Bidinotto Strikes A Blow For The Repudiation Of Terrorism From the Muslim World

Robert James Bidinotto (RJB for brevity) is a writer whom I have enjoyed reading for at least the last few months. I don't remember how I got to his blog, but get there I did and I've not regretted it in the least. According to his "About Me" section of his blog Mr. Bidinotto

...is an award-winning writer, editor and lecturer who reports on cultural and political issues from the philosophic perspective of principled individualism.

As of July 2005 Robert became editor of The New Individualist, the monthly magazine of The Objectivist Center, a philosophic research and advocacy organization. In the previous year, he was editor of Organization Trends and Foundation Watch, monthly publications of the Capital Research Center -- a private watchdog group that monitors the activities of nonprofit advocacy organizations and foundations. Robert also serves as a senior fellow of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise.

I've read a lot of his stuff, had an argument with him in which he corrected me for misreading his name below someone else's comment which was actually placed at the top of his comment(and he was right too... damn it) but I have also enjoyed the intellect behind what he writes. RJB is a thinker in a world of feelers. I'd like to think I'm close to that level, but I've no illusions. This guy makes his living writing, and his latest not only will make you think, but will leave you breathless if you have any sense at all. Of course, judging from some commenters on some of his posts, they don't have any judgment, but that is the subject of another post.

In his latest, RJB tackles the question of why there is no massive and sustained condemnation from the Muslim world and Muslim leadership for the terrible destruction wrought by the islamo-fascist terrorists:

If there really is some sort of ongoing war between "extremists" and "moderates" for the soul of Islam, it appears to be one of the quietest contests in the history of ideological warfare.

Whatever the ancient history of Islam, in distant days when more enlightened thinkers and civilized rulers prevailed, I see precious little evidence that these sorts represent any significant part of contemporary Muslim thinking or leadership. If they do, they certainly haven't been very vocal, or active, about rooting out the terrorists in their midst and repudiating their views.

When a supposedly Christian fundamentalist nutcase, Eric Rudolph, bombed U. S. abortion clinics and gay nightclubs, he was forced to live a marginal, virtually reclusive life hiding in a remote rural area.

Not so Muslim terrorists, who arise from even the upper classes of Muslim nations by the tens of thousands, and find vast social infrastructures of sympathizers -- including governments -- throughout the Islamic world, eager to shelter, support and protect them.

"But wait," some cry. "Just recently the leaders of the Muslim world denounced the attacks on London." Yes, they did, and the Imam's in their Mosques called for more blaming this bombing on maybe Jews, maybe the US, maybe... Oh, the seeming paranoia runs rampant. But, really, it is not paranoia, it is subterfuge and misdirection.

Director of London's Al-Maqreze Centre for Historical Studies Hani Sibai[as reported in MEMRI...ed.]: There are No "Civilians" in Islamic Law;The Bombing is a Great Victory for Al-Qa'ida, Which "Rubbed the Noses of the World's 8 Most Powerful Countries in the Mud"

In an interview, Al-Siba'i noted:

I think that British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a grave error when he spoke before the investigation and claimed that the perpetrators of these acts were acting in the name of Islam. I think that he will pay the price for this grave error in the future. No possibility should be ruled out. We do not rule out the possibility that it was done by the intelligence agency of another Western country hostile to Britain. We do not rule out countries... or some Zionist Americans who wanted to overshadow the G-8 summit. But at the same time, we do not rule out the Al-Qa'ida organization.

That baffles me to no end, that anyone could calmly sit there, look at the history of recent terrorist attacks and calmly blame Israel or the US. Now, I too believe that the attack doesn't have to have come from Wahhabi fundamentalist islamo-fascists. It could have come from ... oh, say WWII German agents planted in a cell sixty-five years ago, but I wouldn't even bet YOUR mortgage payment on it.

There is a major disconnect between what the average Muslim hears in the Mosque from Wahhabist Imam's and this for example. While the photo's from Bahrain are greatly appreciated in terms of saying to the terrorists "Enough!" it is, not enough.

More from MEMRI:

Under the title "Expel Extremism Today," Al-Arabiya TV Director-General Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed wrote: "For over 10 years now, I myself and other Arab writers have warned against the dangers of the reckless handling of the extremism that is now spreading like a plague within the British community.

"It was never understood why British authorities gave refuge to suspicious characters previously involved in terrorist activities. Why would Britain grant asylum to Arabs who have been convicted of political crimes or religious extremism, or even sentenced to death? Not only were they admitted to this country, but they were also provided with accommodation, a monthly salary, and free legal advice for those who want to prosecute the British government.

"The answer, I believe, is what... I call 'blind generosity.' This bizarre reasoning stuns individuals such as students who wish to establish careers abroad and whose [applications for British] citizenship are rejected. These people do not have criminal records like the others [to grant them entry].

Bidinotto goes on to note that much of the current "stance" of the "global Islamic community" has at least roots in the refusal of the moral relativists to call a spade a spade if you will forgive the "contract bridge" reference. He notes that

Noted New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, certainly no right-winger, is only one of the latest to call upon Muslims to clean up their own stables.

But Friedman is only one of a very few voices calling out in the wilderness. The huge silence is deafening if you will. RJB goes on to say:

How many years, and how many more bloodbaths, will it take? And how long do we in the West patiently tap our feet, waiting for such reforms in the absence of any visible signs that they are taking place? Don't we have a right at some point to pronounce judgment on the Islamic culture itself?

And has that point now come? or even long since passed?

Among Western cultured classes, it is, of course, considered bad form to even ask such questions. Such words smack of (shudder!) intolerance -- intolerance being the only thing intolerable to moral relativists. Let Muslim fanatics shoot babies, bomb nightclubs and buses and subways, chop off the heads of Red Cross nurses, hijack civilian airliners and ram them into civilian office buildings...and their immediate (and only) response is to wail: "How did we drive them to these desperate acts?" Let the victims demand violent retribution, however, and their immediate (and indignant) response is: "Warmongers!"

This moral inversion is fueled by toxic philosophy. Thanks to a long gray line of ideological dope-pushers, Western intellectuals, politicians and cultural leaders are addicted to the self-destructive hallucinations of moral relativism, altruistic self-sacrifice, cultural self-loathing and political appeasement of sworn enemies. Self-blame, along with cowardly calls for more "understanding" and "restraint," are their only knee-jerk responses in the face of each new outrage.

Robert Bidinotto has written what may be a masterpiece in the effort to have Muslims condemn the terror caused by Muslims and I encourage you to read every word of his essay. He has a multitude of links to other sources and has well documented his thesis. If you are a blogger, I encourage you to add him to your blogroll. I have.

Posted by GM Roper at July 12, 2005 08:32 PM | TrackBack