I Love it When I'm Right

Here's an interesting article from the New York Times.

PARIS, Jan. 30 - Can angry young Muslims dictate what is and is not acceptable in the traditionally open-minded world of Dutch arts? In the last few weeks, it appears, the answer has been yes. The Netherlands' main film festival, now going on in Rotterdam, canceled a showing of a short documentary denouncing violence against Muslim women that was made by Theo van Gogh, who was killed 10 weeks ago. An Islamic militant is accused of the crime. The film's producer said he had pulled the film on the advice of the police after receiving threats. At about the same time, a Moroccan-Dutch painter went into hiding after a show of his work opened on Jan. 15 at a modern art museum in Amsterdam. The museum director said the painter, Rachid Ben Ali, had received death threats linked to his satirical work critical of violence by Islamic militants. The two incidents have reinforced fears among many Dutch that fast-growing non-Western immigration is having a negative impact on social attitudes in the Netherlands. Newspaper columnists and members of Parliament have warned in recent days that if people capitulated to intimidation, they would only encourage Islamic militants. Some have pointed to the recent events as signs that militants are trying to impose their agenda and are undermining the constitutional right to free speech in the Netherlands. A few people have quietly asked if self-censorship might be acceptable to keep the social peace.

For those of you who missed it, here's what I said in a previous post entitled, "Where Are Napoleon and Illya When We Need Them?" Islam is a form of cultural imperialism in which the culture of seventh-century Arabia has been raised to the status of divine law. For example, Christianity does not dictate that people today should dress, talk and eat in accordance with how Jesus dressed, talked and ate. So, Christianity can be freely practiced without imposing the dress codes, living standards and dietary practices of the first century on every culture in the world. But whenever Islam becomes the dominant religion in a country, it alters the culture of that nation and transforms it into the culture of seventh-century Arabia. Wake up, World. Wake up.