Even a Blind Squirrel....Marueen Dowd and (lack of) Mormon Rage

Frequent visitors to the blog know my dripping disdain for Ms. Doud and her gum-snapping chick analysis of adult subjects.  Reading her columns are for me, exercises in self-control and mastery of the gag reflex.

But today I found something in her column worth pulling out into a larger discussion.  In this piece (entitled "Coffee Cups in Hell"), Dowd gives us a light-hearted treatment of the light-hearted romp on broadway these days produced by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.  Their "Book of Mormon" just opened on Broadway, and the "scatological scamps" have put forward a production that sounds like a pretty darn funny send-up of Mormonism.  It's something I would like to see.  So far, so good.

But Dowd herself lets the camel's nose into the tent--without then contemplating the camel. 

She writes: "But as Terry Teachout wrote in The Wall Street Journal: “Making fun of Mormons in front of a Broadway crowd is like shooting trout in a demitasse cup. ... If the title of this show were ‘The Quran,’ it wouldn’t have opened.”"  And then walks away from the implications of what she had written.  So what are those implications?

First, Teachout (and Dowd) imply that if a play of this nature were to skewer Islam as deeply as this does Mormonism--it would never see the light of day.  No theater producer, no group of investors, no actors or statehands union--would expose their people to the almost CERTAIN violent and potentially terrorist inflamed reaction that would ensue.  But the Mormons?  Fair game!  First, religion in America has always provided grist for parody--but Mormonism?  Why, even the looney toon fundmentalist Baptists think it is looney toon.  Jesus was in the US?  Maroni?  Hah, hah, hah--how silly it all is.  At least that would be the view of the effete salon gassers who pass themselves off as arbiters of what is acceptable in the US.  Apparently nothing in the canon of Islam is as worthy of parody as that of the Mormons.

Second, where are the mass protests in Salt Lake City?  Where are the fist waving, chanting, sign carrying "death to Broadway, death to Parker and Stone, bomb South Park" folks?  What you say?  That's silly?  Mormon's simply wouldn't over-react like that?  Exactly.  While there may in fact wind up to be some level of push back from the Mormon community over this play--it is inconceivable that violent demonstrations or terrorist actions would ensue.  Not so with our friends in the Islamic community.  No group on earth is so primed to take offense, and no group on earth takes offense in such a violent manner.

Now Parker and Stone?  I love these guys.  To their credit, they HAVE done some pretty fair parody work with Islam at its center (the Muhammed in a bear suit stuff).  It's not Parker and Stone with whom I have a beef, it is with those in the government and media who continue to act as if all religion world-wide is fair game for parody and criticism--save one.  It is with those who do not consistently and relentlessly criticize the immaturity and shallowness of the marchers in the Islamic world who take to the barricades aided and abetted by their Friday afternoon sermonizing mullahs.  Such reactions are ridiculous, and do not constitute the reactions of societies ready for integration into a modern, interconnected world.

Another Bad Decision on Islam

How about this little ditty, friends?  Safoorah Kahn had a grand total of nine months tenure teaching middle school math in Illinois when she made a request for three weeks off to make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj being one of the five pillars of Islam).  As her absence would leave the school without its only "math lab instructor" (whatever that is), her request was denied.  She quit and went anyway.

To her rescue now rides Attorney General Holder leading the Obama Army of the Faithful.  The Justice Department has filed suit, stating that the actions of the school district forced Ms. Kahn to choose between her job and her faith.

Rubbish.  Utter rubbish.  I have no problem with Ms. Kahn's desire to make the hajj in fulfillment of religious duty.  The plain truth of the matter is that one only has to do so ONCE IN A LIFETIME.  That Ms. Kahn decided to do so in her first year of employment in a new job--while school was in session--demonstrates that the choice was not between her job and her religion--but one of scheduling convenience and preference.  This is not the school district's problem--it is Ms. Kahn's--and that the Obama Justice Department feels the need to curry favor with the Islamic community by taking up this suit is an insult to anyone who manages life's commitments without federal intervention.  I would JUST ONCE like to see some plumed knight of American Islamic victimology stand up and say, "hey, this is just dumb.  She can make hajj another time."

More From The Religion Of Peace

Mohamed Osman Mohamud

He was targeting a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.  I challenge you to find the words "Islam", "Islamic" or "Muslim" any where in the article.  Wouldn't want to piss CAIR off now, would we Washington Post?

Obama's Ambassador to the Muslim World Gets a Lecture

Interesting story here about President Obama's Minister Plenipotentiary to the Caliphate (whoops, Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Countries) getting lectured on America's sins before the Islamic world while on a trip to India.  How's the outreach effort working out for you, Barack?  You and your toadies can kvetch all you want about listening to their rage being a necessary first step to understanding--but I'm here to tell you that there is a powerful narrative of victimization at work that we simply must dispute at every step.  We should never shrink from recounting to Muslims what the US has done to make the lives of countless Muslims better.  The President's Envoy did a reasonable job in response to the Indian tirade--perhaps it will put a little more starch in his collar for the future.

H/T--Instapundit

Don't Talk of Islam.....in Washintgon DC

A national treasure, Reuel Marc Gerecht, on the lack of any real discussion of Islam--real discussion--in the Age of Obama.

