Western Civilization

The last 14 centuries of European history is mostly the history of jihad against Christianity. Islam quickly destroyed southern half of Christendom (North Africa, Syria, and Turkey) because early Christians were extreme pacifists - they hated their own soldiers and welcomed Arabic enemies. In the 7th century the mujahideen destroyed European shipping. Coastal towns were abandoned because their population was kidnapped and enslaved by Muslims. Over one million Caucasians became Muslim slaves. Gold and silver coins disappeared. Trade was replaced with barter. European economy collapsed. Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun proudly proclaimed that "The Christian could no longer float a plank upon the sea." The greatest catastrophe was the lack of papyrus. Papyrus was as important as computers are today. Alas, Muslims cut off the supply of papyrus from Egypt. Aristocracy, clergy, and some monks could afford parchment, but the rest became illiterate. Paper was used in China, but it was not available in Europe. European Civilization barely survived the 8th and 9th centuries. This period of European history is called the "Dark Ages." Chinese paper imported through the Silk Road revived European civilization in 10th century. Europe was powerful enough to launch defensive crusade in 1095. Invasion of Central Asia by Muslim Turks gradually ended the Silk Road trade. Europe declined again and its crusades faltered. Europeans desperately sought a substitute for the parchment. In the early 12th century Europeans made their own paper. It was the best paper in the world. The European Civilization survived and prospered... This should have been the happy end of the story, but it is NOT because the Europeans forgot their history. Modern Europeans resemble early Christians - they hate their own soldiers and welcome Muslim enemies. Our history is written by Muslim invaders of the West, their Marxist friends, and their Saudi paymasters.

sources: Mohammed and Charlemagne, by Henri Pirenne
Holy Warriors: Islam and the Demise of Classical Civilization, by John J. O'Neill

Black Death was the result Islamic biological warfare at the 1346 siege of Caffa. The biological warfare appeared to be great Islamic victory because it killed 30% to 60% of Europeans. In the short term, the Black Death ruined European trade and undermined all medieval authorities. Frightened Europeans begged the pope to pray for the end of the Black Death. The pope prayed, but the Black Death did not stop and the pope lost his authority. Europeans joined wandering Flagellants and whipped themselves to propitiate their god, but the Black Death did not stop and the god lost his authority. Most of the victims of the Black Death were poor craftsmen. When they died out there was great labor shortage. When the Black Death subsided, European gentry begged the craftsmen to work for them until the gentry lost their authority. Blue-collar wages rose five times. Labor-saving devices were invented to cope with the labor shortage. The long-term consequences of the Black Death were European Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. The Black Death turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Black Death documentary (History Channel, 2005, low resolution): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9kTzSN-dbg

free copy of my favorite book about Western Civilization (How the West Won, by Rodney Stark) is available here: https://www.pdfdrive.com/how-the-west-won-the-neglected-story-of-the-triumph-of-modernity-d185616607.html
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"Western civilization has reached the summit of science and technology. It has achieved knowledge, skills, and new discoveries, as no previous civilization before it. The accomplishments of Western civilization cover all areas of life: methods of organization, politics, ethics, economics, and human rights. It is our obligation to acknowledge its amazing excellence. Indeed, this is a civilization that deserves admiration." - Ibrahim Al-Buleihi (Saudi Intellectual and a member of the Saudi Shura Council) source: http://reportingtheworldover.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/arabs-should-acknowledge-the-greatness-of-western-civilization/

The Western culture is the only culture that has a passion for innovation, a capacity for self-criticism, and gender equality. details: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sorman2/English

Unlike the Orientals, Indo-Europeans have seen very little despotism. In the Illiad, in ancient Rome, in Vedic India, and among the Hittites, there were popular assemblies that decided civil and military matters. In the West, kings were elected, and monarchy did not become generally hereditary until the 12th century. Even then, kings shared power with elected parliaments. In the West, virtually every system has therefore been a mix of collective and solitary rule. Some would even call the Athenian system not so much a democracy as an extended form of aristocracy. source: http://www.amren.com/features/2013/03/is-democracy-possible-in-america/

