Hi Amy, Please don't write off Britain just yet. While there are huge piles of 'well meaning' councilors who are all up for 'religious tolerance' most of the population works on a more pragmatic view.

I really don't think you are going to see Sharia law imposed here in my lifetime.

Of course this may be because I'll be one of the first up against the wall....

Paul Verhoeven, the director of "Basic Instinct" and of the abomination known as the movie version of "Starship Troopers," is writing a book on Jesus. The book will apparently posit that Jesus was conceived when a Roman soldier raped Mary and make various other wild claims that, I presume, will go directly against the beliefs that more than a million Christians hold worldwide, and probably in a deliberately offensive manner. Do you think Verhoeven will have to live under 24-hour protection in his home? Do you think he'll be bombarded with death threats - not get a few, but be bombarded? Do you think he'll be hounded out of countries? In other words, do you think he'll be treated like Ayaan Hirsi Ali? Because I don't. I really, really, really don't.

Now, please imagine for a second that Verhoeven had said that he was going to write a book claiming that one of the main Islamic tenets about Muhammed were untrue, and not in an uplifting way. He'd be under armed guard within 24 hours. Tom White isn't the only one who knows Muslims who profess themselves to be horrified by violence and terrorism - but somehow those people don't seem capable of reining in the violently lethal side of their religion.

Add Irshad Manji to the list of those speaking up. You can speak up too - sign her petition.

Sorry - in my comment above, I should have said "...that more than a billion Christians hold worldwide...". Need caffeine.

I love you, Amy. You are a straight up quinine tonic to this diseased world.

Thanks, Liz. I hope to persuade a few of the nitwits, too.

Hi Amy, Please don't write off Britain just yet. While there are huge piles of 'well meaning' councilors who are all up for 'religious tolerance' most of the population works on a more pragmatic view.

Simon, it's a population thing. European countries have let in all these immigrants, and they're having litters of children (many of them, on the dole) and then there are those converting to Islam (Hello? Gotta especially love the dim women doing this), and in my lifetime, I suspect there are European nations which will go under to Islam. I picture the Mona Lisa's face being painted over when I think of this.

Amen, sister!

Simon, it's a population thing. European countries have let in all these immigrants, and they're having litters of children

The future belongs to those that show up for it.

This subject really pisses me off. I remember right after 9/11 when Bush made statements assuring us that Islam was a "religion of peace" and then we had all this "outreach" by local Muslims explaining to all of us infidels that Islam was again ... "A religion of Peace".

I remember thinking, "Why are you wasting your fucking time trying to convince me??? You need to convince your fellow Muslim mother fuckers who are planning to fly more planes into buildings"

Amercian Muslims have been largely silent on this.
As someone who is Irish, if the IRA had flown those planes into the WTC because of the way the USA has supported Britain I would have been the first to volunteer to bring the murdering bastards to justice. Even though I sympathise with their cause, I'm an American first.
You don't get that attitude from many American Muslims.

Nice rant, Amy. You're correct that some of Tom's Muslim acquaintances probably don't know the finer points of the Qur'an and ahadith, and therefore, they really do believe their religion is peaceful. Certainly not all Muslims are interested in waging any sort of jihad, but Islam itself, is not peaceful.

The problem is that those Muslims who do appear on news shows DO know the finer points (CAIR & MPAC reps, for instance), and they are propaganda artists who use taqiyya to deceive. For CAIR to condemn violence on their website, means nothing when they are engaged in a soft jihad to subvert our laws and enact sharia wherever they can.

YELLOW! i feel like a stalker, but anyways.

It's awfully true that most American Muslims kept quiet over the whole 'terror' thing. It feels as if they rather not be involved and while the silence builds, the connotation of 'terrorism' has no choice but to take the turn after 9/11.

Your comments/replies were so witty and amusing. It's all too great(:

Part of the problem we face is that many Europeans & Americans feel this ludicrous sense of guilt over their nation's respective past history as conquorers & imperialists. I say ludicrous for multiple reasons, but not the least of that is because its just stupid to feel guilty about things that we of the present day were not alive to even have done.

The result of that insipid guilt is a hesitation to defend their own country or culture.

Throw in with that this PC crap trying to treat every culture & every idea as if it were perfectly ok everywhere & in every way.

And you have a recipe for spinelessness for which we can thank incompetent baby boomers.

However, all is not lost. The same thing that gives Islam an advantage also allows it to shoot itself in the foot. The U.S. is particularly attentive to the brutality of Islam in general because of its relatively recent violent impact on us personally. However, it is only a matter of time before Islamic nuts give Europe the 9/11 they've been promising to provide for years. Or they'll think they've got an advantage and try a serious uprising, or something equally self destructive that will result in being reigned in.

Perhaps a sense of pride in their culture & heritage is to much to ask, but that they'd wake up to the threat to themselves might not be to much to ask.

Hey Amy,

This paragraph:

>>>>From the 1.2 billion Muslims, less than 1% of all Muslims truly understand Islam. This means that less 120 million Muslims understand Islam and about 7.1 billion have no idea what Islam is about....

Makes NO sense methematically. Percantages and such are crazy. In fact, there are not 7.1 Billion people in the world. Might want to tune that up.

Otherwise, Love the article and comments as always. Keep up the good fight. I like what you say about the borders too. We have LOST that battle. I should know, I just retired from 23 years in the Border Patrol!

Oh I totally understand the problem with the breeding stupid lazy people systems that we have in place over here "Too dumb or lazy to get a job? Here have some money. Dropped a sprog? Here have a house."
As someone who has worked since he was 14 it annoys me somewhat.

Problem is intelligence doesn't seem to be an evolutionary plus point, sure up to a certain point but beyond that you stop breeding (I mean I'm 35 and don't have kids yet, you have repeatedly said you're not having them, as has my wife for that matter) or breed less than those less mentally gifted.

