Islam: What the West Needs To Know

Islam: What the West Needs To Know

"Protocols of the Shuyukh of Mecca" Just another example of islamophobes adopting the tactics of anit-semites- selective quotation, allegations of conspiracies and of government acquiescence, and the implication that virtually every Jew/Muslim is knowingly or unknowingly part of the international cabal, and thus an enemy of White Christian civilization. So who's behind this? It is being released by "Quixotic Media," a company the sole purpose of which seems to be to release the film. It features Robert Spencer, Bat Ye'or, and Walid Shoebat prominently and sports a title derived from one of Spencer's anti-Islamic diatribes. And what's the point of it? To convince non-Muslims that Bin Laden's Islam is the true Islam? It seems like an utterly useless thing, something only designed to achieve political goals. It certainly won't help the West learn to deal with the Muslim world in a constructive way. Telling Muslims that their religion is inherently violent and that this is the fault of the Qur'an (not 'koran') and the Prophet (SAW) in no way helps the dialogue that's necessary if we are not to go on destroying one another. Robert Spencer is a Catholic and Walid Shoebat an evangelical so perhaps this is an attempt to undermine Islamic belief as a prelude to conversion. But I can say one thing with absolute certainty: the majority of Muslims will never change their religion. They may become virtually non-observant, but they'll never deny Islam. Being brought up Muslim or converting to Islam has a profound effect on one's conciousness, an effect that only very few people can ignore and/or sublimate. So dialogues ruled out, as is conversion. What's the alternative? Perpetual war and possible genocide? I don't see what other alternative Spencer and company offer. If violence is ingrained in Islam then all 'reform' attempts will inevitably fail. The Muslims as a whole will never convert to Christianity nor will they become atheists or agnostics on a large scale. It seems as if the only alternative is large scale recolonization of the Muslim heartland combined with ghetoizzation and/or genocide of the large Muslim populations in Western countries. This project, besides being ethically indefensible, would have serious negative repercussions for the West. My conclusion is that this movie is primarily about domestic politics. It is an attempt to subvert the noble attempts that have been made to make this country a trully pluralistic and multi-cultural society and it is also (probably secondarily) an attempt to justify Israeli policies of occupation and colonial expansion into the West Bank as rational 'self-defense' (hence the presence of Bat Ye'or and of Shoebat). The attempt to justify the crusades (also made in Spencer's "Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam") as self-defense may also be taken as applying to Israel as well, although it may just be an attempt by Spencer to present an apologia for the Church. I'm really disappointed that E-Street cinema is one of three theaters that are carrying this; there's a difference between independent film making and hate propaganda that is too vile for even Hollywood to fund.