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April Fool’s Day seems like an odd day to discuss the Survival of Western Civilization, but this year it’s fitting, given the foolish reaction of the media and the political classes to last week’s release of the film Fitna.Fitna (Arabic for “ordeal” or “strife”) is Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ effort to sound the alarm about the threat radical Islam poses to the nations of the West. The short film, less than 17 minutes, is largely an exercise in causes and effects. First, Wilders gives us the causes, as haunting voices sing blood-curdling verses from the Koran that command Muslims to convert forcibly or kill infidels.Then come the effects: imams preaching hatred and murder, Iranian President Ahmadinejad predicting global conquest, an adorable three-year-old girl describing Jews as “apes and pigs,” horrifying images of the Twin Towers, beheadings, terrorist bombings and mangled corpses lying in bloodstained streets. Lots of corpses.Wilders concludes by comparing Islam to Nazism and communism, and challenging his fellow Hollanders to stop “Islamization.”Fitna raises a number of serious questions the news media ought to explore. Did Wilders paint an accurate portrait of the Koran and of Islam? Is radical Islam a serious threat to conquer the West, or is it merely a crazed fringe movement? How deeply have radical Islamists penetrated the West? Do the Muslims living among us really want to destroy our societies? Who are the moderate Muslims, and what are they doing to reclaim their religion from the radicals?Instead of exploring these questions, which might lead to some politically incorrect conclusions, many in the media ignored the message or elected to shoot the messenger.*ABC’s World News Saturday called Wilders a “racist” to his face.
*NBC Nightly News on Sunday focused on the angry Muslim reaction to Fitna’s “insult.” NBC aired a clip of a Muslim who claimed Wilders took verses out of context, and insisted “Islam is about peace.”
*The Associated Press also focused on the angry Muslim reaction, particularly denunciations from Muslim diplomats.
*The Washington Post focused on the Dutch government’s efforts to persuade Wilders not to release the film.
*The Los Angeles Times emphasized the “muted” reaction of the Muslim community in the Netherlands.
*The New York Times described the film and efforts by the Dutch government to distance itself from Wilders.
Not a single liberal media organization attempted to confirm or disprove Fitna’s central theme—that violent Muslims are simply doing what the Koran teaches them to do, and that they believe killing non-Muslims pleases Allah.With the growing availability and sophistication of weapons of mass destruction, the world is becoming a more dangerous place than ever before. On 9-11 a handful of terrorists, fewer than two dozen, killed more than 3,000 people in a couple of hours using box cutters and jet fuel. A similar handful equipped with a nuclear bomb or a deadly biological toxin could wipe out 300,000 just as quickly.Millions of Muslims may denounce violence, but as long as even small numbers of Muslims worldwide believe the Koran commands them to hate and kill unbelievers, the West will face serious danger.The media should be shining a spotlight on the problem, not submitting to political correctness and burying its head in the sand.
by Brian Fitzpatrick, Senior Editor, Culture and Media Institute
As in the days of Noah....
