A few years ago a scandal erupted involving the Catholic Church. It turns out that a number of Catholic priests had been abusing young boys. It did not happen just once and it appears that the church leadership, when they knew of it, had swept the rash of sex crimes under the rug.
The outcry was terrific, as well is should be. The Catholic Church should not be the home of pedophilia or homosexuality. Defenders of the Church said that these cases were isolated instances and the vast majority of the priests were good people. But that was not good enough. There were lawsuits, there were criminal trials and there were accusations that the Catholic Church is corrupt as an institution.
The Liberals in the press, overwhelmingly unchurched, demanded that the Catholic leadership do something to root out the pedophiles in their ranks. Some demanded that the Pope resign, but all agreed that simply finding and prosecuting the guilty was not enough. They demanded that that Catholic Church fix this problem. No prominent columnist apologized to Catholics for the accusations of widespread criminality that was – and still is – being cast at Catholic priests.
About 9 years ago a group of Arab Muslims killed about 3000 Americans in a devastating attack on the centers of American culture and political power. This was not an isolated attack. It was part of a pattern and followed a series of attacks against Americans overseas, and was followed by a series of attacks against not just Americans but against the Western world in general. All these attacks were made by Muslims.
Compare the reaction of the people in government and the press to the Catholic crimes and the Muslim crimes. Keep in mind that the crimes committed by Catholic priests were not committed in the name of Christ while the crimes committed by Muslims on Jihad were committed in the name of Allah.
We were told that this was not a problem with Islam but with a few radicals. When Catholic priests abused young boys it was said to reflect on Catholicism. When followers of Muhammad kill tens of thousands in his name, it is claimed that the killers are not "real" followers of Islam.
When anyone who expressed the thought that the problem may have had something to do Islam itself, or with its leadership, was deemed to be an Islamophobe, a bigot and a hater. Political figures who expressed the opinion that the problem had to do with the way Islam was being taught were demonized. They were actually prosecuted.
One prominent opinion writer for the NY Times even apologized to the Muslims for the American people expressing opposition to a Muslim mosque being built next to the site of the site that Muslim Jihad turned into a mass grave.
The theme in the press for the problem in the Catholic Church was that Catholics need to root out the criminal elements. The theme in the press for the problem in Islam is that there is no problem with Islam. If you say there is you are a bigot and a hater and Nicholas Kristoff and the rest of the Liberal community is ashamed of you.
The problem with pedophilia in the Catholic Church is ultimately something that can only be rooted out by the Catholics. The problem with Islam is a lot bigger. It involves not pedophilia, where a few people carry psychological scars for the rest of their lives. The problem with Islam is much more serious; it involves literal life and death for hundreds of thousand, perhaps millions. We are trying to deal with it militarily. But the real resolution of this problem, this global cancer, is this: if the ones bombing and killing in the name of Islam are really a small minority, the solution of the problem lies with the majority of Muslims putting stop to it. So far, the most prominent Muslim groups have denied there is a problem, it’s not their fault, they’re being unfairly blamed … and Liberals join them in their denial.
Quite a difference, wouldn’t you agree?
UPDATE: the Canadian press also tells us that there's no problem ... and if there's a problem, it's spiked.
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