Friday, January 09, 2015

The Long War Continues

As additional problems arise in France after the jihadi attack on the staff of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and as the original attackers are cornered, remember that the attackers could be trying to radicalize France's Moslems to get recruits and more supporters and that France's Moslems are already prone to providing active or passive support for jihadi attackers.

Be grateful that we do a far better job of integrating Moslems here rather than banishing them to virtually self-ruled ghettos that create something approaching sanctuaries for jihadis.

UPDATE: And while we rightly focus on the jihadi attack on freedom of speech in a major Western nation, let's not forget that the real bloodshed is taking place in Nigeria right now.

We may be used to shrugging off mass casualties in a continent that often has mass casualty wars and disasters, but a caliphate in northern Nigeria would be a rear area sanctuary to increase the casualty counts in France and elsewhere.

UPDATE: Funny that the always feared "backlash" from the jihadi attack strikes Jews rather than Moslems. Tip to Instapundit.

Obviously Moslems in general should not be judged guilty for the actions of jihadis. But recognize that the non-jihadi Moslems need our help to win what is essentially a civil war within Islam to define their religion.

At some level, refusing to condemn jihadis for their vision for Islam out of fear of tainting all Moslems just makes it seem as if all Moslems are pro-jihadi.

After all, if wanting to kill and defeat jihadis is tantamount to making war on all Islam, as the "why do they hate us?" crowd seems to allege by their constant prioritization of the "backlash" fear after a jihadi slaughter (and as the jihadis themselves claim, to nobody's shock), why won't Western people conclude that all Islam must support or tolerate jihadi violence?

It's a long war that sometimes seems endless not only because our enemies are committed and hateful, but because we seem incapable of sustaining a war against these jihadi enemies.

UPDATE: Related: "Je Suis Charlie" or "Je ISIS Charlie?" That is, do we stand up to jihadi demands to self-censor or do we give in to those demands? Either helps jihadis, really.

Which is all the more reason to support the moderates in the Islamic Civil War where we are props and collateral damage in their real war.

UPDATE: After the rallies on Sunday, will Europeans (and those Europeans-at-heart here) go back to viewing their own average non-Moslems as the real threat?

Islamophobia is a myth. Sure, some folks in Europe and elsewhere no doubt dislike Muslims, just as other losers hate the Irish or blacks or women. But the idea that there is a climate of Islamophobia, a culture of hot-headed, violent-minded hatred for Muslims that could be awoken and unleashed by the next terror attack, is an invention. Islamophobia is a code word for mainstream European elites’ fear of their own populations, of their native hordes, whom they imagine to be unenlightened, prejudiced, easily led by the tabloid media, and given to outbursts of spite and violence. The thing that keeps the Islamophobia panic alive is not actual violence against Muslims but the right-on politicos’ ill-founded yet deeply held view of ordinary Europeans, especially those of a working-class variety, as racist and stupid.

It's okay to hate jihadis. And kill them. Really, it is. That doesn't mean we must hate Moslems or want to kill them. After all, Moslems are the main victims of jihadi violence in this Moslem Civil War.