Sigh. I'll keep fighting the good fight. Or move to the moon.

First time reader, first time poster, sorry for the snark. Perhaps your views about Islam (and those of your occasional readers) might benefit from some wider reading. Putting Islam in the context of another world religions might make the world less scary for you. My worry is that your fright is interfering with your deep and "largely" (?) libertarian convictions. Try to be consistent, at least.

http://home.earthlink.net/~owl233/biblequotes.htm

You're welcome

Casual racism and selective fact finding abound. Glad to see you properly researched my life to find out all about me which apparently boils down to the fact that I hail from a country that will soon be under Sharia Law (really? You should go there sometime and take a look around) and that I know "3" muslims, which is remarkably inaccurate and a poorly used device thoughout your argument against me. The fact that you feel you know me so well that you can rather bizarrely refer to me in a condescendingly affectionate way with "Big Tom" and "sweetiepie" is oh so very cute.

Your own claim that Muslims who are against terrorism aren't likely to speak out because their religion somehow condones murder is refuted by your admission that there are Muslims speaking out - though it only seems to matter to you if it's on TV (that bastion of truth) or in P.R. (a claim I don't quite get, P.R. for who?). I'll be sure to tell all my friends that their opinions don't matter until they appear on Oprah.

Also, by your own logic, if these are Muslims speaking out against terrorism, then they cannot actually be Muslims, because Islam commands killing, so if they do not condone killing, they cannot then be true Muslims. I don't understand. Are these Muslims or not? If so, then you have to admit that Islam as a religion can be peaceful and your whole argument dissolves.

You claim you've been reading about Islam since 9-11. Under what motivation I wonder? I grew up in a city with a huge immigrant population from India and Pakistan, but I guess my 30 years of first hand experience with people could never compare with your 7 years of academic research. I never said I agreed with Islam's tenants (or any religion for that matter) but I do condone the demonisation of an entire belief system based upon the acts of a few, and yes it is a minority. If that were the criteria then no religion or government would escape your ire. I'm not even going to go into why that is because it's obvious.

Try applying the ideas of convert or kill, tax or humiliate to the actions of our supposedly civilised governments and your argument that Islam is the enemy start to look short-sighted indeed.

As for the commentator on Jihadwatch, I can't believe you're quoting his nonsense as if it were a reliable source. The guy can't even get his numbers right, how he can claim that less than 1% of Muslims actually understand Islam then base his argument on that arbitrary judgement is beyond me. As for his claims no other religions make demands on the world's populations, they are untrue in the extreme - there are fundamentalists and evangelicals in every religion and many people are virtually enslaved by their devotion to their religious leaders. Excellent research Amy, the guy who wrote that comment is obviously a worthy scholar.

Oh and as for the blog I maintain, yes I post photographs taken by other people, no I don't earn any money from it or intend to profit financially from their work. The purpose of the blog is decidedly non-commercial aside from the fact that I occasionally promote some photography that I like, which brings me no money and benefits them anyway. I can legally use these images under fair use copyright laws, which is something I believe you are against and as you correctly deduce is actually how I came across your rantings; via the blog by that other nitwit who has been stinking up your comment sections.

Please, carry on shouting over my head, I'll be getting on with the things in life I value while you go slowly hoarse.

By the way, I've read lots. Nice of you to ask. I'm currently exploring the bloody history of the United States. Plenty of Genocide, abuse of human rights, war, wholesale slaughter of peoples and populations and Intolerance. Lovely. The British Imperialists would be so proud.

Thanks for your reply, Amy. But reread your post. All that you are doing with your blog is referencing the "silly stuff." The lunatics you selectively cite again and again are the animated equivalent of those scary bible quotes. I could just as easily find a number of just as recent and just as scary sound bites of nutty Christian preachers and televangelists. Remember, we're talking about individuals here. Just as most people don't leave a synagogue or church after an angry sermon to blow something up, the same is true of Muslims, and as a libertarian you ought to respect this. The potential for terrorism exists, and some countries live under sharia, and some blow-hards espouse vile and justifiably condemnable views. The difference between us is what we extrapolate from those radical views. Terrorism is a real threat, but not a new threat, and the kinds of views you promote with this blog do nothing to productively address the real social and economic concerns that motivate terror. There are deeper, more productive and efficient ways of dealing with terrorism and oppression that you really don't seem interested in.

Taking somebody's photography and publishing it without paying for is stealing?

Nonsense. Check the law - http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

I am allowed to use work for the purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

My blog is a non-profit tool for promotion and discussion. Some of the work is put up there with permission, some isn't - it depends on the source.

If it were subscription based or published in print or on line to be sold, then I would indeed ask permission and pay fees for the work. As it is not, I don't have to.

And you claim to be informed. Obviously you are not.

So you've attended seminars. So what? I am still within my rights, regarding the way I use other's work. I can argue my use is legit, and I do. Unethical? Creepy? Disugsting? Not at all.

Also, you seem unable refrain from the pathetic use of insulting and nonsensical schoolyard language and actually behave like an intelligent human being. It seems your strategy in dealing with those you disagree with you is to resort to insults. How very pathetic. This is the antithesis of intelligent debate and I do not have the time for it.

If the best you can do is write dull put-downs and continue to attack me on the basis of a blog I administer while completely ignoring the points I have raised in opposition to your arguments then I shall have to take my leave of you.

Good day.

You are in good company Amy: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Melanie Phillips (see her blog at The Spectator for the latest silliness in British political correctness over Islam), Christopher Hitchens, Martin Amis.... and, especially for Tom White, the late and great Oriana Fallaci.

There are none so blind as those who will not see the reality of Islam.