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"Europeans Have Stopped Defending Their Values"
Der Spiegel ^ | 10/02/2006

Posted on 10/02/2006 10:29:16 AM PDT by Republicain

For years, political scientist Bassam Tibi has been urging Muslims to integrate into European societies and Europe to stand up to Islamists. He spoke with SPIEGEL about the weakness of Europe, the orthodoxy of Islam and what Germany needs to do to open up.

(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: europe; germany; islam; values

1 posted on 10/02/2006 10:29:17 AM PDT by Republicain
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To: Republicain
Begging the question: What Values?

Bagets and great cheese are not values (however, I would defend those two fine European staples with my life).

2 posted on 10/02/2006 10:32:46 AM PDT by zarf
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To: zarf
Begging the question: What Values?

Deeply stupid.

3 posted on 10/02/2006 10:35:12 AM PDT by Republicain
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To: Republicain
Of course not. But the French state helped set up a council of Muslims which was completely in line with European values. If the French state had not been involved, the council would have probably been in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The french council of muslim is controled by the UOIF (Union des Organisations Islamiques de France), which is very close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

4 posted on 10/02/2006 10:38:28 AM PDT by Republicain
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To: Republicain

It's seems as though they have become lackadaisical about it. The US has been primarily defending what used to be their values since the end of WWII. The will seems to have atrophied.


5 posted on 10/02/2006 10:39:19 AM PDT by kinoxi (.)
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To: Republicain
This article is excellent...particularly the following:
Tibi: Muslims have to give up three things if they want to become Europeans: They have to bid farewell to the idea of converting others, and renounce the Jihad. The Jihad is not just a way of testing yourself but also means using violence to spread Islam. The third thing they need to give up is the Shariah, which is the Islamic legal system. This is incompatible with the German constitution. There are also two things they need to redefine.

Tibi: Pluralism and tolerance are pillars of modern society. That has to be accepted. But pluralism doesn't just mean diversity. It means that we share the same rules and values, and are still nevertheless different. Islam doesn't have this idea. And Islam also has no tradition of tolerance. In Islam tolerance means that Christians and Jews are allowed to live under the protection of Muslims but never as citizens with the same rights. What Muslims call tolerance is nothing other than discrimination.

SPIEGEL: How many of the 3 million Muslims living in Germany would agree to these demands?

Tibi: A few thousand perhaps.

There's the solution and the reason it can't be implemented.
6 posted on 10/02/2006 10:48:32 AM PDT by Dark Skies (Allah sez "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.")
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To: Dark Skies

Yes, it's very rare to see a muslim such lucid about the necessary reforms of islam. And about the low number of muslims ready to agree with it... I don't think the number would be very different in France, despite twice as much muslims...


7 posted on 10/02/2006 10:56:00 AM PDT by Republicain
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To: Republicain
The situation is this: young Muslims want to be "members of the club," part of German society.

I don't believe that. Most muslims in Western countries do not want to integrate with that society -- they want to conquer it. Even in America, which he claims to be more hospitable to muslims than Germany, the muslims are mostly seperate from our society, by their choice.

8 posted on 10/02/2006 11:20:14 AM PDT by TexasRepublic (Afghan protest - "Death to Dog Washers!")
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To: TexasRepublic
I don't believe that. Most muslims in Western countries do not want to integrate with that society -- they want to conquer it. Even in America, which he claims to be more hospitable to muslims than Germany, the muslims are mostly seperate from our society, by their choice.

I desagree. Being European and knowing a lot of young muslims here, I can assure you that a very large majority of them only want to be normal europeans, no more, no less. Only a small minority rejects Western values, but a very active and dangerous minority, I concede. And don't imagine that I am a naive, because I've never been.

9 posted on 10/02/2006 11:26:37 AM PDT by Republicain
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