The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Germany faces its demons
It is one thing to support Islamist dictators against your supposed “allies” when the dictator is paying you off with millions of illegal UN oil-for-food funds. Apparently it is quite another thing entirely when the Islamist menace rears its ugly head in your own country. Take for example this article in the recent edition of the German icon Der Spiegel:
No one likes to have guests like Hodja, a Turkish citizen who traveled to Germany for the sole purpose of contributing to the spiritual edification of his fellow Turks. "America is a great Satan, Great Britain is a lesser one, and Israel a blood-sucking vampire," he yelled into a prayer room in Bavaria.
Then the immigrant imam explained his vision of the future of Muslims in Germany: "Things will happen behind the scenes. You must be ready for the right moment. We must take advantage of democracy to further our cause. We must cover all of Europe with mosques and schools." His comments were greeted with loud applause from his audience of devout Muslims.
That was two years ago, at a time when, in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the security services had just begun taking a closer look at the inner workings of German mosques. At the time, however, politicians were still avoiding issues that were considered sensitive. The left wing was doing its utmost to protect its ideology of a peaceful, multicultural society, while the right wing held fast to its conviction that foreigners are guests who don't really belong.
After Sept. 11, the public debate about how people from different cultures will live together in the future began on a relatively furtive scale. People were too worried that criticism of Islamists could be misinterpreted as xenophobia. It was only after the gruesome murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh three weeks ago in Amsterdam that decades of repressing the issue came to an end. The uproar in the Netherlands has brought the conflict closer and made it much more visible. Last week, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a harmless, mainstream mosque in the southern German town of Sinsheim.
The incidents have opened many people's eyes to the dangers of religious extremism, and politicians of almost every stripe are now demanding a tougher stance against those believed to be responsible.
No one likes to have guests like Hodja, a Turkish citizen who traveled to Germany for the sole purpose of contributing to the spiritual edification of his fellow Turks. "America is a great Satan, Great Britain is a lesser one, and Israel a blood-sucking vampire," he yelled into a prayer room in Bavaria.
Then the immigrant imam explained his vision of the future of Muslims in Germany: "Things will happen behind the scenes. You must be ready for the right moment. We must take advantage of democracy to further our cause. We must cover all of Europe with mosques and schools." His comments were greeted with loud applause from his audience of devout Muslims.
That was two years ago, at a time when, in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the security services had just begun taking a closer look at the inner workings of German mosques. At the time, however, politicians were still avoiding issues that were considered sensitive. The left wing was doing its utmost to protect its ideology of a peaceful, multicultural society, while the right wing held fast to its conviction that foreigners are guests who don't really belong.
After Sept. 11, the public debate about how people from different cultures will live together in the future began on a relatively furtive scale. People were too worried that criticism of Islamists could be misinterpreted as xenophobia. It was only after the gruesome murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh three weeks ago in Amsterdam that decades of repressing the issue came to an end. The uproar in the Netherlands has brought the conflict closer and made it much more visible. Last week, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a harmless, mainstream mosque in the southern German town of Sinsheim.
The incidents have opened many people's eyes to the dangers of religious extremism, and politicians of almost every stripe are now demanding a tougher stance against those believed to be responsible.
