European self delusion.

The Colonel has swung around to the position that where Muslims are involved in any kind of uproar or disturbance, it is presumed to be based on plain-vanilla Islamic doctrine. Muslim moderates have the onus of rebutting this presumption. Infidels do not have the onus of first showing that riot, rapine, and terror is based only on some twisted, fanciful, grotesque interpretation of Islamic doctrine.

The Colonel has to admit, however, that the various analyses of the recent Muslim youth riots in France are persuasive when they ascribe the source of the unrest to economic marginalization.

Ilana Mercer correctly makes the point ("Oh the indignities" heaped upon the Muslims in France!) that the French have hardly stiffed their immigrant communities and that people commit crimes, not conditions,^[1] but when reading the extract from ever precient Victor Hanson it's hard not to conclude that the French worked hard at keeping second generation Muslims from advancing economically.

The Colonel has grave doubts about the willingness of Muslim immigrants ever fully to integrate into any non-Muslim culture or polity and remains to be persuaded otherwise. It could be a long wait, however. Islam sees to be the only extant world doctrine that is doctrinally fundamentally inconsistent with modernity or liberal society, one.

That said, if there is a scintilla of hope that Muslims can indeed integrate honestly -- without the secret desire to transform their host country into a Muslim backwater -- the French seem to have hit upon the precise formula forever to foreclose integration -- as well as to guarantee economic irrelevancy for themselves, truth be told.

Mr. Hanson on European self delusion:

While traveling the last three weeks from Turkey to Portugal, I was reminded again how different Europe has become from what some Americans idealize as a nirvana of benevolent socialism, universal and free medical care, and sophisticated high culture.

Gasoline ranges from $4 to more than $5 a gallon. . . .

* * * *

The utopian dream of a 35-hour work week, lifelong job tenure and cradle-to-grave benefits falls victim to a bothersome reality: More competitive Americans, Indians and Chinese have no such pretensions. While Europe gets its beauty rest, others work far harder and longer to produce cheaper things for an ever more price-conscious global consumer.

Behind these frequent strikes, urban riots and anger at the U.S. is the harsh reality of dismal economic growth and fewer jobs. So for all the undeniable achievement of the European Union, its central premise of government-mandated equality and security simply doesn't work.^[2]

Notes
^[1] "Rah-Rah For Rioters." By Ilana Mercer, 11/11/05.
^[2] "Heaven on Earth." By Victor Davis Hanson, Tribune Media Services, 11/14/05 (emphasis added).