dhimmitude
Diana West writes in the Washington Times: (via Michelle Malkin)
We have watched the Muslim meltdown with shocked attention, but there is little recognition that its poisonous fallout is fear. Fear in the State Department, which, like Islam, called the cartoons unacceptable. Fear in Whitehall, which did the same. Fear in the Vatican, which did the same. And fear in the media, which have failed, with few, few exceptions, to reprint or show the images.
What is this capitulation? Dhimmitude.
Wherever Islam conquered, surrendering dhimmi, known to Muslims as "people of the book [the Bible]," were tolerated, allowed to practice their religion, but at a dehumanizing cost.The resulting culture of self-abnegation, self-censorship and fear shared by far-flung dhimmi is the basis of dhimmitude. The extremely distressing but highly significant fact is, dhimmitude doesn't only exist in lands where Islamic law rules.
I looked up abnegation: "denial; the rejection or renunciation of a doctrine." Sweden is shutting down websites for showing the critical cartoons, editors are being fired and media is falling all over itself to find reasons not to publish them. The doctrine of free speech in the West is being thrown overboard voluntarily. I would like to know why.
As the man says, read the whole thing.
