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Hirsi Ali on Islam, immigration, civil liberties, and the fate of the West.
Reason: Should we acknowledge that organized religion has sometimes sparked precisely the kinds of emancipation movements that could lift Islam into modern times? Slavery in the United States ended in part because of opposition by prominent church members and the communities they galvanized. The Polish Catholic Church helped defeat the Jaruzelski puppet regime. Do you think Islam could bring about similar social and political changes?Hirsi Ali: Only if Islam is defeated. Because right now, the political side of Islam, the power-hungry expansionist side of Islam, has become superior to the Sufis and the Ismailis and the peace-seeking Muslims. Reason: Dont you mean defeating radical Islam? Hirsi Ali: No. Islam, period. Once its defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. Its very difficult to even talk about peace now. Theyre not interested in peace. Reason: We have to crush the worlds 1.5 billion Muslims under our boot? In concrete terms, what does that mean, defeat Islam? Hirsi Ali: I think that we are at war with Islam. And theres no middle ground in wars. Islam can be defeated in many ways. For starters, you stop the spread of the ideology itself; at present, there are native Westerners converting to Islam, and theyre the most fanatical sometimes. There is infiltration of Islam in the schools and universities of the West. You stop that. You stop the symbol burning and the effigy burning, and you look them in the eye and flex your muscles and you say, This is a warning. We wont accept this anymore. There comes a moment when you crush your enemy. Reason: Militarily? Hirsi Ali: In all forms, and if you dont do that, then you have to live with the consequence of being crushed. Reason: Are we really heading toward anything so ominous? Hirsi Ali: I think thats where were heading. Were heading there because the West has been in denial for a long time. It did not respond to the signals that were smaller and easier to take care of. Now we have some choices to make. This is a dilemma: Western civilization is a celebration of lifeeverybodys life, even your enemys life. So how can you be true to that morality and at the same time defend yourself against a very powerful enemy that seeks to destroy you? Reason: George Bush, not the most conciliatory person in the world, has said on plenty of occasions that we are not at war with Islam. Hirsi Ali: If the most powerful man in the West talks like that, then, without intending to, hes making radical Muslims think theyve already won. There is no moderate Islam. There are Muslims who are passive, who dont all follow the rules of Islam, but theres really only one Islam, defined as submission to the will of God. Theres nothing moderate about it. Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-10-13 |
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