EDITOR'S REVIEW: STEYN AND THE JIHADISTS

Book Review:

America Alone:  The End of The World As We Know It
By Mark Steyn
Regency Publishing Inc., Copyright 2006
Available at all major books stores (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walden, Schuster, etc.)

Synopsis:

Non-Fiction.  Independent research and personal opinion regarding the inability of Europe, the U.S., and other nations to deal with the exploding Muslim population, the influx of radical Islam, and the decline of populations and peoples in the West.  Highly readable, often humorous, and definitely thought-provoking.

About the author: 

Mark Steyn is a world-renowned syndicated Canadian humorist and columnist.  He currently lives in the U.S. with his family.  He has written articles for most major newspapers and magazines (except the New York Times, which he won’t write for because of the Gray Lady’s style policies among other things).  Steyn is also a commentator on radio and cable news, and is a popular speaker.  He has written a number of books on diverse topics and began his writing career as a critic of the performing arts and later moved into political punditry.  America Alone is his latest effort.  Steyn has his own web site at www.steynonline.com and an entry in the Wikipedia.

About the book: 

Steyn’s book cover is a fine example that a picture is truly worth a thousand words – it shows a globe of the world with green Islamic extremist’s flag planted in every country but, one – The United States of America. The Stars and Stripes waves proudly but, eerily alone.  Could we become “The United States of Arabia”?  It’s possible.  Why?  Because of demography according to Steyn. 

His interest in the subject dates back to 9/11.  He was shocked by the events of that tragic day.  Downed jetliners, collapsed buildings, lost lives, and destroyed families.  Cities, peoples, and economies thrown into chaos.  And the most chilling thing:  Cheering groups of young men and women dancing in the streets openly celebrating the carnage that was wrought by nineteen Muslim jihadists.

Cheering?  Dancing?  Happy for the loss of life?  Steyn had to ask himself who were these people who ecstatically embraced the death of innocents and not the joy of life in Montreal, Yorkshire, Copenhagen, and other cities around the globe?  The answer was the newest generation of Muslims, a demographic bulge that does not bode well for the West.

Steyn vividly tells us that we need to keep our eye on the ball on this one before it’s too late.  It’s not global warming, and it’s not lack of natural resources that threatens our way of life.   It’s the population explosion among Muslims amid stagnant and even declining populations of the Western countries these Muslims have established themselves in.  Why that merits our attention is because as the overall numbers of Muslim surges, the radicalized element within it, the jihadists, grows – and they are the death-dealers who have repeatedly committed mass murderer in the West and its enclaves elsewhere over the past thirty years.  Moreover, it the surging numbers of the newest generation of Muslims who are most enamored with jihadism against the West.  Their evolution from their parents’ moderate, live-and-let-live Islam to today’s killer creed of Islamofascism seems to have little resistance in Muslim communities around the world.   We have already seen the early results of this transformation:  Young men of twisted faith and fanatical will slaughtering innocents in Manhattan, Washington D.C., Bali, Madrid, London, Israel, Baghdad, and elsewhere.

Anticipating the knee-jerk accusations of bigotry, Steyn states: “Of course not all Muslims are terrorists – though enough are hot for jihad to provide an impressive network of mosques from Vienna to Stockholm to Toronto to Seattle and….of course not all Muslims support terrorists – though enough of them share their basic objectives (the wish to live under Islamic law in Europe and North America).  At a minimum, the fast moving demographic transformation provides a huge comfort zone for the jihad to move around in.”   

That said, he sounds the alarm loudly for those of us who won’t consider the danger of jihadism because of our fixation with the comforts of the modern welfare state.  Steyn boils it down to a pair of equations:

Age + Welfare = Disaster for YOU.

Youth + Will = Disaster for whoever gets in THEIR way.

What does this mean to us?  Islam has youth and will, Europe (and perhaps the U.S. at some point) has age and welfare.  A human disaster is brewing in our midst.  As Steyn warns, “It’s at the intersection of these statistics – religious, demographic and terrorist – that a dark future awaits”.

