I’ve spent the better part of my working life as a photo-journalist specialising in certain parts of the Middle East but, despite what I witnessed, I could console myself with the knowledge that there were parts of the world where rationality and tolerance prevailed.
Now we have the likes of Putin in Moscow (Gorbachev’s ideals of glasnost and perestroika are long gone), Nigel Farage in the UK, Marine Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in The Netherlands, Frauke Petry in Germany, and the front runner of far-right populist clap trap, Donald Trump in the White House.
Seriously, what the hell is happening to our world!
Photos taken at the Casa Pound rally in Rome, May 2016.
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There is a real problem with uncontrolled massive Muslim immigration,90% of migrants are young able bodied MALES coming from many countries that are not Syria,where war is raging. Those "refugies" are in fact not refugies at all but economic migrants,uneducated and unskilled for the most who look for a better life and want freebees.So far they have caused a lot of grief,everyone has heard of it and although a lot has been suppressed by the media we can still get information about it. In short it is a disaster and politicians just do not want to acknowledge it.They don't want to acknowledge they made monumantal blunders and in many cases things have got out of hands.People in western countries have become afraid of what is going on and no longer feel safe,those they have elected have promised to stop or slow down immigration and the possibility that more terrorists could enter their countries.This is probably why certain right wing politicians are now gaining momentum.
i have first hand experience in all of he things that you've mentioned and so do not deny that we in the West face an existential threat. however, i simply cannot accept that intolerance and fascism is the answer
@room101: But there must be a way to stop the momentum towards the destruction of western culture which is well under way,how do the politicians in the west go about it?
@berangere: my initial reaction was to say that i'm no politician and no statesman so whatever i give as an answer to your question would be little more than conjecture on my part.
however, i do have one suggestion. encourage and support people like Maajid Nawaz and the Quilliam Foundation.
there are people who are actively trying to reform Islam from within. they challenge the rhetoric of fundamentalists and do all they can to highlight the hypocrisy of Islamic nations.
there are Muslims out there who want to co-exist with the West, who want to improve their own countries so that their own people do not feel compelled to leave.
@room101: I totally agree with you,there are Muslims who want to reform islam and bring it into the 21 century but sadly there are many,many more who do not want to contradict the words of Mohammed as they see him as the "perfect man" and disregarding his writings and not follow his example would show disrespect to him,progressive Muslims like Maajid Nawaz find themselves up against that great obtacle and the many Muslims who follow that train of thoughts and ideology.The lives of progressive Muslims are also in danger from fanascicism,because as you know some Muslims have been murdered by other Muslims who did not deem them to be "Muslim enough" because they tended towards liberalism and accepted other cultures.
you have shown me two videos which corroborate my assertion that there are moderate Muslims who want to see reform in Islam and are just as aware of the threats posed by fundamentalists as we are.
the second video also shows the abuse that such reformers face from their own communities.
to me, that shows the courage and determination of these people. this is why i said that we must support and encourage them in their efforts.
what we must NOT do is turn our back on these people and instead buy into the intolerance and fascism espoused by the populist right wing movement.
@room101: Totally agree! We must recognise that there are such Muslim leaders even if they are in the minority as sadly they are and recognise that there are Muslims who follow them even if they put their lives on the line doing so,sadly the fanatical leaders and their followers appear to be growing in numbers and that is what people are afraid of.I must share another video with you that will show you that saudi- Arabia is behind it all and why and that because of petrol money the leaders in the west are turning a blind eye and as you will see at the end of that video, it is said that the west will sorely regret it and nothing could be more true.
@room101: But do you believe that Saudi-Arabia funds terrorism and the Muslim brotherhood? I tend to believe it myself.That video makes a great deal of sense to me.
