Taking a Stab at It

by Mark Steyn
National Review
June 12, 2013

https://www.legal-project.org/4113/taking-a-stab-at-it

Daniel Pipes, a regular contributor round these parts, appeared on a somewhat fractious panel in Toronto recently, and toward the end (scroll down) was asked where the "moderate Muslims" were. He responded that many of them were in the room. Indeed, it seems entirely possible that all of them were in the room. Daniel eventually took a crack at the numbers and concluded that "Islamists" made up 10 to 15 percent of the Muslim population, "moderates" about 1 to 2 percent, and the remaining 85 percent in between are presumably either cowed or indifferent.

I've no idea whether Daniel's estimate is correct, although, in my experience, "moderate Muslims" invariably turn out on closer inspection to be apostates or so syncretic as to be barely recognizable as co-religionists to their livelier brethren. But I thought of Daniel's words after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, when as is traditional the vast army of non-Muslim Muslim scholars, from David Cameron down, rushed forward to explain that beheadings on London streets are "nothing to do with Islam." Unfortunately, it seems to be rather more dangerous for actual Muslims to make the same point. From the Darlington And Stockton Times:

A MAN is facing court over claims he slashed two friends when they sympathised with murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

Ziko Sulliman – from Sudan – is said to have attacked his friends as they chatted days after the gunner's death…

Sulliman is alleged to have knifed the two men in Fife Street, Middlesbrough, on May 29 – a week after Drummer Rigby was hacked to death in Woolwich, south London…

One of Sulliman's alleged victims, Zakaria Hamed, suffered a three-inch wound to his cheek and was stabbed in the leg.

And the other, Khalid Osman, is said to have been slashed across the hand.

I would imagine that in the future Messrs Hamed and Osman will be more circumspect about expressing sympathy for the victims of Islamic violence among their "friends." As for Mr. Sulliman:

The 27-year-old, of Aire Street, Middlesbrough, did not enter any pleas during the five-minute hearing at Teesside Crown Court…

Defence solicitor Andrew Teate said: "He requires an Arabic interpreter and there is no doubt he will need that interpretation for at least the next hearing and then a trial or sentencing exercise.

"It is quite clear his English is extremely limited. It is, quite frankly, impossible to take his instructions and this is not an appropriate time for him to enter a plea."

There seems no obvious reason why a violent fanatic who can't speak the language of the country should ever have been granted residency in the United Kingdom, and quite a few reasons why he shouldn't. But you can't say that, can you? As the Gang of Eight would put it, he's just another hardworking immigrant doing the jobs Britons won't do — like stabbing moderate Muslims. The reason the United States now has universal surveillance by the creepy liar James Clapper of every American's phone calls, emails, website visits, and credit-card purchases is because Western nations lack the stomach for a more focused emphasis on the likes of Mr. Sulliman.

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