by Bruce Bawer
In an earlier posting I wrote:
Is the argument here that the West should continue to welcome immigrants who preach death to gays, as that imam does, and should not actively resist the spread of such barbaric teachings? If so, I beg to differ. Every bit as dangerous as this imam and his ilk is the alarmingly widespread notion that it's "Islamophobic" for "outsiders" to stick their noses into Muslim community matters — even if the matter at hand is an imam who preaches murder.
A reader replies:
Do you mean for this to be a call to deport or bar entry to people whose political views you find abhorrent? It's important to note that there is no law barring you from declaring that "X group of people deserve to be killed," as it is so general and obviously political that it does not constitute incitement. Essentially you are calling for the deportation of people who have broken no laws because they express abhorrent political views–this is a very radical authoritarian proposal and if you really mean to make it, please do so in plain English, not empty phrases like "stick [our] noses in" and "actively resist." If you want to throw someone in jail or kick them out of the country for what they believe, just say that–and face the harsh judgment of people who find authoritarianism every bit as repellent as violent homophobia.
A couple of thoughts:
First, standing up to authoritarianism is not authoritarianism.
Second, perhaps one needs to have spent some time in Europe, where attitudes like this reader’s have already resulted in palpable, alarming, and perhaps irreversible social changes, to understand that this is not an academic discussion. It’s about preserving individual liberty, sexual equality, and freedom of speech and religion in the face of rapidly growing numbers of people who have nothing but contempt for these values.
Third, every country has an immigration policy that favors some prospective immigrants over others. Perversely, the current immigration policies of most Western governments favor, in practice, people who have contempt for, and represent a threat to, Western values. There is nothing remotely authoritarian about suggesting that Western governments alter their policies to favor prospective immigrants who are coming to the West for the right reasons – namely, because they long to be free and equal members of a tolerant, diverse democratic society — rather than because they wish to participate in a movement to destroy freedom and institute sharia.
The Dish 