Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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176 of 187 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scholarly and provoking , 13 May 2006
The unfortunate title of this book renders it easy for some to misconstrue its content as 'racist drivel' as one 'reviewer' has already claimed. (Rather telling that he's not made any specific criticisms of the book and simply cried racism because he has nothing of substance to say since he's not read the book).
Bruce Bawer is not contrary to what some might infer from the title of this book a 'neocon fundamentalist Christian.' Actually Bawer is a gay American literary critic, writer and poet who has wrote in various 'liberal' publications and sharply criticised Christian fundamentalism. This book is relevant to all concerned by the worrying fundamentalism of some sections within Islam - from Salmon Rushdie, the cartoons controversy to the prevalent disregard for civilised values in many Muslim countries - and the exporting of these values to the West there are genuine issues that are of universal concern in the West, especially to moderate Muslims here. Bawer, addresses the issue seriously from a secular, non-racist and pragmatic perspective. A depressing read but an extremely vital message conveying some uncomfortable truths.
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78 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Must read for anyone interested in radical Islam in Europe, 25 May 2007
Before you buy this book, you should ask yourself a simple question: am I interested in radical Islam in Europe and do I doubt the PC "elites" ability to deal with it? If the answer is yes, then you will enjoy this book. This book is not written by a neo-con, nor is it written by an apologist for terrorism. It is written by an openly gay man, who has lost faith in the political left that was supposed to champion his rights. Written from this extremely novel perspective, the author describes his initial fascination with pro-gay, secular Europe contrasting with what is in his opinion at least, the highly religious homophobic USA. However, as he witnessed the excesses of Muslim radicals in Europe, and the spinelessness of the European "elites" to deal with them, he became disenchanted, and as a consequence came to appreciate the more strident stance of Americans. Indeed, a recurrent theme is his disbelief that EU elites can be so obsessed with "dialogue" with terrorists dedicated to their destruction, and he is amazed that the EU can be so contemptuous of the USA when America is the only Western nation with the resolve to deal with radical Islam, and which is actually Europe's protector.
The book also covers a number of harrowing accounts, such as honour killings, the authors own assault at the hands of radicalised youths and descriptions of various Al-Qaeda attacks in Europe, such as the Madrid and London bombings, and the assassination of Theo Van Gogh. He also show cases some of the increasingly bizarre PC platitudes of Europe's political and media "elite" in the face of terrorism, and laments the passive nature of European populations. The author also uses numerous examples from his personal life, from dinner party arguments to surviving attempted muggings to illustrate his frustration further, and add an extremely interesting personal "feel" to the book.
The book does have some weaknesses though. Firstly, the author's referencing system is rather odd, in that rather than use neat footnotes and a reference section, he relies on long verbatim quotes from sources that can be a little long and clumsy. Secondly, the chapters are rather long, and don't seem to follow a logical pattern: indeed, in the chapter "Before 9/11" there are some references to post 9/11 events. One welcome difference this book has from others on the subject is he actually suggests some measures to combat radical Islam and anti-Americanism, as opposed to many other books which are simply long rants that are long on diagnosis but short on "cure" for the problem of terrorism.
This book is an ideal companion to Mark Steyn's "America Alone", Nick Cohen's "What's Left?" and Ian Buruma's "Murder in Amsterdam". The book is highly recommended, but won't win any prizes for political correctness!
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231 of 257 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Civilizational suicide, 5 Mar 2006
In this absorbing work, Bawer examines the psychological, moral and political aspects of Europe's current predicament and its reaction to the threat posed by large unassimilated minorities in its midst. One of the most fascinating revelations concerns the monolithic multiculturalism of the continent's academic, media and political establishment. Political journalists are part of this ideological club so they consider mainstream politicians as colleagues. One consequence is that the ideological range of the European media is quite narrow. Rigid adherence to multiculturalism renders the integration of immigrants impossible with the result that members of these communities turn to Islamism for inspiration.
Beneath the surface tolerance and welfarism, there lurks something sinister in Europe today, something that the sanctimonious political correctness, anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism of the elites cannot cover up. Bawer exposes Europeans' nativism and intense awareness of ethnicity as manifested through subtle discrimination and the bigotry revealed in private discourse. Reared as bureaucrats, European politicians aspire to lucrative positions at the EU and the United Nations. The fall of the Berlin Wall did not result in gratitude towards the USA but increased resentment.