As shown in Silent Conquest, throughout Europe, in Canada, and even in the United States, judicial systems in countries with large Muslim minorities are under pressure to adopt Sharia free speech restrictions. As a result, in many places, including Denmark, it is now a crime to say anything negative about Islam or the prophet Mohammed, regardless of whether such statements are factual or not. The concept that even offensive speech is protected—so fundamental to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment—is collapsing. Even if those accused of insulting Islam are acquitted, as Hedegaard himself was after a grueling legal battle, outraged Muslims may take matters in their own hands. Hedegaard narrowly escaped assassination in February when a Muslim immigrant posing as a mailman attempted to shoot him. Another Dane, cartoonist Kurt Westergaard of Mohammed cartoon fame, survived two assaults by knife-wielding immigrants and is now under permanent police protection. (The fact that Denmark has stringent anti-gun laws protected neither from attack, one might add.) The extent of the problem is startling. In 2010, Dutch filmmaker Geert Wilders was acquitted after being charged with the crime of “insulting Muslims” and “inciting hatred of Muslims.” That same year, Hedegaard was charged with hate speech and finally acquitted two years later by the Danish Supreme Court. In France, actress Brigitte Bardot was sentenced to a two-month suspended sentence and a fine of $15,000 for complaining about Muslims in her neighborhood. In Canada, author Mark Steyn was acquitted in 2008 after a prolonged legal battle over his article “Why the Future Belongs to Islam.” Even though some are acquitted, all of this has a chilling effect. Europeans “are acting as though Sharia law has already been adopted in Europe,” Nasar Khader, a moderate Muslim member of the Danish parliament, stated in the movie. Disturbingly, so does the U.S. government. While the 9/11 Commission report from 2007 contained hundreds of references to words such as Islam, Muslim, and Jihad, not a single instance of these words is found in the national security strategy documents of the Obama Administration, a deliberate government decision. Furthermore, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw U.S. support behind U.N. anti-blasphemy Resolution 16/18 in December 2011, which would effectively repress free speech if enacted in member countries. source: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/03/20/silent-conquest-a-tale-of-sharia-and-western-self-censorship/

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson characterized free speech not as a fundamental right, but as a “privilege” given to us by the U.N. source: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/04/obamas-remarks-to-the-u-n-were-damaging-to-free-speech/

"Western multiculturalism is a tourist identity that has no content of its own. It is self-nullifying void, the jaded palate of a decadent society constantly searching for novel experiences and exotic flavors." - Daniel Greenfield

In Chinese culture, one cannot question elders or people in position of authority about how and why they have come to a conclusion. In the West, we are encouraged to respect knowledge and position, but we are also encouraged to ask people how they have reached their conclusions. The Chinese are encouraged not to do so -- both indirectly, by teaching their children from an early age blindly to accept authority. source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3633/china-muslim-world

Pat Condell: A word to rioting Muslims: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCXHPKhRCVg

Ricardo Duchesne's book, The Uniqueness of Western Civilization: http://www.bibotu.com/books/2012/Th%20e%20Uniqueness%20of%20Western%20Civilization.pdf
Detailed review of the book by its author: http://fortnightlyreview.co.uk/2012/06/explore-duchesne/

good book about medieval Europe: The Making of Europe, by Robert Bartlett:
www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/7578696/
and www.amazon.com/dp/0691037809

Islamophobes through history: http://themuslimissue.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/islamophobes-through-history/

The founding fathers of the USA did not tolerate Islam: http://theamericanheritageproject.org/2013/04/02/founding-fathers-tolerant-of-islam/

Radical Christianity versus radical Islam: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/04/radical_christianity_vs_radical_islam.html

