Pan-Islamism Challenges Idea Of Nation-State (Mark Steyn: Meet The Real Globalists Alert)

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 08/13/06 | Mark Steyn

[goldstategop]

Here's how an early report by Reuters covered the massive terrorism bust in the United Kingdom. They started out conventionally enough just chugging along with airport closures, arrest details and quotes from bystanders, but then got to the big picture:

" 'I'm an ex-flight attendant, I'm used to delays, but this is a different kind of delay,' said Gita Saintangelo, 54, an American returning to Miami. 'We heard about it on the TV this morning. We left a little early and said a prayer,' she said at Heathrow.

"Britain has been criticised by Islamist militants for its military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prime Minister Tony Blair has also come under fire at home and abroad for following the U.S. lead and refusing to call for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas."

Is there a software program at Western news agencies that automatically inserts random segues in terrorism stories? The plot to commit mass murder by seizing up to 10 U.K.-U.S. airliners was well advanced long before the first Israeli strike against Hezbollah. Yet it's apparently axiomatic at Reuters, the BBC and many other British media outlets that Tony Blair is the root cause of jihad. He doesn't even have to invade anywhere anymore. He just has to "refuse to call for an immediate cease-fire" when some other fellows invade some other fellows over on the other side of the world.

Grant for the sake of argument that these reports are true -- that when the bloodthirsty Zionist warmongers attack all those marvelous Hezbollah social outreach programs it drives British subjects born and bred to plot mass murder against their fellow Britons. What does that mean?

Here's a clue, from a recent Pew poll that asked: What do you consider yourself first? A citizen of your country or a Muslim?

In the United Kingdom, 7 percent of Muslims consider themselves British first, 81 percent consider themselves Muslim first.

And that's where the really valid Lebanese comparison lies. Lebanon is a sovereign state. It has an executive and a military. But its military has less sophisticated weaponry than Hezbollah and its executive wields less authority over its jurisdiction than Hezbollah. In the old days, the Lebanese government would have fallen and Hezbollah would have formally supplanted the state. But non-state actors like the Hezbo crowd and al-Qaida have no interest in graduating to statehood. They've got bigger fish to fry. If you're interested in establishing a global caliphate, getting a U.N. seat and an Olympic team only gets in the way. The "sovereign" state is of use to such groups merely as a base of operations, as Afghanistan was and Lebanon is. They act locally but they think globally.

And that indifference to the state can be contagious. Lebanon's Christians may think of themselves as "Lebanese," but most of Hezbollah's Shiite constituency don't. Western analysts talk hopefully of fierce differences between Sunni and Shiite, Arab and Persian, but it's interesting to note the numbers of young Sunni men in Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere in recent weeks who've decided that Iran's (Shiite) President Ahmadinejad and his (Shiite) Hezbo proxies are the new cool kids in town. During the '90s, we grew used to the idea that "non-state actors" meant a terrorist group, with maybe a few hundred activists, a few thousand supporters. What if entire populations are being transformed into "non-state actors"? Not terrorists, by any means, but at the very minimum entirely indifferent to the state of which they're nominally citizens.

Hence that statistic: Seven percent of British Muslims consider their primary identity to be British, 81 percent consider it to be Muslim. By comparison, in the most populous Muslim nation on the planet, 39 percent of Muslim Indonesians consider themselves Indonesian first, 36 percent consider themselves Muslim first. For more than four years now, I've been writing about a phenomenon I first encountered in the Muslim ghettoes of the Netherlands, Belgium and other European countries in the spring of 2002: Second- and third-generation European Muslims feel far more fiercely Islamic than their parents and grandparents.

That's the issue: Pan-Islamism is the profound challenge to conventional ideas of citizenship and nationhood. Of course, if you say that at the average Ivy League college, you'll get a big shrug: Modern multicultural man disdains to be bound by the nation state, too; he prides himself on being un citoyen du monde. The difference is that, for Western do-gooders, it's mostly a pose: They may occasionally swing by some Third World basket-case and condescend to the natives, but for the most part the multiculti set have no wish to live anywhere but an advanced Western democracy. It's a quintessential piece of leftie humbug. They may think globally, but they don't act on it.

