Lenin once used the phrase “useful idiots” to describe Westerners who even if well-intentioned, were aiding and abetting the Communists in their attempts to overthrow the West. There were plenty of academics, journalists and even clerics who glibly ran with the Soviet line, while denouncing the West.
Such useful idiots of course would be the first to be exterminated once the Communists seized power, but they were certainly quite helpful along the way. They were happy to denounce the free West while praising totalitarian Marxist regimes.
Sadly these folks have not gone away, but are still here in abundance. Only this time, it is not godless communism they are shrilling for, but militant Islam. These Western useful idiots do all they can to apologise for Islam, while denouncing the West.
They actually seek to claim that if there are any radical or militant Muslims out there, it is basically the fault of the West. We somehow drove them to acts of desperation. Thus the many acts of terror are basically something we deserve. We have brought this hatred upon ourselves.
If we would just change, and learn to embrace Islam, and apologise for our Islamophobia, then they would probably all become a really nice bunch of people. That is effectively the message presented by numerous Western Muslim apologists.
We have more of this occurring – why are we not surprised? – in the Melbourne Age. A few days ago a doctoral student at Monash University’s Islamic studies centre wrote a piece which Islam was defended while the West was chided.
Rachel Woodlock said the West has “misplaced fears” about Islam, and boldly claimed, “There is no hidden agenda for sharia law; Western society is not under threat.” One might as well have written in the 1950’s, “There is no hidden agenda for Marxist domination; Western society is not under threat.”
This utter ignorance of the plans and purposes of Islam is what qualifies one for being a “useful idiot”. Just as the Marxists told us their plans, and then sought to carry them out, yet many Westerners refused to believe it, so too here. Muhammad, the Koran, and the hadith all state plainly the goals of Muslim domination. But here we have another egghead denying the obvious.
She claims there are no attempts to enforce sharia law in Australia, and Muslim immigrants are settling in just fine. She even smugly writes about Muslims born here, “Lots of Mohammads and Aishas are true-blue, happy little Vegemites sitting next to our Jacks, Marias, Sanjeevs and Nguyens in school, and that percentage is sure to increase at the next census.”
She seems to think that second-generation Muslims in the West will somehow be even more pro-Western and less pro-Islamic than their immigrant parents. But exactly the opposite is the case in the UK and other parts of the West. Studies have shown that this second-generation tends to be more militant and radical than their parents.
One could easily dissect this entire article, but amazingly – in what must have been a minor miracle – the Age actually allowed a right of reply by someone well-suited to demolish the myths in Woodlock’s article. Rev Dr Mark Durie had a piece today entitled “Muslim violence a fact, not prejudice”.
Says Durie, “Violence in the name of Islam is well-attested in nations in which Muslims are dominant, and it is non-Muslim minorities that suffer the exclusion. It does not do to argue that religion has no relevance to such events. In Muslim-majority Pakistan on December 3, Pakistani imam Maulana Yousuf Qureshi, in his Friday sermon, offered a $6000 bounty to anyone who would murder Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has also been accused of ‘blaspheming Allah’. Pakistani minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti and Punjab governor Salman Taseer were subsequently assassinated because of their opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
“These laws are supported by Pakistan’s Islamic elites. The killer of Salman Taseer, Mumtaz Qadri, was praised by religious leaders from mainstream schools of Pakistani Islam, and when he was being led to court on January 6, 400 Muslim lawyers showered him with rose petals, offering him their legal services free of charge. There has also been a rush of recent assaults on Copts and their places of worship in Egypt, sparked by a wild tirade by a leading Egyptian cleric.”
He concludes, “Perhaps the most powerful evidence against Woodlock’s thesis – that it is exclusion, and not religion, that drives some Muslims to terrorism – is the fact that across the globe the most diverse religious minorities do not resort to violence, even when persecuted. There are no Falun Gong terrorists in China, despite all the bitter persecution. The same can be said for persecuted Christians in many nations.
“Even in Australia, many ethnic and religious groups have been subjected to disadvantage and exclusion, but none have produced the level of terrorist convictions of our own home-grown Islamic radicals. It is a bitter pill for the vast majority of Australian Muslims to swallow that their faith has been linked, globally and locally, to religious violence.