Key line:  "Although it’s deeply politically incorrect to say so, intellectually, things were better under the Bush administration."

H/T Instapundit

Everyone Draw Muhammad Day!

I hadn't known that today was duly considered to be that day, but it sure is a good day for it! Mark Steyn and a blogger called Zombie both weigh in on the day.

HT Instapundit

The Protected Status of Islam

Ross Douthat has a smart column today on the irony of the South Park/Islam controversy--that South Park may freely skewer any and all other person's or groups--but take on Islam/Muhammad--oh boy, they've gone too far.

Western Civilization has to stop apologizing for itself, and that includes its history of satire and parody. Threats of violence should be met with scorn and derision, not meekly surrendered to.

....not with a bang but a wimper.

Anne Applebaum on the The Jihadi Elite

Anne Applebaum picks up on a theme we talked about on The Conservative Wahoo Live last week (archived here in the "On Demand" section)--the appeal of Jihadism to the elite of Islamic society. Notable in this column is the inclusion of Major Hasan Nidal in the pantheon of Islamofascist terrorists. Additionally, this paragraph got my attention:

"The case of Bayrak and her ilk also suggests the need for another kind of anti-terrorism strategy. Too often, we still consider public diplomacy to be a sort of public relations activity, the "promotion" of American values. Instead, we should think about it as an argument. The Bayraks and Balawis of this world are engaged in constant debates -- in Internet chat rooms, in the halls of publishing houses, in mosques. Are they hearing enough counterarguments? Are we helping the people who make the counterarguments? I suspect that they don't and I'm certain that we aren't -- nearly a decade after Sept. 11 -- and that has to change. Intellectuals may wear glasses and read books, but neither prevents them from throwing bombs -- or from strapping them inside their underwear. "

Bravo, Ms. Applebaum. Bravo. I'd like to see more commentators advocate taking Islamic Jihadism on--not attempting to accommodate it or apologize for Western Civilization. There is an argument to be won here, we just have to make it.

Details Emerge in Suicide Bombing Against CIA in Afghanistan

Details are beginning to emerge about the bomber and the bombing in Afghanistan last week. The shadowy world of CIA Clandestine Ops is revealed just a bit here, as the victims are identified to whatever extent the Agency will allow.

I have endless respect for the work of the CIA. When you wear a uniform, you are (mostly) protected by the Law of Armed Conflict (not that it helps that much against AQ). CIA officers in the field are NEVER covered by LOAC--they do their jobs well and under tremendous pressure.

There is a clear message in the story linked here, and that is the CIA's serious determination to take out UBL and his lieutenants. It may have made them a little sloppy in their security procedures, and the result was devastating.

Yet again though, the vermin responsible for this attack was not from among the downtrodden of the Islamic world. Quite the contrary. He was a doctor. Just like Zawahiri.

If you listen in to the first internet radio show (archived here) there is a great discussion with "Tim" about how the abiding narrative of conflict with Islam is bunk--that we're dealing with "poverty and oppression and lack of opportunity" is continually belied by the reality of educated, middle and upper middle class terrorists. He's a great source of information on the topic, and the discussion is insightful.

French Muslims Youth Torch Cars In New Year's Weenie Roast

France's Interior Ministry has reported that over one thousand cars were set ablaze across France this past New Year's Eve, in what has become a Gallic tradition of sorts. In all, 1,137 vehicles were torched, just 10 shy of the record of 1,147 set just last year.

As the Reuters story notes, car burnings have become commonplace in the poorer suburbs of France's large cities. I wonder if these poor suburbs might be located near the impoverished neighborhoods where misguided Muslim youth rioted and set fire to scores of cars back in 2005? Naaaaah.

Vive la difference!

Another Downtrodden Muslim Attempts An Act Of Terror...Whoops; Wrong Again!

Nigerian would-be martyr Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has much in common with many other members of the Islamo-fascist terror movement--and that is, he has little or no direct experience with ANY of the many excuses that are put forward to explain the rise of Islamic terror. In his case, he's the son of a Nigerian Banker (perhaps you've received an email from him?) with a degree in mechanical engineering and a buff flat in London-town. The 19 September 11 hi-jackers? Well-educated middle and upper middle class gents. Khalid Sheik Mohammed? Middle class, educated in the good ole US of A. And then there is the dynamic duo, Messers Bin Laden and Zawahiri--one, the scion of a Saudi construction conglomerate and the other, an Egyptian doctor. These aren't Palestinians living under the Israeli boot; they aren't downtrodden proles loving under the thumb of authoritarian strongmen. They are the elite of Islamic society, and they use the problems of the poor as cover for their stated desire to establish the New Caliphate--at the expense of the West.

Update: The great Mark Steyn agrees with me.

Terror Plot Foiled?

News today of yet another person bearing a name that sounds remarkably like that of an adherent to a "religion of peace" attempting to blow himself and a few hundred others to smithereens, this time on a flight bound for Detroit. A combination of 1) his stupidity 2) and a fast acting passenger seem to have averted another terrible outcome.

