On 2/14/23 21:17, gggg gggg wrote:
On Monday, February 13, 2023 at 7:58:19 PM UTC-8, a425couple wrote:
Thoughts on "What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in
the Middle East" by Bernard Lewis.
From when Islam was founded, through the end of Medieval Times
around 1500, and in many important areas, "For many centuries the world
of Islam was in the forefront of human civilization and achievement".
These areas included military, economic, and scientific.
Then things headed differently.
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https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/soc.history.early-modern/c/e75AHvR1vKQ
Historian Bernard Lewis received the American Enterprise Institute’s
Irving Kristol Award for 2007. He delivered the Irving Kristol Lecture
at the Institute’s annual dinner on the topic of “Europe and Islam.” Topics included the lessons of history, the end of European influence in
the Middle East, al Qaeda, the 14-century struggle between Christianity
and Islam, the sequence of events leading up to the September 11
attacks, and Muslim immigrants living in Europe.
Uncorrected transcript (a425 has added para breaks)
EVENING. ALL I CAN SAY IS THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN. [APPLAUSE] TIME IS
SHORT AND I'M SURE YOU ARE HUNGRY SO I WILL GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.
MY TOPIC THIS EVENING IS EUROPE AND ISLAM. LET ME BEGIN WITH THE WORD OF PERSONAL EXPLANATION. YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO THE MOST PART TO HEARING
FROM PEOPLE INVOLVED IN MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE MATTERS. WITH DIRECT PRACTICAL INVOLVEMENT. I AM AFRAID I CANNOT OFFER YOU THAT. MIGHT DIRECT INVOLVEMENT WITH MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE MATTERS AND DID QUITE A LONG
TIME AGO TO BE PRECISE, ON THE 31ST OF AUGUST, 1945. WHEN I LEFT HIS
MAJESTY'S SERVICE AND RETURNED TO THE UNIVERSITY TO JOIN WITH COLLEAGUES
AND TRYING TO COPE WITH A SIX YEAR BACKLOG OF BATTLE SCARRED
UNDERGRADUATES. WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS EVENING IS SOMETHING OF
THE LESSONS OF HISTORY. AND HERE AGAIN I MUST BEGIN WITH A SECOND THIS
OF ALL. IT IS SOMETIMES THAT THE BUSINESS OF HISTORY, THE BUSINESS OF
THE STORY IS THE PAST, NOT THE FUTURE. I REMEMBER ONCE AT A MEETING IN
ROME AT AN INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF HISTORIANS, A GROUP OF US WERE
SITTING IN DISCUSSING ASSURED HISTORIANS ATTEMPT TO PREDICT THE FUTURE.
WE BETTER THIS BACK-AND-FORTH. THIS WAS IN THE DAYS WHEN THE SOVIET
UNION WAS STILL ALIVE AND WELL. ONE OF OUR SOVIET COLLEAGUES FINALLY
INTERVENED AND SAID, IN THE SOVIET UNION THE MOST DIFFICULT TASK OF THE HISTORIAN IS TO PREDICT THE PAST. [LAUGHTER]
I DON'T INTEND TO OFFER ANY PREDICTIONS OF THE FUTURE IN EUROPE OR THE
MIDDLE EAST OR WHAT I THINK CAN LEGITIMATELY BE EXPECTED OF THE STORY IN
IS TO IDENTIFY TRENDS, IDENTIFY PAST HISTORIES, TO LOOK AT THE TRENDS IN
THE PAST, WHAT IS CONTINUING IN THE PRESENT AND THEREFORE TO SEE THE POSSIBILITIES AND THE CHOICES, WHICH WILL FACE US IN THE FUTURE. ONE
OTHER INTRODUCTORY WORD. MY FAVORITE THEME OF THE HISTORIAN, AS YOU SURE ENOUGH, IS. THE STATION, DIVIDING HISTORY INTO PERIODS. DAILINESS
STATION IS MOSTLY CONVENIENCE OF THE HISTORIAN THE PURPOSES OF WRITING
OR TEACHER. NEVERTHELESS, THERE ARE TIMES IN THE LONG HISTORY OF THE
HUMAN ADVENTURE, WHEN WE HAVE A REAL TURNING POINT, A MAJOR CHANGE, THE
END OF AN ERA, THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA AND I AM BECOMING MORE AND
MORE CONVINCED THAT WE ARE IN SUCH AN AGE AT THE PRESENT TIME. A CHANGE
IN HISTORY COMPARABLE WITH SUCH EVENTS AS THE FALL OF ROME, THE
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA AND THE LIKE. I WILL TRY TO EXPLAIN THAT.
