Clever but disappointing

An Englishman named Pat Condell has a witty and defiant video of himself sending up the Muslims. Substantively, however, it ends up nowhere, as he says that the problem is “radical Muslims” who are “insulting Islam.” Having that fundamentally false view of Islam, he naturally has not the slightest idea of what to do about the “radical islam” that he so pungently and amusingly dislikes.

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Jacob M. writes:

The Englishman who posted the video you linked to is worse than you think. I took his language about “Islamofascists insulting Islam” not to mean that he’s pro-“moderate” Islam, but only that he thinks Islam is already enough of an insult to itself. If you click on his username, you’ll be taken to a page with a long list of videos he’s posted, which make apparent that he’s a typical Dawkins-style atheist: equating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, calling them all “desert dogmas” and “death cults,” trashing the Old Testament for mandating stoning of adulterers and homosexuals and the slaying of the Amalekites, ridiculing Christmas, barbs against Republicans and Fox News, sarcastic remarks about Christians hating lesbians and abortionists, etc. He represents the problem with Europe (and with us) in so many more ways than just a confused understanding of Islam.

And after writing that paragraph, I see that he’s a noteworthy enough atheist to have his own Wikipedia entry.

LA replies:

Thanks for this information. Ahh, another British atheist. There are so many of them. Britain’s national type used to be John Bull, the decent common man. Now Britain’s national type is the cold, disdainful God-hater, like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. But at least Condell is funny.

Bill in Maryland writes:

You write: “it ends up nowhere, as he says that the problem is ‘radical Muslims’ who are ‘insulting Islam.’ Having that fundamentally false view of Islam, he naturally has not the slightest idea of what to do about the ‘radical Islam’ that he so pungently and amusingly dislikes.”

Condell seems to occupy a completely ambiguous position with regard to Islam. In his latest effort on Wilder’s “Fitna” movie, titled “The religion of fear,” he is quite categorical:

… no shortage of politicians, .. lining up to accuse the film of falsely equating Islam with violence, which is a bit like falsely equating Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse. I’m sure anyone who follows the news will also equate Islam with violence. I know I certainly do, because any time anybody criticises Islam they’re usually threatened with violence. Islam without violence is like an egg-free omelette. The religion is predicated on violence and the threat of violence. It’s a religion of peace in the same way that North Korea is a people’s democratic republic. But we’re not allowed to say that because if we do we’ll be threatened with violence.

However in “Appeasing Islam” from a few weeks ago (easily his best so far, I would say, and worth viewing despite the incoherence), he says:

If we were serious about respecting Islam we would give it an honest reality check. Islam needs to adapt to Europe, not the other way round. I know a lot of Muslims actually agree with this, and they make an effort to adapt and to rub along with everybody else, which is great, and it’s very welcome. But we all know that a lot of others don’t, which is why many European cities have large Muslim ghettos controlled by religious bigots…. etc

In what sense, one might ask, is a “nice” Muslim really Muslim if “The religion is predicated on violence and the threat of violence”? How could such a belief system “adapt to Europe” without compromising itself out of existence?

It could be said in Condell’s defense that he probably takes European Christianity as his model of religion, much of which has been reduced to a travesty of its former self through the actions of its priests and bishops (and archbishops). Presumably he expects European Islam to take the same course, and therefore does not mention (or even conceive of) eliminating Muslim immigration. Islam is really just like Christianity, he seems to be saying, it just needs a good push in the direction of modernity, and then we will all be happy. Condell is somewhat reminiscent of Melanie Phillips, with the difference that he lacks her intellectual sophistication but possesses a sense of humor.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 31, 2008 11:45 AM | Send