What the unseen Fitna has already revealed

An article in the English language edition of Der Spiegel recaps the controversy over Geert Wilders’s 15 minute film on Islam, Fitna, which no one has seen and everyone fears—everyone, that is, who fears the truth about Islam. Even the web hosting service, Network Solutions, where Wilders had a website simply announcing the existence of the film (not playing it) has suspended the website.

The rubber is hitting the road. All along, Europe’s welcoming attitude toward Muslim immigrants has been founded on the deliberate ignoring or denial of the historically well-known doctrines and agenda of Islam. But as soon as large Muslim immigrant populations had come into existence in Europe, the Muslims, predictably enough, began to behave just as their religious doctrines commanded them to do—to expand the power of Islam, to institute Islamic law, to intimidate and silence any criticisms of Islam. Now that Islam is in Europe, it is no longer safe to speak the truth about Islam.

Prior to letting in Muslims, the Europeans could have discussed the nature of Islam among themselves. They could have said: “Islam is a religious/political movement commanded by its god to gain power over the whole earth and subject all humanity to the tyrannical sharia law. For a thousand years Muslims sought to conquer and subjugate Europe, and in the end they only failed because our ancestors the Franks, our ancestors the Spanish, our ancestors the Poles, our ancestors the Italians defeated them militarily. For us to let Muslims enter European society by the thousands and millions would obviously be an insane thing to do.” An intelligent 12 year old boy who knew a bit about European history would have been capable of having such a discussion and reaching such a conclusion. But the leaders of the European countries were modern liberals, and so they were not at the level of an intelligent 12 year old. Believing that all peoples are the same despite their differences and that it’s wicked to think otherwise, they opened Europe’s doors to millions of Muslim immigrants and their children And now that Islam is in Europe in force, a 15-minute long film describing the doctrines of Islam becomes a dire danger to society, because the Muslims threaten violence, terrorism, and other reprisals if it is broadcast.

The Spiegel article ends with a surpassingly complimentary angle on Wilders:

The only one who kept a clear head in this brewing climate of acute fear, preventive adjustment and growing violence was Wilders himself. He called upon Dutch television networks to broadcast his film in its entirety and without having seen it first, which they, of course, rejected. Then Nieuwspoort International Press Center in The Hague agreed to show the film in late March, in connection with a press conference, if Wilders would assume the costs of security for people and property. It was a generous offer, but tantamount to a rejection.

All this leaves Wilders is the Internet—unless, of course, he decides not to show the film, which no one has seen and of which no one can say whether it even exists. The truth is that the “provocateur” has already achieved his goal. Wilders has managed to portray the Dutch and the Europeans as cowards, shouting “we capitulate!” before the battle has even begun.

As he sees it, they are loath to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs but raise no objections when Iran intervenes in their internal affairs. They behave as if they want to protect the members of all religions against insults and abuse, all the while overlooking the fact that it is usually the members of one religion who respond aggressively whenever they are accused of having a propensity for violence.

Wilders could not have achieved more if his film had been shown.

The reality that this affair reveals is that the West has allowed its mortal enemy inside its gates. The West now has two choices: to keep closing its eyes to that reality, or to recognize it and respond appropriately. But it can’t keep closing its eyes forever, and the longer it blinds itself, the worse the day of reckoning will be.

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A reader writes:

Imagine—that a website is suspended by Network Solutions, on the basis that they must investigate the site for improper content, when THE SITE ITSELF IS EMPTY!

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 23, 2008 06:12 PM | Send