The Islamic Threat Is Greater Than German And Soviet Threats Were (Dennis Prager Alert)

Townhall.com ^ | 03/28/06 | Dennis Prager

[goldstategop]

Only four types of individuals can deny the threat to civilization posed by the violence-supporting segment of Islam: the willfully naive, America-haters, Jew-haters and those afraid to confront evil.

Anyone else sees the contemporary reality -- the genocidal Islamic regime in Sudan; the widespread Muslim theological and emotional support for the killing of a Muslim who converts to another religion; the absence of freedom in Muslim-majority countries; the widespread support for Palestinians who randomly murder Israelis; the primitive state in which women are kept in many Muslim countries; the celebration of death; the "honor killings" of daughters; and so much else that is terrible in significant parts of the Muslim world -- knows that civilized humanity has a new evil to fight.

Just as previous generations had to fight Nazism, communism and fascism, our generation has to confront militant Islam.

And whereas there were unique aspects to those evils, there are two unique aspects to the evil emanating from the Islamic world that render this latest threat to humanity particularly difficult to overcome.

One is the number of people who believe in it. This is a new phenomenon among organized evils. Far fewer people believed in Nazism or in communism than believe in Islam generally or in authoritarian Islam specifically. There are one billion Muslims in the world. If just 10 percent believe in the Islam of Hamas, the Taliban, the Sudanese regime, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, bin Ladin, Islamic Jihad, the Finley Park Mosque in London or Hizbollah -- and it is inconceivable that only one of 10 Muslims supports any of these groups' ideologies -- that means a true believing enemy of at least 100 million people. Outside of Germany, how many people believed in Nazism? Outside of Japan, who believed in Japanese imperialism and militarism? And outside of universities, the arts world or Hollywood, how many people believed in Soviet-style totalitarianism?

A far larger number of people believe in Islamic authoritarianism than ever believed in Marxism. Virtually no one living in Marxist countries believed in Marxism or communism. Likewise, far fewer people believed in Nazism, an ideology confined largely to one country for less than one generation. This is one enormous difference between the radical Islamic threat to our civilization and the two previous ones.

But there is yet a second difference that is at least as significant and at least as frightening: Nazis and Communists wanted to live and feared death; Islamic authoritarians love death and loathe life.

That is why MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) worked with the Soviet Union. Communist leaders love life -- they loved their money, their power, their dachas, their mistresses, their fine wines -- and were hardly prepared to give all that up for Marx. But Iran's current leaders celebrate dying, and MAD may not work, because from our perspective, they are indeed mad. MAD only works with the sane.

There is much less you can do against people who value dying more than living.

The existence of an unprecedentedly large number of people wishing to destroy decent civilization as we know it -- and who celebrate their own deaths -- poses a threat the likes of which no civilization in history has had to confront.

The evils committed by Nazism and Communism were, of course, greater than those committed by radical Islam. There has been no Muslim Gulag and no Muslim Auschwitz.

But the threat is far more serious.

[Aquinasfan]

And the Spanish Inquisition

There really isn't any equivalency. The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition.

[Fruitbat]

Most keep saying to themselves, "it's only a few." But as he points out in the piece, and aided by common sense and logic, even if it's only 10%, which is inconceiveable, then that's still 100 million!

An enormous number by any measure. Consider that there are fewer than 200 nations in the world. That's over half-a-million per nation if they spread out, which they are in the process of doing.

Great piece and dead on!

[Aquinasfan]

No Muslim Gulag? Ask some Christians living in Muslim countries. Ask some Muslim women. Ask Muslim activists that have criticism or questions about Islam. No Muslim Aushwitz? Yeah right, ever heard of a country by the name of Sudan?

And the forgotten genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian genocide. Turkey is now 99% Mohammedan.

And Mohammedanism has been spread by force. Few convert willingly.

[Tolik]

Nailed It!
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[Major_Risktaker]

Uh..no. You seem to want to say the two are one and the same, as if the USA was a Jewish nation. It isn't, and never will be. It is a Christian nation. Read up on James Madison, Patrick Henry, Noah Webster, etc to see why.

Most of words of James Madison, Patrick Henry, Noah Webster and the founding fathers died after the civil war. Also, American may be a Christian nation but according to Ariel Sharon, the Jewish people control America.

Ariel Sharon's quote:

At this point, a furious Sharon reportedly turned toward Peres, saying "every time we do something you tell me Americans will do this and will do that. I want to tell you something very clear, don't worry about American pressure on Israel, we, the Jewish people control America, and the Americans know it."

_______________________

Looks like militant Muslims also believe in Sharon's words and proof of linkage to why some Muslims if not all hate America.

_______________________

Thomas Jefferson had it right.