"This is the day we lost our civilization. The enemy is within our gates, and more and more will pour in. We are finished. This is the end... What does one say when he bears witness to the unfolding displacement, conquest or extinction of his tribe, and the destruction of a legacy that reaches back to ancient Athens? What do you say when you realize that the people in your family who gave their lives to save Europe seven decades ago evidently died in vain? And what of the hero’s centuries ago who beat back the Muslim invaders at Tours and the Battle of Vienna? It seems in retrospect, that their victories were just a holding action. Europe survived the Muslim and Mongol invasions, but it has succumbed to an incursion of an unarmed army of wretched refugees. European-based culture in North America, Australia and Europe is being torn apart by a pack of wild dogs. One dog is Middle Eastern, one dog is African, one is Central American, another is Chinese and another is South Asian. And most of them are Muslim. Some of us are fighting back. Donald Trump. The Prime Minister of Hungary. The President of the Czech Republic. Populist politicians who are vilified by the mainstream media and shut out of power. But they are the beleaguered few. Will this be their Last Hurrah? We could have stopped the flood. But our leaders lacked the will, and too many people were making money selling out their country. There is no conceivable punishment that could be meted out to these despicable traitors that would be commensurate with their crimes. What retribution would be fitting for Angela Merkel? What is the penalty for betraying one's people and murdering their heritage?" - Timothy Murray (Canadian historian) source: http://www.sonorannews.com/archives/2015/150916/guested-frosty.html

Western civilization is the greatest achievement of mankind... If you happen to utter these truths at any university in the west today you will be lucky if they simply label you an ignorant racist... The leftists of today share far more in common with a death cult than any peasant revolutionaries... This is how they can simultaneously heap praise onto backward Islamic societies that stone women to death, behead gays, and force everyone into a life of fear and intimidation, while demeaning the very societies that have liberated women from the shackles of oppression, gave gays freedom to live in peace, and created an environment of openness and tolerance. source: http://www.thelibertyconservative.com/left-paves-way-destruction-western-civilization/

Reason is a monthly print magazine. In October 10, 2007, Reason published interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The rest of this post is made of excerpts from this interview.
title of the interview: 'The Trouble Is the West'
source: http://reason.com/archives/2007/10/10/the-trouble-is-the-west/print
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Reason: Don’t you mean defeating radical Islam?

Hirsi Ali: No. Islam, period. Once it’s defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. It’s very difficult to even talk about peace now. They’re not interested in peace.

Reason: We have to crush the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims under our boot? In concrete terms, what does that mean, “defeat Islam”?

Hirsi Ali: I think that we are at war with Islam. And there’s no middle ground in wars. Islam can be defeated in many ways. For starters, you stop the spread of the ideology itself; at present, there are native Westerners converting to Islam, and they’re the most fanatical sometimes. There is infiltration of Islam in the schools and universities of the West. You stop that. You stop the symbol burning and the effigy burning, and you look them in the eye and flex your muscles and you say, “This is a warning. We won’t accept this anymore.” There comes a moment when you crush your enemy.

Reason: Militarily?

Hirsi Ali: In all forms, and if you don’t do that, then you have to live with the consequence of being crushed.

Reason: Are we really heading toward anything so ominous?

Hirsi Ali: I think that’s where we’re heading. We’re heading there because the West has been in denial for a long time. It did not respond to the signals that were smaller and easier to take care of. Now we have some choices to make. This is a dilemma: Western civilization is a celebration of life — everybody’s life, even your enemy’s life. So how can you be true to that morality and at the same time defend yourself against a very powerful enemy that seeks to destroy you?

Reason: George Bush, not the most conciliatory person in the world, has said on plenty of occasions that we are not at war with Islam.

Hirsi Ali: If the most powerful man in the West talks like that, then, without intending to, he’s making radical Muslims think they’ve already won. There is no moderate Islam. There are Muslims who are passive, who don’t all follow the rules of Islam, but there’s really only one Islam, defined as submission to the will of God. There’s nothing moderate about it.

Reason: So when even a hard-line critic of Islam such as Daniel Pipes says, “Radical Islam is the problem, but moderate Islam is the solution,” he’s wrong?

Hirsi Ali: He’s wrong. Sorry about that.

Hirsi Ali: And by and large, Muslim immigrants in Europe do not come with the intention to assimilate. They come with the intention to work, earn some money, and go back. That’s how the first wave of immigrants in the Netherlands was perceived: They would just come to work and then they’d go away. The newer generations that have followed are coming not so much to work and more to reap the benefits of the welfare state. Again, assimilation is not really on their minds. Also, in order to get official status here in the U.S., you have to have an employer, so it’s the employable who are coming. The Arabs who live here came as businessmen, and a lot of them come from wealthy backgrounds. There are also large communities of Indian and Pakistani Muslims, who tend to be very liberal. Compare that to the Turks in Germany, who mostly come from the poor villages of Anatolia. Or compare it to the Moroccans in the Netherlands, who are for the most part Berbers with a similar socio-economic background. It’s a completely different set of people.

