Poland has a tiny Muslim minority of only 48,000 out and less than one-percent of the population (Pew center map – the article states 15,000-30,000), but now they would like a mosque, house of worship, a larger one. There is one converted villa mosque for 10,000 people in Warsaw, but this facility can only accommodate 200 people .As in EU Member States in the west of Europe – there are now objections with the building of the mosque and the open presence of Muslims- 150 protested  at the site – and these protesters expressed the same nonsensical reasons that come with the belief in the Islamification myth. “I don’t want my daughter to be forced to wear a burqa!” (Well don’t force her to wear one – its should be considered abusive to force her to wear something she does not want …) There was also the usual reference to “radicalism” and, in another article, the sharia disease that ALL Muslims carry. We can’t build churches in Muslim countries!  After all, one lady stated, she cannot even wear a Catholic medallion in Saudi Arabia!Here’s one that comes from the American conservative movement (and also shows their bigotry), the slogan that expresses the desire for more INtolerance in the world:“Let’s not repeat Europe’s mistakes -blind tolerance kills common sense -  Muslim countries respect women’s rights and religious freedom.”

Yes – let’s fight the human rights abuses of Muslims countries with with human rights abuses of our own!  We need less tolerance and more intolerance of the freedom of worship and freedom of expression of the Muslim Folk Devil! Yes – brother, you are sooo right!  Hate, discrimination and denying the religious freedom of others are “common sense!”Well the frightening Islamification presence that this  Muslim community center will offer is an art gallery, a library and a restaurant. It will host classes for children and religious dialogue meetings.  The Muslim cultural center will benefit both Muslims and non-Muslims of the local community. Gezzz- Poland needs to stop this Islamification now, before more carriers of the dreaded sharia disease show up.  “Religious dialogue meetings?”  For radical imams to preach jihad? The Koran is a violent book, you know! This kind of presence in Poland sounds like a serious threat to the Poles’ superior Christian culture! That also sounds like there it just too much mindless tolerance in Poland (sic!) But – how could the Poles forget how “They” want to “get stronger and take over.”

Ohhh – the mindless silliness of Islamophobia that comes with the belief in the Islamification myth ! It’s truly delusional !Now – according to Kuwaiti -Polish citizen, family man and child doctor, Samir Ismail – – the reality in the real world and not the Islamification mythological world will continue through the construction of this wonderful cultural asset. Good for him.  Stand up – like the rest of us should – to the ignorance and silliness of the Islamification myth. What is nice to read, also at the end of this article, is that many Poles, both Muslims and non-Muslims, Ismail in support of the community and even offered money:

“Absolutely not. There is no need to feel bad. After this dispute we received calls from Poland, also from non-Muslims, wanting to send us money to support the construction.” 

Good for them - as this community center sounds like it will be a great asset for the larger Warsaw community and contribute to greater value to Poland as a nation. A real sense of living in a free nation – with a wide religious diversity that comes with living in liberty in a free nation! Tolerance for religious expression by especially the government powers is part of living in a religiously free nation. 

Welcome to reality!  Welcome to REAL religious freedom and liberty! Article:  Mosque building brings Islam fears to PolandThis is also the first post under the tag of Islamification Myth WATCH. If it was not the dangerous threat to Europe and European counties that it is, the aspects of the Islamification myth, such as the “don’t force my daughter to wear a burqa” rubbish – those that believe in the islamification myth would be worthy of a few laughs. But — these people, in their silly ignorance, can vote, even for myths and fairy-tales about “Eurabia”  put out by dangerous characters running phony political parties, like Geert Wilders’ and his PVV. The problem is that Wilders could be the next PM of the Netherlands – and that’s why it’s not a laughing matter.

Eurabia follies and European dupes. The myth of “Eurabia” has caused considerable damage to the European political arena, mainly in individual European nations and countries. We now have a full -fledged Islamophobic government running things in Switzerland. We have the prospect of Geert Wilders as the next PM of the Netherlands. We have a number of MEPs that are rabid Islamophobes. The Swiss minaret ban has indirectly destroyed the good relations that were being established between Libya and European nations. The banning of the headscarf worn by Muslim women – even in in the street – along with criminalizing Islamic dress – are sweeping Europe. These awful developments in Islamophobic government policies are probably being poked on by a spat of books published largely in 2006 about the so-called “islamification of Europe” and, along with it, the notion of “Eurabia.” These books, written mostly on the Western side of the Atlantic, appear to be effective in frightening the begeevers out of Europeans.

In an article called What the Eurabia Authors Get Wrong About Islam in Europe, Justin VaÏsse describes how the Eurabia genre are written by Anglo-American conservative writers and rehash the old Cold War lingo that was used to describe communism or that Europeans as “in denial of their problems,” or course, the presence of Islam. Muslims have now replaced the Soviet communists as the enemies.

