VDH: The New Dark Ages

My apologies for the lack of recent posts. I've been busy traveling, and then got back just in time to be ill. Regular posting will resume in a day or two. In the meantime, this recent column from Dr. Victor Davis Hanson is a must read:

Who would have thought centuries after the Enlightenment that sophisticated Europeans -- in fear of radical Islamists -- would be afraid to write a novel, put on an opera, draw a cartoon, film a documentary or have their pope discuss comparative theology?

The astonishing fact is not just that millions of women worldwide in 2006 are still veiled from head-to-toe, trapped in arranged marriages, subject to polygamy, honor killings and forced circumcision, or lack the right to vote or appear alone in public. What is more baffling is that in the West, liberal Europeans are often wary of protecting female citizens from the excesses of Shariah law -- sometimes even fearful of asking women to unveil their faces for purposes of simple identification and official conversation.

Who these days is shocked that Israel is hated by Arab nations and threatened with annihilation by radical Iran? Instead, the surprise is that even in places like Paris or Seattle, Jews are singled out and killed for the apparent crime of being Jewish.

Since September 11, 2001, the West has fought enemies who are determined to bring back the nightmarish world we thought was long past. And there are lessons Westerners can learn from radical Islamists' ghastly efforts.


Dark Ages, Live from the Middle East