The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 10)

: /p>

Jed Babbin's writing about the threat of Islamic fascism always offers a welcome rush of pride and anger (not to mention astute analysis), something that is sadly lacking among even many supporters of the "war on terror." But like other "respectable" conservative commentators, Mr. Babbin shrinks from openly stating the true implications of his position.

What, for example, does he mean when he says that people (radical Muslims) who do not embrace our Constitution and renounce the supremacy of other law (sharia) are "not welcome" in this country? What does he mean when he says that the rest of us should heap "scorn, contempt, shame, and disrespect" on these people? If by this he means nothing more than we should not be friendly to these people and shouldn't hold our tongues when speaking our true feelings about terrorists and their supporters, then I am afraid that Mr. Babbin's tough talk is not so tough at all.

The real questions are, should we continue to permit immigration from Muslim countries that support extremist ideologies (which is every Muslim nation on earth)? Should we permit extremist Muslims already here to remain in our country? Should we close down mosques, schools, and community organizations that spread Islamist ideology? Should we censor Islamist propaganda? Should we prohibit Muslims who do not take loyalty oaths from participating in the political process? Should we repeal antidiscrimination laws that, on their face, protect Muslims from any such treatment? And should we amend the Constitution, which prohibits the government from treating Muslims, whatever their beliefs, differently than non-Muslims?

If the threat posed by radical Islam is as dire as Mr. Babbin and others believe, then only stern measures, like the ones suggested above, will prevent in this country what is happening in Europe, which daily gives in more and more to Islamic demands -- not just out of cowardice, but also out of the logic of its multicultural democratic system (which we share). Recall the Danish politician who recently stated that if Muslims vote to adopt sharia through the democratic process, then the people will have spoken. Is Mr. Babbin willing to state that Muslim citizens' democratic rights must give way if they seek to promote an anti-American ideology? If not, then he doesn't truly think that the threat posed by radical Islam is as serious as he claims.

p>When two irreconcilable ideologies, two opposing worldviews, come into conflict, one must give way -- usually through violence or intimidation. We experienced this in our own country just 150 years ago. Europe is experiencing it today. Mr. Babbin and the other commentators who lament what is happening in Europe clearly take the position that accommodating ourselves to extremist Muslims is, in effect, to let our civilization give way to radical Islam. Yet Mr. Babbin, like so many others who sound hawkish on this issue, does not want to accept the difficult implications of his own analysis. For if the Islamic threat is real, then we must do much more than simply heap "scorn, contempt, shame, and disrespect" on radical Muslims. If this is too much for Mr. Babbin to stomach, then he should stop criticizing Europe. br> -- Steven M. Warshawsky br> New York, New York /p> p> Oh boy, what a beauty is Jed Babbin's "Islamic Brownshirts." I have just finished writing to you in connection with your readers' responses to "Enough Is Enough Already!" by Jackie Mason and Raoul Felder. In it, I lamented the freedoms we used to know in this country of ours and look on with envy at those freedoms still enjoyed by the U.S. I recently took some visiting relatives from overseas to view Sir Winston Churchill's grave, nearby, and I recalled wondering where our next modern day Churchill is. I have to look to the U.S. these days, although like Jed Babbin, I do wonder about Mr. Bush. However, he has been mis-underestimated before. Tony Blair is being squeezed out by his own ideologically hamstrung party and the latest opposition leader is certainly no Maggie Thatcher and probably no, nothing else. If ever the free world needed a wake up call, it is Islamic Fascism. This truly is a fight of civilization against barbarity. br> -- Graham Constable br> Oxford, England

topics:
Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Religion, Islam, Abortion, Books, Constitution, Law, NATO, Socialism, Fascism, Immigration, Oil