Smug Muslim, ensconced in West, announces his victory over Edward Gibbon …

… and over us. But will we let him and his co-mates go on enjoying their oh-so-sweet triumph?

Muqtedar Khan, an assistant Professor at the University of Delaware, visited Londonistan and environs recently, and writes:

As I sat sipping tea in the elegantly appointed senior’s common room at Magdalene College in Oxford, sharing anecdotes about Muslim intellectuals with Dr. Farhan Nizami the Director of the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, I kept reflecting about Edward Gibbon. Gibbon, who was an alumnus of the Magdalene College, authored The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the mid eighteenth century [LA note: in fact, the first volume was published in 1776].

In that magnum opus, Gibbon wrote that if the Franks had not won the battle of Poitiers [LA: more commonly known as the battle of Tours] in 733 [LA: it was 732], “perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.” Remembering what he wrote, I wondered what his response would be, if he were to now take a tour of Oxford. Islam is present and thriving in Oxford University and in Oxford city.

Oxford is clearly one of the most enlightened cities in the world, with its 30+ very old and very distinguished colleges, and boasting of some of the finest minds in nearly every field as part of its citizenry. Add to this the spectacular domes and tall minarets of the two big mosques in Oxford and the picture of a virtuous city is complete. [Italics added.] Gibbon would have been surprised to learn the lesson that military defeats do not stop the advance of civilizations and the globalization of Islam is unimpeded by the material and military weaknesses of the Muslim world.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 18, 2006 10:25 PM | Send