The West Has No Spine

     The neuroscientist and atheist author Sam Harris made a controversial appearance on the comedy talk show Real Time with Bill Maher a few months ago in which both he and Maher got into a heated feud with actor Ben Affleck and journalist Nicholas Kristof on the topic of Islam. Harris and Maher, who have been vehemently arguing against religion for years, voiced their usual criticisms of Islam, pointing out the barbaric penalties for victimless crimes such as apostasy and the restricted rights of women under Sharia law. Harris went so far as to claim that “Islam is the motherlode of bad ideas¹.” This did not go over well with Affleck, who accused Harris of racism² for his comments. The incident provoked a flurry of responses from liberal bloggers and Muslim apologists who labeled Harris and Maher as “islamophobic” bigots. There were even calls for Maher’s upcoming commencement speech at UC-Berkeley to be cancelled because of his statements on the show. The entire exchange can be seen here.

     The common narrative espoused by many on the left, such as Affleck, is that Islam is a religion of peace which has been hijacked by extremists who distort Islam to justify violent terrorism. They claim that critics like Harris and Maher are unfairly painting Muslims with too broad a brush, thereby implicating millions of innocent Muslims for the actions of a few bad apples. I don’t deny that anti-Muslim hatred is a real problem; attacks on innocent Muslims, such as those which occurred in the aftermath of 9/11, are deplorable. It shouldn’t even need to be said that there are millions of peaceful Muslims who fully condemn the actions of al-Qaeda and ISIS. All of the Muslims I have met personally have treated me with nothing but kindness and respect, and I would never want them to endure discrimination by society because of their religion.

     However, in my view, the incident on Real Time exposed a clear double standard held by many liberals who will enthusiastically hold Christianity accountable for the evils it has brought to this world but will turn a blind eye when it comes to Islam. In an effort to appear tolerant of other cultures, these liberals will bend over backwards to deny, or at least minimize the severity of, legitimate problems in the Islamic world. In many ways, I identify as a liberal myself, and I agree that tolerance is an important value to promote, but we need to make sure that we’re not being so tolerant that we tolerate intolerance.

     While it is absurd to condemn all Muslims for the evil done in the name of Islam, it is equally absurd to place the blame on only a few bad apples. It’s true that only a tiny percentage of Muslims are terrorists who actually detonate explosives or fly planes into buildings, and of course it’s important to only hold responsible for these atrocities those individuals who are involved in perpetrating them. However, violent jihadi terrorism is not the only problem with Islam. Throughout the Muslim world, harsh punishments are imposed for minor or even victimless crimes such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery, and stealing. In one recent incident in Pakistan, a Christian couple was alleged to have burned a Quran, and a mob of over a thousand people (!) showed up to their home and burned them to death. The mistreatment of women is also an issue in Islam, as many women are forced to wear hijabs or burqas, and in certain areas they cannot even leave the house without permission from their husbands. Muslim homosexuals in countries like Iran must stay in the closet or else be executed. Freedom of speech is severely curtailed in many Muslim countries: criticism of Islam is strictly prohibited, and anyone who draws a picture of the prophet Muhammad will be taken to court.

     And contrary to the cries of Western liberals, these policies are not implemented by a small but powerful faction within Islam. In fact, support for these practices is mainstream within the Islamic world. According to a poll by Pew Research Center, 64% of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan support the death penalty for apostasy³. 84% of Afghan Muslims support stoning adulterers – stoning! Even in the West, Muslim public opinion clashes with humanistic values. Polls of Western Muslims have found alarmingly high support for Sharia law and for violence in defense of Islam.

     When confronted with these troublesome figures, “tolerant” liberals, desperate not to be labeled as bigoted racists, will accuse critics of failing to acknowledge the diversity of the Islamic world. Nicholas Kristof took this line of reasoning shortly after his appearance on Real Time in an article he wrote for the New York Times:

     “Yes, almost four out of five Afghans favor the death penalty for apostasy, but most Muslims say that that is nuts. In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, only 16 percent of Muslims favor such a penalty. In Albania, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, only 2 percent or fewer Muslims favor it, according to the Pew survey.”

     Seriously? Only 16 percent⁴?! Kristof apparently has a very different reaction to the same data than I do. But how would he react if a poll showed that 16% of Brazilian Catholics favored the death penalty for those who leave Catholicism? Kristof totally misses the point here. Yes, the Islamic world is diverse, and of course there are important differences between Afghanistan and Albania. But nobody was ever denying this. The reason critics of Islam cite these polls is to dismantle the “just a few bad apples” defense. Even if those 16% in Indonesia were the only Muslims in the entire world who held such pernicious views, that would still be millions of people, and it would still be a problem. And when the other countries are included, the number reaches the hundreds of millions. That’s a lot of bad apples.

