Is Islam Strong or Just Brittle?

Some people think that Islam is taking over the world. In America Alone, Mark Steyn claims that it is taking over Europe.

But other people, such as the cryptic Spengler that Islam is facing a terminal encounter with modernity.

British physician and critic of the welfare state (Life at the Bottom) Theodore Dalrymple inclines towards the latter perspective. In a review of Robert Spencer’s The Truth about Muhammed he writes:

Personally, I believe that all forms of Islam are very vulnerable in the modern world to rational criticism, which is why the Islamists are so ferocious in trying to suppress such criticism. They have instinctively understood that Islam itself, while strong, is exceedingly brittle, as communism once was. They understand that, at the present time in human history, it is all or nothing. They are thus more clear-sighted than moderate Moslems.

The thing is, of course, that the West cannot just stand there. It has to do something. In the 40 year Cold War against Soviet communism there were those who wanted to fight, and those who wanted to sit.

And after the Bush years, it looks like the first florish of action in the War on Terror is going to be followed by a period of retreat.

It’s easy to take a materialist view of history and justify doing nothing by awarding the victory to the side with the most productive forces, i.e. Us.

But there is always the lesson of China. China was the most productive society in the world for going on 2,000 years. But it was successfully invaded from the Asian steppe not once, but several times. Of course, you may argue, the barbarians became “sinicized” by the superior Chinese culture. But not before a ton of people got swept away in massive cycles of violence.

It’s comfortable to look at history from an armchair. But when you are considering your own time you are talking about your own life, and the lives of your loved ones.

When there are barbarians at the gate it means that your life in is the balance.

The only way to tell if Islam is really strong enough to take over the world or merely brittle is to take action and try to break it.