“Unfortunately, this link cannot be dismissed as the product of media prejudice or ‘Islamophobic’ propaganda. It is in part an issue of some Muslims behaving very badly, and their often strident claim is that they do this in the name of religion. Taking such claims seriously and debating them publicly must not be equated with stigmatising law-abiding and peaceable Australian Muslims.”
There will always be Western apologists for Islam, just as there were apologists for the Communist regimes. Both ideologies have declared war on the West. Fortunately Communism as a political/military machine has been largely defeated (although it still continues in the West as a powerful ideology).
Whether the same can one day be said about expansionist Islam remains to be seen. But with friends like Woodlock, who needs enemies?
Bill, I think the difference between you and so many other people is that you know history well, you know the Bible well, you know how to write well and you know your subject matter well.
But one thing you don’t know is…….
the fear of man.
And that’s a good thing.
Annette Nestor, Perth. W.A.
Hi Bill,
A very interesting article. Whilst I don’t know how many Muslims in, say, Australia are actively committed to the imposition of Sharia law, I think we are right to interrogate the foundations and implications of Islamic beliefs. As Mark Durie points out, to exclude religion from the discussion is wrong-headed, and to voice legitimate fears about a particular religion does not make one a “right-wing racist” (in any case, you can’t be a racist if you oppose a religion, but now we’re getting into semantics).
I used to hold to the social exclusion thesis a while back. But whatever explanatory power it may have (not much perhaps), the fact that figures such as Osama Bin Laden – who comes from a very wealthy background – are purveyors of terrorist violence means that economic deprivation and social marginalisation cannot explain Islamic terrorism. It may not be P.C. to say so, but looking at its religious roots would be a good idea.
Scott Buchanan
Many thanks indeed Annette for your kind words.
Thankfully there are many others out there as well who are fighting the good fight, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Yes quite right Scott.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Yes, so when Bill Muehlenberg comes to town, he won’t be hiding in no lonely, miserable old cave.
Annette Nestor, Perth
Thanks Annette
Actually in one of my recent trips to Perth I was led to that very passage in a time of heavy prayer: 1 Kings 18:4.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I have to ask what Muslim means? Is everyone who calls themselves a Muslim a true Muslim? Or like Christians are the numbers who are true believers far lower than the numbers reported on the census form?
Grouping the nominal with the devout gives a far different picture of the faith than seeking out only those who practise their faith.
My question then is what is the Christian response? Do we seek to convert the individual while fighting the influx of Muslim ideology into our legal, political etc systems? Do we encourage them to mix with Aussies and discourage any segregation of Muslims (by Muslims) who choose to live in our country?
Kylie Anderson
‘Useful idiots’ is a very apt description of Leftist apologists for Islam in one sense. But in another sense it makes them out to appear like ignorant bystanders. It downplays the fascist-style shut downs of dissenting opinion they engage in through smears of ‘Islamophobia’ or ‘racism’. They are more than just ignorant, they are willing aiders and abettors.
David Horowitz describes their tactics in “Opposing the Palestinian War Against the Jews”;
“In the 1930s, the Communists and the Nazis in Germany joined to break up meetings of their opponents with protests, and if that didn’t work with protests inside the meeting halls, and if that didn’t work, with physical violence. The main opponents of the Nazis and Communists were liberals — social democrats. This violence against the social democrats, this attempt to suppress discussion of political issues, spelled the end of the Weimar Republic and its democracy. It led directly to the reign of Hitler, who was elected chancellor and then it was all over…
…And as you can see evidenced here tonight, there is a movement all across this country to suppress the free speech of conservatives, of people who embrace the fundamental principles of this democracy and are actively defending them against the threat posed by totalitarian radicals. You don’t need bodyguards and you don’t need armed police and you don’t need checkpoints if you’re a leftist coming to speak on a college campus. That’s because conservatives respect the democratic principles of our society, while many leftists don’t.”
