COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

In Plain English, it is past Time for Europe to get its head out of its arse


 
 
english.alarabiya.net

Terrorism in Europe... The curse of ideology on civilizations

Since February of this year, Germany has seen all sorts of organized terrorism. Violent encounters such as the officer incident, followed by the temple episode and the assault on the train. The terror didn’t end with the killing and assassination of the police, or with the leaked videos threatening Germans with revenge. It is known that Germany ventured forth by harboring a great deal of refugees, which gave the right wing great leverage as a defender and protector of German identity and roots.

The voices of anti-refugee and immigrant activists have escalated after the truck incident which rammed into a Christmas market in Berlin killing a dozen and leaving 40 wounded. The German party AfD explicitly called for “the immediate ban on the entry of any unidentified persons to Germany.” This brings us back to the problem of Islamic identity and its relationship with other European identities.

In the last third of the 20th century, European capitals have become a paradise for the figures of political Islam, taking advantage of the freedoms and the “spirit of law,” in the words of Montesquieu. They took advantage of the atmosphere of freedom and have benefited from European values. European countries welcomed those who have no homes, are hunted by their governments with no countries to return to and no roof over their heads.

However, the peace didn’t last long and resentment started to form against immigrants and outsiders ever since the Charlie Hebdo attack. Alain Gresh, famous for his leftist affiliation and former editor of Le Monde Diplomatique published a book after the incident entitled: “Islam, the Republic, the world.” After a commentary on the Charlie Hebdo incident, he covered chapters on “the clash of civilizations” which included sermons and moralities to world leaders, advising them to not categorize all Muslims as terrorists.

Gresh challenges the theory of Bernard Lewis which claims that: “The hatred goes far beyond the state of hostility towards some interests or business, or even against certain countries, to become a rejection of Western civilization not just as it is, but for what it stands for.”
If Europe remains a haven and a springboard for political Islam then extremism will grow
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran
He did not address rising nationalist tendencies in many nations and the foundations of the Islamic reception of Western civilization. There was a moral politeness to migrants, particularly with regard to food, veils, places of worship, preaching about Islam, building Islamic centers and charities. Unfortunately, a major disaster was building up for more than three decades in France and Britain in particular. This should come as a lesson to Germany and its relationship with political Islam.

The conflict was hidden between the new ideology and the existing civilization. A thematic conflict which was disguised by signs, symbols, clothing, banners and stereotypes about others. European civilization has been built on the values of individuality since the times of Hegel to the times of Emmanuel Levinas.

Dariush Shayegan printed a small pamphlet in Paris in 1992 which was translated into Arabic in 1993 entitled “Illusions of Identity.” He referred to this conflict saying: “The non-Western civilizations have not experienced these changes but received it by proxy; they had no access point to the origins of Western thought, or to dialectical movement. In a way, ideology has become the only available form of thoughts for non-Western civilizations and has been able to undertake a role in history.”
Shayegan is saying that ideology is a case of compensation for cultural poverty on the basis of conflict. These ideologies are always integrated from a principle of “intellectual irritability.”

Political Islam preached follies of reform in Europe rather than cultural adjustment. They imagined that they could issue reforms through influence in the state parliament and change the laws. European governments were in a comatose state of mind since the 1970s and didn’t care for the institutions of political Islam which reached Vienna and Switzerland. Unfortunately, they lived to see their mistakes.
If Europe remains a haven and a springboard for political Islam then extremism will grow. But if this invasion is to be curbed legally and politically, the danger will diminish. A European writer once published a book titled “France! Careful, you’re losing your soul.” Alain Gresh dismissed the title. This cruel calling may be a last appeal to the rest of Europe’s countries and their capitals.
_________________
Fahad Shoqiran is a Saudi writer and researcher who also founded the Riyadh philosophers group. His writings have appeared in pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Alarabiya.net, among others. He also blogs on philosophies, cultures and arts. He tweets @shoqiran.
 
Last Update: Saturday, 24 December 2016 KSA 11:02 - GMT 08:02 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Al Arabiya English's point-of-view.