CONVENTIONALLY, THE MODERN HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST BEGINS AT THE END
OF THE 18TH-CENTURY, WHEN A SMALL FRENCH EXPEDITIONARY FORCE COMMANDED
BY YONGE GENERAL NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, WAS ABLE TO CONQUER EGYPT AND
CORRELATE WITH IMPUNITY, A TERRIBLE SHOCK, ONE OF THE HEARTLANDS OF
ISLAM WHICH COULD BE INVADED, OCCUPIED AND RULED WITH VIRTUALLY NO
RESISTANCE, NO EFFECTIVE RESISTANCE.
THE SECOND SHOCK CAME AT KIWI YEARS LATER WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE
FRENCH. WHICH IS BROUGHT ABOUT NOT BY THE EGYPTIANS, NOR BY THE ASSESSOR
RAINS THE TURKS, BUT BY A SMALL SQUADRON OF THE 180, COMMANDED BY YONGE
EBERLE RACHAEL NELSON, WHO DROVE THE FRENCH OUT AND BACK TO FRANCE. THIS
IS OF SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE AT THE END OF THE 18TH AND BEGINNING OF THE
19TH CENTURY, FROM THEN ON WORDS THE HEARTLANDS OF ISLAM WERE NO LONGER CONTROLLED BY THE RULERS OF THIS LONG. THEY WERE UNDER DIRECT OR
INDIRECT INFLUENCE OR CONTROL FROM OUTSIDE AND THE DOMINATING FORCES IN
THE ISLAMIC WORLD WORK OUTSIDE FORCES, WHAT SHAPE THEIR LIVES IS WESTERN INFLUENCE, WHICH EVEN CHOICES WAS WESTERN RIVALRIES.
THE POLITICAL GAIN THEY COULD PLAY, THE ONLY ONE OPEN TO THEM, WAS TO
TRY AND PROFIT FROM THE RIVALRIES BETWEEN THE OUTSIDE POWERS, TO TRY TO
USE THEM AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. WE SAID THAT AGAIN AGAIN IN THE COURSE OF
THE 19TH, 20TH AND EVEN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY. WE SEE
HOW, FOR EXAMPLE IN THE WAR BETWEEN COME IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR, THE
SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE COLD WAR, MIDDLE EASTERN GOVERNMENTS LEADERS
TRYING TO PLAY THIS GAME WITH VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS. THAT GAME IS
NOW OVER. THE ERA THAT WAS INAUGURATED BY NAPOLEON WAS TERMINATED BY THE
REAGAN AND GORBACHEV.
AND THE MIDDLE EAST IS NO LONGER CONTROLLED OR ROLLED OR DOMINATED BY
THE OUTSIDE POWERS. THEY'RE HAVING SOME DIFFICULTY ADJUSTING TO THIS NEW SITUATION. THEY'RE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS, THEIR
OWN SITUATIONS AND SO ONE, BUT THEY'RE BEGINNING AND THIS HAS BEEN
EXPRESSED WITH HIS USUAL CLARITY AND ELOQUENCE BY OSAMA BIN LADEN. WE
SEE WITH THE ENDING OF THE ERA OF OUTSIDE DOMINATION THE REEMERGENCE OF
CERTAIN OLDER TRENDS, OLDER, DEEPER CURRENTS IN THE MIDDLE EASTERN
HISTORY, WHICH HAVE BEEN SUBMERGED OR AT LEAST OBSCURED DURING THIS
CENTURY OF WESTERN DOMINATION. NOW THEY'RE COMING BACK AGAIN. ONE OF
THEM I WOULD CALL THE INTERNAL STRUGGLES. ETHNIC, SECTARIAN, REGIONAL,
BETWEEN DIFFERENT FORCES WITHIN THE MIDDLE EAST. THESE HAVE OF COURSE
CONTINUED WITH LESS IMPORTANCE IN THE IMPERIAL ERA. THEY'RE COMING OUT
AGAIN NOW AND KEATING FORCE AS WE SEE FOR EXAMPLE FROM THE CURRENT CLASH BETWEEN SUNI AND SHIA ISLAM, SOMETHING WITHOUT PRECEDENCE FOR CENTURIES.
