Remember
Oriana Fallaci? She had a hard time with the "politically correct"
crowd with her last book, because it didn't toe the liberal line. Here's an
excerpt from an interview with her on the occasion of her new book "The
Force of Reason" (from http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/vidino200405040834.asp ).
In 1974, former Algerian President Houari Boumedienne said in a speech at the
U.N.: "One day millions of men will leave the southern hemisphere to go to
the northern hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they
will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The
wombs of our women will give us victory." In other words, says Fallaci,
what Islamic armies have not been able to do with force in more than 1,000
years can be achieved in less than a century through high birth rates. She
cites as evidence a 1975 meeting of Islamic countries in Lahore, in which they
announced their project to transform the flow of Muslim immigrants in Europe in
"demographic preponderance."
The "sons of Allah," as Fallaci calls them, do not make a secret of
their plans."A respected Muslim cleric told the crowd: "Thanks to
your democratic laws we will invade you. Thanks to our Islamic laws we will
conquer you." The full interview follows: May 04, 2004, 8:34 a.m.
Forceful Reason
Fallaci issues a wake-up call to Europe.
By Lorenzo Vidino
"Oriana Fallaci" is not a household name in the United States,
but it cannot be uttered in Europe without generating a heated reaction. Even
though her 2002 book, The Rage and the Pride, was translated into English (by
Fallaci herself) and sold many copies in the U.S., it was on the other side of
the ocean that intellectuals, politicians, and ordinary citizens passionately
debated the views of the celebrated Italian journalist.
The Rage and the Pride is either loved or hated; the positions Fallaci takes in
it leave no middle ground. Outraged by the events of 9/11, Fallaci criticizes
both Muslims (bent, according to her, on conquering the West and annihilating
its culture) and Europeans (described as spoiled, hypocritical, and blind to
the mortal threat represented by Islamic expansionism). Fallaci's views as expressed
in the Rage and the Pride caused an uproar in politically correct Europe, death
threats and lawsuits included. Now, two years later, Fallaci has published a
new book, entitled La Forza della Ragione (The Force of Reason), which
continues the discourse she began in The Rage and the Pride.
As its title suggests, The Force of Reason is not dictated by the (sometimes
excessive) fury that inspired The Rage and the Pride, but it gives a more
accurate explanation of why Europe has decided not to defend its identity and
to surrender to what she calls the "Islamic invasion." With the
sarcasm and uniquely direct style that characterizes her work, Fallaci
carefully examines the historic and political reasons that have led Europeans
to vilify their own culture, consistently embrace anti-Americanism, and pander
to every request from the increasingly powerful Muslim communities that
populate the dying Old
Continent. Her analysis does not leave much hope for the future of Europe,
although she takes a far more optimistic position on her adoptive country, the
United States (Fallaci currently lives in New York).
The long introduction to The Force of Reason recounts the intellectual lynching
to which Fallaci was subjected following the publication of The Rage and the
Pride. The PC establishment, which she refers to as the "Modern
Inquisition," crucified her, submerging her with lawsuits and accusations
of being racist and fomenting a
religious war. But all of this publicity just played into Fallaci's hands, as
sales of The Rage and the Pride soared into the millions. But what has really
struck Fallaci in the wake of The Rage and the Pride are the letters she has
received from readers throughout the world.
One of the most significant was written by an Italian, who thanked her for
"helping me to understand the things I thought without realizing I was
thinking them." And this is Fallaci's goal: provoking Europeans into
realizing what is going on right under
their noses and getting rid of their fear to say something that goes against
the PC dogma. According to Fallaci, the "Modern
Inquisition" has managed to keep individuals in fear of expressing what
they believe: "If you are a Westerner and you say that your civilization
is superior, the most developed that this planet has ever seen, you go to the
stake. But if you are a son of Allah or one of their collaborationists and you
say that Islam has always been a superior civilization, a ray of light...nobody
touches you. Nobody sues you. Nobody condemns you."
Fallaci has her own interpretation of the massive Islamic immigration that is
rapidly changing the face of European cities. She sees it as part of the
expansionism that has characterized Islam since its birth. After reminding the
reader how Islamic armies have aimed for centuries at the heart of Europe (a
part of history that is not taught anymore in Europe, since it would offend
the sensitivity of Muslim pupils), reaching France, Poland, and Vienna, she
lays out her case, claiming that the current flood of immigrants from the
Middle East and North Africa is part of a carefully planned strategy. Fallaci
uses the words of Muslim leaders to support this thesis.
