Thursday, August 21, 2008

Another Capitulation To Muslims

While watching The O'Reilly Factor last night I found out about another capitulation to the sensitive sensibilities of Muslims. It seems that Random House book publishing company has pulled the plug on a novel about the "romance" between the "prophet" Mohammed and his child bride Aisha, whom he married when she was six years old. Just days before the book, titled "The Jewel of Medina" (TJoM), was to be released Random House backed off, citing concerns that the novel might incite violence from the followers of the religion of peace. And what's really upsetting about this is that concern over the novel wasn't raised by Muslims but by University of Texas professor Denise Spellberg who, apparently, has appointed herself Protector of Islamic Feelings. And there are other such protectors around.

In Serbia--Serbia!--TJoM was pulled off bookstore shelves and the publisher apologized for publishing it after some Muslim group threatened to protest. When are we in the West going to stop doing this? Muslims kill us or threaten to kill us repeatedly; they oppress their religious and/or ethnic minorities; they execute homosexuals and "unchaste" women; they call for the destruction of an entire nation; yet we strain to be sensitive to their little feelings. This Spellberg person felt she had to warn Muslims about a novel that supposedly "made fun of [them] and their history". Ah yes, it's MUCH worse for a Westerner to make fun of Muslims than it is for Muslims to actually kill Westerners. You see, they wouldn't feel compelled to murder us if we understood them better. So goes the thinking of Quislings like Spellberg. I ask again, when are we in the West going to stop this?!

Freedom of speech used to be a cherished principle in Hesperia. Now, protecting Muslims' feelings is the highest good. What's wrong with a little censorship if it serves the cause of not offending Mohammed's followers? Isn't refraining from giving such offense the best way to prevent terrorism? The more we show Muslims that we like them, that we're on their side, to the point of violating our own rights and freedoms, then surely they'll drop this jihad nonsense and live in peace with us. Sherry Jones, the auther of TJoM, claimed that she wrote "respectfully" of the "great historical figures" Mohammed and Aisha, and that her book was meant to be a "bridge-builder" between Muslims and Westerners. Well Ms. Jones, just look at what your appeasement got you.

Muslims don't want to intergrate into Western civilization; they want to Islamize it. Appeasement emboldens them. They use fear of terrorist violence or mere protests to cow us Westerners into living by Islamic rules, chief of which is the rule that Islam, Mohammed, and Muslims must NEVER be offended. You can photograph a crucifix in a jar of urine. You can make an image of the Virgin Mary out of elephant dung. You can trash the Catholic church in books like "The Da Vinci Code" and mock evangelical Protestants in movies like "Saved!" and in inumerable tv shows. Freedom of speech absolutely allows that. But we must not think that freedom of speech protects criticism of Islam. What a warmongering notion!

Muslims will keep pushing and pushing the envelope until we wake up one morning and find that Sharia law has become the law of the land. I repeat, appeasement only emboldens them. It convinces Muslims that they can win because the West is too self-loathing to defend itself. Canadian author Mark Steyn, who had his own battle with protect-the-Muslims censorship, wrote that the future belongs to the fertile and the confident. We Westerners consistenly show that we are neither while Muslims are definitely both.

But all is not yet lost. There is reason for hope. Shortly after "The Jewel of Medina" was cancelled by Random House publishers in Italy, Spain, and Hungary bought rights to the book. Bravo to them! There are still those in the West who cherish our liberties and our civilization and will not be intimidated by Islam. The Italian, Spanish, and Hungarian publishers of TJoM will, no doubt, come in for such intimidation but I have a strong feeling that they will not cave. Their steadfastness will tell the Muslims that the Islamization of the West is not assured. There are still Westerners with the will and the guts to fight for their land. They are the Hammer Folk, the shield of Hesperia, and with God's help they will save Western civilization.

In the spirit of Martel may we live!