It's far too early to know what emerges from the Arab world's convulsions (like the French and Russian revolutions, they could easily end in more and worse oppression),

So in other words they are utterly irrelevant to the subject at hand? Great.

but at the moment, the contention implicit in King's hearings – that Islamic populations are inevitably problematic to liberal democracy – seems debatable indeed.

If you insist on looking at the world in a panglossian manner. You could as easily say that these violent protests are proof of the deep roots of anger and violence in the Middle East. I wouldn't. But I would say that they draw on the same sources - unemployed, half educated, numerous young men who have been taught to hate the West.

The fact is that Islamic radicalisation, real as it is, will only be defeated by Muslims themselves. We non-Muslims have no power meaningfully to dictate Islamic discourse and thought, and as non-Muslim Americans, we should not seek it.

The first statement is a trite sound bite that is almost certainly untrue. Of course it may be defeated by other Muslims, but what we do is what counts. Surrendering, for instance, will only give it strength. Stalinism was not defeated by the appeasement of the Left but by the resistance of the Right. We have every power to do so. Islamism appeals to young men because it offers some solutions to their problems. We have the power to show that it does not have any solutions in reality and that there are better means to solve their problems. We do not need to seek it. It has been thrust on us.

At the extreme end of the spectrum is the 1887 Edmunds-Tucker Act, which disestablished Mormonism until it abolished polygamy. Perhaps Congressman King believes something similar is needed for Islam in America, and that his hearings will provide the groundwork to make it happen. If so, he is indulging in the same magical thinking that cast the IRA as freedom fighters.

I fail to see how that follows.

The right way to fight Islamic radicalisation in America is to affirm America.

I agree. Reagan did not defeat the Soviet Union by apologising. He stood up for Western values and freedoms. He called on Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall - and the people of Eastern Europe heard him. George W. Bush condemned the Arab dictators - and the people of the Middle East heard him too. We need to firmly stand up for Western values. And so scrap any attempt at Multiculturalism as government policy.

American Muslims are in a different spot now, far from the days when genuinely questionable organisations like CAIR and ISNA ran the show – and so are Muslims worldwide.

Really? And the evidence for this is ..... ?

Consider, too, what Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told me this past Wednesday in Istanbul (from where I am writing), when we discussed the Muslim Brotherhood in a group conversation about Islam and democracy.

Razak is a racist bigot with a long history of incitement of violence against Malaysia's minorities, and against non-Muslims in particular. If he opposes some Islamist groups it is only because he came over to UMNO from similar Islamist groups himself and so wants to keep power. His views are irrelevant.

That's a Muslim democratic head of state affirming some very Burkean basic principles.

Which he does not mean. And a real journalist would have asked him if he then rejected his famous call at the UMNO Youth Congress, where he waved his dagger, for Chinese blood on the blade.

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Or they could have a look at America's foreign policy which is by all means very hostile to the interest of Muslims, and see if they can do something about it. Muslims may disagree on how to resist the American empire but they sure are not blind that to the obvious fact that all this empire cares about is that tiny state and their resources.

Resistance

Or they could have a look at America's foreign policy which is by all means very hostile to the interest of Muslims, and see if they can do something about it.

Really? Because as far as I can see the Muslim world, like the rest of the world, is free, wealthy and educated as never before in the past. Far more so than in the past. And that this is entirely down to the efforts of Americans.

It looks to me like American foreign policy is entirely in the interests of Muslims. As can be seen by the fact that the more anyone rejects those policies, the poorer, the less healthy, the less free they are.

Muslims may disagree on how to resist the American empire but they sure are not blind that to the obvious fact that all this empire cares about is that tiny state and their resources.

With specific reference to polio, discuss.

This is childish.

You make some solid points, and I think you nailed it right on the head.

One issue I take, you think Obama and Bush were "apologists" for terrorism? Really, when was Bush an apologist for Hamas ever? Al Qaeda? That is just a stupid throwaway line that sullied the rest of a surprisingly good article.

I've had the fortune of seeing Adam Curtis' BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares. From the opening narration to the final comment, the case for "cause-and-effect" in Western and Arab World affairs is detailed very well. The basic premise is that governments are bereft of leadership and morality. They rule through the induction of fear in their subjects. The fear of terrorism (a cause-and-effect situation) is a wonderful tool to exploit in order to control the sheep-brained rabble.

Peter King needs to sit down and watch this for a start. Education as a cause often yields an educated result. Somehow, though, I doubt the perfect example of one who is bereft of leadership and morality would take away any sophistication from the experience.

On second thought, Peter King is just another Radical Right Wing Racist with turds for brains. I hope he calls someone to the stand with an IQ over 2 who can embarrass the Radical Right Wing moron in public.

This may seem trite, but it is the full truth. At our best, and in our aspirations, we are the nation of opportunity for all, inclusion for all, and liberty for all. Muslims are no less susceptible to the pull of the American dream than anyone else, and as Amanullah notes, the more they are part of the enduring fabric of our national life, the more they will act on their own to defend it – even against co-religionists who are extremists.

the more they are part of the enduring fabric of our national life, the more they will act on their own to defend it

Well. That's the core problem isn't it? If they become enamored with 'The American Way of Life', implicit in that is rejecting some of the imperatives of Islam thereby making them 'bad' Muslims. Just accepting democratic decision making seems a problem as the Fort Hood massacre exemplifies.

