Friday, September 10, 2010

First, the Sleeping Dog Growls

The old saying goes, "Let sleeping dogs lie", and it is a moral that suggests that disturbing the sleeping dog may result in a violent reaction from the hound and an unhappy ending for the disturber. Nevertheless, some simply can't resist repeatedly poking the poor slumbering animal and shattering the peace.

In the case of the so-called Mosque at Ground Zero, we are being told that if Imam Rauf is convinced to move its intended location, such a move will inflame and enrage Muslims worldwide into violent acts. This would seem to suggest that merely capitulating to the wishes of the Imam would "save" us from such a reaction.

We're also told that preventing the Pastor from Florida from his planned burning of the Qur'an would likewise head off a violent reaction by Muslims. Never mind that those reactions are already taking place despite the fact that no Qur'ans have yet been harmed. Muslims around the world have frequently proved that a catalyst is rarely needed for the flames of outrage to burn.

Christians and Jews are the figurative sleeping dogs of the world, wishing for nothing more that peaceful slumber and safety. At various times throughout history, such a placid existence has been misconstrued as weakness, and the Muslims have awakened them with sharp and intrusive sticks. The only provocation for such behavior has been those wishes and a reticence to become engaged in conflict. Eventually, however, the dog is sufficiently angered into action, abandons the warning growl, and attacks.

Leading up to the Christian Crusades, Muslims were on a continuous course of conquest, pushing the Christians further and further back into retreat until finally the Christians declared that enough was enough, and pushed back, hard. To blame Christians for some foul deed would be akin to faulting the kid who has been punched in the back of the head ten times by the kid sitting behind him, and who finally strikes back.

Misguided Liberals who attempt to suggest that the actions of the United States are responsible for Muslim anger must be asked specifically which actions those might be. Are Muslims angry at us for saving countless Muslims in Kosovo? Are they infuriated at our audacity for saving the Kuwaiti Muslims from Saddam Hussein? Perhaps our collective charity towards Indonesia after the tsunami was presumptuous and misguided?

These must be the things that prompted the embassy and barracks bombings in Libya. The bombing of the U.S.S.Cole must have been retaliation for our philanthropy. The destruction of the World Trade Center and the murder of 3,000 people must be characterized as retribution for our magnanimity and generosity. And of course, our arrogant indignation of those attacks must have triggered the Bible burnings, Church desecration and Crucifix destruction in Gaza in 2007.

Oh, you never heard about that? That is not surprising, since attacks on Christianity seem to be in vogue, and are obviously considered "understandable" by a self-loathing media. But in the summer of 2007, shortly after their victory over the Fatah Party in Gaza two years earlier, Hamas focused their attention on all things Christian, having ransacked, burned and looted a school and convent that are part of the Gaza Strip's small Romany Catholic community. According to the website Associated Content,
Father Musalam additionally told The Jerusalem Post that the Muslim gunmen used rocket-propeled grenades (RPGs) to blow through the doors of the church and school, before burning Bibles and destroying every cross they could get their hands on.
Yet there was no worldwide outcry over this, not was there any violent reactions from Christians. But we have to be concerned over one pastor who has been poked with the stick enough times to want to burn a few Qur'ans? What if we allow the Mosque to be built right where the Muslims want? What if we stop the Qur'an burning? Will Muslims stop attacking us and come to tea? Highly unlikely.

People of the West are growling on the porch, and it may not be much longer before radical Islamists discover that they have awakened something that will bite. Of course, the rest of the world will blame the dog.

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