Peter Clarke
Social and the liberal left media have gone ballistic over U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. There has been more outrage from the left over his so-called Muslim ban than over terror itself.
More placards decrying the plight of a few tourists and travellers, than over the bodies blown apart by Islamic extremists at Brussels airport in March last year.
So much collective outrage, in fact, I wonder how on earth a ban imposed by 16 countries on Israeli citizens has remained in place for quite so long with such quiet acceptance.
Curious, isn’t it? What liberals will and won’t accept.
When I speak to my Muslims friends and ask why Muslims feel the need to flee persecution or seek refuge, I am told it is because Islam is suffering and is incredibly divided. It is because the tensions between Sunni and Shia are simply overwhelming.
What stumps me is why non-Muslim countries are expected to welcome such a divided religion with open arms. Why would America or Canada want to keep allowing such divisions to its shores without extensive vetting? Trump wants to protect his borders, and as a border city we should be grateful.
Yet the left find lamely argue for more stringent checks to sift out jihadists. I offer the attacks on the West by Islamic extremists as proof that we are not sophisticated enough to work out who is a jihadi and who is not. In its wild lament, the left has missed the point
And even when we do know who would wish to hurt our people, the jihadists’ right to privacy and freedom trumps our right to safety or life.
Whether Muslims want to acknowledge it or not, extremists commit atrocities in the name of Allah. They do it according to and in observance of their interpretation of their faith. There is largely silence from the families and communities that raised the terrorists and from the mosques that they frequented. Imams seldom condemn terror. And in their silence, in the void, acceptance, encouragement even, is assumed.
The typical response in the West is a hashtag, a tea light and a leader saying their people will not be cowed in the face of terror. They certainly don’t speak for me; I have seen firsthand the devastation caused by extremists.
And thanks to the outrage, the placard waving protests, the Clinton News Network (CNN), the Biased Broadcasting Company (BBC), you all know about it.
ALL immigrants in North America should reflect on how fortunate we are to live in a country where democracy works and laws are made by the will of the people, not religion. Any act of terror in the name of your god or other ideology, is to be condemned.
Whatever your personal views regarding extremist terrorists, it is worth remembering that thousands of families have been devastated by their actions. Be thankful it is not yours.
Peter Clarke is a Sarnia resident and retired Army Officer.