“If we would just change, and learn to embrace Islam, and apologise for our Islamophobia, then they would probably all become a really nice bunch of people” – this (the usual white Western “liberal” script) is what they really really believe to be true, and that is because of the endemic hatred of Western society (or rather, its Judeo-Christian base), and their assumptions of the Humanist world-view/value system, which convinces them that people are basically good if left alone. Probably many Muslims are nice, good people – but remember this is in OUR terms, Western terms, not those of Islam, which teaches that meekness and kindness (and related Christian virtues) mean weakness. The Muslims who are “good” are bad in the strict terms of Islam.
John Thomas, UK
Dear Bill, Only a take over by Islamic fundamentalists will teach these ‘useful idiots’ [for want of a better term] what life under such a regime will really mean. They will be shaken out of their comfort zones and their endless yearning to make themselves feel good at the expense of the Truth. The Baltic immigrants to this country in the fifties are only too aware of what it means to live under the evil ideology known as communism. Islamic fundamentalism is equally evil and is steadily taking hold around the world. I have just read a book written by Carmen Bin Laden Osama’s sister-in-law and her honest and simple account of life in a fundamentalist Islamic state [Saudi Arabia] would make your hair stand on end. She says ‘Islam is about Islamic law: the code of behaviour and law is as fundamental to religious practice as the Koran’. These people know and should be listened to. All I can say is it is a pity the West has allowed themselves to become so dependent on Middle East oil.
Patricia Halligan
Hi Bill,
I noticed in one of your comments you come to Perth. Just wondering if you give speeches etc, as my husband and I would love to come along. My husband has recently become involved in some accounting for CDP, so if you attend any of those meetings or any other meetings, would you mind pointing us in the direction where we can find you? Thanks so much.
Karen Harrison
Thanks Karen
Yes I do speak a lot all over the place, and will likely be back to Perth before too long.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
We should not be surprised by the phenomenon of “useful idiots” for they are a manifestation, especially in challenging moments, of traits that reside in each and every one of us. Look at when Peter denied Jesus three times. Denial, deception, defiance, distraction, delusion, deviancy, diversity, distortion, despair are the weapons of choice of the devil.
There resides in all of us the potential to become quislings, Vichy supporters and traitors.
Were Churchill alive today he may well have said, as he said of Nazism, in 1938:
“I foresee and foretell that there will be restrictions upon the freedom of speech and debate in Parliament, on public platforms, and discussions in the Press, for it will be said – indeed, I hear it said sometimes now – that we cannot allow Islam or homosexuality to be criticised full stop. And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year, unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” – Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
Bill, I think the difference between you and so many other people is that you know history well, you know the Bible well, you know how to write well and you know your subject matter well.
But one thing you don’t know is…….
the fear of man.
And that’s a good thing.
Annette Nestor, Perth. W.A.
Hi Bill,
A very interesting article. Whilst I don’t know how many Muslims in, say, Australia are actively committed to the imposition of Sharia law, I think we are right to interrogate the foundations and implications of Islamic beliefs. As Mark Durie points out, to exclude religion from the discussion is wrong-headed, and to voice legitimate fears about a particular religion does not make one a “right-wing racist” (in any case, you can’t be a racist if you oppose a religion, but now we’re getting into semantics).
I used to hold to the social exclusion thesis a while back. But whatever explanatory power it may have (not much perhaps), the fact that figures such as Osama Bin Laden – who comes from a very wealthy background – are purveyors of terrorist violence means that economic deprivation and social marginalisation cannot explain Islamic terrorism. It may not be P.C. to say so, but looking at its religious roots would be a good idea.
Scott Buchanan
Many thanks indeed Annette for your kind words.
Thankfully there are many others out there as well who are fighting the good fight, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Yes quite right Scott.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Yes, so when Bill Muehlenberg comes to town, he won’t be hiding in no lonely, miserable old cave.
Annette Nestor, Perth
Thanks Annette
Actually in one of my recent trips to Perth I was led to that very passage in a time of heavy prayer: 1 Kings 18:4.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I have to ask what Muslim means? Is everyone who calls themselves a Muslim a true Muslim? Or like Christians are the numbers who are true believers far lower than the numbers reported on the census form?
Grouping the nominal with the devout gives a far different picture of the faith than seeking out only those who practise their faith.
My question then is what is the Christian response? Do we seek to convert the individual while fighting the influx of Muslim ideology into our legal, political etc systems? Do we encourage them to mix with Aussies and discourage any segregation of Muslims (by Muslims) who choose to live in our country?