41 comments:

  1. It's time the USA left the UN and formed a new League of the True Democracies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That would be a problem as The United States is not a true or direct democracy,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With a true democracy, the states disappear. No more independent Idaho, all further orders, dictates and instructions emanate from California, New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and the suburbs of DC.

      Delete
    2. Idaho votes to secede, like in Brexit. Montana, Wyoming soon follow suit. Texas creates its own state, also California....

      Delete
  3. Deuce's man Trump:

    ""We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore," Trump, a Republican, wrote on Twitter.

    "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!, Trump said, citing the day he takes office."

    www.theglobeandmail.com&service=mobile

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. .

      Bibi's bulldog

      I was going to say Bibi's poodle but poodle's are highly intelligent.

      :o)

      We'll see how it plays out. It will be interesting to see Trump's reaction to being told what he MUST do by the leader of a client state.

      .

      Delete
    3. .

      ...poodles are highly intelligent...

      .

      Delete
  4. .

    Memo from the Chimericals

    From the WaPo...

    A professor wants to teach ‘The Problems of Whiteness.’ A lawmaker calls the class ‘garbage.’

    The University of Wisconsin-Madison stressed that the course was elective, and it was "not designed to offend individuals or single out an ethnic group."


    ?????

    .

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Trump Tweet

      Donald J. Trump

      @realDonaldTrump

      Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT!
      9:07 AM - 28 Dec 2016



      The problem with tweets, it provides 140 spaces to, as Trump just did, say nothing.

      No wonder the faux farmer community likes this guy.

      .

      Delete
    2. Exactly: We should all bend over and take whatever infantile dildo Barry decides to shove up our ass in silence.

      Not.

      Delete
    3. .

      Or, reflexive response form the id?

      :o)

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      All the tweet said was Trump had his panties in a twist. No details. No examples. No nothing.

      He needs to learn how to tweet more succinctly if wants to offer a intelligible thought in 140 spaces. As it is...

      The problem with tweets, it provides 140 spaces to, as Trump just did, say nothing.

      .

      Delete

    5. .



      Trump is a dolt.

      They were stupid to nominate him when any other Republican could have won.

      - Quirk



      .

      Delete



    6. Trump should dump Kellyanne and hire Quirk.


      Delete
    7. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    9. .

      Trump should dump Kellyanne and hire Quirk.

      Thanks, Doug.

      I appreciate the recommendation. At times, I've kind of suspected that you didn't fully appreciate all my god qualities.

      .

      Delete
    10. .

      Oops, Freudian slip.

      ...good qualities...

      .

      Delete
    11. I agree with the others that Quirk is a dolt.

      Delete
  6. The suspect in Berlin’s terrorist attack sent a selfie and the message “pray for me my brother” from inside the truck he is alleged to have steered into a crowded Christmas market, according to German media reports.

    ...

    A British woman also told Sky News last week that she is convinced she saw Amri at Chamonix, a French resort near the Swiss and Italian borders, two days before he was shot dead in Italy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Politics truly is a blood sport:

    "Israel attorney-general orders criminal probe involving Netanyah"



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      This has been going on for a year. If it isn't him it is his wife.

      .

      Delete
    2. I know nothing of the details. I must say, though - well played Mr. Kerry!

      Delete
    3. .

      Earlier he was being investigated for travel he and his family and aides took that it was alleged were paid for by supporters and business interests. Not sure if that one is still open or if the statute of limitations ran out.

      This latest one is for allegedly for taking big money (election contributions as I recall) from a friend currently being prosecuted for fraud in France.

      His wife just lost a case for harassing the help. Had to pay one guy $35,000.

      I think he was the guy she ordered back late at night to heat her soup.


      .

      Delete
    4. Literally or figuratively or both?

      Delete
  8. Years ago, then-private citizen Donald Trump was very vocal about the idea that — maybe, just maybe — President Obama was born in Kenya. The “birther movement” agreed with Mr. Trump and asserted itself.

    ...

