent. Look at all the blood shed in christianity's civil wars of the 16th and 18th centuries. Look at all the blood shed in communism. Imagine if they had had IEDs and 767s. And now we are in the midst of one in Islam. Well, sadly, we're not yet in the midst because the 'moderate' forces in islam have not yet begun to fight back against the orthodox forces. I assume they will. I hope they will, otherwise the world, and especially the West, is in for a whole lot more death and destruction for the foreseeable future. Certainly a civil war in Islam will be bloody, bloodier than what we have seen so far, but if the moderates fail without a fight do we want a world caliphate? I take them at their word; their goal is a Taliban-style government everywhere. And that can not be allowed anywhere.
So, here we are, while large elements of our society are wracked by violent conflict. Now, mind you, I don't think we're simply pawns on someone else's chessboard. We needed to fight back, but we need to make sure that the more-modern forces in Islam triumph. How do we do that? Well, certainly we continue to attract as many of the radical elements as we can onto the field of battle where we kill them, plain and simple. Don't kid yourselves, the governments of the countries surrounding Iraq love what we are doing there, because the siren-song of US troops calls irresistably to the uncontrollable youth elements in their societies and they are extremely happy that we are culling that huge revolutionary potential for them. We need to encourage and help the development of more secular nations in the Middle East, and we don't do that by having Congressmen muse about nuking Mecca, for criminy's sake; that only strengthens the hand of the 13th century orthodox.

We also need to change some of our attitudes on the home front. As Perry de Havilland makes clear, we have met the quagmire, and it is us:

For decades the supporters of multiculturalism have used tax money and government regulations to actively discourage assimilation of immigrants into the broader society, preferring to see communities develop which favour 'identity politics' better suited and more amenable to their own collectivist world views. And now we are paying the price for that. We will not be able to defend ourselves physically or preserve our liberal society unless we stop tolerating intolerance, and that includes not just fundamentalist Islam but also the anti-western bigotry of the multiculturalists.

While this is most clear in Europe we certainly have seen a lot of this going on here in the US as well, and it needs to stop. People from all customs and backrounds are welcome here if they agree to abide by our laws and customs. This can not be negotiable.

Many folks (myself included) have observed that what the Islamic world needed was it's own version of the Protestant Reformation; well, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for...

Bah. That's too much disjointed babbling for a Saturday morning. Damn you Florida Cracker for say I had "thoughts"!

Posted by Mr. Bingley at July 23, 2005 07:36 AM

Comments

"To continue in English, press 1."

Posted by: tree hugging sister at July 23, 2005 11:09 AM

"Be careful what you wish for..."

The Protestant Reformation had bloodshed galore, something that we tend to overlook, given the philosophical and technology changes that sprang from it. But it was also spread over several centuries. More importantly, it's history to us. We didn't live it.

This "Islamic Reformation", this one we are living. There's an old saying, "Adventure is someone else far away and long ago, in very deep s**t." This will be some future generation's "adventure".

It's fair to say that the terrorists of today are barbarians, which was generally not the case for the various parties of the Protestant Reformation. They may have acted barbarically at times, but they were working to advance civilization, not tear it down.

My point being that we expected a war; that's why it's called the Global War On Terrorism. This is probably the next phase of Al Quaeda. No one should be surprised. Disgusted, yes. Not surprised.

The good news is that we have the benefit of history. We have a pretty good idea of our choices. On one hand, we can choose a reasonably secular society with occasional strife, but (more or less) emphasizing personal achievement and humanity's progress.

The other option is to follow the Islamic terrorists into their worldwide Caliphate. There isn't much middle ground here, as defined by the extremists. Personally, if I thought that they would stay there, I would give them the Middle East. But they won't, even if we did.

It's getting high time for the fence sitters to choose. Yes, choose, by force. Forced by the terrorists. Bush once said, "Either you are for us, or you are against us." He was but echoing the terrorists in that statement.

I've already chosen, and I know that you have. It's just that this latest sets of atrocities merely show that we still have a way to travel.

Posted by: The Real JeffS at July 23, 2005 11:27 AM

"Many folks (myself included) have observed that what the Islamic world needed was it's own version of the Protestant Reformation..."

It seems to me that people who say that don't realize that that's exactly what's been going within Islam since about the 1920's or earlier, nor am I sure they realize the Reformation was as radical and militant as it was because they only see modern Lutherans, etc. as the result. The "Protestants" in this analogy are the Wahhabis and other assorted fundamentalist zealots, seeking to reclam/reestablish what they regard as the "true" Islam.

Posted by: Dave J at July 23, 2005 11:31 AM

That's something a lot of people don't know about the Protestant Reformation. Protestantism was a reactionary response to what Luther considered the liberalism, materialism, and corruption of the Catholic Church.

The biggest difference, IMHO, from the current Wahhabism is that Luther wanted to keep the church separate from the state (not in the current sense), while Islamofascists want the church to BE the state.

Posted by: Ken Summers at July 23, 2005 11:49 AM

Well said Mr. Bingley.

Sometimes you have to stop and look at the bigger picture. I feel that forces are at work that are greater than we can see and understand. What do I mean? I have no idea, but something just is not right. It is hard to put your finger on it, but it is just a feeling.

Posted by: WunderKraut at July 23, 2005 12:34 PM