"I hope we may still keep clear of [the broils of Europe],... and that time may be given us to... find some means of shielding ourselves in future from foreign influence, political, commercial, or in whatever other form it may be attempted. I can scarcely withhold myself from joining in the wish of Silas Deane that there were an ocean of fire between us and the old world." --Thomas Jefferson to Elbridge Gerry, 1797. ME 9:385

[FreedomPoster]

Prager gets it.

I've been linking a column of his from over 3 years ago, since it was published. Many are only now coming around to understanding what he clearly saw then.

Majority of muslims are peaceful - so what?
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/dennisprager/2002/11/05/164826.html

[Tolik]

There is also one great difference between communists and Jihadists: communists claimed economic superiority. Soviet communists were naive or impatient enough to proclaim that their people will live better than capitalists. This is a precise and falsifiable claim that was indeed demonstrated to be false. Jihadists make no such foolish claims. Their struggle is strictly religious/ideological, no promises of better economic future in this life. Therefore its harder to shake the believers out of it with any opposite claim. Yes they are more dangerous. To say that they have not produced millions of casualties is like say in 1935 that Hitler and Stalin are not murderous killers. Anybody here wants to do nothing, just wait and see?

[astounded]

I believe India will be the key ally in this enduring war for civilization. India has nukes, it has more than a billion people, it has a highly educated caste system that we actually depend on technologically, and the educated Indians loathe the muslims. Strategic engagement with India essentially allows us to surround and contain Pakistan and Iran, that's why Iraq is so important. Holding Afghanistan and Iraq, with India watching our backs from the East, allows us to control Iran and Syria. With Israel on the Western flank, we have the key enemy nations enveloped.

[SJackson]

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..................

[Valin]

Islam doesn't have a Gulag or an Auschwitz

Afghanistan under the Taliban?


the number of people who actually believe in radical Islam - over 100 million

That still leaves 1.2 Billion who don't

[Valin]

AH, but they do (just like the communists) claim that life under them would be better (ie: closer to God), and just like the communists they allow no deviation in thought word deed.

Shameless Plug
Bolshevism in a Headdress
FrontPageMagazine ^ | 3/21/05 | Mustafa Akyol

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1373886/posts

Posted on 03/30/2005 11:07:26 AM CST by Valin
/Shameless Plug

[Tolik]

"...they do [...] claim that life under them would be better (ie: closer to God)"

Life closer to God claim is much less tangible and easier sustainable than food on the table (i.e. no food), miserable housing, and struggle for every little bit that rotten capitalists got used to take for granted.

</splitting hair>

[Tolik]

Interesting article, thanks for the ping

[bk1000]

"It is making the job of the good guys much harder."

It Political correctness is making the job of the good guys much harder.

...slight correction.

[GOPJ]

This is a new phenomenon among organized evils. Far fewer people believed in Nazism or in communism than believe in Islam generally or in authoritarian Islam specifically. There are one billion Muslims in the world. If just 10 percent believe in the Islam of Hamas, the Taliban, the Sudanese regime, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, bin Ladin, Islamic Jihad, the Finley Park Mosque in London or Hizbollah -- and it is inconceivable that only one of 10 Muslims supports any of these groups' ideologies -- that means a true believing enemy of at least 100 million people. Outside of Germany, how many people believed in Nazism? Outside of Japan, who believed in Japanese imperialism and militarism? And outside of universities, the arts world or Hollywood, how many people believed in Soviet-style totalitarianism?

OMG, Prager's dead on with this one...

[GOPJ]

Their struggle is strictly religious/ideological, no promises of better economic future in this life. Therefore its harder to shake the believers out of it with any opposite claim.

In a war of ideas, we've got to use more than guns...

[Bogie]

No, there is clearly some sort of a relationship. A relationship that needs to be examined.

[AustinBill]

So far we have no evidence that the leaders of Islam "love death" for themselves. True, they constantly exhort the virtue of "martydom" for the rubes who follow them, but the Imams themselves don't seem eager to strap on explosive belts and lead by example (if they did, the problem would quickly cure itself).

So this is the key. Target the leaders, individually. Threaten them and their families personally. Take the war not to "Islam" but to specific individuals, and MAD will be just as effective as it has always been.

The downside is that we are being forced to do just this and the "blowback" potential is what should concern humanity. The 20th century gave us weapons of mass distruction which "kept the peace" because they were to horrible to contemplate using. The 21st century will perfect the technology of individual targeting. While brutally effective, the potential for totalitarian misuse of such technology cannot be overstated.

[eclectic]

I do not think this is very different from the Islamist ideology

[blinachka]

The Islamic Threat Is Greater Than German And Soviet Threats Were

Ya think? Anyone whi is truly paying attention gets this....but it does bear repeating. Often.