Of Teddy Bears And Cartoons

by Victor Davis Hanson - December 6th, 2007 - Townhall.com

Watch out if Westerners somewhere are judged blasphemous to Islam when they draw a cartoon, write a novel, make a movie or discuss history.

In their furious reaction, thin-skinned Muslims may issue death threats. And they expect apologies. Sometimes the offense — like the reporting of a Koran flushed down the toilet at Guantanamo Bay — turns out to be false but still causes riots and murdering thousands of miles away.

Likewise, the reaction to this madness is now stereotyped. Often apologies — not condemnation — follow from contrite Westerners. To prevent a recurrence, Western writers, filmmakers, teachers and religious figures quietly edit their work and restrict their speech — but only when Islam is involved.

So-called moderate Muslims, often residing in Western countries, will usually say they deplore such extremism on the part of radicals. Then they claim such intolerance is simply not typical of Islam. Or that the embarrassing story has been reported in exaggerated fashion by those prejudiced against Muslims.

Few, though, ever explain why it is that Muslims — not Hindus, Christians, Buddhists or atheists — are in the global news threatening to kill someone over a toy or a cartoon or an opera.

Liberal democrats love to play this game of double standards too. The ACLU fights dilligently to make sure no young child is allowed to express any appreciation for Christianity in a paper or a talk, screeching incessantly about the slippery slope that might lead to the establishment of a religion. However when it is a course on Islam, making these same children pray to Allah and write papers insisting Islam is the religion of peace is never a problem. The ACLU embraces it.

Liberal democrats and their fellow travellers are hypocritical over religion. How can anyone who claims they are a Christian participate in this kind of duplicity? In the New Testament Bible, Jesus preaches for us to help our fellow man through love, not fear of armed goons from the state. The democrat programs of welfare are never Christian because they are forced upon taxpayers.

In Islam, sharia law sees no problem with forcing people not just to adhere to the state, but forcing them to become Muslims or die. Maybe that is why liberal democrats love Islam so much. Lack of free will, armed force of the state becoming the enforcement power of the religion-state, these are things that democrats love too. Both want the power to behead you for any transgressions. Mob rule is acceptable to both Democrats and Muslims. Christianity is abhorrent to liberal democrats since it has that concept of free will. How can anyone who believes in a totalitarian state not be against Christianity? And they are.