To support his point, Steyn lays out some eye-opening facts:

[1] The most popular baby boys name in much of the world is now Mohammed.  The most common name for terrorists and murderers is Mohammed.  The name of the revered Prophet of the West’s fastest growing religion is Mohammed.

[2] India, once the “hot zone” for reproduction on the planet, is experiencing population declines as the middle class continues to blossom and grow.  Japan in 2005 recorded more deaths than births - a first in the country’s history.  In Russia, 70% of women are aborting their children. Their population is estimated to decline 50-60 million by the end of the century.  China is paying the price for the “one child only policy now”.  Too many boys not enough girls – what’s a fella to do?  (Regarding Russia and China, Steyn quips:  “It’s hard not to see some mutual advantage in a bilateral mass hook-up for Slav women and Chinese men – even if the boys are a bit callow and the chicks somewhat long in the tooth.”  Typical of the humor that keeps his dire message extinguishing hope.)

[3] For a population to remain stable, a woman has to have 2.1 live births. That’s about the average for U.S. women right now. New Zealand is just below this. Australia is 1.7. Canada is 1.5. Europe as a whole has 1.38, Japan 1.32, Russia 1.14, and Spain only having 1.1 live births – half the replacement rate.  What does that mean?  Steyn says, “These countries or more precisely, these people – are going out of business! Demographics is a game of the last man standing.”

[4] Meanwhile, the global fertility leaders are, Niger 7.46, Mali 7.42, Somalia 6.76, Afghanistan 6.69, Yemen 6.58, Pakistan 5.08, Saudi Arabia 4.53 and many other countries.  What does that mean?  Steyn wryly asks: “Notice what those last nations have in common? Starts with an I, ends with a slam. As is: slam dunk…The groups that succumbs last will have a huge advantage."

Steyn notes, “Islamism is militarily weak but, ideologically strong. The West is military strong but, ideologically insecure. Our self-doubt about the enemy’s weakness has become their strength”. 

Steyn goes into great detail not only discussing what is occurring in our world now but, wisely what our options are for tomorrow.  To resolve our present struggle with the jihadists he feels we have three choices: 

[1] Submit to Islam,

[2] destroy Islam, or

[3] reform Islam.

He argues that #1 and #2 are not realistic, so #3 is our only option. Read to find out how. (And note there is no #4 – pretend none of this exists – it’s not an option).  In the end, Steyn makes strong arguments with healthy does of humor within his 214 pages that: “America can survive, prosper and defend it’s freedom only if it continues to believe in itself, in the sturdier virtues of self-reliance (not government), in the centrality of family and in the conviction that our country really is the world’s last best hope”.    

My review:

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a book that deals with real world issues as much as I did this book.  America Alone was informative, eye-opening and detailed. It was also spiked with some witty comments so sharp they can cut you if you’re not careful. 

Let me be clear, this book is NOT politically correct, nor does Steyn in any way, shape, or form want it to be.  He clearly understands one of the public diseases of our time eating away at our foundation is just that –political correctness. Calling out a problem in explicit  thoughts, words, and details is the only way to address one of the most serious issues of our time.

The major issue of our times is NOT the war on terror (that’s vague and cynical).

The major issue of our times IS the war on radical Islam (that’s very real).

Being aware of a crisis, understanding an issue and discussing it will label many, “Islamphobic”.  Steyn is not saying that all Muslims are radical.  He is clear that millions of Muslims do live peacefully.  However, the problem is, as Steyn notes, that many of the “quiet Muslims” don’t speak out against the jihadists, don’t challenge the dark side of the faith, and often end up submitting to those louder and stronger radicalized Muslims.  Thus, the number of radicals is growing by leaps and bounds before our very eyes.  As Steyn notes in his book, it only takes a small percentage (say 10% radical Muslims out of, say, a million Muslims in a given region) to create serious levels of death, destruction and devastation – not locally, but globally.  I have seen and heard almost NO large groups of Muslims march or speak out publicly AGAINST the radicals in their community groups. I have seen TOO MANY publicly shouting out support of these purveyors of death. 