I have been saying for a few years that especially the American conservatives and neoconservative hybrids want to undermine and destroy the European Union. They are especially mad the most European countries rejected the invasion or Iraq and the notion of “war on terror.” In the course of the current research project on the “islamification of Europe” moral panic and the Euro-American right wing, we will see if the anger over Europe’s rejection of the Iraq War have anything to do with the attempts to get Europeans to abandon their human rights institution and conventions for the myth of “Muslim invasion.” Who is writing these books and why are they trying to re-infect Europeans with the murderous nationalism of the past? The Justin Vaisse article leads down this road of research inquiry:

In this sense, many of these books offer a variation on the conservative Cold War vision of Europe as vulnerable to the spread of communism — only now, Muslims have replaced Soviets and Euro-communists as the enemies. The continuity in clichés with the Europhobic literature of the 1970s and 1980s is striking: In both periods Europe is described with terms like appeasing, impotent, asexual, feminine, post-nationalistic, irreligious, apologetic, self-loathing, naive, decadent, and so forth.Despite their Europe-focused content, these books are a largely North American phenomenon. Bat Ye’or (or Gisèle Littman), an Egyptian-born British author, wrote one of the first of the genre in 2005 … which argued that political subservience to a Muslim agenda was turning Europe into an appendage of the Arab world. But most of her recent followers, including Caldwell, the jocular and hyperbolic Mark Steyn, the shallow Bruce Thornton, the more serious Walter Laqueur, and the high-pitched Claire Berlinski and Bruce Bawer, write from the other side of the Atlantic. 

The twin pillars of the Eurabia myth.First – demographics and making babies. This is the most dehumanizing portion, but studies by REAL scientists reveal the the most Muslims in Europe live in Russia. Most migrants to the UK come from Poland – and only about 500k per year come to Europe from Muslim countries.Second – “Muslims ain’t like us.” Here is the other form of dehumanization in that Muslims are also not European. “European” is incomparable with “Muslim.” A PEW study from 2006 indicated the European Muslims have the same economic concerns as most other people. A Gallop 2007 survey indicated that European Muslims have no problem with their faith and national identity.Both of the above are highly bigoted arguments that are designed to dehumanize European Muslims in the first place – and the ethics of this type of “social science” need to be brought into question.

The Eurabia myth – are Europeans starting to wake up? In a recent post, this author pointed out how the German interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, questioned the banning of Islamic headscarves for teachers and the other ramifications of such a ban. While Europeans appear to be dupes for the Eurabia scare books – at least the Council of Europe is now coming to its senses. The Eurabia myth and the moral panic of “Muslim invasion” and Islamophobia that is manifesting itself in the attempts to suppress Islamic culture, mainly the headscarf, but – here is a hopeful sign of a wake-up! This wake up is coming from the Council of Europe and this is the absolute right place for this wake-up call! As Thomas Hammarberg correctly calls out the folly of oppressing Islamic headscarves to liberate oppressed women also said this:

Those who have argued for a general ban of the burqa and the niqab have not managed to show that these garments in any way undermine democracy, public safety, order or morals. The fact that a very small number of women wear such clothing has made proposals in such a direction even less convincing.The fact that the public discussion in a number of European countries has almost exclusively focused on what is perceived as Muslim dress has been unfortunate and created the impression of targeting one particular religion. Some of the arguments have been clearly Islamophobic and that has certainly not built bridges or encouraged dialogue.It is likely that more issues of this kind will surface in the coming years and, on the whole, it is only healthy that they should be discussed – as long as Islamophobic tendencies are avoided. However, attempts should be made to broaden the discourse to cover essential matters, including how to promote understanding of different religions, cultures and customs. Pluralism and multiculturalism are essential European values and should so remain. 

The Commissioner’s post also challenges the hypocritical arguments that have been made for the reasons for banning minarets and oppressing Muslims: Well – if we can’t build Christian churches in Saudi Arabia, let’s ban minuets here in Europe. If we can’t read the Bible in Saudi Arabia, let’s ban the Koran in Europe. These arguments, in human rights law, are not acceptable excuses – and it is, again, a hopeful sign that Europe is waking up to the destructive power of Eurabia moral panic and throwing out important freedoms. It is only a matter of time before the Swiss are told to remove the minaret ban from their constitution.

What may occur, hopefully, is that the Eurabia myth can be exposed and the course of this moral panic stopped before it does any more damage. However, we may have to yet experience yet more social, legal and moral damage to European society and order before the Eurabia moral panic runs its course. This includes the frightening prospect of a Prime Minister Wilders of the Netherlands and the damage that will do to both Dutch national identity and the country’s long-standing place as a human rights champion. However, voters often don’t care about the damage they do to their own countries, most especially in a climate of moral panic brought on by “Muslim invasion” books.We must work to expose the “Eurabia” myths, who the Eurabia myth-makers are and reclaim the European psyche.

Also see :Islam in the West – Johann Hari – Dissent Magazine – Winter 2007http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=752Amid all this panic, we must remember one simple fact: Muslims are not all the same – Johann Hari -http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-amid-all-this-panic-we-must-remember-one-simple-fact–muslims-are-not-all-the-same-412756.htmlStudy dispels myths on Muslim population – Olivia Ward http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/711744–study-dispels-myths-on-muslim-populationIn spite of numbers, Dutch Muslims are political non-entity – http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2476660.ece/In_spite_of_numbers,_Dutch_Muslims_are_political_non-entity