Monday, August 3, 2009

Book Review - 'Reflections on the Revolution in Europe,' by Christopher Caldwell

Strangers in the Land


Strangers in the Land

By FOUAD AJAMI

A departure and a return: In the legend of Moorish Spain, Boabdil, the last Muslim ruler of Granada, is said to have paused on a ridge for a final glimpse of the realm he had just surrendered to the Castilians. Henceforth, the occasion, and the place, would be known as El Ăšltimo Suspiro del Moro, The Moor’s Last Sigh. The date was Jan. 2, 1492.

More than five centuries later, on March 11, 2004, there would be a “Moorish” return. In the morning rush hour, 10 bombs tore through four commuter trains in Madrid, killing more than 200 people and wounding some 1,500, in the deadliest terror attack in Europe since World War II. This was not quite a Muslim reconquista of the Iberian peninsula, but a circle was closed, and Islam was, once again, a matter of Western Europe.

In his “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe,” Christopher Caldwell, a meticulous journalist who writes for The New York Times Magazine and other publications, gives this subject its most sustained and thoughtful treatment to date. The question of Islam in Europe has occasioned calls of alarm about “Eurabia,” as well as works of evasion and apology by those who insist Islam is making its peace with European norms. Caldwell’s account is subtle, but quite honest and forthright in its reading of this history. “Islam is a magnificent religion that has also been, at times over the centuries, a glorious and generous culture. But, all cant to the contrary, it is in no sense Europe’s religion and it is in no sense Europe’s culture,” he writes.

It hadn’t taken long for Islam to make its new claim on Europe. Caldwell’s numbers give away the problem: “In the middle of the 20th century,” he tells us, “there were virtually no Muslims in Western Europe.” Now there are more than 15 million, including 5 million in France, 4 million in Germany and 2 million in Britain.

The native populations in Western Europe hadn’t voted to have the Turks and the Moroccans in Amsterdam, the Kurds in Sweden, the Arabs in London and the Pakistanis and Indians in Bradford and West Yorkshire. The post-World War II economic boom, and labor shortages, brought the immigrants, and they put down roots in their surroundings. In time, labor immigration “gave way to refugee immigration and to immigration aimed at reunifying (and forming) families. . . . Admitting immigrants changed from an economic program to a moral duty.” Read more here...

Fouad Ajami teaches at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and is a fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is the author of “The Foreigner’s Gift.”

Source: NYT




Blog Archive


FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Followers

Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved. E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
Stop Honorcide!



Latest Recipients of
The Dhimmi Award
Dr. Phil
George Casey


The Dhimmi Award


Previous Recipients of
The Dhimmi Award




Latest Recipient of the
World-Class Hypocrite Award
Mainstream Media


World-Class Hypocrite Award


Previous Recipients of the
World-Class Hypocrite Award




Latest Recipient of the
MASH Award
Dr. Arash Hejazi


MASH Award


Previous Recipients of the
MASH Award




Latest Recipient of the
Yellow Rag Award
CNN


Yellow Rag Award


Previous Recipients of the
Yellow Rag Award




Latest Recipient of
The Face of Evil Award
Nidal Malik Hasan


The Face of Evil Award


Previous Recipients of
The Face of Evil Award




Latest Recipients of the
Distinguished Islamofascist Award
ADC, CAIR, MAS


Distinguished Islamofascist Award


Previous Recipients of the
Distinguished Islamofascist Award




Latest Recipient of the
Goebbels-Warner Award
ISNA


Goebbels-Warner Award


Previous Recipients of the
Goebbels-Warner Award




Muslm Mafia



Latest Recipient of the
Evil Dumbass Award
Somali Pirates


Evil Dumbass Award


Previous Recipients of the
Evil Dumbass Award




Insane P.I. Bill Warner
Learn about
Anti-MASH
Defamation Campaign

by Internet Thugs




Latest Recipient of the
Retarded Rabbi Award
Shmuley Boteach


Retarded Rabbi Award


Previous Recipients of the
Retarded Rabbi Award




Latest Recipient of the
Mad Mullah Award
Omar Bakri Muhammed


Mad Mullah Award


Previous Recipients of the
Mad Mullah Award




Stop Sharia Now!
ACT! For America




Latest Recipient of the
Demented Priest Award
Desmond Tutu


Demented Priest Award


Previous Recipients of the
Demented Priest Award




Egyptian Gaza Initiative

Egyptian Gaza




Note: majority of users who have posting privileges on MASH blog are not MASH members. Comments are slightly moderated. MASH does not necessarily endorse every opinion posted on this blog.



HONORARY MEMBERS
of

Muslims Against Sharia
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Hasan Mahmud

ANTI-FASCISTS of ISLAM
Prominent.Moderate.Muslims
Tewfik Allal
Ali Alyami & Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
Zeyno Baran
Brigitte Bardet
Dr. Suliman Bashear
British Muslims
for Secular Democracy

Center for Islamic Pluralism
Tarek Fatah
Farid Ghadry &
Reform Party of Syria

Dr. Tawfik Hamid
Jamal Hasan
Tarek Heggy
Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser &
American Islamic
Forum for Democracy

Sheikh Muhammed Hisham
Kabbani & Islamic
Supreme Council of America

Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh
Nibras Kazimi
Naser Khader &
The Association
of Democratic Muslims

Mufti Muhammedgali Khuzin
Shiraz Maher
Irshad Manji
Salim Mansur
Maajid Nawaz
Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
& Cultural Institute of the
Italian Islamic Community and
the Italian Muslim Assembly

Arifur Rahman
Raheel Raza
Imad Sa'ad
Secular Islam Summit
Mohamed Sifaoui
Mahmoud Mohamed Taha
Amir Taheri
Ghows Zalmay
Supna Zaidi &
Islamist Watch /
Muslim World Today /
Council For Democracy And Tolerance
Prominent ex-Muslims
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Magdi Allam
Zachariah Anani
Nonie Darwish
Abul Kasem
Hossain Salahuddin
Kamal Saleem
Walid Shoebat
Ali Sina & Faith Freedom
Dr. Wafa Sultan
Ibn Warraq

Defend Freedom of Speech

ISLAMIC FASCISTS
Islamists claiming to be Moderates
American Islamic Group
American Muslim Alliance
American Muslim Council
Al Hedayah Islamic Center (TX)
BestMuslimSites.com
Canadian Islamic Congress
Canadian Muslim Union
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Dar Elsalam Islamic Center (TX)
DFW Islamic Educational Center, Inc. (TX)
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (Closed)
Ed Husain & Quilliam Foundation
Islamic Association for Palestine (Closed)
Islamic Association of Tarrant County (TX)
Islamic Center of Charlotte (NC) & Jibril Hough
Islamic Center of Irving (TX)
Islamic Circle of North America
Islamic Cultural Workshop
Islamic Society of Arlington (TX)
Islamic Society of North America
Masjid At-Taqwa
Muqtedar Khan
Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society of Dallas (TX)
Muslim Arab Youth Association (Closed)
Muslim Council of Britain
Muslims for Progressive Values
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Muslim Public Affairs Council (UK)
Muslim Students Association
National Association of Muslim Women
Yusuf al Qaradawi
Wikio - Top Blogs