Relgious Lessons by FDD

Foundation For Defense of Democracies
RELIGIOUS LESSONS:
Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders has produced a film, Fitna, arguing that Islam is an inherently violent religion. In response, radical Islamists are threatening violence.

Aren't they making Wilders' point? Sure, but I don't think the radicals are attempting to argue that Wilders is wrong and that Islam is really a religion of peace and tolerance. They believe - as fervently as Wilders - that Islam is a religion of conquest, and that violence (not least terrorism) is the surest means of achieving their ends. Consistent with that, they also believe infidels must be taught not to criticize their superiors. Violence is, again, the preferred instructional tool.

Meanwhile, a Muslim friend (an Algerian-born, naturalized American) writes:

I am tired of seeing Muslims launching threats, burning cars in some countries etc... Remember the taxi drivers in Minnesota who refuse to take passengers who happen to carry wine with them? Given that the US is the easiest place on earth for a Muslim group to build a mosque, I see nothing but ingrates who keep referring to the Unbelievers - a term, by the way, that I despise and will not use - in the very land that gave them the freedom which they would never have in their own native countries.

The Wilders film is not being shown in theaters - theater owners don't dare - but it has been viewed by several million people online at this link at Livelink.

Then Livelink pulled the film saying:

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers. This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else.

Mark Steyn comments:

[T]he Islamobullies have been rewarded yet again for threatening physical violence. ...

To reprise Douglas Murray's point a film such as Fitna might not even be necessary were the western news organizations not so absurdly deferential toward Muslim sensibilities that they go out of their way to avoid showing us anything that might cause us to link violence with Islam. Even that footage of those depraved West Bankers jumping up and down in the street and passing out candy to celebrate 9/11 appears to have been walled up in the most impenetrable vault of the archives these last six years.

More here.

It appears Livelink has now reinstated the film. Worth watching.

SUBMISSION:
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, argues the West is failing to defend even its most basic freedoms, that the threat of jihadist violence is effectively intimidating too many of our leaders. He writes of

a broad and determined effort by the radical jihadist movement to reject the basic values of modern civilization ...

Radical jihadists are prepared to use violence against individuals to stop them from exercising their free speech rights. ...

What is particularly disturbing about these assaults against modern society is how the West has reacted with appeasement, willful ignorance, and a lack of journalistic criticism. ...

A German court ruled last year that a German Muslim man had the right to beat his wife, as this was permitted under Shariah. Britain's Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, stated last month that the implementation of some measure of Shariah in Britain was "unavoidable" and British Muslims should have the choice to use Shariah in marital and financial matters.

More here.
 

SO WE MISS A FEW TERRORIST COMMUNICATIONS, SO WHAT?
Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that until and unless Congress restores to our intelligence agencies the authority they used to have to monitor the communications of foreign terrorists abroad, Americans are in more danger than they should be or need to be. Mukasey attempted to explain the issue simply, noting that before 9/11:

"We knew that there had been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went. We've got" - here the Attorney General paused with emotion - "we've got 3,000 people who went to work that day, and didn't come home, to show for that."

Me: There's a bipartisan Senate bill that would fix this problem. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is irresponsibly preventing House members from voting on it.

More here.

Much more on this issue here.

CAIR-FUL: One of the groups pressing Pelosi not to restore surveillance powers to U.S. intelligence is CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Investigative Project's new report on CAIR finds that the group's

primary goals are to silence and de-legitimize its critics and redefine what it means to be a moderate Muslim. And when it comes to U.S. efforts to crack down on terrorists and their financiers, CAIR takes an almost visceral stand in opposition.

More here.