Pat Buchanan, Radical Muslims, Blowback, and Christianity

Email from Kollin:

If you're thinking about going into teaching, exit out of the bureaucratic teacher training website you're on and throw your computer away so it won't taint your future. I've tried all morning to have discussions with my classes about the ethics of government rationing, war propaganda, and the Holocaust and my students turn into zombies. I'm sure there is some Aristotlian quote about futility that would fit here.

My question for the day...I read a good article by Pat Buchanan today talking about the hypocrisy of the march in Paris and he ended with hypothetical messages that radical Muslims are sending to the West and Europe, something to the extent of their refusal to put up with attacks on their faith and their god, and that they are coming for the West. Here is the exact quote: "An awakening and rising Islamic world — a more militant faith than Christianity or secularism — is saying to the West: We want you out of our part of the world, and we are coming to your part of the world, and you cannot stop us." 

So my question is do you think there is any validity to the idea that the very radical sects of Islam are eventually aiming towards infiltrating the West? Be it ideologically or perhaps politically and militarily. I can't say that I've ever seen any proof that speaks to some plan of an Islam takeover in the U.S. I don't think that's ever been their plan. I think that throughout the last 50 years there have sprang up different radical Muslim groups who do have plans of regional domination and perhaps even country-wide. But for the most part I think the message any of these groups is sending is that they don't want "democracy," "Christianity," or the West in general to interfere in their lives and communities. It is preposterous, in my opinion, to even act like some sort of genuine or realistic Muslim takeover could occur in the U.S. 

And also, something I always say to pro-interventionists, is that an ideological takeover of Christianity is the goal of Christians...the Great Commission. So it is absurd to act like we have to kill Muslims for wanting to spread Islam, when converting all non-Christian believers is the goal of Christianity. If Muslims went door-to-door in Dallas, peacefully passing out tracts and spreading their beliefs, I could see neighbors calling the police and local citizens wanting a ban on such terrorist activities.

My Reply:

I wanted to send you a really sarcastic one word answer like "Totes," but I'll practice some self control.

I think the radical sects of Islam are a direct reaction to intervention in the Middle East. Our culture of modernism, extravagance, and gratuity (not bashing our culture, I'm actually quite fond of it) is the antithesis of the life they believe the Koran tells them to live. Yeah, maybe, ideally they wanna convert everyone by the sword, but if the US government closed the military bases, quit putting oppressive puppet regimes into power, stopped funding billion dollar weapons programs in Israel, and ended drone bombings of wedding parties in Afghanistan, we wouldn't hear a peep outta the middle east. The "Muslim takeover" is just a rehashing of the "Protestant takeover/persecution" of England in the 1600s, the "French takeover" of British trading (1754-1763), the "Chinese takeover" in the 1800s, the "Irish/Jewish/Eastern European takeover" in the early 1900s, and the "Mexican takeover" today. All of these periods in history are just irrational fears stirred up by the government to solidify their place in power. The state can't justify its role as "Great Protector of the People" without a boogieman to fight against.

I think the greatest sin of the Southern Baptist conservative church is their general hatred for muslims. The church is so backwards on this whole thing it makes me sick.

Let me add also that I fully agree with the first half of Buchanan's quote. But I think the second half is an effect of the cause. Blowback. Buchanan seems to be compartmentalizing the two statements when one should be viewed in direct light of the other.

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