pipes

this article is a blueprint for the kind of smear jobs that daniel pipes has become so famous for. there literally is no muslim in the u.s., no matter how moderate, who pipes won't accuse of being a secret jihadist once they reach any position of influence. but what really struck me was pipes' own explanation for his witch-hunting:

Mr. Pipes and others reel off a list of examples: Muslim cabdrivers in Minneapolis who have refused to take passengers carrying liquor; municipal pools and a gym at Harvard that have adopted female-only hours to accommodate Muslim women; candidates for office who are suspected of supporting political Islam; and banks that are offering financial products compliant with sharia, the Islamic code of law.

The danger, Mr. Pipes says, is that the United States stands to become another England or France, a place where Muslims are balkanized and ultimately threaten to impose sharia.

"It is hard to see how violence, how terrorism will lead to the implementation of sharia," Mr. Pipes said. "It is much easier to see how, working through the system — the school system, the media, the religious organizations, the government, businesses and the like — you can promote radical Islam."

i think it's pretty delusional to believe that banks offering interest-free savings accounts will lead to the imposition of sharia in this country. on the contrary, it is a really good deal for the banks. they get to hold onto muslim patron's money, investing it as banks do with other customers' money. except that with the interest-free account holders, the banks don't have to pay anything extra in the form of interests, they just get to keep the investment returns. plus, by offering that option, banks can attract customers from the muslim community, thus getting more interest-free account holders. it's hard to see how american financial institutions have a secret islamist agenda when they offer something that has such a clear commercial benefit.

likewise, closing gyms or partially closing gyms to accommodate the religions of other people is about as likely to lead to sharia as closing an office on rosh hashanah is to the imposition of rabbinical law.

the weird thing is that pipes is warning against creating a situation where muslims are "balkinized", like they are in england or france. and yet what are his own actions doing but encouraging american muslims to feel under seige, rejected and alienated by prevailing american culture? if just teaching the liturgical language of islam is deemed to be a step towards the downfall of this country (pipes claimed that teaching arabic is "inevitably laden with Pan-Arabist and Islamist baggage"), how can you expect the muslim community to not be balkinized from american society? i don't think england or france are in any danger falling under the control of radical islamists either. but to the extent those countries do have problems dealing with their muslim communities, it is people like pipes who are making the problem worse.