While courageous locals in the Middle East try to get rid of their Muslim overlords, the West is asking to become subservient to the same.
We see in three countries right now efforts by the locals to reduce the strength and control of Islamic elements: Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. In all three, changes occurring since October 7, 2023, have allowed the people to look for a return to their own cultures and ways of life. In Lebanon, Israel decimated Hezbollah and initiated a program that is supposed to see its partial disarmament. Syria later sent Assad Junior packing, and though ruled by ISIS veterans, Druze, Kurds, and others want to carve out their own autonomous regions, some with direct association with Israel. And, of course, Iran. For two weeks, we have seen brave, mostly unarmed Iranian citizens face ruthless government forces and not flinch. They call for the return of the Crown Prince and want nothing more to do with a Shia theocracy. No country in the region seems to be begging for more Islam, and the more “moderate” countries like the UAE have banned the Muslim Brotherhood for decades because they don’t want to become another Iran or Qatar.
When one goes around Dubai, he sees a lot of female tourists whose heads are not covered and whose clothing would not be described as the height of modesty. I doubt that they would be allowed to go around Tehran. Even if the modesty police asked nicely and gave them a scarf to wear, the implication is clear: you play by our rules in our country. So why is it not the same in the UAE? I don’t pretend to know the different expressions of Islamic behavior, but one can conclude that the UAE leadership made a decision that being part of the world would mean that telling non-Muslims to act like the locals would be a nonstarter. Dubai airport is a massive world hub, and it is no coincidence that Emirates Airlines has 115 of the monstrous A380 double-decker super-jumbos. Singapore Airlines is in second place with 17. If UAE officials demanded that every passenger entering the Dubai terminal had to dress and act according to Islamic laws and customs, they would not need even a single A380. Iran is still flying the first generation of 747 due to decades of embargoes.
So while the movement in the Middle East is either to get rid of top-heavy Islamic control or prevent it from becoming too powerful, the West is heading in the opposite direction. There is a short video from over a decade ago in which a UAE official warned that, in the future, more terrorists will come from Europe than from the Middle East. To prove the point, last week, the UAE reduced financial support for students studying in England, out of fear that they will become radicalized there and then come home to blow things up. A few years ago, we would have laughed at such a move: jolly old England taking in Muslim lads and making suicide bombers out of them? But nobody is laughing now. After numerous bombings and other attacks, people see England and the rest of Europe as becoming new fronts in Islam’s war on all that is not Islam.
Like millions of others, we look at the number of stars before we buy something on Amazon. Sure, the system is not perfect, but if a product has a 4.8 rating from 65,000 people, then maybe it’s worth shipping it here to Israel. With that in mind, wouldn’t it behoove the folks in Whitehall or the Elysee Palace to take stock of the situation where Muslims rule? Formerly tolerant secular Turkey has become wildly intolerant and more openly antisemitic. It was the driving force for getting rid of Alawite Assad and replacing him with Jihad Armani. What are the women and girls in Iran seeking? That each one be given a gold bar at the end of the month? That each should live in a castle and be served by dozens of slaves? Nope. They want to walk outside without their hair covered. They want to be allowed to sing in the street and not get bundled into a van, never to be seen again. Lebanese Christians and others dream of a country without Hezbollah’s control in the service of Iran. They imagine a successful country not always broke and not always at risk of an Israeli attack against the Shiite terror group.
One would think that European leaders would take stock of the experience of those who have lived in Islamic societies and are working hard to free themselves from the same. But look at Europe’s pathetic leaders. They have zero pride of place. They, like much of their countrymen, take no pride in the history, religion, or accomplishments of their societies. For if they did, they would let no force change them for the worse. If the British and French, and their counterparts in other European countries, were truly proud of their Christian faith and exceptional contributions to mankind, they would not let their countries be overrun by illegal aliens. But they have no such pride. They have convinced themselves that they are horrible people, that their countries are nothing but former colonial abusers. This is their penance: let everybody in, and we’ll sit quietly in the corner—if you let us. Only the Poles and Hungarians, who suffered the double-whammy of Nazism and Communism, have fought the EU to simply say no: we don’t want any Muslim immigrants in our Catholic countries. And in Danzig and Budapest, you don’t see endless lines of migrants taking over public squares. You can walk there and not feel threatened or at risk.
One would hope that such highly educated fools as the ones who run the EU countries would realize that they need to stop all illegal immigration, send back those who are not legally present in their countries, and monitor all remaining Muslim communities to prevent radicalization and threats to the local way of life. But the leaders are clueless, and for all of their talk, they never stop the boats, and they never send anyone home. The situation in the U.S. is somewhat better due to lower numbers and the stated realization of the risks as recently enumerated by Tulsi Gabbard. But there are still problem areas, such as in Texas, Minnesota, and on campuses. One can either preserve his culture or have it crushed as happened in formerly non-Muslim countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and yes, Iran.
One of the funniest and most ridiculous things to see today is the interface of pale white Western liberals and real, actual Iranians and their offspring. The white folks have the nerve to tell the Iranians that they are wrong, like somehow people growing up on the formerly safe streets of America know more than people who either experienced the violence of the Iranian regime or ran away from it. I would be embarrassed to walk into a hospital and coach a doctor on how to do a difficult brain surgery. Not these folks. They are all in on Hamas and the mullahs, and they never once think that those who experienced the hatred might know better.
I have a friend who describes himself as the last American to leave Iran in 1979. He had a letter from the #2 in the government giving him unfettered movement in the country. Then his protector was murdered by the regime. He and his wife got to a roadblock, and he pulled out the letter. He did not know if it still worked. The guard made a phone call and then let them through. He escaped the country immediately thereafter.