Harold Koh, the Obama administration's nominee to be Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State, apparently sees no problem with adopting sharia law in the United States. According to an editorial in the Investor's Business Daily: "A New York lawyer, Steven Stein, says Koh in 2007 told the Yale Club of Greenwich that 'in an appropriate case, he didn't see any reason why Shariah law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States.'"
Koh, former dean of the Yale Law School, is in general sympathetic to the idea that U.S. constitutional law should be superseded by international law - including, apparently, sharia law. Wonder what he considers 'appropriate' ... and what commitments he will undertake for the United States if confirmed in his State Department post.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Chic antisemitism
The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens reviews here a play he just saw in New York, where it arrived after a run in London. Entitled "Seven Jewish Children," the play traces the history of a family from the Holocaust to modern-day Israel, depicting the Jews in the story as having morphed from victims into perpetrators.
Stephens reports that the play, which has been appeared in "small but respectable venues to sophisticated audiences," is being well-received. He doesn't claim that its theme is yet mainstream fare, but warns that it can nevertheless poison the American cultural and intellectual scene.
As he puts it: "Racism has become taboo in American society, and that's a very good thing. Anti-Semitism used to be taboo, but that's been eroded by an obsessive criticism of Israel that seems to borrow freely from the classic anti-Semitic repertoire ('tell her they're filth') while adopting the brilliant trick of treating Jewish victimization as a moral ideal from which modern Israel has sadly deviated."
(Thanks to Libby.)
Stephens reports that the play, which has been appeared in "small but respectable venues to sophisticated audiences," is being well-received. He doesn't claim that its theme is yet mainstream fare, but warns that it can nevertheless poison the American cultural and intellectual scene.
As he puts it: "Racism has become taboo in American society, and that's a very good thing. Anti-Semitism used to be taboo, but that's been eroded by an obsessive criticism of Israel that seems to borrow freely from the classic anti-Semitic repertoire ('tell her they're filth') while adopting the brilliant trick of treating Jewish victimization as a moral ideal from which modern Israel has sadly deviated."
(Thanks to Libby.)
Monday, March 30, 2009
UK turns the corner?
Analyst Barry Rubin argues here that the United Kingdom has turned a corner in dealing with radical Islam. He cites three decisions:
-- to bar Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim El Moussaoui from entering Britain (see this earlier entry);
-- to cut ties to the Muslim Council of Britain, an Islamist group that had been advising the government on how to combat radical Islam;
-- and a new policy of focusing on combating Islamist ideology (one hopes this replaces the earlier speech code in which the term 'Islamist' was never used).
Rubin rightly notes that pressure for the first two decisions came from a new think-tank, the Centre for Social Cohesion, that publicized the cases. In addition, it threatened to sue the government if Moussaoui were allowed to enter.
As for the new policy, let's hope it's 'for real'. After all, it was announced by the same Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who a month or so ago barred Geert Wilders from entering the UK to watch a viewing of his film Fitna at the House of Lords. She is now calling on British citizens to defend their values - which sounds like an excellent idea.
One way the government could demonstrate its commitment would be to terminate its endorsement of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board. As Rubin puts it:
"The Board has generally, for eight of the last nine years, boycotted the Holocaust day commemoration because it says that Israel is carrying out 'genocide' against Muslims. Its leadership has condemned homosexuality as unacceptable, blamed terrorism in Britain exclusively on the country's involvement in invading Iraq, and advocated a law that would — at least in its interpretation — bar criticism of Islam as religious hatred. This is the group that the British government has entrusted with preparing materials for Muslim schools."
The ability of a small group of researchers to expose facts that, in turn, forced the government to change its policies, confirms the importance of freedom of speech.
-- to bar Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim El Moussaoui from entering Britain (see this earlier entry);
-- to cut ties to the Muslim Council of Britain, an Islamist group that had been advising the government on how to combat radical Islam;
-- and a new policy of focusing on combating Islamist ideology (one hopes this replaces the earlier speech code in which the term 'Islamist' was never used).
Rubin rightly notes that pressure for the first two decisions came from a new think-tank, the Centre for Social Cohesion, that publicized the cases. In addition, it threatened to sue the government if Moussaoui were allowed to enter.
As for the new policy, let's hope it's 'for real'. After all, it was announced by the same Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who a month or so ago barred Geert Wilders from entering the UK to watch a viewing of his film Fitna at the House of Lords. She is now calling on British citizens to defend their values - which sounds like an excellent idea.