THE OTHER THING MORE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO MY THEME THIS EVENING IS SIGNS
OF A RETURN AMONG MUSLIMS TO WHAT THEY PERCEIVE AS THE COSMIC STRUGGLE
FOR WORLD DOMINATION BETWEEN THE TWO MAIN FAITHS, CHRISTIANITY AND
ISLAM. THERE ARE MANY RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD BUT AS FAR AS I KNOW THERE
ARE ONLY TWO THAT WILL CLING TO THEIR TRUTHS, MODERN-DAY UNIVERSAL OR
RELIGIONS CLAIM THAT BUT EXCLUSIVE. THEY, THE CHRISTIANS IN THE ONE
CASE, THE MUSLIMS ON THE OTHER, ARE THE FORTUNATE RECIPIENTS OF GOD'S
FINAL MESSAGE TO HUMANITY, WHICH IS THEIR DUTY NOT TO KEEP SELFISHLY TO THEMSELVES LIKE THE JEWS OR THE HINDUS, BUT TO BRING TO THE REST OF
HUMANITY REMOVING WHATEVER OBSTACLES THERE MAY BE ON THE WAY. THIS SELF PERCEPTION SHARED BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND ISLAM LED TO THE LONG STRUGGLE
THAT IS NOW BEEN GOING ON FOR MORE THAN 14 CENTURIES BETWEEN THE TWO.
AND WHICH IS NOW ENTERING A NEW PHASE.
IT IS INTERESTING, BOTH SIDES FOR QUITE A LONG TIME REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE
THIS STRUGGLE. IT IS INTERESTING THAT ON BOTH SIDES, THE NAME TO EACH
OTHER BY NONRELIGIOUS TERMS. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD CALLED THE MUSLIMS
MOORS, CITIZENS, TARTARS, TURKS AND EVEN A CONVERT SOURCE SAID TO HAVE
TURNED TURNER. THE MUSLIMS FOR THEIR PART CALLED THE WEST CHRISTIAN
WORLD, ROMANS, FRANCS, SLAVS AND THE LIKE. IT WAS ONLY SLOWLY AND
RELUCTANTLY THEY BEGAN TO GIVE THEM RELIGIOUS DESIGNATIONS AND THEN
THESE WERE, FOR THE MOST PART, DEMEANING AND INACCURATE. AND THE WORST
IT WAS CUSTOMARY TO CALL MUSLIMS, WHICH THEY NEVER USE THEMSELVES BASED
ON THE TOTALLY FORCED ASSUMPTION THAT MUSLIMS WORSHIP MOHAMMUD IN THE
WAKE CHRISTIANS WORSHIP CHRIST. THE MUSLIM TERM FOR QUESTION WAS NEVER
IN THE US FROM ECONOMY AND THE LOCAL CULTS OF A PLACE CALLED NAZARETH
AND PALESTINE. THE DECLARATION OF LAW BEGINS RIGHT AT THE VERY BEGINNING
IN ISLAM. THERE CERTAIN LETTERS REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY THE
PROPHET MOHAMMED, RETURN TO THE CHRISTIAN EMPEROR COM-ED THE EMPEROR OF
PERSIAN AND VARIOUS OTHER RULERS, SAYING I HAVE NOW BROUGHT GOD'S FINAL MESSAGE, YOUR TIME HAS PASSED. ACCEPT MY MISSION AND MY FAITH OR RESIGN
OR SUBMIT, YOU ARE FINISHED. THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR AND AUTHENTIC IN THE
SENSE THAT IT DOES REPRESENT THE DOMINANT VIEW AS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD.
