Mona Charen
Our enemies are stupid
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
Almost certainly Al-Qaeda or one of its allies murdered and
maimed random, defenseless civilians in London yesterday. According to the BBC,
"al-Qala'a," an Islamist website that has been used as a conduit by Al Qaeda
in the past, contained a claim of responsibility that read, in part:
"Rejoice, for it is time to take revenge against the British Zionist
Crusader government in retaliation for the massacres Britain is committing
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The heroic mujahedeen have carried out a blessed
raid in London."
People who can use a word like "blessed" to describe men, women,
and children being blown to pieces or having their eyes gouged out by flying
glass or losing limbs are not just barbarous, they are twisted. Theirs is a
perversion of mind and spirit that almost defies imagination. But
thankfully, they are also not very smart.
By committing such atrocities, the Islamists manage to stiffen
whatever small residue of resolve remains in flaccid Western civilization.
Before the vicious attacks on London civilians, the G8 conference in
Scotland focused primarily on global warming, poverty in Africa, and
economic matters. But now the leaders of the industrial giants will
inevitably turn their attention to the war on terror.
The Islamists could make huge strides in their campaign to
undermine Western societies if they used any ( tactic
other than terror. And, in fact, in Great Britain, they have made incredible
progress by playing upon Britain's overindulgence of any minority complaint.
Middle East scholar and JWR contributor Daniel Pipes keeps a running chronicle of British
abjectness.
Example 1: The University of Leicester NHS Trust is considering
removal of Gideon Bibles from its hospital rooms, out of concern that their
presence might "offend" non-Christian patients.
Example 2: Pipes quotes the Sunday Times to the effect that the
British equivalent of the IRS, the Inland Revenue, "is considering
recognizing polygamy for some religious groups for tax purposes. Officials
have agreed to examine 'family friendly' representations from Muslims who
take up to four wives under sharia, the laws derived from the Koran.
Existing rules allow only one wife for inheritance tax purposes. The Revenue
has been asked to relax this so that a husband's estate can be divided tax
free between [sic] several wives."
Example 3: The warden at Belmarsh Prison, temporary quarters of
Abu Hamza Al-Masri, the Islamist leader charged with crimes ranging from
inciting racial hatred to murder, has plans to spend $3 million on a mosque
for the prison. The facility already maintains a multi-denominational
chapel. But this is unacceptable to the Muslim inmates, some of whom are
suspected Al Qaeda members, because it contains crosses.
And speaking of Al-Masri, the British taxpayer has been most
generous to the accused terrorist who blew off his own hand and lost an eye
making a bomb. Example 4: Masri plans to sue the British government for the
£200 a week in welfare he says he is owed for almost three years. This would
complement the other benefits he receives. Pipes reports that al-Masri
receives a rent-free £500-a-month house in which his wife and eight children
live; £2 million of taxpayer funds to pay for his now-seven-year legal
battle against deportation; special help in jail to bathe, dress, and eat
due to his disabilities, as well as a personal nurse who visits him daily;
and a new hook.
Example 5: A pizzeria in Scotland applied for a permit to place
tables on the sidewalk outside its restaurant. This met with angry
resistance from two Muslim charities who objected that the plan was
"offensive" because alcohol would be served out of doors.
If the Islamists had but the patience to play upon the
guilt-ridden West's weakness, they might have their victory in a few
decades. Leaning over backwards has become so common in the West that its
enemies could reasonably wonder whether any spine remained at all. Brutal
attacks like that in London snap us back to reality and remind all but the
most weak-minded Europeans and Americans that appeasement is nothing less
than slow surrender.
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