Kylie Anderson
‘Useful idiots’ is a very apt description of Leftist apologists for Islam in one sense. But in another sense it makes them out to appear like ignorant bystanders. It downplays the fascist-style shut downs of dissenting opinion they engage in through smears of ‘Islamophobia’ or ‘racism’. They are more than just ignorant, they are willing aiders and abettors.
David Horowitz describes their tactics in “Opposing the Palestinian War Against the Jews”;
“In the 1930s, the Communists and the Nazis in Germany joined to break up meetings of their opponents with protests, and if that didn’t work with protests inside the meeting halls, and if that didn’t work, with physical violence. The main opponents of the Nazis and Communists were liberals — social democrats. This violence against the social democrats, this attempt to suppress discussion of political issues, spelled the end of the Weimar Republic and its democracy. It led directly to the reign of Hitler, who was elected chancellor and then it was all over…
…And as you can see evidenced here tonight, there is a movement all across this country to suppress the free speech of conservatives, of people who embrace the fundamental principles of this democracy and are actively defending them against the threat posed by totalitarian radicals. You don’t need bodyguards and you don’t need armed police and you don’t need checkpoints if you’re a leftist coming to speak on a college campus. That’s because conservatives respect the democratic principles of our society, while many leftists don’t.”
http://frontpagemag.com/2011/03/25/opposing-the-palestinian-war-against-the-jews/
Damien Spillane
“If we would just change, and learn to embrace Islam, and apologise for our Islamophobia, then they would probably all become a really nice bunch of people” – this (the usual white Western “liberal” script) is what they really really believe to be true, and that is because of the endemic hatred of Western society (or rather, its Judeo-Christian base), and their assumptions of the Humanist world-view/value system, which convinces them that people are basically good if left alone. Probably many Muslims are nice, good people – but remember this is in OUR terms, Western terms, not those of Islam, which teaches that meekness and kindness (and related Christian virtues) mean weakness. The Muslims who are “good” are bad in the strict terms of Islam.
John Thomas, UK
Dear Bill, Only a take over by Islamic fundamentalists will teach these ‘useful idiots’ [for want of a better term] what life under such a regime will really mean. They will be shaken out of their comfort zones and their endless yearning to make themselves feel good at the expense of the Truth. The Baltic immigrants to this country in the fifties are only too aware of what it means to live under the evil ideology known as communism. Islamic fundamentalism is equally evil and is steadily taking hold around the world. I have just read a book written by Carmen Bin Laden Osama’s sister-in-law and her honest and simple account of life in a fundamentalist Islamic state [Saudi Arabia] would make your hair stand on end. She says ‘Islam is about Islamic law: the code of behaviour and law is as fundamental to religious practice as the Koran’. These people know and should be listened to. All I can say is it is a pity the West has allowed themselves to become so dependent on Middle East oil.
Patricia Halligan
Hi Bill,
I noticed in one of your comments you come to Perth. Just wondering if you give speeches etc, as my husband and I would love to come along. My husband has recently become involved in some accounting for CDP, so if you attend any of those meetings or any other meetings, would you mind pointing us in the direction where we can find you? Thanks so much.
Karen Harrison
Thanks Karen
Yes I do speak a lot all over the place, and will likely be back to Perth before too long.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
We should not be surprised by the phenomenon of “useful idiots” for they are a manifestation, especially in challenging moments, of traits that reside in each and every one of us. Look at when Peter denied Jesus three times. Denial, deception, defiance, distraction, delusion, deviancy, diversity, distortion, despair are the weapons of choice of the devil.
There resides in all of us the potential to become quislings, Vichy supporters and traitors.
Were Churchill alive today he may well have said, as he said of Nazism, in 1938:
“I foresee and foretell that there will be restrictions upon the freedom of speech and debate in Parliament, on public platforms, and discussions in the Press, for it will be said – indeed, I hear it said sometimes now – that we cannot allow Islam or homosexuality to be criticised full stop. And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year, unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” – Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
A must read: GEERT WILDER’S RECENT SPEECH IN ROME.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/03/geert-wilders-the-failure-of-multiculturalism-and-how-to-turn-the-tide.html
David Skinner, UK