There is a very real reason these groups cry “Allah Akbar” – the Muslim call to prayer – when they are on a killing spree. 

There is a very real reason these groups have a saying foreign to us “First comes Saturday, then comes Sunday.” This is their way of saying “First we’ll GET the Jews who observe the Sabbath on Saturday and then we’ll GET the Christians who observe the Sabbath on Sunday.”

There is a very real reason they call those who are not Muslim – infidels - and plan for their possible takeover and even deaths. Be you Jewish, Christian, atheist, agnostic or even a fellow Muslim who is not sufficiently radical, you may be the targeted enemy.

When militant mullahs and ruthless dictators tell their people they need to wipe a group of people off the face of the earth (the Israelis, the Americans, other infidels) and tell them how to do it – we really should listen to what they are saying. History shows us these mullahs and dictators say what they mean and mean what they say.

These are REAL calls to the Western World to wake up.   Or as the NASA astronauts said so calmly in the face of crisis: “Uh…Houston, we have a problem. We need some help up here.”  Mark Steyn is our astronaut of information and we are Mission Control.  But, what will we do with the crisis at hand this time? Abort the mission and admit failure? Win the war and claim success and life as we know it?  It’s our choice.

My goal this past year was to read some books, articles and web sites devoted to the topic of “Who are these jihad Grandmas killing for Allah?”  What happened to the grandma who baked us cookies and cakes and breads and dinners to kill for (perhaps a bad choice of words “kill” in this review)?  Grandmas who tucked us in bed at night when we slept over and kissed us goodnight and wished us pleasant dreams?  What happened to the grandma we visited at Christmas for an amazing dinner, night of gifts, singing, and church attendance?   The grandma who we remember as a warm, loving. and toasty Mrs. Claus has, among the jihadists, morphed into a Bride of Chucky in a black burka.  She is a prime example of what can happen to the best of us when you sprinkle in a pinch of  “radicalism” to the stew of  Muslim faith.

The seriously frightening thing is that not only is fathers, sons, brothers and husbands doing it but, so is grandma, sis, and some of the toddlers in the family too. How frightening that what we consider the most innocent and precious of life - “the children” – have become simply another means to carry an explosive device for the radical parts of this religion.  Often willingly!  This book helped me to see the world in a larger frame and the devastation that is occurring all over. The extremist elements of this religion are no longer on the outside as you can see by grandma and her jihad jamboree.

Some people will argue where did Steyn get his numbers, who says they are accurate and complete?  (He does leave out Ireland, Denmark, and other areas but, his goal is to focus mainly on the main continent of Europe. And…all numbers can be argued but, most demographic groups support his data so, validity is established)

Some people will read Steyn’s  book and say it’s just scare tactics (Boo – gotcha!).

Some people will read Steyn’s book and say you’re only focusing on the fringe elements (Come on…it’s only Bennie and a few of his cave dwelling millionaire friends…). 

Some people will read Steyn’s book and decide to sing “Give Peace A Chance” (Cindy Sheehan is that you? Or as the radicals might say,  rest in peace you Infidel). 

Some people will deny this is happening at all (Naw, these are peace loving people with only one or two nut jobs among the bunch….). 

Unfortunately, challenging statements like those above bring to mind a phrase from the past, “Those that bury their heads in the sand will get their butts shot off first.”  And with radical Islam, that’s only the beginning. Think sharp ginsu knife here.  Or worse, suicide bomber (martyr for them, victim for you).  This book makes it very clear that liberal societies and democratic peoples are not compatible with the radical groups of Islam that are growing everyday.  Moderate Muslims may be out there, but they are not speaking out, acting out and their violent and death loving neighbors are winning the conversation and the fight. 