     And it can’t be said that these Muslims are merely distorting Islam, for these sorts of cruel beliefs and practices really are sanctioned by the Quran or the Hadith⁵:

     “[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." -Quran 5:38

     “If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.” –Bukhari 52:260

     “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” –Quran 5:51

     “…unto the male is the equivalent of the share of two females.” –Quran 4:176 (referring to splitting inheritance money)

     “(When) a married man (commits adultery) with a married woman, and an unmarried male with an unmarried woman, then in case of married (persons) there is (a punishment) of one hundred lashes and then stoning (to death). And in case of unmarried persons, (the punishment) is one hundred lashes and exile for one year.” –Muslim 17:4192

     In response to these verses, moderate Muslims will insist that I’ve totally misinterpreted their holy books, the quotes are taken out of context, and I’m just revealing my complete ignorance of scripture. Whatever. I’m not going to debate Muslim theology. My point in quoting these verses is to show that it isn’t difficult to justify heinous behavior with Muslim texts. So if I am ignorant of Muslim teachings, then so, apparently, are millions of actual Muslims the world over who take these verses literally. And can you blame them? If Allah wanted to promote peace and human rights, as the moderates claim, he sure had a confusing way of doing so.

     Liberals’ refusal to accept the magnitude of the problems with Islam is having profound consequences. In Europe, immigration from Muslim countries, coupled with high Muslim birth rates, is increasing the percentage of the population that is Muslim. This wouldn’t be such a problem if these immigrants assimilated into European culture and adopted Western values, but all too often this isn't the case. Islamic ghettos are popping up throughout the continent, making it easier for new immigrants to segregate themselves from the rest of society, and sharia courts have already begun operation in these areas to settle civil disputes. Violent riots in regions with large immigrant populations have been plaguing the streets of previously peaceful communities in several European cities. In France, crowds of Muslims have blocked streets kneeling in prayer, and in Scandinavia, Muslim immigrants have been perpetrating a rape epidemic against the “provocative” native Scandinavian women.

     However, the liberal media in these countries refuses to acknowledge the connection between mass immigration from Muslim countries and societal chaos. A few political parties, most notably the Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, have called for restrictions on immigration and more assimilationist policies. These parties have had moderate success in curbing immigration, but they have not yet been able to halt the rise of radical Islam on the continent. Although I am usually in favor of immigration, when the migrants bring a dangerous ideology with them, it's a different story. Just for comparison, imagine if millions of Medieval Christians started repopulating Europe. I believe the present situation is no less dire.

     I think one of the reasons that liberals seem to have their heads buried in the sand on this issue is their steadfast commitment to multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is a popular value to embrace in liberal circles today, and any criticism of Islam is viewed by many liberals as offensive to people from Islamic cultures and therefore contrary to the ideal of multiculturalism. In Sweden, “publicly making statements that threaten or express disrespect for an ethnic group or similar group regarding their race, skin colour, national or ethnic origin, faith, or sexual orientation⁶” is considered hate speech which can be legally prosecuted. Give me a break. What’s especially disappointing is that native Swedes had a multitude of reasons to be proud of their own culture before the waves of immigrants arrived. By almost any measure of societal well-being, Sweden has ranked near the top of the world. For now, they remain among the most prosperous and happy societies on Earth. But what will Sweden look like in 200 years? Will it still be Sweden, or will it be Swedistan?

     Like tolerance, I actually agree that multiculturalism is an important value to uphold. So let’s celebrate the Chinese New Year, and Diwali, and yes, even Ramadan. I’m certainly not going to be a Scrooge and stop these celebrations. And let’s listen to foreign music, and eat foreign cuisine, and speak foreign languages. Every culture has unique and exciting aspects to it, and I have no problem at all with people sharing their cultural practices with others. However, certain aspects of other cultures are in conflict with our own Western values and principles, and we must not compromise our own culture to accommodate them. The West needs to grow a spine and articulate some basic ground rules for the 21st century:

·        Everyone is allowed to believe whatever religion he chooses, or not to believe in any religion at all, regardless of what his parents raised him to believe.

·        Everyone is allowed to criticize any idea. Freedom of speech is not negotiable.

·        Everyone is allowed to draw a picture of whatever or whomever he wants. No exceptions.

·        Everyone is allowed to burn any book he wants. No exceptions.

·        Women are absolutely, 100% equal to men.

·        Homosexuals are absolutely, 100% equal to heterosexuals.

     
     The West should embrace multiculturalism to an extent, but this is where we draw the line in the sand. Let no one forget it.

1. Many liberals attacked him especially for this statement. It reminds me of how Obamacare tends to poll poorly with the American people, but when asked specifically about the major individual provisions in Obamacare – no denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, children can stay on their parents’ plan until age 26, etc. – the American people hugely support them. Similarly, many liberals thought that Sam Harris’ statement about Islam was ridiculous, but when you ask them about specific ideas in Islam – death for apostates, forcing women to wear burqas, cutting hands off of thieves, etc. – right down the line they agree that Islam is the motherlode of bad ideas.

2. Islam is not a race! How many times must we say this?!

3. Maher incorrectly said 90% on the show.

4. I’m not sure how Kristof got 16%. Based on the Pew Poll, I calculated 13% (72% favor Sharia, and of those, 18% favor death for apostasy. 0.72*0.18=0.13)

5. I am aware that the hadiths are not unanimously considered authoritative in the Muslim world the way the Quran is. But that doesn’t change the fact that many Muslims do in fact take hadith guidelines very seriously.

6. "Hate Speech." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 25 Dec. 2014.