Israel

Israel’s creation was undoubtedly brute colonialism violating the property rights of the indigenous peoples. The creation of Islamic states was likewise. This is not in question. The contemporary question: if Arabs stop bombing Israel, will Israel stop bombing Arabs? Or: If Israel stops bombing Arabs, will Arabs stop bombing Israel?

Observe Mohamed. Mecca, in his time, was a mercantile city that allowed differing beliefs and customs. Mohamed grew up a trader on a major free trade route in a multicultural, pluralistic society. Upon his islamisation, Mohamed and the army of his followers, swords in hand, sieged undefended Mecca with the threat - join us or die. Naturally, that is by force, Mecca surrendered. Since Mecca’s surrender, through ethnic cleansing, forced conversion (by sword or economic pressure), exile, or faith based conversion, Mecca became a monoculture.

Thus as Mohamed and Mecca are the central models of just behavior in Islam, we expect Islamists to siege Israel, the US, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Somalia, Iraq or anywhere else that does not surrender to their monoculture. Certainly attacks on pluralism are not unique to Islam. Other abrahamic religions do the same. We note that Buddhist monks, Hindu priests, etc never marched ‘god’s armies’ into their neighbors’ homes. But the ignored obvious fact is that the world has always been multicultural and peace comes only with ideological pluralism.

Israel being a tribal group understands that it needs to survive. This monoculture promotes the validity of plurality by accepting that other tribes have the right to survive. It allows masques within its holy cities and allows other religious denominations to practice freely in its state.

The answer: The Arabs will not stop while the Israelis well might. This is why the US and other open societies must support Israel and any outpost of multiculturalism and pluralism. Some Islamists (and Christians) see the support of such ideologies as infidelity. Some do not. There are quite a few pundits talking about tolerance as a major part of Islam. Indeed I, and I hope all true Muslims, welcome the day when Islamic core doctrine demands ideological pluralism and the good Muslims force Mecca to open to all forms of worship – at least those that don’t physically endanger others. Then those of us that carry the history of Christo-Islamic oppression can believe that the Arabs (and perhaps the rest of the Islamic world) – then affirmed multiculturalists - will not bomb Israel if Israel stops bombing them. Until then the history of these monocultures goes on in its bloody way.