Europeans Face Tough Choices on Islam
Sunday November 7, 2004 1:31 AM
The Guardian
By BRIAN MURPHY
AP Religion Writer
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) – Europe’s complex interplay with Islam appears to stand at a tipping point, and the slaying of a Dutchman who made a movie critical of Islam could indicate one direction in which it is headed. “The Muslims say they’re scared,” said mourner Nicolette Toering. “No, we’re scared.”
Dutch authorities were investigating whether the chief suspect in the slaying, a 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan man arrested shortly after the attack on terrorism-related charges, acted alone out of rage or had links to wider extremist networks. Police have detained several other suspects facing charges including conspiracy to murder.
Muslims, like American blacks, have to learn that moderates must publicly separate themselves from extremists who bare the same name. If they don’t, screaming “racist” at people who assume they are all the same won’t help. Racial liberalism has been cutting its own throat by applying strict moral standards to ‘whites” and no standards at all to those defined as official minorities.