The pan-Islamists do act. When they hold hands and sing "We Are The World," they mean it. And we're being very complacent if we think they only take over the husks of "failed states" like Afghanistan, Somalia and Lebanon. The Islamists are very good at using the principal features of the modern multicultural democracy -- legalisms, victimology -- to their own advantage. The United Kingdom is, relatively speaking, a non-failed state, but at a certain level Her Majesty's government shares the same problem as their opposite numbers in Beirut: They don't quite dare to move against the pan-Islamists and they have no idea what possible strategy would enable them to do so.

So instead they tackle the symptoms. Excellent investigative work by MI-5 and Scotland Yard foiled this plot, and may foil the next one, and the one after that, and the 10 after that, and the 100 after those. And in the meantime, a thousand incremental inconveniences fall upon the citizen. If you had told an Englishman on Sept. 10, 2001, that within five years all hand luggage would be banned on flights from Britain, he'd have thought you were a kook. If you'd told an Englishwoman that all liquids would be banned except milk for newborn babies that could only be taken on board if the adult accompanying the child drinks from the bottle in front of a security guard, she'd have scoffed and said no one would ever put up with such a ludicrous imposition. But now it's here. What other changes will the Islamists have wrought in another five years?

Absent a determination to throttle the ideology, we're about to witness the unraveling of the world.

[goldstategop]

Meet the real globalists: the pan-Islamists. For them - the highest loyalty is to Islam, not a particular country. It mocks Western multi-culturalist pieties about different creeds existing side by side across the world. For Western Leftists, globalism is merely a pose to condescend to the Third World riffraff. For Pan-Islamists, its a chance to convert the world to Allah. That's why our tactics in the War On Terror will fail. How do we respond to this ideology? That's the still unanswered challenge of our time.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em Down Hezbullies.)

[backhoe]

I've been trying to wake people up to this menace, for years:

Islam, a Religion of Peace®? ( links, blogs, quips, quotes, aggravating pictures ) is located here- click the Picture, and scroll backwards:

...and the barbarians are already inside our gates. That picture is from a "rally" in Toronto...

Never, ever, forget:

Where It's 9-11 all the Time: Click the Picture:

"Where it's nine-eleven all the time
and no Sun sets, and no clocks chime
where no voice speaks and no bird trills
the Moon hangs frozen o'er the hills
The winds are still, they seem to say,
Reflect, remember, stop to pray..."

...and at our neighbour's gates, as well:

Terror Strike Toronto ( Aborted! )-- Click the picture:

And then, there is this little problem:

For "Thunder on the Border," click the picture:

I've been trying to wake people up to this menace, for years:

Islam, a Religion of Peace®? ( links, blogs, quips, quotes, aggravating pictures ) is located here- click the Picture, and scroll backwards:

...and the barbarians are already inside our gates. That picture is from a "rally" in Toronto...

Never, ever, forget:

Where It's 9-11 all the Time: Click the Picture:

"Where it's nine-eleven all the time
and no Sun sets, and no clocks chime
where no voice speaks and no bird trills
the Moon hangs frozen o'er the hills
The winds are still, they seem to say,
Reflect, remember, stop to pray..."

...and at our neighbour's gates, as well:

Terror Strike Toronto ( Aborted! )-- Click the picture:

And then, there is this little problem:

For "Thunder on the Border," click the picture:

[nikos1121]

Islam is no different than Nazism. It is not a religion.

[Mr. Mojo]

Absent a determination to throttle the [Islamist] ideology, we're about to witness the unraveling of the world.

Throttling the ideology is essential, but it could take several decades to do it successfully, and we may not have that kind of time. Right now we're in survival mode, and that means taking more direct action. .....like aggressively looking for and booting out all Islamic non-citizens, not allowing any Muslims from anywhere to immigrate, and annihilating (without naive concern for "hearts and minds" that can never be won) any regime that sponsors/supports terrorism. ....for starters.