A LITTLE LATER WE HAVE HARD EVIDENCE, AND I MEAN HARD IN THE MOST
LITERAL SENSE, INSCRIPTIONS'. MANY OF YOU I SHOULD THINK HAVE BEEN TO JERUSALEM. YOU HAVE PROBABLY VISITED THE TERM OF THE ROCK AND REMARKABLE BUILDING. IT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT. IT IS BUILT ON A SACRED TO THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ITS ARCHITECTURAL STYLE IS THAT OF THE
EARLIEST CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. IT DATES FROM THE END OF THE SEVENTH
CENTURY AND WAS BUILT BY ONE OF THE EARLY CALIPHS AND WHAT IS COME
CLEARLY SIGNET IS THE MESSAGE IN INSCRIPTION'S INSIDE THE DOME. HE IS
GOD, HIS ONE, HE IS NO COMPANION, HE DOES NOT GET, HE IS NOT BE GOTTEN.
THIS IS CLEARLY A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO CERTAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE
CHRISTIAN FAITH.
INTERESTINGLY, THEY DID THE SAME THING ON A NEW GOLD COINAGE. UNTIL
THEN, SPANKING GOLD COINS HAD BEEN AN EXCLUSIVE ROHMAN PRIVILEGE. THE OF
THE ISLAMIC FOR THE FIRST TIME STRUGGLED CLAIMS, OF BREACHING THE AND
MEMORIAL PRIVILEGE OF ROME AND PUTTING THE SAME INSCRIPTION ON THEM. AS
I SAID, A CHALLENGE. THE MUSLIM CONFLICT AS IT TRIED TO POINT OUT, MORE
FROM THEIR RESEMBLANCES THEM FROM THEIR DIFFERENCES. THAT'S ATTACK HAS
GONE THROUGH THREE PHASES. THE FIRST FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF ISLAM,
WHEN THE NEW FACE SPILLED OUT OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, WHERE IT WAS
BORN COMING INTO THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND. IT WAS THEN THAT THEY
CONQUERED SYRIA, PALESTINE, EGYPT, NORTH AFRICA, ALL AT THAT TIME A PART
OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD AND WENT BEYOND INTO EUROPE, COCHRANE A SIZABLE
PART OF SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE, INCLUDING SPAIN AND PORTUGAL AND SOUTHERN
ITALY, ALL OF WHICH BECAME PART OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND EVEN CROSSING
THE PYRENEES INTO FRANCE AND OCCUPYING FOR A WHILE PARTS OF FRANCE.
AFTER A LONG AND BITTER STRUGGLE , THE CHRISTIANS MANAGED TO RETAKE
PART, BUT NOT ALL OF THE TERRITORY THEY HAD LOST. THEY SUCCEEDED IN
EUROPE AND IN A SENSE EUROPE WAS DEFINED BY THE LIMITS OF THAT SUCCESS.
THEY FAILED TO RETAKE NORTH AFRICA OR THE MIDDLE EAST. WHICH WERE LOST
TO KRISTIAN THEM, NOTABLY IN THE TENT KNOWN AS THE CRUSADES. THAT WAS
NOT THE END OF THE MATTER. IN THE MEANTIME, AND ISLAM, ISLAMIC WORLD
HAVING FAILED THE FIRST TIME, WAS BRACING FOR THE SECOND ATTACK. THIS
TIME CONDUCTED NOT BY ARABS, A MORRIS, LED BY TURKS AND TETRAS. THEY
CONQUERED ANATOLIA, THEY CONQUERED RUSSIA, THEY CAPTURED THE AGENT
CITADEL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. THEY CONQUERED A LARGE PART OF THE BALKANS.
THEY CONQUERED HALF OF HUNGARY. TWICE THEY REACHED AS FAR AS VIENNA. THE
FIRST AND SECOND SEIGES IN 1529 AND 1683.
