I just wrote a loooong email response to my father regarding this speech by Geert Wilders. I’m thinking, I guess, that if I put so much effort into writing it for him, why not share it with the world?
Take it or leave it, here ya go:
Dad,
I have a lot of thoughts on this speech, but rather than spew them all out in an undisciplined cloud, I'll try and phrase them succinctly and and in bullet question-form:
- He's right on the growth of Islam. Here's a good (if a bit anodyne) overview of the current number of Muslims in Europe from the BBC. But to ask my first question: does Wilders have any way to prove what percentage of these Muslims are devout and what percentage are merely cultural? By my lights, cultural Muslims (a la Steven Spielburg to Judaism) aren't detrimental to a Western liberal democracy. Rather than deal in broad numbers, Wilders would be better suited to discuss statistics that deal with specific policies (like support for suicide bombing, for example) than with religious/cultural identifiers like "Islam".
- Wilders does steal an intellectual base or two with blanket statements. Perhaps its because it's in a speech, but he seems to simply assert that there are secret plans to build "super-mosques" with absolutly no evidence. I'd like more than just buzz terms if we are going to analyze this properly.
- Wilders also loses some credibility in my book when he generalizes news stories (which I know in detail) to make a rhetorical point. To wit: sharia courts, while "part" of the legal system of the UK, aren't the same sharia courts we see in Saudi Arabia or Egypt. There are no beheadings or stonings to speak of. Please don't misunderstand: I find the mere existence of sharia courts in England revolting to my instincts, but no one is well served by overheated generalities.
- To a broader point, I also think Wilders makes a mistake by taking on Islam as a whole. While I'm not equivocating, the same critiques Geert makes of Islam could be made of Christianity. The Scriptures are quite clear that God does not desire a "moderate Christianity", just as the Koran commands Muslims. Every word in the Bible is God's and not open to interpretation, as the Koran is Allah's word. The list could go on. I'm not suggesting that Christianity is as violent as Islam, but I am stating that Christianity also has its own illiberal tendencies, if viewed through the right lens. Christians, through Providence and reason, however, progressed: there are few Christians who advocate slavery or suggest stoning unruly children. Few Christians believe that polygamy is acceptable.
Islam, to me, suffers more from a Petri-dish-style isolation problem than from a dogmatic interpretation problem. It's been a religion in a region that tolerates few (if any) challengers. There have been elements of progress in the past: the late 19th/early 20th century brought much change to the Middle East, and it showed in the moderation of theology and modernization of culture. The second half of the 20th century, however, brought a lot of Marxist-born ethnic/religious-identity theory to the region, regressing to a time 150 years in the past. This noxious filth must be excised from the world, without a doubt. But to pin the problems of the past 30 years on the core of a religion, a religion that managed to be at peace with the West for hundreds of years, is a bit short sighted.
Islam must be competed with, not eradicated.
- I'll close by attempting a summary: My quibbles with Wilders are far outstripped by my agreements. I guess where I differ from Wilders and (perhaps) the sender of this email, is that I've already chalked Europe into the "Lost" column. It's sounds harsh, but the sentiment is not one of haste.
Here's how I calculate it: the answer to illiberalism is a confident liberalism (I'm using it in the classic sense here). Fundamentalist Islam is an illiberal force that will expand until it is confronted. Fundamentalist Islam is covering Europe. Europe lacks the requisite cultural confidence in its liberalism. Therefore, Fundamentalist Islam will cover Europe. It's a longwinded syllogism, but it seems airtight.
For America, the prescription is equally simple: be confident in who we are. Don't apologize for finding burqas abominable. Speak out against "honor crimes" whereever they are. Refuse to accept that hanging homosexuals (as takes place in Iran) as the norm. When you read about genital mutilation for women in Muslim countries, don't tell yourself that "it's just a different world over there." Demand progress from the Middle East and SE Asia, and don't let up until the change happens.
That doesn't mean we have to colonize every country or fight every imam in power. It does mean, however, that we must be ever-vigilant of our own proceedings. If our money is involved, if our political/military support is essential, we should demand that our values are just as involved, just as essential.
Thanks Dad for forwarding this, I'd love to hear your thoughts as well,
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Same goes for you out there, readers. I’d love to hear your emails/comments too.
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