[Bahbah]

I've been trying to wake people up to this menace, for years

It worked with me, backhoe. Right after 9/11 I was having lunch with some of my partners at my firm. I knew nothing about Islam and merely posed the question whether something about it could have led to that. The reaction was amazing. "That's ridiculous." "How can you even ask such a question." Well, I went on to look into this thing they call a "religion" and learned a great deal, much of it thanks to you. Islam is the problem. What is the solution?

[seasoned traditionalist]

"Here's a clue, from a recent Pew poll that asked: What do you consider yourself first? A citizen of your country or a Muslim?

In the United Kingdom, 7 percent of Muslims consider themselves British first, 81 percent consider themselves Muslim first.

I would love to see the same poll question posed to the 5-6 Million Muzzies here in the States.

Be a good undertaking for the Stinky (oops, PEW) research group.

Of course, I can just hear the screeching from CAIR, The State Dept., NY Slime, et al. that this would be inflammatory and meant to turn the tide of public opinion against those who practice the religion of peace. Yeah right!!

[backhoe]

Well, I went on to look into this thing they call a "religion" and learned a great deal, much of it thanks to you.

I greatly appreciate that.

[GOPJ]

If you had told an Englishman on Sept. 10, 2001, that within five years all hand luggage would be banned on flights from Britain, he'd have thought you were a kook. If you'd told an Englishwoman that all liquids would be banned except milk for newborn babies that could only be taken on board if the adult accompanying the child drinks from the bottle in front of a security guard, she'd have scoffed and said no one would ever put up with such a ludicrous imposition. But now it's here. What other changes will the Islamists have wrought in another five years?

Absent a determination to throttle the ideology, we're about to witness the unraveling of the world.

There aren't enough weapons to kill all the Islamist - and even if there were, the price to our soul would be too high. In a battle of ideology - of our ideas Vs their ideas -- the question of how to separate a Muslim from his most toxic beliefs without killing him is formost... And yeah, just killing a person doesn't kill the ideas behind them - they know that, and we know that...

[tkathy]

So instead they tackle the symptoms....

The terrorists are the symptoms, the maniac mullahs spewing their insane death cult ideology are more the problem.

[metesky]

And yeah, just killing a person doesn't kill the ideas behind them - they know that, and we know that...

Really? What happened to Bushido?

[metesky]

Over here for Steyn.

[mo]

"Pan-Islamism Challenges Idea Of Nation-State...."

Well finally I understand the Demonrats affinity for this crowd......

[nathanbedford]

All of this is a direct result of the lethal legacy of THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL which gave birth to cultural Marxism which renders the elites of the left incapable of dealing with Muslim terrorists as Muslims. This disease has infected Europe where it has spread on the continent and, as Melanie Phillips pointed out in her book, LONDONISTAN, even Great Britain suffers from a severe infection. In America, the virus is most obvious in the blue states. Nevertheless, we were only a few electoral votes in Florida and 60,000 popular votes in Ohio away from slipping down into the swamps of multiculturalism (Cultural Marxism). If that should happen, we will be hopelessly vulnerable to Muslim terrorism and perhaps even ultimate rule as a Muslim caliphate.

I am of the opinion that when Marc Steyn wrote the following it could have as aptly applied to The Cultural Marxism of the left:

"Absent a determination to throttle the ideology, we're about to witness the unraveling of the world."

We are in world war against 1.2 billion Muslims or some fanatical fraction thereof. They are maniacal, suicidal, and homicidal. They are not amenable to diplomacy, blandishment, reason, bribery or Western Enlightenment. It is a very formidable enemy.

To have any hope of winning a global, asymmetrical, and generational war with these people we must have our own house in order. We do not because we are undermined by the lethal legacy of THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL: Cultural Marxism.

Pan nationalism (which really means the absence of nationalism), anti-Americanism, feminism (anti-paternalism), atheism (anticlericalism), extreme environmentalism (especially extreme global warming), anti-racism (group victimology), homosexual activism (anti-family hatred), etc. are all excressences of Cultural Marxism. This doctrine was explicitly fashioned to break down the resistance of Western civilization to communism.

It was designed to pave the way for the acceptance of the Russian Revolution in Germany in the 1920s. In doing so it carved out areas against the Western culture which it saw as bulwarks against communism: the family, the Church, the school. Thus it was perfectly positioned at the time of the ostensible and apparent failure of communism at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall to convert the left fully from an economic Marxism to a Cultural Marxism. That is what we have today.