In 1974, former Algerian President Houari Boumedienne said in a speech at the
U.N.: "One day millions of men will leave the southern hemisphere to go to
the northern hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they
will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The
wombs of our women will give us victory." In other words, says Fallaci,
what Islamic armies have not been able to do with force in more than 1,000
years can be achieved in less than a century through high birth rates. She
cites as evidence a 1975 meeting of Islamic countries in Lahore, in which they
announced their project to transform the flow of Muslim immigrants in Europe in
"demographic preponderance."
The "sons of Allah," as Fallaci calls them, do not make a secret of
their plans. A Catholic bishop recounted that, during an interfaith meeting in
Turkey, a respected Muslim cleric told the crowd: "Thanks to your
democratic laws we will invade you. Thanks to our Islamic laws we will conquer
you." But what really makes Fallaci's blood boil is the West's inability
to even
acknowledge this aggression. A large part of her book is dedicated to analyzing
how the main European countries pander to the arrogant demands of radical
Muslim organizations, how they are unable to defend their Jewish citizens from
acts of Islamic militant violence (often blamed on neo-Nazis and almost never
on the Muslim perpetrators, even when the evidence clearly proves otherwise),
and said countries' unwillingness to be proud of their cultures and identities.
But when and why did Europe become so weak and submissive in the face of its
new Islamic masters, a "province of Islam," as Fallaci calls it? She
points the finger squarely at the 1973 oil crisis. Europeans were so afraid of
losing their supplies of oil that they decided to pander to the requests of
OPEC, discarding Israel and beginning an intense dialogue with Arab countries.
From that year on, intellectuals, the media, and politicians have been showered
with money for their support of Arab and Islamic causes and numerous lobbying
organizations have been created in several European countries. A publication
with the
ominous title of "Eurabia [about which Bat Yeor has written at length] was
created in Paris, and the European parliament established the Parliamentary
Association for the Euro-Arabian Cooperation, all part of an Arab-financed
effort to influence
European politics.
The last chapters of The Force of Reason are dedicated to explaining why Europe's
three main political and social forces (Left, Right, and the Church) gave in to
what she calls "the Islamic invasion." While Fallaci accuses the Left
and Right mostly of ignorance and opportunism, her harshest words are left for the
Church. Fallaci has been known throughout her long career for her strong anti-clericalism (she is a long-time leftist,
daughter of an Italian partisan who fought the Fascists), but describes herself
as a "Christian atheist." While stating that she does not believe in
God, she claims that the West cannot ignore its Christian origin and identity.
Even if we deny God's existence, Fallaci says, Christianity has shaped the Western
world. It defines "who we are, where we are coming from, and where we are
going."
But the Church, she says, is not able - or worse, not willing - to defend Christianity.
Fallaci accuses the Church of helping the expansion of the "Islamic
empire," lobbying for more Muslims to come to Europe. She points out that
Christianity offers its churches as shelters to Muslim immigrants, who immediately
turn them into mosques, as it has happened repeatedly in France
and Italy. It continuously apologizes for the Crusades, but never expects an apology
for what Muslims are doing now to Christians in Sudan or Indonesia.
Amid Fallaci's bleak vision for Europe, however, a ray of hope comes from America.
In a very emotional last chapter, Fallaci describes her admiration in witnessing
the 2004 New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square. In a sharp contrast with
the fear-constrained Europeans, thousands of New Yorkers decided to defy the
Code Orange terror alert and party hard in the face of the terrorists. Proud to
honor itself, young and determined, America is perceived by Fallaci as the only
hope for the West. In this unprovoked cultural war that has been waged on the
West, America should lead the way, but it cannot do it alone. According to Fallaci, the West has not realized that it is under attack,
and that this war "wants to hit our soul rather than our body. Our way of
life, our philosophy of life. Our way of thinking, acting and loving. Our
freedom. Do not be fooled by their explosives. That is just a strategy. The
terrorists, the kamikazes, do not kill us just for the sake of killing us. They
kill us to
bend us. To intimidate us, tire us, demoralize us, blackmail us."
Movingly passionate, The Force of Reason is a desperate wake-up call for the West
and for Europe in particular. In Italy, despite a complete silence from the media
(who have decided not to make the same mistake they made with The Rage and the
Pride, when their criticism made the book's sales skyrocket) the book has sold
a half million copies in just two weeks. A translation into English is
imminent, making The Force of Reason readily accessible for those in the U.S. who
want to learn more about the dire situation Europe faces.