The Death of Zarqawi: Much Ado, But Accomplishing Little

In my mind, Islam will forever more be associated with cruelty intolerance, pain and suffering, and the specter of Sha'ria, expansionism, imperialism, world dominance, forced conversion or slavery or death, a Nazi-like existence for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The big to do of the capture or death of this Islamist chieftan as that of Zarqawi or the foiling of plots, i.e,. the plan to take over Canada's Parliament and behead the Prime Minister is nothing when put in the context, when considering that these a just two that are getting the most press. The world is full of similar acts and plots being carried out by Muslims. They get press time, hand wringing, joy, jubilation, or sorrow because bombs and blood are involved. They are dangerous but not the most dangerous.

The most dangerous activities by Muslims are quiet conversations on street corners or across the table while breaking breaking bread. They occur in classrooms, lecture halls, churches and mosques. These activities are called indoctrination. Men and women are persuaded to follow the path of Islam and Jihad. Whether they take the path of violence or those that seem peaceful: education, commerce, outreach, journalism, etc., these seemingly normal Muslims are the most dangerous, for their ordinariness they wear down our reserve, erode our sense of wariness and create a false belief that co-existence is possible.

How does indoctrination begin? Here is an example of how young Canadian Muslims were transformed. Young Americans are targeted in their schools and universities and through speaking tours by well-known Muslims; we can see them coming. More dangerous though, will be the one-on-one encounters in dorm rooms and the presence of objecting Muslim students in lecture halls with the presence of thousands of Saudi university students.

Hundreds of scholars and writers have spent their careers explaining and describing this effect, warning how innocuous-seeming Muslims work on our generous spirit and naÏveté, Cassandras all, cursed, scorned and disbelieved, doomed to helplessly watch as their prophecies come true.

Islam marches on. Chieftans come and go. Zarqawi, bin Laden and all the rest are bombadiers and battering rams against Western walls of resistance, they have our attention while speakers, teachers, and university professors and visiting students are the stealthy sappers, laying mines under those same cracked and slowly crumbling walls of Western resistance.

Al Zarqawi was thug and monster, the more extreme product of the Muslim system to be sure,. The do-it-yourself jihadists in Canada are examples of the up-and-coming "Generation Y" jihadists. They represent what always happens when Muslims move in: smiles and talk, then political pressure, bombs, and finally capitulation. This pattern is well on its way on in Europe and, unless we do something quickly and drastically, we also will be drawn into the maw, ground up to disappear forever, another forgotten culture that became distracted and didn't heed the warnings.