Hirsi Ali: To be a prime minister, you sleep about four hours a night.

Hirsi Ali: We have to revert to the original meaning of the term tolerance. It meant you agreed to disagree without violence. It meant critical self-reflection. It meant not tolerating the intolerant. It also came to mean a very high level of personal freedom. Then the Muslims arrived, and they hadn’t grown up with that understanding of tolerance. In short order, tolerance was now defined by multiculturalism, the idea that all cultures and religions are equal. Expectations were created among the Muslim population. They were told they could preserve their own culture, their own religion. The vocabulary was quickly established that if you criticize someone of color, you’re a racist, and if you criticize Islam, you’re an Islamophobe.

Hirsi Ali: I don’t even think that the trouble is Islam. The trouble is the West, because in the West there’s this notion that we are invincible and that everyone will modernize anyway, and that what we are seeing now in Muslim countries is a craving for respect. Or it’s poverty, or it’s caused by colonization. The Western mind-set — that if we respect them, they’re going to respect us, that if we indulge and appease and condone and so on, the problem will go away — is delusional. The problem is not going to go away. Confront it, or it’s only going to get bigger.

"Although the West wisely adopted bits and pieces of technology from Asia, modernity is entirely the product of Western civilization."

"To the extent that other cultures have failed to adopt at least major aspects of Western ways, they remain backward and impoverished."

"Just as there were no 'Dark Ages,' there was no 'Scientific Revolution.' Rather, the notion of a Scientific Revolution was invented to discredit the medieval Church by claiming that science burst forth in full bloom... only when a weakened Christianity no longer could suppress it."

"Science arose only in Christian Europe because only medieval Europeans believed that science was possible and desirable... Science arose only because the doctrine of the rational creator of a rational universe made scientific inquiry plausible."

"The fall of Rome was, in fact, the most beneficial event in the rise of Western civilization, precisely because it unleashed so many substantial and progressive changes... Europe in this era was blessed with lasting disunity; periodic efforts to reestablish empires failed. Disunity enabled extensive, small-scale social experimentation and unleashed creative competition among hundreds of independent political units, which, in turn, resulted in rapid and profound progress."

"Medieval Europe saw the rise of banking, elaborate manufacturing networks, rapid innovations in technology and finance, and a busy network of trading cities... Europe had long been ahead of the rest of the world in technology, but by the end of the sixteenth century that gap had become a chasm."

"European nations typically lost money on their colonial empires. It is worth remembering that the American Revolution was fought largely because the British Parliament, tired of losing money on the thirteen colonies, tried to impose taxes sufficient to cover the costs of administering and defending them."

"Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Dark Ages myth is that... during the supposed Dark Ages... Europe took the great technological and intellectual leaps forward that put it ahead of the rest of the world... Monks began to leave their fields, hiring a labor force that proved more productive. Thus, as 'religious capitalism' unfolded, more monks worked as executives and foremen. In this way, the medieval monasteries came to resemble modern firms — well administered and quick to adopt the latest technological advances."

"In 1148 all Christians and Jews were ordered to convert to Islam or leave Moorish Spain immediately, on pain of death... The notion that in the medieval era Islamic culture was advanced well beyond Europe is as much an illusion as recent ones about an 'Arab Spring.' The Islamic world was backward then, and so it remains."

"It is now the consensus among historians, philosophers, and even sociologists of science that real science arose only once: in Europe. In this regard it is instructive that China, Islam, India, and ancient Greece and Rome had a highly developed alchemy, but only in Europe did alchemy develop into chemistry. By the same token, many societies developed elaborate systems of astrology, but only in Europe did astrology lead to astronomy."

"A substantial degree of individual freedom is inseparable from Western modernity, and this still is lacking in much of the non-Western world. No doubt Western modernity has its limitations and discontents. Still, it is far better than the known alternatives — not only, or even primarily, because of its advanced technology but because of its fundamental commitment to freedom, reason, and human dignity."