Are there Moderate Muslims?

At a time when we are constantly enjoined to remember that most Muslims are moderates, it is interesting to hear this Egyptian Muslim's take on things.

"The bottom line is; it is quite possible, at one point of history, to have an entire nation dominated by some very bad ideas. We have seen it before and we are seeing it today. For the west now to deny this historical fact and pretend that the majority of people are always naturally sane, rational, peace loving hippies is hypocritical, misleading and dishonest. It is an ugly lie that offends our intelligence."

"There are moderate Muslims but it should be clear at this point that they are not as influential as the extremists. It should be clear that advocates of reform in the Muslim world are as marginalized and persecuted as any other non-Muslim minority. One clear proof of that can be seen in the fact that many if not most such Muslims, like Mr. Zonneveld or me personally, do not actually reside in their home countries but in the western world due to the fact that many parts of the Muslim world are extremely intolerant towards reform and criticism.

In my childhood I was told that every day that passes on the Islamic nation without a caliphate is a sin. That the failures and miseries of the Muslim world started the moment we gave up conquests and wars against the infidels. That our prosperity depends on conquering new lands, converting new believers, looting new resources and enslaving more women. I was taught that a Jew is essentially a demon in flesh and that it is our destiny as good Muslims to kill them all. I was regularly fueled by battle stories and stories of lethal feuds of seventh century Arabia. It was not just me, a small child in Cairo, who was raised with these great apocalyptic prophecies, it was also so many people from all around the globe."

For the full opinion piece, click HERE.

Guard Your Women - Beware the Jews!

It's utterly amazing to me that Europeans have found a way to blame Zionists and Jews for the "refugee" invasion that is currently going on in Europe. While it is true that Jews are disproportionately liberal and progressive, it is equally true that they are undoubtedly one of the groups who have the most to lose from this population transfer. That there are Jews who support this shortsighted policy, is in spite of the fact that they are Jews not because of it.

Otherwise, I found this "viral" video to be interesting because it contrasts so sharply with the "warm and fuzzy" clips of women and children refugees proferred by the mainstream media. Actually, this video turns this tendency on its head by focusing on European women and the dangers that they face from virile Muslim marauders. In some ways this reads like the mirror image of Muslim paranoia surrounding the control and "honor" of their women.

For all of its many faults, I think that those who have only seen positive imagery of refugees/migrants or images of suffering and victimization, rightly deserve to be shocked by what is presented here. In short, the clip is both interesting, deeply problematic and unsettling in many ways.