A Tipping Point

ANKARA, Turkey – What’s the common thread running through the table-pounding outraged reaction to the UAE port deal, widespread disgust over the cartoon riots, fear and incredulity over Iran’s saber rattling, and weariness with nation-building in Iraq?They’re all signals that we’ve reached a tipping point in how the West – in particular, Americans – see the Muslim world.For much of the post-September 11 era, non-Muslim Americans tended to see Muslims as mostly good people, not terribly different from Christians, Jews, or other folk, whose faith had been hijacked and besmirched by extremists in their midst. President Bush strongly holds this view, and memorably appeared at a mosque shortly after September 11, declaring, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.”If Mr. Bush said that today, many Americans throughout the political spectrum would disagree, doubt, or at least question that conclusion. Since September 11, year by year, month by month, hard questions and harder answers have spread far beyond Islamic-skeptical scholars Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer and radio talk show host Michael Graham, and the blogging gang at Little Green Footballs.For the past weeks, Americans have been horrified by threatening protests and outright violence over the Danish cartoons in just about every corner of the Muslim world.Judging from my e-mailbag and the blogs, the images of the widespread reaction among Muslims from London to Pakistan to Syria to Nigeria brought the country to a tip ping point. A large chunk of Americans just decided that they no longer have any faith in the good sense or non-hostile nature of the Muslim world. Many, many Americans flat-out no longer trust Muslims.It’s not merely the “Islam is the enemy” messages in my e-mailbox. The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes declared on Fox News, “There are Muslims all over the world who are certainly enemies of western civilization…I think we’ve learned a lot from this. We see Muslims’ contempt for democracy, for freedom of speech, for freedom of the press and particularly for freedom of religion.”In a radio interview, Michael Medved lamented that Islam “has really become for many, many Muslims, unfortunately, a death cult, not a religion of life… I think there is a huge percentage of the Muslim population, probably bigger than 50% that is susceptible to radicalization.”These words, and the similar ones spoken and written around the country in recent weeks, are not the reactions of bigots or haters. These are the reactions of men and women whose patience is exhausted.Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back was an angry Muslim protester carrying a sign saying “Islam will dominate” at ground zero in Manhattan. As one blogger wrote, “Not there. Not ever.”Is distrust of Muslims truly so outlandish after hearing Afghani cartoon protesters pledge to join al Qaeda if Muhammad is mocked again? If you’re willing to join a mass-murdering terrorist group over a cartoon that offends you… then any further discussion is impossible. A Westerner cannot be sensitive to your values; your central value is that your right to not be offended is more important than his right to live, never mind his right of freedom of expression.From my dealings with Muslims in Turkey and elsewhere, I know that the worst stereotypes are false and that moderate Muslims are not mythical. But my tales of kindness and generosity from Islam’s practitioners pale in comparison to the vivid, horrifying images of mad, angry mobs burning embassies and fast-food joints out of incoherent, implacable rage.History will remember that after September 11, the overwhelming desire of many in America and elsewhere in the West was to punish al-Qaeda and the Taliban and help democracy, liberty, and governments free from religious extremism take root in Afghanistan. Up until Iraq, there was something of a consensus in America that democracy, human rights, religious tolerance, freedom of speech and freedom of the press and women’s rights were worth promoting in the Muslim world; from Algeria to Pakistan, Muslims deserved the same rights as Americans.There will not be the same reaction after the next terrorist attack in the United States – and sad to say, sooner or later, there will be another attack. The aftermath of the next attack may well feature many Americans saying they’re ready to write off the Muslim world as hopeless – not decent human beings worthy of liberation and liberty, but a bunch of inherently homicidal maniacs to be contained, defeated, or, worse, if need be, eliminated.Mr. Geraghty, a contributing editor to National Review, is the author of a book on terrorism and voters that will be published in August 2006 by Simon and Schuster.

A Tipping Point

A Tipping Point

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