LakerFan

On second thought, Peter King is just another Radical Right Wing Racist with turds for brains. I hope he calls someone to the stand with an IQ over 2 who can embarrass the Radical Right Wing moron in public.

Perhaps he should try pulling a dress over a Radical Left Wing moron.

Nobody would notice the difference.

MoveAnyMountain

Because as far as I can see the Muslim world, like the rest of the world, is free, wealthy and educated as never before in the past. Far more so than in the past. And that this is entirely down to the efforts of Americans.

(Gasp). That's heresy.

Resistance

Muslims may disagree on how to resist the American empire but they sure are not blind that to the obvious fact that all this empire cares about is that tiny state and their resources.

You might ponder that yourself.

Perhaps the Arab/Muslim world should make their peace with the Jewish Zionist democratic and highly successful state of Israel and look to solving their own dysfunctionality.

Nothing like introspection.

Surely there are more important items for Arabs/Muslims to be dealt with than tiny, tiny ISRAEL.

As a Muslim, I think that looking into homegrown extremism is crucial," says Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of the American Muslim portal altmuslim.com.
=======================

Ahhh, more young muslims to ship off to Guantanamo to be tortured thats the way!

MoveAnyMountain

Can't you get your anti-islamic view point straight? I would have thought better of someone who frequently posts pro-Israeli / anti-arab (or muslim) comments

In your first comment you state:

unemployed, half educated, numerous young men who have been taught to hate the West.

In your second comment you state:

Because as far as I can see the Muslim world, like the rest of the world, is free, wealthy and educated as never before in the past.

Don't even bother posting another thread trying to explain your clear contradiction. You are the kind of person who bends the evidence to fit his opinion rather than the other way round.

I'll save my future postings for people worthy of being responded to.

The hearings, scheduled to begin on 9 March, are the brainchild of New York Republican Peter King, whose opposition to Islamic terrorism has more to do with Islam than terrorism. King spent several decades as an avid and very public supporter of the Irish Republican Army

Maybe that's why he's pissed off. Islamic extremists have ruined terrorism for everyone else. I mean, they've pretty much killed plane hi-jackings, haven't they? Selfish bastards. Whatever happened to solidarity between international terrorist movements and dictators?

@ Mazin

You wrote: "I'll save my future postings for people worthy of being responded to.

The board would be much better off if you saved them all for yourself. I mean, really, is it so difficult to understand that there is no contradiction in the notion that unemployed, half educated Arab/Muslim haters of the West are still much freer and more wealthy comparing to the times when they were not half, but plainly not educated and lived all their lives in abject poverty?

"Stalinism was not defeated by the appeasement of the Left but by the resistance of the Right"

In 1953 Stalin went to the cinema, had dinner then suffered a cerebral haemorrage.

Not sure how the right managed to orchestrate that.
Is there anything rightwingers won't take credit for?

OfficeEd
1 March 2011 10:53AM

"Stalinism was not defeated by the appeasement of the Left but by the resistance of the Right"

In 1953 Stalin went to the cinema, had dinner then suffered a cerebral haemorrage.

Not sure how the right managed to orchestrate that.

It was probably the shock of seeing the Berlin Wall torn down by Ronnie Reagan's bare hands on Pathe News that caused it.

The American right fictionalises chronology, history (and facts) quite shamelessly these days.

You skewed the the subject of your article about " forthcoming congressional hearings on Islamic radicalisation in the United States" to be chaired by Rep. King from NY to a discussion of the loathsome US interests in the Middle East.

You say " The right way to fight Islamic radicalisation in America is to affirm America. This may seem trite, but it is the full truth." You are either so naive or so ignorant of the Islamic belief that I think you are dangerous to yourself and anyone who beleives a shred of your article.

Islam must be stopped in its tracks in the US and Europe and anywhere it is being allowed to be considered as a 'religion'. The tragic murder of a Pakistani minister who was the only Christian member of the government by the Islamic Sharia defendors for no reason other than that he was a Christian speaks volumes of the atrocious and insidious nature of Islamic teachings on Jihad and ultimate goal to conquer and rule. There is an absolute need for a global measure to end this Islamic sword invasion. Your country the UK is the pitiful example of the failed policy that has been followed by the "enlightened" brits of multiculturism and pluralistic society. The very reason for the predicted loss of the UK to Secularism and Islamism and the unfortunate abdication of the pusillanimous anglicans of the faith of their fathers is tragic to say the least.

And then you say " The truth is that Peter King's hearings are coming nearly a decade too late" is outrageous. It is never too late to confront evil anytime it is identified and I applaud King for his courage that he has found it within and is exposing it at last. You should have the guts to name the enemy within and do the same in your country England. Wake up man because it is getting too late for you too.

PebbleCove,

Stopping stealing other people's land and burning children with white phosphorous would be a good start for Israel.