The Spirit of Geert Wilders

When I was asked to write a foreword to Geert Wilders’ new book, my first reaction, to be honest, was to pass. Mr. Wilders lives under 24/7 armed guard because significant numbers of motivated people wish to kill him, and it seemed to me, as someone who’s attracted more than enough homicidal attention over the years, that sharing space in these pages was likely to lead to an uptick in my own death threats. Who needs it? Why not just plead too crowded a schedule and suggest the author try elsewhere? I would imagine Geert Wilders gets quite a lot of this.

Shut up, Egypt is Muslim

Supporters of Egypt’s various new political parties gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday for what was supposed to be a unity rally. In a portent of things to come, however, the gathering was hijacked by masses of Islamists who intimidated the members of liberal and secular parties out of the square. America’s most important Arab ally is hurtling toward an Islamist takeover and the Obama administration is egging on the transition.

The Islamist factions in Egypt, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the more strident Salafists, have been cautiously and quietly building their political organizations ahead of November’s parliamentary elections. Earlier this year, they were circumspect about involvement in partisan politics, making statements that gave the impression they would serve more as spiritual guides than contenders for power. This was a ruse. The objective of the Islamist groups has always been to implement Sharia law in Egypt, and the downfall of the Hosni Mubarak government has presented them with their best and perhaps only opportunity to get it done. After all, it is a revolution; the time to impose radical change is now.

Are Jews Permitted to Doubt The New York Times?

Courage comes in many forms. But the rarest form of courage, it seems to me, is for a true addict to give up his (or her) New York Times. That seems to go double or triple for the NYT’s Jewish readers, who cling to its daily prophetic utterances with truly Biblical fervor: “absolute truth.”

My sample is biased, obviously, since I hang around with conservatives and such (yech!), but I can think of only one Jewish friend who has ever confessed to dumping All the News You Are Fit to Read.

Get Ready for the Muslim Brotherhood

In 1985, as a teenager in Kenya, I was an adamant member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Seventeen years later, in 2002, I took part in a political campaign to win votes for the conservative party in the Netherlands.

Those two experiences gave me some insights that I think are relevant to the current crisis in Egypt. They lead me to believe it is highly likely but not inevitable that the Muslim Brotherhood will win the elections to be held in Egypt this coming September.

Showdown With Evil: Our Struggle Against Tyranny and Terror

Jamie Glazov’s new book, “Showdown with Evil: Our Struggle Against Tyranny and Terror,” is a fascinating collection of 29 interviews that he has conducted as editor of Frontpagemag.com. The interviewees are leading intellectuals and newsmakers who have devoted considerable brainpower to the issue of modern terrorism, including Victor Davis Hanson, Norman Podhoretz, Christopher Hitchens, Phyllis Chesler, Andrew McCarthy, Theodore Dalrymple, Kenneth Levin, Robert Spencer, Andrew Klavan, David Horowitz and William F. Buckley, Jr.