“Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Have mercy. Have mercy!” Those were the last words of Theo Van Gogh, a fearless liberal critic of traditional Islam’s brutal treatment of women, as Jihadist thugs murdered him on an Amsterdam street. Mercy? From these maniacs? Van Gogh was shot several times and then had his throat cut. The culprits were a gang of Islamists:
Piet Hein Donner, the Dutch justice minister, said the suspect “acted out of radical Islamic fundamentalist convictions” and added that he had contacts with a group that was under surveillance by the Dutch secret service. The suspect is allegedly friends with Samir Azzouz, an 18-year-old Muslim of Moroccan origin awaiting trial on charges of planning a terrorist attack against a nuclear reactor and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, NOS Dutch national television reported. Azzouz was part of a group arrested in October 2003 but released for lack of evidence. He was re-arrested in June.
This is a useful reminder of the danger that has not gone away. Will Europe’s secular liberals condemn it? And can Europe face up to what is happening within its own admirably tolerant society?
STAT OF THE DAY: Gays: Kerry 77, Bush 23. Jews: Kerry 74, Bush 25. You can hear the ghost of Jim Baker now, can’t you?
The Dish 