Don't bother appeasing violent Muslims, says expert
Geller: Security chief's call for self-censorship will hand jihadists a victory
Published: 10 hours ago
By Paul Bremmer
At a time of rising concern over Islamic jihadist attacks in Western countries, Australia’s top national security official is worried about the forceful language members of Parliament have been using while discussing Islam.
Duncan Lewis, director-general of the Australia Security Intelligence Organization, reportedly phoned MPs earlier this week to tell them to tone down their language when discussing Islam in public. He warned their tougher comments on Islam had the potential to jeopardize national security.
Pamela Geller, the president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, said Lewis misunderstands Islam if he thinks Australians can appease the jihadists by using less offensive language.
“Duncan Lewis is whistling in the dark,” Geller told WND. “He and all too many other Western officials seem to assume that jihadis are reacting to something the West has done, and so if they avoid offending Muslims, the jihad will disappear.
“They only think this because of their ignorance about Islam, whose core texts call for warfare against unbelievers in general, not just unbelievers who are somehow offensive.”
Lewis had urged MPs to adopt the “soothing” style used by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to Australia’s Sky News. Turnbull, for his part, has been downplaying ISIS’s threat to Australian national security since before he was prime minister.
Just last week, Turnbull voiced his disagreement with his predecessor, Tony Abbott, on the threat of Islam.
In an opinion piece, former Prime Minister Abbott had called for a “hearts and minds campaign against the versions of Islam that make excuses for terrorists,” noting Islam has never undergone a reformation like Christianity has.
Abbott added that societies “can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam” after terrorist attacks in Paris, the Middle East, and Australia itself.
Turnbull responded by insisting, “The one thing we need to be very careful not to do – and I’m sure Tony agrees with this by the way – is to play into the hands of our enemies and seek to tag all Muslims with the crimes of a few. This is very important. The simple fact of the matter is the vast majority of Muslims are as appalled by these acts of extremism as we are.”
According to The Australian, Prime Minister Turnbull’s office is believed to have arranged for Lewis’ phone calls to MPs to take place. The calls were part of a broader effort by the ASIO to impact how politicians speak about Islam.
As another part of that effort, Lewis, like Turnbull, denounced Abbott’s op/ed on Islam. In a newspaper interview, Lewis claimed “Muslim-baiting rhetoric could fuel a dangerous backlash against Muslims that would make it harder for ASIO to do its work,” according to The Australian.
The phone calls and the interview angered several Coalition members of Parliament, who saw Lewis and his spy agency as intruding on political issues. They also believed Lewis was trying to restrict the free speech they need to employ in order to deal appropriately with the Islamic terror threat.
Geller, the author of “Stop the Islamization of America,” agrees with the sentiment of those MPs. She believes it is leaders like Lewis and Turnbull, not Abbott, who are playing into ISIS’ hands.
“This statement by Lewis amounts to a call for self-censorship in accord with Shariah blasphemy laws – ‘do not offend Islam,’” she said. “He is handing the jihadis a victory.”
Read more at
http://www.wnd.com/2015/12/dont-bother-appeasing-violent-muslims-says-expert/#PM5REIFbqDe3deIb.99
