Hirsi Ali is a victim of that potent combination: Islamic misogyny and European cowardice
Dutch authorities were helpless to protect her when she dared criticize the religion of her abusers, and other European countries piddled down their legs and declared her persona non grata rather than defend classical Western liberalism. This "Feminist Freedom Fighter" overcame it all and now lives in America. Europe's loss is our gain.
Love the Religion, Hate the Political System
She has written a brilliant piece on the Swiss minaret vote. Her central thesis is that the vote is a rejection of political Islam, not the religion itself or its adherents.
Here are some clips:
What Europeans are finding out about Islam as they investigate is that it is more than just a religion. [...] it prescribes a way of life.Islam is an idea about how society should be organized: the individual's relationship to the state; that the relationship between men and women; rules for the interaction between believers and unbelievers; how to enforce such rules; and why a government under Islam is better than a government founded on other ideas.
The Minaret is a Symbol of Islamist Supremacy
These political ideas of Islam have their symbols: the minaret, the crescent; the head scarf, and the sword.The minaret is a symbol of Islamist supremacy, a token of domination that came to symbolize Islamic conquest. It was introduced decades after the founding of Islam.In Europe, as in other places in the world where Muslims settle, the places of worship are simple at first. All that a Muslim needs to fulfill the obligation of prayer is a compass to indicate the direction of Mecca, water for ablution, a clean prayer mat, and a way of telling the time so as to pray five times a day in the allocated period.The construction of large mosques with extremely tall towers that cost millions of dollars to erect are considered only after the demography of Muslims becomes significant. The mosque evolves from a prayer house to a political center.
Next comes getting the non-compliant women under control, killing the fags, harassing the Jews, and all the other community activities of intolerant religious chauvinism and bigotry.
We don't have the same problems with Christianity or Judaism because these religions influenced the founding of Western Civilization and shaped its growth. Islam stands apart with a different tradition. Were it just a matter of people worshiping at a mosque, there would be no problem. But the clash of civilizations begins when angry, arrogant newcomers agitate to change our way of life.
