Posted on 07/10/2006 9:59:39 AM PDT by Brian Allen
On July 7, the United Kingdom observed the first anniversary of the bus and Underground attacks in London that claimed fifty-two lives. One year later, according to the New York Times, "Britons are still asking what inspired the onslaught by British-born Muslims and whether the dark undercurrents of July 7, 2005, could resurface in a new attack."
If they really are asking whether such an attack could happen again, there's a new book they ought to read. It is titled Londonistan, by British journalist Melanie Phillips. It is Phillips's response to what she calls Britain's state of denial regarding the threat posed to the nation by radical Islam.
As the title suggests, the Islamists Britain should be worried about are already residing in the United Kingdom. Phillips cites British security experts' estimates that "no fewer than 1,200 Islamist terrorists are biding their time within British suburbs."
To put that in perspective, that's sixty times as many as were needed to pull off September 11, and this in a country with one-fifth the population of the United States. Many of these terrorists, like the July 7 bombers, were born and raised in Britain. These are the kind of numbers that ought to cause Britons to lose sleep.
How did this happen? Phillips cites what she calls Britain's "dirty little secret": During the 1990s, Islamist radicals were "given free rein in Britain" as part of a "gentlemen's agreement." This agreement said that if the Brits left them alone, the Islamists would not attack their hosts. This created what Phillips calls "Londonistan" and turned Britain into the "hub of al-Qaeda in Europe."
This "intelligence debacle" was accompanied by a "cultural pathology" caused by a "profound loss of cultural nerve" among Britain's elites. Their "systematic onslaught . . . against the country's own identity and values" has left Britain increasingly unable to confront and condemn Islamist radicals, even when these radicals threatened basic democratic values.
The other factor that gave rise to "Londonistan" was the elites' "refusal to acknowledge that Islamist extremism is rooted in religion." They ignored "the statements and signs that show unequivocally that the aim is to Islamicise the West." Instead, they convinced themselves that the Islamists were motivated by issues like the Palestinians or Iraq.
Phillips calls the result of this denial "utterly appalling": Thirteen percent of British Muslims regard the July 7 bombers as martyrs, and "between seven and 16 percent think suicide attacks on British targets can be justified."
It's difficult to imagine a clearer example of the threat posed by a destructive worldview. I don't mean Islam—I mean the cultural relativism and secularism of Western elites. It's not surprising that a post-Christian elite could not appreciate how seriously other people take their religion.
The question is: Will America follow in Britain's footsteps? Not if Christians make it clear what the war against Islamic extremism is all about. Not if we keep our elites from slipping into the kind of denial that made July 7 memorable for all the wrong reasons.
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Copyright (c) 2006 Prison Fellowship
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
I thought this was the deal that French Cut - we leave you alone you leave us alone.
Frenchistan?
May surprise you to know, then, that America's anti-terrorism and other security and intelligence agencies have a much higher appreciation of, trust in and cooperation with their French counterparts than with once great britain's duplicitous, terrorist-appeasing and generally untrustworthy agencies!
Got some evidence to back that up, Sir?
Yes, thank you.
Got heaps.
He can't even use capital letters for our country's name.
Parislamabad.
He does the same with Canada.
Ignore him.
:-)
But you're not willing to provide it? Come on, I'm genuinely interested. If it is true, as you say, then it should be required reading.
I quite enjoy his posts to be honest. Nothing like a thorough lobotomy of your own country by someone who at least is honest about their agenda.
And besides, he lives in California which surrendered long ago to the foreign invaders, if my last trip there was anything to go by ;-)
There are still many great places to enjoy. And of course the weather is fabulous.
I know, I saw on your profile, I was teasing.
Are you guys familiar with this passage that was written by Sir Winston Churchill? Powerful stuff.
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=137
You are full of cr*p on that. There is a much higher level of cooperation with the UK and Australia than there is with France.
The Brits and the Americans could use a Churchill about now because while Britain naps, we are half asleep as well. If 9-11 wasn't our Pearl Harbour, I fear what it will take to truely wakes us.
The only reason Churchill was allowed into the PM position was that Englanders KNEW their very survival was threatened. We don't KNOW it yet here in the US, or there in the UK. Remember what happened to Churchill soon after the wars conclusion? Un-needed and Un-wanted was he.
Before the war, while Chamberlain was guaranteeing 'peace in our time', Churchill was viewed as a war-mongering alarmist, kinda like B.., oh, never mind.
As good a description of Mohammedanism as I've ever seen.
Good old Winnie - had the communists nailed - and the towel-heads also.
The bigger issue is the book the thread is about.
I happened to see this woman interviewed in depth on Book Notes about this book and was very impressed about her research and points she was making. In my view, she maintained that leftist PC was laying down to Islamist triumphalism in London and other major urban areas. It was an overview that can be taken as a real wake up call for those interested.
Have either of you seen the book or can you tell me how conservatives in the UK view it?
Will check with some UK friends next time we are in touch.
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