The first manifestations of the clash of civilization have been the murders of Van Gogh and Fortuyn, the Madrid bombing & London bombings, the 2005/6 riots in France and the uproar about the Danish cartoons. These are just the beginning of an ominous cultural conflict. The denial evident amongst the political and intellectual elites shows disturbing similarities to the 1930s. The elites employ the potent stigmatic "populist" indiscriminately against all those who challenge the consensus, maligning the leaders and mocking the members of such parties. Some of these movements are suspect but there are also parties firmly rooted in classical liberalism.
The consensus obsessed Eurocrat elites have a hostile view of classical liberalism which they consider Americanism. The welfare state is soft Leftism based on multiculturalism and moral relativism. What is most disgraceful about the current European mindset is the phony tolerance, for example the European view of unassimilated minorities as "colorful" but Europe's refusal to meaningfully integrate them into society. Europeans are happy to dole out welfare money but not prepared to give these people proper employment. When applied to European politics, the word "sophisticated" indicates ideas removed from observable reality plus a peculiar selectivity that leads to idolization of the EU & UN and disparagement of Israel & the USA.
The pieties of multiculturalism obscure a very tenacious ethnocentrism & the implications of the declining birthrate of native Europeans versus the rapid rise in the numbers of immigrants. European elites remained in deep denial after the murders of Theo Van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn. Bawer's observations on the passivity of bystanders are particularly disturbing, especially the examples provided from the Netherlands and Sweden. The rhetoric of "solidarity & community" is just welfare state sloganeering. Dependence on the state has undermined individual responsibility and established a deadly pattern of indifference.
It is clear that the continent, especially Old Europe, is in deep trouble. Bawer sees it poised between Islamism and native Neo-fascism. It might also be a type of Christian fascism that is embraced by a panicked population amidst serious economic and social turmoil. Part of the problem is that Europe mostly lacks a decent Right, except perhaps amongst the libertarian parties of Scandinavia. The senescent Christian Democrats have accepted the tenets of welfarism whilst fascist tendencies characterize many European "conservative" parties. The welfare state consensus has never been properly challenged except in the UK where Margaret Thatcher positively transformed the country in the 1980s. That is why British society is in a better state today.
In part three: Europe's Weimar Moment, the author looks at the liberal resistance and considers future prospects. First the consistency of newspaper editorials from across the continent in response to the Madrid bombing is dissected: Expressen (Sweden), The Guardian (UK), De Volkskrant (Netherlands), Dagbladet and Aftenposten (Norway) all sang the same wildly irrational tune. Pim Fortuyn is discussed as an early example of liberal resistance in the Netherlands who was demonized by the consensus media. Other individuals who saw the danger and have acted upon it include Ayaan Hirsi Ali, British comedian Rowan Atkinson, author Melanie Phillips, Sabine Herold & Guy Milliere in France, the now departed Oriana Fallaci and Denmark's Queen Margrethe and prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
In the Afterword to the paperback edition, Bawer shows how dhimmitude is on the march. The elites still explain away delinquency, suppress reports of violence and continue to smear defenders of freedom with labels like "secular fundamentalist, extremist or single-issue fanatic." There were further riots in France in 2006, the cartoon controversy in Denmark and the Pope's speech at Regensburg. In all cases, there was a craven response of appeasement and accelerating tendency towards self-censorship. Free speech is not only being criticized but also outlawed and prosecuted as Bawer shows with reference to cases in Norway, Belgium and Britain and the notorious Ad Dura hoax in France where Israel was falsely accused. Responsible reporting is found in a few papers such as The Times, Telegraph & Daily Mail in Britain, De Volkskrant in Holland and Denmark's Jyllands-Posten.
Crime continues to rise at an alarming rate, illustrated by the situation in Berlin, Oslo and Stockholm and antisemitism is on the march again, Bawer shows with reference to an article in Der Spiegel and the disgusting statements of a prominent Norwegian writer. Thus the process of Europe's betrayal by its ruling class continues through the inversion or suppression of truth. For more information on the recent history and the current state of Europe, I recommend Icarus Fallen by Chantal Delsol, The Changing Face of Antisemitism by Walter Laqueur, Eurabia by Bat Ye-or, The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci and Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's Too by Claire Berlinski.
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