"Welcome to the Club", the same is true in Europe

Submitted by Mr Pascal (France), Sep 9, 2007 at 10:24

Dear Mr Pipes,

Having read your article about CAIR and its dirty tricks against you, I am deeply shocked to see that in the US, there exist the same problems for speaking about Islam.

Having worked with Guy Millière, whom I believe you know, and being a Liberal in the French sense of the word (pro-individual rights, pro-free-market,&c.), I have often witnessed and encountered the same difficulties in talking about Islam and Islamism.

In France, one of the best known characters, who hides under the cover of being for Human Rights and being a "moderate", who is now a teacher in Oxford, UK, who is also a prominent politician in the French Parti Socialiste, is Tariq Ramadan. Grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, this character thrives on ambiguity: he has on one hand a public discourse for moderate Islam and Republican Values, and on the other hand, he preaches in neighbourhood meetings and on his tapes (translated in English, French and Arabic; as are also his books) for the fact that a "true Muslim" whence confronted with civil laws which contradict Islam, such as most Democratic and especially French Law does, should follow the latter.

A French Journalist, who formally worked in infiltrating the GSPC and GIA in Algeria and Mauritania for the French Secret service made a documentary on Tariq Ramadan and the results are, for the least, shocking. (1)

The so said Human Rights Groups, together with other Muslim Associations, have systematically opposed all serious discussion on the subject. The banning of the veil which is in accordance with French Laws on Secularism at school took incredible dimensions here. As did the "affair of the caricatures" when a French Newspaper dared to publish the Danish ones and add some extra ones.(2) Again, in Paris Universities, regular demonstrations against the War in Iraq were organised by Trade Unions of communist and left wing tendencies, where for having witnessed it for myself, these people demonstrated dressed as Muhajaidin.

I believe democracies in general in the Western World are facing incredible problems of Freedom of Speech surrounding Islam. In a country such as France where "sale Juif!" or "faire quelque chose en Juif"(3) are common language expressions and the Catholic Church, the Pope and the Bible are commonly criticised and spat on in the name of secularism, I have serious concerns about Freedom and Republican Values if all Religions are not to be treated the same, because one of them is the Religion of Immigration. Being an immigrant myself of two opposing Churches, namely Irish Catholicism and British Anglicanism, and a non-believer, I cannot but regret the progressive locking up of whole sectors of World Affairs in the name of the politically correct.

1. See for the said video in French: http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/tariq+ramadan+envoy%C3%A9+sp%C3%A9cial/video/xwqj4_tariq-ramadan-envoye-special_extreme

2. See this link for caricatures: http://archquo.nouvelobs.com/cgi/articles?ad=medias/20060208.OBS5607.html&host=http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/

3. Litteraly "disgusting Jew" and "to do something as a Jew" both meaning to do something in secret, selfishly and in spite of others.

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