Tue, 29 May 2012
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Islam is not a danger to Europe and the West, but the other way around. At least according to Frits Bolkestein, former leader of the free-market liberal VVD party and now one of the Netherlands' elder statesmen.A politician who has always fancied himself an intellectual, Mr Bolkestein has been making the rounds promoting his latest book, The Intellectual Seduction: Dangerous Ideas in Politics.
Death of multiculturalism
At a reading in Amsterdam, he was typically blunt. He disparaged cultural relativism, claiming that Western culture is superior to other cultures. He called for leaders in Europe to stand up for fundamental Western values such as freedom of expression and individualism. He says he doesn't need French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, or British Prime Minister David Cameron to tell him that the multicultural society is dead (as they all did within the past 12 months). Mr Bolkestein himself claims to have kicked off the debate on multiculturalism when he said the same thing in the Netherlands twenty years ago.
These sentiments are shared by Dutch populist Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who emerged as a young politician under Mr Bolkestein's leadership. But the elder statesman now has some fundamental disagreements with his former protégé.
Wilders' theme is 'nonsense'
For one thing, Mr Bolkestein believes the integration of non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands has passed an important threshold, and is now going well. One example: women from Turkish and Moroccan origin now have fewer children, on average, than native Dutch women.
But Mr Bolkestein was the most dismissive of Geert Wilders' central theme, that Islam poses a threat to Western civilisation.
'I think that's nonsense. To the contrary, it is us with our ideas, our ideals of individualism and secularism which constitute a danger to Islam. That's why they react so strongly.'
Mr Bolkestein says the attacks in New York, London and Madrid were acts of desperation, not shows of force. They demonstrated the Islamic world's current weakness in the face of Western culture. While the Islamic world at one time was powerful and prosperous, that is no longer the case. Young Muslims now look to the West for inspiration and want to study and live in Western countries.
Who we are
Mr Bolkestein also dismisses the idea that resentment for the West in the Islamic world has its roots in military campaigns such as the US-led war against Iraq, or support for Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
'The ill-feeling from the Islamic world for the West is not for something we have done, but for who we are, and we can't change that.'
Copyright Radio Netherlands World
addition to the bombings he mentioned, he shouldnt forget the series of blasts in Istanbul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Istanbul_bombings. however it is difficult to see the overall picture for these guys. Geert Wilders and his supporters are pulling the so called western ideology 50 years back. I really wonder why people keep listening to a useless man who doesnt have anyother personal asset or trade than takling.
no, mr. bolkestein, no culture is superior to the other. every culture has something the other doesn't. the young muslims you refer to look for inspiration from the things they find good about western culture. some other aspects of western culture they do not find so inspiring such as an excessive individualism (and maintaining democracies at home while exploiting and violating the human rights of people abroad).
Mr Bolkestein is fully right. Western culture is indeed superior to Islam. How would you explain that they want to come here, when none of us want to go there? If the answer to the first is that they would like to impose their views here, then Mr Wilders is also fully right. I would like to see Rose in Saudi Arabia for a couple of months to see if she comes saying the same...
Comments worthy of discussion. However, the author's perceptions are a mite dangerous. You cannot disguise nor ignore the fact that Islam is spreading throughout the West; that on-the-ground evidence in France, UK and Germany clearly shows that the majority of immigrants are poorly educated and do not integrate into their new culture nor adopt their norms. The facts of the past 30 years speak clearly to the future. The demographers would disagree with the author very vigorously I'm sure. They are a Fifth Column procreating their way to eventual democratic majority. At that point, legally, they cannot be stopped. Actions taken in time can mitigate this threat. Otherwise, learn Arabic.
I agree with Rose, disagree with Danceny. Every culture has its own unique cultures. If you are comparing culture superiority in this way, "they are coming here but we are not going there", does it mean that right now, everyone wants to go China, learn their culture, even speaking their language, doing business with them.... Is the Chinese more superior than the western culture?
Rita, Would you consider living in Saudi Arabia? Don't you think women have less rights and opportunities in muslim countries?
addition to the bombings he mentioned, he shouldnt forget the series of blasts in Istanbul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Istanbul_bombings. however it is difficult to see the overall picture for these guys. Geert Wilders and his supporters are pulling the so called western ideology 50 years back. I really wonder why people keep listening to a useless man who doesnt have anyother personal asset or trade than takling.
no, mr. bolkestein, no culture is superior to the other. every culture has something the other doesn't. the young muslims you refer to look for inspiration from the things they find good about western culture. some other aspects of western culture they do not find so inspiring such as an excessive individualism (and maintaining democracies at home while exploiting and violating the human rights of people abroad).
Mr Bolkestein is fully right. Western culture is indeed superior to Islam. How would you explain that they want to come here, when none of us want to go there? If the answer to the first is that they would like to impose their views here, then Mr Wilders is also fully right. I would like to see Rose in Saudi Arabia for a couple of months to see if she comes saying the same...
Comments worthy of discussion. However, the author's perceptions are a mite dangerous. You cannot disguise nor ignore the fact that Islam is spreading throughout the West; that on-the-ground evidence in France, UK and Germany clearly shows that the majority of immigrants are poorly educated and do not integrate into their new culture nor adopt their norms. The facts of the past 30 years speak clearly to the future. The demographers would disagree with the author very vigorously I'm sure. They are a Fifth Column procreating their way to eventual democratic majority. At that point, legally, they cannot be stopped. Actions taken in time can mitigate this threat. Otherwise, learn Arabic.
I agree with Rose, disagree with Danceny. Every culture has its own unique cultures. If you are comparing culture superiority in this way, "they are coming here but we are not going there", does it mean that right now, everyone wants to go China, learn their culture, even speaking their language, doing business with them.... Is the Chinese more superior than the western culture?
Rita, Would you consider living in Saudi Arabia? Don't you think women have less rights and opportunities in muslim countries?
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