The
Comments
I must confess that it
has not been easy for me to deal with this article. I had downloaded and
printed it on the fourth day of the New Year, and put it aside to deal
with some urgent matters. But I could not leave it aside, and had to share
it, as mentioned above, in an (attenuated) English version. It is normal
for me, before keying in these words, to first respond mentally, and in
Arabic. This well-known proverb came instantly to my mind: “Darabani,
wa-baka; sabaqani, wa’shtaka.” Being interpreted, “He slapped me in the face, and he cried; then, he went ahead and laid
charges against me!” In plain English, “Attack is the best defence.”
Why did he write, at
the beginning of 2006, such an irresponsible article? Is this the most
urgent need for the readers of this sophisticated Arab online daily? Why
inflame them with misinformation and disinformation?
The article wanted to
portray the State of Württemberg as treating Muslims applying for
citizenship in a discriminatory
manner. Here is the proof: this specific test, which includes an
oral examination, is not required from prospective applicants if they
happen to be Indians or Chinese. Wow! That is unacceptable to him! But
doesn’t our esteemed writer realize that Muslims, no matter where they
settle, carry in their baggage a uniquely political and exclusivist conviction? The authorities
in the State of Württemberg know very well that Islam is not merely a
religion, such as the Hinduism of Indians, or the Confucianism of the
Chinese. Islam
is religion plus state plus culture, in one indivisible entity.
This has always been the case throughout the last 1400 years. All that the
Württemberg authorities are requiring from Muslims seeking German
citizenship is to
jettison the political component of Islam. This component is
inadmissible in any democratic country.
Then, to keep on
harping on the continued influence of the Crusades upon the present
thinking of Europeans actually reflects the extreme fascination of
Muslims, and especially of Arab Muslims, with the Crusader wars. The same
thing applies to resurrecting the events that followed 1492, when the
Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella finally united their country and
brought to an end 700 years of Islamic colonialism! The underlying thought
of the article is shocking, and must never be forgotten: Muslims believe in their divine right of world conquest. And once a land
comes into the sphere of Daru’l
Islam, it must never be lost to the hated Infidels.
I laughed a great deal
when the writer dragged in Bernard Lewis, and conferred on him the
honorary degree of “Sheikh.”
Though in all honesty, I should add that this Arabic word has several
meanings, and only in one of them, it has a pejorative sense; and this was
the intention of the writer. Anyhow, I would never consider Mr. Lewis as
the chief of Western sinners against Islam. Over the years, I have
appreciated most of his writings; but he certainly has some serious blind
spots in his historiography. For example, he continues in his denial of
the Armenian Genocide before and during WWI that took place in the Ottoman
Turkish Empire. And he remains silent about the infamous Ottoman institute
of the Devshirme*
that impacted the Christian communities in the Balkans for centuries.
Finally, I was
pleased, very pleased, when I noticed that among the many responses to the
article, two confirmed my own evaluation and criticism of the article, “A Slap in the Face of
Muslims.” It was an over-reaction to the news from Germany, and
contrary to the real facts of life as observed by certain honest and frank
Arab residents in the West.
So, here are their
comments. The first one comes from a resident of the United States, whose
name indicates that he is Muslim by faith.
“The
vast majority of Arab and Muslim immigrants in both Europe and America
have no desire to belong to, or become a part of the countries whose
governments have given them the privilege to live with dignity and
prosperity. This is why we find that such crimes as counterfeiting and
embezzlement, are rife among Arabs and Muslims in these lands. The most
serious thing to observe is that an Arab or a Muslim who resorts to
counterfeiting and embezzlement does not experience any pangs of
conscience, and is not deterred by any moral or religious impulse. On the
contrary, he considers these countries that had opened their doors to
welcome him, as lands of the Infidel; thus he has the right to commit such
crimes within their borders!”
The second response
came from a Muslim medical doctor in Sweden:
“My
dear teacher, you are expected to be an objective columnist, so why are
you manifesting such a one-sided position impelled by purely emotional
reasons?
“It
is perfectly within the right of any European state to investigate any
person seeking its citizenship to ascertain whether he is committed to
positions that threaten the welfare of these societies.
“For
example, many a European Muslim while living in the country that has
admitted him, given him social security, and looked after his children by
providing them with food and free medicine; yet at the same time, he goes
on bragging that he owes no allegiance to such a country, on the pretext
that it is a non-Islamic land.
“It
is within the right of these countries to require those seeking their
citizenship to submit to loyalty tests. I would not even blame them if
they demanded the applicants to submit also to lie-detection tests, prior
to granting them citizenship.
“Now
foreigners passing through Arab and Muslim lands are expected to show
respect for our traditions and culture. Is it then too much to expect a
Muslim seeking European citizenship to show more respect for the
traditions of the societies that have given him shelter?
“It
is high time that we no longer imagine that any requirements such as those
of the State of Württemberg are to be considered as a declaration of war
against Islam and the Muslims.”
I trust that by
sharing with you excerpts from the article of January 4th,
2006, I managed to reveal once again, the simmering and shocking animus
toward the West, which is deeply embedded in the Arab-Muslim mind. Not a
good prospect for peaceful relations to flourish between Islam and the
West!
*For
centuries, the Ottoman authorities in the Balkans forcibly took young boys
from their families, Islamized them, and placed them in the elite army
corps of the Janissaries.
< back
|