    “Once a story is believed, it also seems to stay believed. Donald Trump may have proclaimed that President Obama was born in the United States (having doubted that for years), but half of his supporters still think that it is at least probably true that the President was born in Kenya,” writes YouGov analyst Kathy Frankovic.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DEBBIE REYNOLDS DEAD
    'SHE WANTED TO BE WITH CARRIE'...DRUDGE


    Who's next ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not me.

      Quirk ?

      Would be a noble gesture, remembered around here for a week or ten days.

      Delete
  10. Israel's building of settlements on occupied land is jeopardising Middle East peace, US Secretary of State John Kerry said, voicing unusually frank frustration with America's longtime ally weeks before he is due to leave office.

    ...

    Israel expects to receive more favourable treatment from Mr Trump, who takes office on January 20.

    But Israelis fear Mr Kerry's remarks will put them on the defensive, prompting other countries to apply pressure, including by adding fuel to the Boycott, Divestiture and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, especially in Europe.

    ...

    In a pointed reply to Mr Netanyahu who said last week that "friends don't take friends to the Security Council", and who has insisted the Obama administration had orchestrated the resolution, Mr Kerry hit back, saying: "Friends need to tell each other the hard truths, and friendships require mutual respect".

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've been reading about San Francisco.

    Quirk, you got to move to San Francisco.

    It's 'where it's at'.

    You can sleep on the street. You're used to that. You can panhandle to your heart's delight.

    You're grrrreeaat at that.

    You and the Mutts can piss anywhere, and do do-do too !

    You don't have to wash your clothes, or even wear any.

    You can set up a street business, couple card board boxes, sign, 'Trade 'n' Sell' without paying for a business licence. You can money change foreign currency, accept food stamps...and nobody cares if you've booze in a paper sack, or smoke joints.....

    The cops are your friends in San Francisco too !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your crazy ass political opinions would fit right in too:

      "They've all dicks"

      The dudes would dig that, the profundity of it....

      Delete
    2. Hell, knowing you, you might even run for City Supervisor, and not get run out of town !

      Delete
  12. .

    Trump Tweet

    Donald J. Trump

    @realDonaldTrump

    Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT!
    9:07 AM - 28 Dec 2016


    Found out why Trump was so upset. He came in a distant second to Barach Obama in Gallup's annual 'Most Admired Man' survey.

    I suspect that by this time next year Trump will have at least attempted to buy the Gallup organization.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  13. The results were fixed.

    A buyout is the only option.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 2019.08.29台北市政府21日下午舉行酒店工作會報,會中酒店經紀商業處報告北市飲酒店、小吃店裁罰情形,其中有兩家知名酒店業者因違反土管遭罰,柯文哲當場質疑,為何八大行業會有業者明知違規但仍要砸千萬投資裝潢?他是無辜老百姓不知道犯法、還是他們覺得「很穩」?哪一種?最後柯更裁示,要求把該酒店上班的地址送到市長室,「市長去看就好了,我跑去消費一下。」酒店經紀指出,凱冠名店(原富都名店)、晶都名店(原全盛名店)兩店,皆因未辦妥酒吧業許可即營業,經複查後仍經營酒吧業,且同時違反建築法,爰由建管處從重裁罰業者6萬元並限期3個月改善,前者期限為9月28日,後者期限為8月27日,商業處將進行複查並得以連續開罰。聽完報告後,柯文哲直言有疑問,如果要開一個酒店,業者要投資3千萬去做不合法的東西,他怎麼敢?如果開一家老人茶室裡面簡單擺幾個桌子就算了,「花好幾千萬裝潢結果是非法的,我每次都很好奇他怎麼敢?除非他很有把握,不然他怎麼敢?」另外,建管處補充,該兩家業者使用的區域並非酒吧、飲酒店業,已經違反土地使用分區管制,未來解套方就是變更營業態樣,可以透過縮減營業面積的方式,否則就依《建築法》連續開罰,後續還可加重裁處。柯文哲表示,哲以後就是抓到那種裝潢很貴的非法的東西,第一個要問這是誰管這些酒店上班的酒店小姐公安規劃,甚至還追問當地為哪個警分局的轄區。隨後柯說,為什麼可以限期改善?是酒店變咖啡廳?不能營業就是不能營業。

    ReplyDelete