Both the Left and Weirdo Right are into Islam. Why?
Like many of my Jewish friends, we belonged to a conservative synagogue. It was a compromise for my parents, both of whom grew up in orthodox homes in Germany. My father had become less religious, while my mother remained orthodox. While we were members in good standing of the local synagogue, my parents did not like the services. They were used to traditional prayers, all in Hebrew, and they did not enjoy the altered liturgy or large English sections of prayer. After my bar mitzvah, the relationship with the place weakened.
One of the funny aspects of this conservative synagogue and others I have encountered was the requirement that the rabbi be pretty much orthodox. Beth Hillel in Wilmette owned a house with a pool within walking distance of the synagogue, so that the rabbi and his family should not have to drive on Saturdays and holidays. The rabbi was expected to wear a kippah on his head and behave like a religious Jew. This business was always strange to me, as people who drove on Saturdays and ate at whatever restaurant they desired asked their religious leader to be the Jew that they did not want to be. The situation reached a head when the rabbi’s son turned out to be a very good basketball player. High school games were on Friday nights, and wailing was heard from the gallery: how can the rabbi’s son play basketball at the beginning of the Sabbath?! And sure enough, the young man only played on other days but never again on Fridays.
When one looks at our confused and confusing political landscape, he concludes something that makes little sense: the far Left and the Weirdo Right are really into Islam. Neither should want anything to do with it, and certainly both should not arrive at the same relationship—should they? Some of the things that Sharia Islam stands for, like multiple wives, wife beating, pushing gays off of tall buildings, and a hatred of dogs, should be reasons enough that the Left and Weirdo Right say thanks but no thanks. But just the opposite is true. For over two years, lefties have donned keffiyehs and Hamas headbands and have made it clear that they like the mass murderers from Gaza more than their own Jewish classmates. Tucker Carlson and others who were considered on the Right go to Qatar and tell us how wonderful Islam is. Carlson recently said that Islamic cities were far better than their Western counterparts. Again, why?
One of the features of strongmen is their absolute belief in their being right. One will not find videos of Hitler or Mussolini vacillating or being unsure. Their speeches were ones of absolute self-confidence, even when they appeared completely wrong. It was said of Il Duce that he would practice his various poses and facial expressions in front of a mirror. He was miffed when Hitler rose and passed the Italian dictator for power and popularity: he felt that the Führer owed him a debt of gratitude. One can go back to those movies and see the German and Italian throngs swooning over their beloved megalomaniac dictators. What the people wanted was confidence. They wanted direction. They wanted certitude. And these things they received from their ruthless rulers. The people might have thought that both Hitler and Mussolini were a little daft from their behavior and statements. But they offered something definite at a time when Europe was swimming in confusion and uncertainty after World War I.
The practitioners of Islam who make videos or are publicly known make no apologies or explanations for their lives. They make it clear that they believe that not only is Sharia correct, but that Sharia must replace all laws and religions in its ways. This confidence in something definite is what is lacking in much of the West. People no longer buy into the religions of their parents. They see their politicians as hacks who simply line their pockets at the expense of the people. They see NGOs and connected people doing very well, gaming the system for their enrichment at the expense of Joe Taxpayer. So when a movement comes along that gives off confidence and absolute correctness, there are people who will find that very refreshing. In Qatar, Christians are the low-paid foreign workers brought in so that Qataris don’t have to work. They live away from the local population and cannot display symbols of their faith. Yet, none of that bothered Tucker Carlson, who said that he looked forward to buying a house in Doha. Carlson went to an ostensible real estate confab in Saudi Arabia. Doesn’t it bother him the restrictions on women in that country? I recall from Desert Storm when a Saudi pilot refused to receive instructions from a female American soldier in an AWACS. But just as gays being thrown off of buildings does not deter “Queers for Palestine,” the chattel-like position of women in Islamic societies does not bother Carlson, or the Hodge Twins, or General Flynn.
Another driver toward Islam is the drive to get away from Israel and the Jews. An enemy of an enemy….Their loathing and hatred of Israel is so strong that they make up claims against the Jewish state and Bibi Netanyahu that have no basis in reality. Carlson has repeatedly claimed that Israel persecutes Christians, while the Rev. Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, scoffed at the notion. He pointed to the five-fold growth in Christians in Israel, to which Carlson claimed that one could not know which borders were used to arrive at such a conclusion. Carlson said that there was nothing worse than “Christian Zionists,” as any form of Christianity that gives quarter to the Jewish state must be defective. Carrie Prejean Boller is 0-2 with bishops who know that the Vatican recognizes the state of Israel and the right of Jews to live in the land of Israel. Islam, for these people, is an ideal ideology. It is anti-Jew, anti-Israel, and is open to others joining its ranks or cheering it from the sidelines. Joining a billion-strong Jew hating group is like winning the lottery for those who hate Jews and Israel. The details about hating dogs or demanding Halal meat in your stores can be ignored in the name of Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah attacking Israel with the goal of wiping it and the local Jews out. Carlson recently lashed out that Israel was an ugly country and also a very violent country. Good taste and statistics support neither claim, but anything associated with Jews can’t be good in the eyes of the new Islam lovers.
So Islam is a fascination for people who have no real attachment to religion or see their religion as a cudgel to be used against the Jews. They ignore the stoning of women or illegal arrivals raping young white girls in Europe. They remind me of the owner of the left-wing Israeli newspaper, Haaretz. He said that as long as Ariel Sharon was kicking Jews out of their homes, they would not write about some potentially illegal campaign financing issues. But should he stop uprooting Jews, he might expect some oppo reporting from the official Israeli fish wrap. Laura Loomer claims that Carlson has converted to Islam; I have zero evidence to support such a claim. But I do agree that he is always praising Islam and bashing the West. Why? Why doesn’t the public flogging of women or the demand of a raped woman to marry her attacker turn him off? Because of the Jooz. Islam is at the forefront of trying to get rid of the Jews, so the Weirdo Right and goofball Left love it.