America Alone is an excellent book not by a PhD scholar gazing out upon the world from an ivy tower, but by a man who has traveled the world and does not have a partisan axe to grind.  Steyn is, to be sure, conservative, but his comprehensive analysis of the jihadist threat to liberal society should gain the attention of everyone, regardless of the political flag he or she flies.  He has not penned a hate book against Muslims or even Islam.  Rather, he has stressed what changing cultural traditions, demographic demise and especially radical elements can do to any country that does not do anything about it. 

Fighting for the survival of your country is not Islamaphobic.  It’s called self-preservation. 

We not need guess at what America could look like down the road. We have been given a glimpse already. We only have to peer across the pond to Europe to see the problems in our future.  Steyn gives excellent examples of the decay of Europe due to their population declines, mass immigration, unchecked radical groups, political impotence on today’s issues and their bloated welfare state that is crippling them.  They are hurting and it’s real.  We could be next in line (think 2008 election and beyond if we try the “European Way”). The continent of Europe is already singing, as Steyn only half-jokes, “My ‘Sharia’ Amour” with a really bad French accent.  Are we next?

My recommendation:

I highly recommend you buy this book, read it, understand it, and share what you have learned from it. In turn, buy other books about this topic (Tony Blankley’s The West’s Last Chance and Brigitte Gabriel’s Because They Hate) and see a distinct pattern becoming clearer everyday.  This war declared upon the West by the jihadist of radical Islam is real.  It will not go away if you stick your head in the sand.  Even Grandma’s out to get you.  Add this to your library.  It’s a keeper.

Rating:  This infidel was blown away by Steyn's demographic bombshell and slain by his rapier wit laying out the facts for it.  I give America Alone FIVE Swords of the Infidel Slayer.

Signed, Bridget Dupont-Tingley, Editor L.A.W.

Comments

[Manuel]

In an English local council by-election last week, the far right BNP came second in the poll with something like 31%of the votes cast (the winning Labour candidate polled 34%) on an anti-islasmicfacist/immigration platform. The electorate see the threat but main stream politicians choose to ignore it (fear of being labelled Islamaphobic etc I suppose) whilst the BNP spell it out in no uncertain terms. Not nice, not palatable, in fact downright dangerous and it may well be pushing the problem away for another day and another solution. But that leaves the electors little option but to cast a vote for the obnoxious BNP in the forlorn hope that the main parties will hear this cry of 'Help'. Will they?

[Mark Williams]

Congrats-your review got a link at Steynonline.com. Woo hoo!

[The Executive Director]

Hi, Mark.

Thanks from Bridget & me for the thumb's up.

Regards, Bill

[The Executive Director]

Hi, Manuel.

Welcome to L.A.W. I lived in England for a few years in the '80s. I had the opportunity to travel Great Britain from stem to stern and met people from all walks of life. I never got the sense from the Muslims I met there, mostly from Pakistan and India, that they were living in or wanted to live in a society apart from mainstream British culture. If that has changed with the younger generation of Muslims in the two decades hence as dramatically as the news indicates, I can understand the concern of the British electorate as you have identified it.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.

[Mary from MI]

Hello Editor Bridget & Bill...

I enjoy reading Steyn's columns in magazines, newspapers and on-line. He is without a doubt tops when it comes to world issues and the humorous twist he puts on everything (i.e,, My Sharia Amour, Janes in a Jeep, School of The Infidel Slayer and more...).

Haven't read his book yet but, it's on my to-do list this year for sure as the reviews have all been really good so far.

Thanks for the recommendation.

[The Editor - Bridget]

Hi Mary -

Definately pick this one up - the reviews have been outstanding from most sources. Very few drawbacks - how can you go wrong with a guy that injects humor and wit into serious social situations of life and death so, that people will pay attention instead of ignoring an important issue.

Enjoy!