tisdag 17 november 2015

Varför vänder vi andra kinden till?

Sen höst vid havet. Foto: Astrid Nydahl
Raphael Aren skriver om Europas ständiga vilja att vända andra kinden till. Han undrar hur det kan komma sig att Europa denna höst med öppna armar tar emot hundratusentals, ja så småningom också miljontals, arabiska muslimer. Jodå, han förstår och han menar också att det finns något rörande i att erbjuda skydd för människor som förlorat allt. Men i ljuset av Parismassakrerna? Förstår inte européerna att just i dessa arabiska massor finns de kommande mordpatrullerna, de islamistiska krigare som väntar på order om nästa attack? 

Nej, något sådant medvetande finns inte i Europa, det hävdar jag själv med stor bestämdhet. Europa är varken mer eller mindre än en sovande, av konsumism, populärkultur och övergödning bedövad kontinent. Europa står idag inte för annat än att vara ett, bokstavligt talat, Dödens väntrum. 

Därför är Raphael Arens artikel viktig att läsa. Den är uppfordrande. Den finns förstås här i sin helhet, nedan bara några korta citat.

“You cannot defeat terrorism by coming to resemble to it,” columnist Jakob Augstein opined on Spiegel Online, the largest news portal in Europe. “That’s the problem with the ‘war on terror’: whoever wages it has already lost it. The only weapon against hate is reconciliation.”
(...)
The best way to face down Islamic terrorism is by welcoming Muslim refugees in Europe, Augstein explained. “Never has the West caused a greater loss to Islamism than when it offered protection to Muslims suffering from war and terror. One can imagine how the IS henchmen were shocked by this disarming act of altruism.”
Many Israelis — nay, every Israeli — imagined quite a different response when they saw the growing stream of Muslim refugees making its way toward Europe. Living in close proximity to IS and facing the group’s bloodthirsty associates on a near-daily basis, Israelis likely imagined the terrorists laughing out loud as they realized that well-intended Europe had opened its borders and its hearts to the refugees without much concern about rotten apples among refugees.
Europe’s willingness to offer shelter to those who have lost everything is commendable. There is something admirable about people’s willingness to absorb masses of Muslim refugees, especially after some of their co-religionists committed a bloodbath in the capital of Western liberalism. But since Friday it can no longer be denied that Europe has a problem with Islamist terrorism, homegrown and imported. Compassion for those in need is warranted. But believing that benevolence to those seeking your annihilation will somehow melt away their resolve, is a deadly mistake.
“Love the foreigner for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt,” Deuteronomy commands. But, suspecting that love and compassion won’t go very far in preventing jihadists from carrying out their murderous schemes — or worse, actually embolden them — Israelis can be forgiven for remembering another famous Jewish dictum: kabdehu v’hashdehu. Treat others with respect, but never let down your guard.