Comments on some comments

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Mar 31, 2009 at 15:53

> (1) The lead headline captures a mentality once dominant but now rare in the West, when there was a self-conscious "Christian world" and it rejoiced in a religious/military victory over Muslims.

This mentality that saved Europe both from the Arab invasions of the 8th c. and the Turkish barbarity between the 14th-18th c. is still alive in some countries that have known and remember the 'blessings' of real Islam. Serbia had to pay a horrifying price for trying to save her land and her Christian heritage from the jihadist Bosniaks and Albanians. Thanks to the modern cultural nihilists from the US/NATO headquarters the century-long Christian legacy in Bosnia and Kosovo has been virtually obliterated within a few years. A instructive lesson on the future of the Christian world.

> (2) Conversely, the "Muslim world" would still today rejoice in precisely this manner, recalling medieval rivalries, raising religious sentiments, and taking satisfaction at the humiliation of an age-old enemy.<

Yes, the Moslems are happy that they levelled the medieval churches and monsteries in the Balkans to the ground, that the places where the false god of the Christians was being worshipped have been purged of idololatry and the symbols of Allah, the 'true' god, are reigning supreme there. They have no illusions about 'the end of history', 'tolerance', 'Abrahamic brotherhood' and other dangerous nonsense that nations without history or with too short and peaceful a history and very faulty memory have made the guiding principles of their policy and education. But Nemesis punishes severely those that think complacently they can live and act outside history and its bitter necessities.

> (3) If the West can travel so far in less than a century, why not Muslims as well? <

This is a rhetorical question, dear Dr. Pipes , isn't it? The answer is in the question itself after all. Take away the enlightenment , rationalism, freedom of thought and the general intellectual progress of the West since the 17th c. and we are safely back in the middle ages, i.e. exactly where Islam is thanks to its amazing success in eradicating all of the forces that have launched and sustained the spiritual rise and primacy of the West. Not even in a few millenia will Islam travel so far as the West has done in less than a century. Besides, the only direction of travelling known to Islam is travelling backwards - to the golden age of the prophet and his nomadic society. Nothing is more alien to Islam than progress, nothing more compelling than regress.

> (4) It's no wonder that Jews and Zionists "expressed joy" over the British conquest, for it had been barely over a month since London had proclaimed the Balfour Declaration in which His Majesty's Government stated that it viewed "with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." <

The Belfour declaration was proclaimed for many reasons. Not the last of which was that at that time Palestine was not in the British hands and one is usually most generous with giving away alien property. When Palestine became British, the old promises were all watered down, altered or simply forgotten. So e.g. instead of 'a national home for the Jewish people' part of Palestine was made -without asking any Jew 'a home for the Hashemite monarchy' while the other was firmly kept in British hands. The British policy tended to put all possible obstacles to strengthening the Jewish element in Palestine. The British knew that a Jewish state would not stand any British control and so it was never in the British imperial interests to allow an independent Jewish state. And finally it was the tacit Soviet-American agreement that made Israel in 1948 possible. The British left hated and loathed by the Jews. And that for a good reason , as far as I am aware.

Generally , at that age the British used to promise everyone everything to get support for the war effort against the Central Powers. For their struggle against the Turk the Arabs were promised a big united kingdom with Damascus as their capital. The Russians were promised Constantinople, teh Starits and parts of Asia Minor. The Italians were promised the south of Asia Minor, the French were promised Syria and Cilicia. The Greeks were promised Ionia with Smyrna and Eastern Thrace ... When the war was over the British promises were over too. The British interests needed them no more.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".