One way the government could demonstrate its commitment would be to terminate its endorsement of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board. As Rubin puts it:
"The Board has generally, for eight of the last nine years, boycotted the Holocaust day commemoration because it says that Israel is carrying out 'genocide' against Muslims. Its leadership has condemned homosexuality as unacceptable, blamed terrorism in Britain exclusively on the country's involvement in invading Iraq, and advocated a law that would — at least in its interpretation — bar criticism of Islam as religious hatred. This is the group that the British government has entrusted with preparing materials for Muslim schools."
The ability of a small group of researchers to expose facts that, in turn, forced the government to change its policies, confirms the importance of freedom of speech.
Islamophobia?
People who criticize Islam or Muslims are often accused of Islamophobia - and Islamophobia is increasingly compared with antisemitism. The argument is that Western society now victimizes Muslims as earlier it victimized Jews.
Australian professor Paul Sheehan argues that this is not so. Instead, in the vast majority of cases, negative reactions to Islam and Muslims result from the actions of Muslims themselves. They are the result of cause and effect, not some irrational emotion. He offers the current crime wave in Australia linked to Muslim gangs as evidence - and offers plenty of data. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)
Australian professor Paul Sheehan argues that this is not so. Instead, in the vast majority of cases, negative reactions to Islam and Muslims result from the actions of Muslims themselves. They are the result of cause and effect, not some irrational emotion. He offers the current crime wave in Australia linked to Muslim gangs as evidence - and offers plenty of data. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
What is going on?
Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who recently spoke at several American universities, reports that "there is more sympathy for Hamas there than there is in Ramallah." He encountered a barrage of hate from small groups of non-Arab, non-Muslim extremists.
"I never imagined that I would need police protection while speaking at a university in the U.S. I have been on many Palestinian campuses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and I cannot recall one case where I felt intimidated or where someone shouted abuse at me.
Ironically, many of the Arabs and Muslims I met on the campuses were much more understanding and even welcomed my 'even-handed analysis' of the Israeli-Arab conflict."
Why should this be so? In his view:
"What is happening on the U.S. campuses is not about supporting the Palestinians as much as it is about promoting hatred for the Jewish state. It is not really about ending the 'occupation' as much as it is about ending the existence of Israel."
This, folks, is a really dangerous state of affairs, whether you're a supporter of Israel or not. Thugs should never be allowed to dominate academic settings - or anywhere else, for that matter. (Thanks to Melanie Phillips.)
"I never imagined that I would need police protection while speaking at a university in the U.S. I have been on many Palestinian campuses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and I cannot recall one case where I felt intimidated or where someone shouted abuse at me.
Ironically, many of the Arabs and Muslims I met on the campuses were much more understanding and even welcomed my 'even-handed analysis' of the Israeli-Arab conflict."
Why should this be so? In his view:
"What is happening on the U.S. campuses is not about supporting the Palestinians as much as it is about promoting hatred for the Jewish state. It is not really about ending the 'occupation' as much as it is about ending the existence of Israel."
This, folks, is a really dangerous state of affairs, whether you're a supporter of Israel or not. Thugs should never be allowed to dominate academic settings - or anywhere else, for that matter. (Thanks to Melanie Phillips.)
No minaret
An Islamic community near Stuttgart, Germany, opted not to build a minaret on their new mosque after they were the recipients of an outpouring of hate via the internet. As the head of the community put it, they are more concerned to maintain good relations with its neighbors.
Outpourings of hate are bad, no matter what the provocation. But they are more likely to occur if the government and elite refuse to address the problems connected with Muslim immigrant groups - including their susceptibility to being dominated by Islamists seeking to overthrow Western political systems.
If you're wondering what was so wrong about a minaret, I found out when I was in Sarajevo. If the minaret uses loudspeakers for its calls to prayers, five times a day, it's extremely intrusive. (Thanks to Islam in Europe.)
Outpourings of hate are bad, no matter what the provocation. But they are more likely to occur if the government and elite refuse to address the problems connected with Muslim immigrant groups - including their susceptibility to being dominated by Islamists seeking to overthrow Western political systems.
If you're wondering what was so wrong about a minaret, I found out when I was in Sarajevo. If the minaret uses loudspeakers for its calls to prayers, five times a day, it's extremely intrusive. (Thanks to Islam in Europe.)
Getting it right
This video shows a cute two-year-old Muslim girl in New York being quizzed on her knowledge of Islam. Note, among other things, her derogatory answers regarding Jews and Christians.
If you're wondering where this kind of teaching leads, UK authorities have just announced that an estimated 200 schoolchildren, some as young as 13, are potential security threats, given their vulnerability to Islamist radicalization. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)
If you're wondering where this kind of teaching leads, UK authorities have just announced that an estimated 200 schoolchildren, some as young as 13, are potential security threats, given their vulnerability to Islamist radicalization. (Thanks to Jihad Watch.)
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