A Muslim moment

A New York Times reporter traveling with a female Egyptian journalist is given a ride out to the Arabian desert by a group of young Saudi men, and is told what they would normally do to a woman in such circumstances. Some readers might say that it’s surprising that the Times would publish such a revealing and negative thing about Muslim mores. But I don’t think it means a thing, since, in the end, the liberals, after a bit of throat clearing and footdragging, will surrender to the Muslims everything they have and everything they are.

- end of initial entry -

Dimitri K. writes:

I read the article and comments, and I was surprised. The comments were neither friendly nor multicultural. Most of them were quite angry and critical about Muslim men, Arab men, or men in general. However, only few mentioned why there is such a culture in Saudi Arabia. That changed my opinion of the liberals, who are probably most of the commenters. They are by no means friendly or inclusive. Vice versa, they are filled with an unspecified hatred towards everything they consider to be dangerous for them. They blame lack of education, oil, instincts and hormones. But they fail to grasp the real source of difference between the countries and cultures.

LA replies:

But that’s what you would expect. Of course liberals have dislikes, and are not shy expressing them. John Derbyshire (as discussed here) doesn’t like Muslims, he regards them as angry and dangerous. But at the same time he has contempt for people who say that the reason Muslims are angry and dangerous is the religion of Islam. It’s the same here. The commenters in the Times article don’t like misogynist men who brag of their readiness to rape women. But they blame these traits on some generic male evil, in which our society is the worst, or they blame it on lack of Arab development, for which our society is responsible. They would attack anyone who says that these traits proceed from the specific religion and culture of Islam. Therefore the liberals will not do anything to prevent the growth of power of that religion and culture. And when that culture is ready to take us over, the liberals, who are constitutionally unable either to affirm their own culture or criticize and exclude another culture, will yield to it.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 14, 2008 03:13 PM | Send