Althouse: Protesting minarets.

December 19, 2006

Protesting minarets.

In Switzerland.

8 comments:

Eli Blake said...: This issue hits on so many others.

As the article notes, muslims are 5% of the Swiss population. Given the low birthrates of native born Swiss and the high birthrates of muslim immigrants, that figure can only rise even if there is no more immigration, suggesting that this could be a bit of a backlash.

Another issue that this brings up is that while there are similar reactions in some European countries, it is much stronger in Switzerland because the Swiss are on the whole more conservative than other Europeans. Not having been engaged in any kind of warfare since Napoleon, the Swiss haven't experienced the liberalizing effects that war generally creates in societies that are forced to recognize that they are part of a larger world. As such they are more likely to be a bit xenophobic and see an influx of outsiders as more of a threat than would, say, France, the Netherlands or Germany (though there are certainly some issues in those countries as well.); 12/19/06, 5:03 PM
knox said...: the Swiss haven't experienced the liberalizing effects that war generally creates in societies that are forced to recognize that they are part of a larger world.

Pretty big generalization. I can think of lots of nations, heck, large swaths of the planet, for whom war has had less than a "liberalizing" effect.; 12/19/06, 5:47 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Knoxgirl said...
Pretty big generalization. I can think of lots of nations, heck, large swaths of the planet, for whom war has had less than a "liberalizing" effect.

I think he meant that wars tend to break up the status quo anti-bellum and are if not revolutionary, then at least shake up the society.

as for the Swiss, very conservative. my perception is that they aren't eager for immigrants without lots of cash in the bank. I know what the turks in Germany were doing. I don't undertstand how these Muslims got there.

1. no returns from overseas colonies
2. no great libertal angst to take in the poor of the world
3. no low tech export industries with lust for low labor costs.

Some folks don't recognize that the Swiss have a huge infrastructure for national defense. Most Every Swiss male from 18 to 40 is in the National Guard and keeps an automatic weapon at home. Combined with a traditional and conservative social structure, given the Muslim birth rate, it will get intersting eventually. I don;t know what the Swiss policy is on citizenship, but I bet it's more conservative than the Germans and the Germans have thrid generation Turks that are aliens in Germany.; 12/19/06, 7:37 PM
Anonymous said...: The article seems to indicate that the issue is not whether Muslims should live there; it's whether these same Muslims are radical extremists and have some other agenda in mind than plain old worship. I guess even raising the question makes you a "right wing extremist."; 12/19/06, 9:49 PM
KCFleming said...: What more can be said here?

This story isn't going to be told in the US because the conclusion it brings is too uncomfortable. Eurabia is coming, and these minor skirmishes will be lost by the West, won by Islam.

Our 2006 elections, as much as they were a repudiation of GOP corruption, were also a shift backwards, from a forelorn desire to regain the 1990s and before. Denying the reality of the ME is one way to put off the inevitable reckoning.

But it won't matter. Herodotus, the father of history, long ago recognized the conflict between East and West, which he interpreted as a war between despotism and freedom. In this case, the West is unable to make a case for its own existence, apologetically submitting to sharia, as atonement for our past sins.

The East, to its discredit, repeatedly forgets how fiercely freemen can come to fight, once they are roused. I was quite saddened by our recent retreat in this battle, because it will make the next phase more difficult, and the losses greater. But no matter; all I can do now is prepare.; 12/20/06, 7:12 AM
tjl said...: "Our 2006 elections, as much as they were a repudiation of GOP corruption, were also a shift backwards, from a forelorn desire to regain the 1990s"

The voters won't continue to support a war policy unless they're convinced, either by fear or by statesmanlike persuasion, that it's vitally necessary. Bush is no Churchill, but he and his administration could have done far more to educate the public about the nature of the struggle. Instead, they have sent an anodyne message, i.e., the war isn't going as badly as the MSM say, just let the military worry about it, and in the meantime here's your new prescription drug benefit.; 12/20/06, 7:48 AM
KCFleming said...: Re; "he and his administration could have done far more to educate the public about the nature of the struggle"

I agree. But it didn't help matters to have the media uniformy and vociferously support the enemy's side. Like the end of WW1, aching for peace, we are putting off the inevitable. In the end we'll pay double the price.

It's going to get very ugly, very soon.; 12/20/06, 8:09 AM
Anonymous said...: "Bush seemed eventually to be cowed by the constant and neverending drumbeat of carping."

This has always puzzled me, too. They have surrendered to the left. Don't White House staffers read the circulation stats and sinking stock prices of the NYT and their ilk? If a politician stood up today and demanded victory, he/she would be elected in a landslide. IMO.; 12/20/06, 3:57 PM