France on Fire

I watched, intrigued, a commercial on the History Channel advertising their 2 part series on "The Crusades". "It began", said the commentator, "with a faith".

Wrong faith, it turns out. The faith the producers wanted to start with was Christianity, and the time they wanted to start with was around 1095 when Europe mounted up some troops.

Wrong, I thought. The crusades did not begin in 1095. They began in 623 when the Prophet Muhammed died and the faith that he birthed began to expand violently at the point of a sword. By the 700's, Islam had occupied not only Jerusalem but large parts of Europe as well - including France. For the Europeans to wait another few hundred years to armor up and fight back is a testament to their patience.

To say that the Crusades started in 1095 is like saying that our War on Terror started on 9/11. Maybe it did from our side, but not from the terrorist's side. I would date it back to the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. Certainly the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. Or the Khobar Towers bombing. Or the embassy bombings. Or the attack on the U.S.S Cole. My point being, it did not start on 9/11.

Radical Islam is at War with the west, again. A point that should be obvious, but that keeps evading the left. Maybe seeing France in flames this week, to the tune of 300 cities as of today, will cause some rethinking in liberal elite circles. Doubtful, as most media still will not label the arsonists as Muslim, but perhaps.

For a rational European take on the topic, check out Mark Steyn's column "Wake up, Europe, you've a war on your hands". If you haven't yet had the privilege of reading one of his brilliant columns, this is a good place to start.

So, for this week at least, we're left to ask the obvious question about the unrest in Paris: How long until France surrenders?