Theodore Dalrymple in the LA Times on this very topic at the top of HT links today:

Now, despite friendly and long-lasting relations with many Muslims, my first reaction on seeing Muslims in the street is mistrust; my prejudice, far from having been inherited or inculcated early in life, developed late in response to events.

The spread of “rational prejudice” in Britain.

Thomas the Wraith on July 8, 2007 at 11:35 AM

Oh, good–now Dan Riehl can get his frilly panties in a wad over Dalrymple too.

Now, despite friendly and long-lasting relations with many Muslims, my first reaction on seeing Muslims in the street is mistrust; my prejudice, far from having been inherited or inculcated early in life, developed late in response to events.

The spread of “rational prejudice” in Britain.

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how about this weather, hot enough for ya?

Dear Poor, misguided, knuckle-dragging boobs,
I just saw a picture of top Bush administration officials recently withe the caption:

“Senior White House staff members attend the rededication ceremony of The Islamic Center in Washington June 27, 2007. From L-R are: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Frances Townsend, White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes.”

Such powerful women! Such proud members of American society sporting such important titles. If only they looked as important as their titles instead of like pathetic, clownish infidels trying to ….to do what? Exactly? Make us all vomit?

OK, do a fellow Republican a favor. For the remaining time in office, cut the politically correct crap, stop bending over backwards to look more stupid than you already do, embarrassing the whole country. You are officials of the government of the United States of America and you do NOT bend your knee to the Queen of England and you DO NOT wear veils, headscarves, hijab, or burqas when conducting official government business. Your little field trip down to the Islamic Center was official government business, however ridiculous that business was.

Thank you

They are not. History and common sense, say otherwise. For one to have a negative view of islam is to have a positive, humanistic view of everything else as islam is the scourge of humanity and all that is decent. The charge of bigot in this case, should be worn like a badge of honor and not denied as if being such was wrong. Being a bigot in this case is the only rational and humane view to have.

Seeing those Bush women wearing a headscarf in honor of a religion founded by a pedophile, murderer, rapist, robber with a book of hate as its bible, is to see those people bow to evil itself.

What this supposedly conservative blogger does is partake of the one disingenuous intellectualism that is undermining not only our culture and our world, but civilization’s battle with terror, more than any other force … moral relativism.

Moral relativism will be the end of us all if we don’t start making value judgements about what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil. And today, to do so, garners not accolades, but the term “bigot”.

No doubt, this “conservative” is no ally. This is a Bushite, a rino, a man that does not understand the basic principles of conservatism, much less the basic tenets of islam. Have no compunction, Bryan, about distancing yourself from conservatives like that.

TheSitRep on July 7, 2007 at 8:26 AM
I am right ther with you on these points.

I know I am correct regarding a “religion” and a people that treat women like sh*t and openly seek to rule over all real religions. I can handle the bigot label…

The smart person discerns the nature of an enemy and determines a set of tests to determine whether a particular person is a threat or not. A bigot does not discern, just lumps. Isn’t it bigotry to lump all religious people into one amorphous group? Isn’t it bigotry to assume that a sharp observation is unfounded based on factors that have nothing to do with the topic at hand? Isn’t it bigotry to assume all members of a particular population all do one thing, all behave the same? Isn’t it bigotry to ignore strong cultural practices that produce easily identifiable trends?
If all people around you are of the same race and culture, then you must then look for other characteristics to determine whether an individual is a trustworthy type or a crook. It is not bigotry to make that determination. It’s plain common sense survival.

If there existed a race of blue people who were genetically predisposed to frequent outburst of violence, it would be coherent to assign meaning to blue skin color. Indeed, we should, despite the blue skin color being unchosen.

thuja on July 7, 2007 at 11:55 AM

You Vulcan bigot! (Star Trek reference.)

I stopped reading Reihl after he posted about a young man who had received a 10 year or so prison sentence because he received oral sex from a girl two years younger than him who was a minor. I, and a few others thought the sentence overly harsh. Reasonable people might disagree about this but Reihl said he deserved what he got and anyone who disagreed with Reihl was soft on crime.

From that I took that Reihl does not handle disagreement very well and there are better blogs out there.

As someone who has inadvertantly offended people on this blog it doesn’t take much to realize you are wrong when you do reflect on what you have said and them apologizing is very easy. I think he owes you this.

I once wrote something semi critical of a stance MM made, and got two days of heavy lefty traffic and compliments. Maybe Dan’s feeling lonely and wanting some hot feminazi action.

Erudition on parade.

TheSitRep on July 7, 2007 at 12:22 PM

Guilty as charge. This is one of my hot button issues and I’ve spend some time thinking about it.

There’s one other point I wanted to make regarding the hijab. Turkey, a nation all but entirely composed of Muslims, does not allow, by law, its civil servants to wear the hijab. The hijab is seen as a symbol of Islamist political power. Indeed this view is state policy. There was a scandal earlier this year at the mere possibility of the president’s wife wearing one. Are the Turks anti-Muslim? Of course not. But they are anti-Islamist bigots, as they should be. The Islamists have a political agenda that is hostile to Turkish secularism and freedoms. Are they supposed to sit by a watch the symbolic expansion of Islamist power because to oppose it would be bigotry? What a silly idea.

Two cheers for bigotry.

If calling people bigots makes someone feel good because they thinks it’s makes them morally superior … then they’re either denying how they truly feel or they’re blind to what’s going on around them. People who cry bigot are by rule, usually the biggest bigots out there.

I couldn’t care less if people who are no more than fools call me a bigot. I hate muslims who come to this country and isolate themselves, then expect us to change our ways and our laws to accomodate them and their “religion”. Carry your ass wherever it came from. For those muslims that were born here and feel that way … carry your ass as well. For those Mexicans and other immigrants who feel they “deserve” to become citizens while they wave the Mexican flag and demand everything be in Spanish … carry your ass back across the border. You’re neither needed or wanted. I’m sick to death of bending over backwards for every group playing psedo-victim. If you want to be here then become American, don’t expect us to become Mexican or muslim. To expect Americans to cater to you is … well, being a bigot.

rho on July 7, 2007 at 9:52 AM

I’m looking forward to the day when Ron Paul supporters stop spamming my damn polls! A new day!

Then I’m a bigot too.

Sorry about all this happening to you, Bryan. I appreciate you trying to keep it classy as you go to cleaners to get the mud off your jacket

That said, Thomas’ Nazi analogy holds. There’s nothing wrong with intolerance toward those who believe in doing harmful things to you and others. Unless you’re a moral equivocating idiot, that is.

Which Muslim countries?

Guardian on July 7, 2007 at 1:57 AM

Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq (possibly Quatar). That is 4 of the 5 Muslim countries I have “visited”. The fifth, Saudi Arabia, is very strict.

I remember seeing the first short skirt (short, black and very tight) in over 7 months in Bahrain. Kuwait is very Westernized and I do not see the people ever going back to living in tents.

Thomas the Wraith on July 7, 2007 at 10:28 AM

Erudition on parade.