I'm awfully glad we continue to come up against idiots--either they are running out of smart people or they are doing things we have not sense of.

Perhaps Jay Rockefeller will get to the bottom of it. If you read the link through to the end, you would have seen that Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) is on the J-O-B, having announced "hearings" to look into this matter when the Senate returns from its break. Don't you just feel safer already?

Jonah Goldberg is Wrong--Islam IS The Problem (sort of)

I think Jonah Goldberg is the smartest guy on our team--he's witty, self-effacing, and ridiculously well-educated. I agree with him almost all the time, and his mention of this blog on National Review Online was a huge deal.

Jonah's got a column up at NRO, and then a few blog posts that follow. In this work, Goldberg attempts to take on the difficult questions raised most recently by the terrorist acts at Fort Hood--and whether, as some on the Right would have us believe, Islam itself is "the problem". Goldberg ultimately believes that "The problem with formulating a serious public policy based on the assertion that Islam is the problem is that you guarantee Islam become even more of a problem. It's a bit like Schrodinger's cat. Right now Islam is both problem and solution. If we decide on one, we foreclose the possibility of the other." While evincing a genuine respect for those who do feel "...that Islam is, if not the problem, then at least it is a major problem", he ultimately believes that the more we focus on this as a problem with Islam, the more likely we are to push moderate Muslims into the Jihadist camp.

As I read through Jonah's work yesterday, I was reminded of an exchange I had during a weekend foreign policy seminar a few years ago, in which a pretentious French (but I repeat myself) academic apologist for world Islam was lecturing us on the folly of our policies. In an exchange, I opined that we had not sufficiently focused on Islam itself as the major contributor to extremism--to which he answered with a great dismissive laugh, "ha, ha, ha--would would you do, kill a billion Muslims in order to eliminate the problem." "No", I answered. "I actually don't remember us killing a whole lot of Russians in winning the Cold War. We exposed the emptiness of their ideas--this was the path to victory."

So I was somewhat interested in this part of Goldberg's analysis:

The problem with the Communism analogy is that Communism really was a novel and artificial imposition on society. You could appeal to Ukrainians as Ukrainians in an effort to get them to reject Communist ideology. The rhetoric of freedom had salience both as an appeal to individualism but also to national and cultural self-determination (we didn't call them "captive nations" for nothing). Islam isn't like that, at least not in most places (one exception that comes to mind is Iran where a Persian, nationalist, identity seems to many to be as authentic as the post-revolutionary ideology that rules the country now). In most Islamic countries, Islam isn't a foreign ideology imposed by revolutionaries from within or without. Islam is central to the culture, integral to their identity. Only a relative handful of Russians took great offense when you insulted Marxism, because Marxism was never central to the Russian identity. Indeed, my hunch is that at least in the years between Stalin's death and 1989, you were more likely to invite a punch in the nose from a typical Russian by insulting Tolstoy than by insulting Marx.

Jonah makes excellent points here about the NATURE of Communism and the NATURE of Islam. I agree--there are differences. Where he and I part company is in the IMPACT that such differences have on OUR approach to dealing with them as threats. Fear of radicalizing moderate Islam is insufficient reason for holstering one's rhetorical and ideological weapons, as it is this great mass in the middle that supplies the tacit support for and economic funding to--radical Islam. Without moderate Islam--there is no radical Islam.

So when I say that Islam IS the problem, I mean that the great mass of Muslims in the world who go about their business every day living their ordinary lives--but who nod their heads in agreement at every Tel Aviv pizza parlor bombing and who cheer the actions of Major Hassan. Some say that these reactions aren't Islam per se, but are more POLITICAL reactions to world and social events. I'd like to believe that is the case, but I am unpersuaded, especially given the propensity of moderate Muslims to mention religion in their implicit or explicit defense of these actions.

Others say that identifying Islam as the problem is a misreading of the basic tenets of a great religion--I say this isn't a theological debate, it is an existential struggle, brought about by a radical desire of a thin slice of modern Islam to re-establish a Caliphate. If--as defenders of Islam would have us believe--much of the modern rhetoric of Islamic extremism is inconsistent with Islam--then it is the responsibility of moderate Islam to cleanse itself of not only the rhetoric but of the impulse to support extremism. And, it is not only reasonable for US policy to strive to bring about this internal debate--it is ultimately likely to be the most successful path to settling this dustup on terms agreeable to the West AND to Islam.

So when I say that "Islam IS the Problem", I mean to be specific in defining "the problem". The problem to me is the great heat sink of support that moderate Islam provides radical Islam, and the rhetoric of religious unity and purity in which it is wrapped. There may be nothing wrong with Islam AS A RELIGION--but in its modern cultural expression, it is flawed--and focusing on it as "the problem" or "a big part of the problem" seems prudent to me.

Tunku Varadarajan on "Going Muslim"

Maybe it was a coincidence that this Maj. Hasan is Muslim and that he executed his fellow soldiers. We'll find out in due time. Nonetheless, this politically correct overcompensation to avoid even the slightest consideration that his actions, if not born completely from his religion, may have been significantly influenced by the more radical elements in it, is ridiculous. Mr. Varadarajan at Forbes agrees.