I am coming to the conclusion that the elites in the left are not purblind, not the misguided victims of their own worldview, but cynical high-stakes gamblers who risk plunging themselves and us into a new dark age if it will enhance their own chances to rule. Unless one believes that the top elitists on the left genuinely do not see the threat to Western civilization posed by a Muslim theocracy, there is no other plausible explanation. After all, Muslim fundamentalists stand for everything repugnant to the left-at least on a superficial level: the belief in God; rule by theocracy; the virtual enslavement of women; repudiation of the scientific method; superstition, etc. life in such a society should be utterly insupportable to leftists. Yet they undermine the war against terrorism at every turn, they oppose the Patriot Act, they oppose international telephone surveillance, they oppose vigorous interrogation, they oppose incarceration, to list just a few. Why?

How did Lenin behave as he was taking over power in Russia? He negotiated a sellout deal for peace through appeasement with imperial Germany. Mao behaved even more scurrilously. Because of biased reporting of it is commonly believed in America that it was the Communists in China, rather than the Nationalists who were believed to be corrupt and passive, who were aggressive in fighting the Japanese in World War II. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact Mao betrayed his nationalist allies quite often to the Japanese and otherwise exploited the war to defeat the Nationalists while virtually undertaking no action against the Japanese.

At the time Mao was fully aware of the rape of Nanking and brutality which the Japanese had visited upon his people. He deliberately courted the defeat of China and subjected his fellow Chinese to further brutality in order to advance the interests of communism and especially his own personal lust for power. This was the pattern of Mao's life, Lenin's life, and Stalin's life.

I believe that the elitists on the left, not the useful idiots, are playing the same game.

[Sarah]

"Is there a software program at Western news agencies that automatically inserts random segues in terrorism stories?"

the imagery is just TOO perfect!

[Congressman Billybob]

Time and time, and time again, Mark Steyn takes up a subject, nails it, and then just goes on his way as if nothing unusual had happened. He's done it again.

The ideology of the Nazis came wrapped in a nation-state (Germany). Its shock troops who sought to impose its will globally, were visible, and wore uniforms. But today, the threat is exactly the same -- only the methods are different. The MAZIS (Muslims who act like Nazis) do not depend on the nation-state. They are not easily visible nor do they wear uniforms.

But the intention, stated as clearly today as Hitler's was 70 years ago, is worldwide domination by force. Nothing has changed except the source of the murder. Steyn is, as usual, right.

Congressman Billybob

Latest article: "The Democrat Party - 1828 - 2006 - R.I.P."

Please see my most recent new statement on running for Congress, here.

[Sarah]

per Steyn's reference to dealing with the symptoms:
In Israel, during the beginning of the Intifada, the government acted the same way:
The rock-throwing led to government subsized plastic covering for windows.
Continued attacks let to a replacement windshield that wouldn't shatter.
Then came the escorted convoys through dangerous areas,
Then came new roads that by-passed the refugee camps...
NEVER dealing with the problem, just dancing around it.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

Extremely well put. One common thread in Marxism, Fascism, and the Islamists is the suppression of individuality, except of course the individuality of those narcissists who hold the reins of power and are convinced they are the chosen ones who must lead the homogeneous masses. It is the same with all elitists.

[rbg81]

What other changes will the Islamists have wrought in another five years?

He forgot to talk about the erosion of freedom of speech and the press. The unwritten commandment these days is: Thou shalt not offend Muslims.

[scory]

But the Islamists do rely on nation states for sanctuary, money, weaponry and training. We know which states support these people and allow them the reach and influence that they have. Bush said he would go after the states that sponsor and support terrorists. He went about half-way in this taking out Afghanistan and Iraq. He dithered with Syria and Iran and the result is that the Islamists and their allies once again have the initiative.

[leadhead]

He dithered with Syria and Iran and the result is that the Islamists and their allies once again have the initiative.

I can only hope that he has something swift and shocking up his sleeve as a response to this latest attempted attack and the future safety of the US.

That's why I voted for him.