Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the offices of a satirical publication in France was another shock taste of the future that confronts liberal and not-so-liberal Europe and other open societies.
By Wednesday afternoon there already was a flood of robust commentaries agreeing with French President Francois Hollande, who said that terrorist attacks such as the one that left a dozen dead in Paris were aimed at destroying liberty. With the freedom of the press clearly at stake, many western journalists and editors quickly declared that they would not be cowed by such tyranny.
Although many of the stories and cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo were ridiculous and highly offensive, it is impossible to argue against such sentiments. But righteous proclamations that journalists will not be intimidated by terrorists must be taken with many grains of salt.
The harsh fact is that the barbarism of al-Qaida and its even more virulent stepchild, Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, have already terrified western media to the point that almost no journalists have tried to bear witness to the outrages now being perpetrated by Islamic State and like-minded groups in Syria and Iraq. Nor are their equally sane editors pushing them to go there.
As understandable as such decisions are, the upshot is that there is virtually no independent information about Islamic State’s atrocities in Syria and Iraq. What is available is the jihadists’ own vile propaganda videos and the experiences of those who have fled in panic from areas occupied by those who seek to establish a medieval caliphate.
This has been the jihadists’ only victory. Some western embassies have closed because of the high likelihood that they would be attacked. Others have remained nominally open, but only by becoming armed fortresses. They are of symbolic importance, but can achieve little because the diplomats camped inside are too scared to go out to collect reliable information about what is happening or to speak with the authorities, such as they are.
Radical Islam is winning in another way, too. From Sweden to Spain, Italy and Britain, terrorist strikes are purpose-built to provoke a public backlash that adds additional fuel to what is the first seminal confrontation of the new millennium. One grim paradox is that tough laws that restrict freedom are introduced to protect it. Part of the reason for this is to confront the threat. But another reason is that countries such as France, Austria, and Belgium have elected illiberal politicians who vow to further restrict freedoms in the name of freedom if they gain power.
This war within the war in Europe has been taking place for some time now in some of the most open and permissive societies in Europe. Extreme religious intolerance was equally evident in a blitz of recent attacks by Islamic terrorists on synagogues in France and by Christian terrorists who have recently destroyed mosques in Sweden.
Travelling across Europe by train, Islam’s imprint is never hard to find. There are large numbers of Muslims in the centre of almost every city on the continent. The strains between them and those whose roots are in Europe far deeper are often palpable.
Relations between Muslims and the majority are sky high in several Swedish cities such as Malmo, which over the past decade has taken in a large number of refugees from Iraq and Syria who do not feel very welcome there. Paris and Birmingham have become so riven with Islamic radicalism in recent years that parts of them have almost become No-Go Zones for the authorities.
Disputes over Islamic clothing, Shariah courts and what should be taught in schools have become commonplace. An underlying cause is that much of Europe is in a ruinous state economically, with Muslim youths finding it harder to find work than anyone else.
Germany, with its uniquely evil history, prospered after Hitler and Nazi Germany were defeated, and became an international beacon of freedom. But much of that thinking has eroded since the turn of the century. At this moment there is a see-saw battle for the hearts and minds of Germans taking place almost every day with competing rallies being held by progressives and hardliners who are arguing for and against immigration that has mostly been coming from Islamic countries.
Despite its own brush with terrorism, when demented men with Islamic connections murdered unarmed soldiers near Montreal and in Ottawa, Canadian society has not yet ruptured the way European society has. One of the reasons is undoubtedly because the Canadian economy has performed far better than those in Europe, with Norway and Germany perhaps being the exceptions.
Without question another factor is that Canada is a nation of immigrants. Having already digested generations of immigrants, newcomers are generally not regarded with as much suspicion as they are in the Old World.
Until now Canada has probably managed to strike a slightly better balance than its European allies, but there is nothing to be smug about. Dozens and perhaps hundreds of young Canadian Muslims have been seduced by the idea of global jihad. Some others who still live among us undoubtedly agree with them.
Although far more intimidated than we wish to admit, we must try to understand as best as we can this evil and figure out ways to confront it without making things worse.Above all else, we have to remain tolerant of all ideas except those that involve the kind of violence that poisoned France today and could poison Canada again at any moment.
Preserving liberty is a tricky business. In the face of such bloody provocations, there are no easy or obvious solutions.
Source:: canada.com