AND EVEN IN WESTERN EUROPE, COURSE AS WELL KNOWN TO HISTORIANS OF THE
UNITED STATES, THE WENT TO ICELAND TO MADEIRA TO THE OUTERMOST LIMITS
BUT ALSO TO SEVERAL PLACES IN WESTERN EUROPE AND NOTABLY, AIR RAID ON BALTIMORE. IN 1631 THE CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENT WE HAVE A LIST OF 107
CAPTIVES WHO WERE TAKEN FROM BALTIMORE TO ALGIERS. INCLUDING THE FAMILY
CALLED JEANIE. [LAUGHTER] AGAIN, EUROPE COUNTERATTACKED, THIS TIME MORE SUCCESSFUL AND MORE RAPIDLY. THEY SUCCEEDED IN RECOVERING THE BALKAN
PENINSULA AND RECOVERING RUSSIA, AND IN ADVANCING FURTHER INTO THE
ISLAMIC LANDS, CHASING THEIR FORMER RULERS WEDNESDAY HAD COME. FOR THIS
PHASE OF EUROPEAN COUNTERATTACK, A NEW TERM WAS INVENTED, IMPERIALISM.
WHEN THE PEOPLES OF ASIA AND AFRICA INVADED EUROPE, THIS WAS NOT
IMPERIALISM. WHEN YOU'RE ATTACKED ASIA AND AFRICA, THIS WAS.
THIS EUROPEAN COUNTERATTACK THAT THE MENTIONED BEFORE BEGINS IN NEW
PHASE, WHICH BRINGS THE EUROPEAN INTO THE VERY HEART OF THE MIDDLE EAST.
BUT TO IN OUR OWN TIME, WE HAVE SEEN THE END OF THAT DOMINATION. OSAMA
BIN LADEN IS A VERY INTERESTING PROCLAMATIONS AND DECLARATIONS, HAS THIS
TO SAY ABOUT THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, THE WAR IN WHICH YOU REMEMBERED LED
TO THE DECEIT AND RETREAT OF THE RED ARMY AND TO THE COLLAPSE OF THE
SOVIET UNION. WE TEND TO SEE THAT AS A WESTERN VICTORY, MORE
SPECIFICALLY AN AMERICAN VICTORY IN THE COLD WAR AGAINST THE SOVIETS.
FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN, IT IS NOTHING OF THE KIND. IT IS A MUSLIM VICTORY
OF JIHAD. AND IF ONE LOOKS AT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF WHAT HAPPENED IN
AFGHANISTAN AND WHAT FOLLOWED, THIS IS I THINK ONE MUST SAY, EIGHT NOT
IN PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION. AS OSAMA BIN LADEN SAW IT, ISLAM HAD REACHED
THE ULTIMATE HUMILIATION IN THE ISLAMIC STRUGGLE AFTER WORLD WAR I, WHEN
THE LAST OF THE GREAT MUSLIM EMPIRE, THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE WAS BROKEN UP
AND MOST OF ITS TERRITORY IS DIVIDED BETWEEN THE VICTORIOUS ALLIES, WHEN
THE CALIPHATE WAS SUPPRESSED, THE CALIPHATE WAS ABOLISHED, THE LAST
CALIPH DRIVEN INTO EXILE. THIS SEEMS TO BE THE LOWEST POINT IN MUSLIM
HISTORY. AND FROM THERE, THEY WENT UP WORDS. SEVERAL PHASES OF THE
STRUGGLE AS HE SOUGHT AGAINST VARY VARIES IN PERIL POWER SAID IT
SUCCEEDED THE ROMANS AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE WORLD OF THE INFIDELS,
THE BISON TIMES, THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, THE BRITISH AND FRENCH AND
RUSSIAN EMPIRES AND AND THIS FINAL PHASE HE SAYS THE WORD OF THE
INFIDELS WAS DIVIDED AND DISPUTED BETWEEN TWO RIVALS WHO PROPOSED THE
UNITED STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION.
AS OSAMA BIN LADEN PUTS IT, WE HAVE MET DEFEATED, AND DESTROYED THE MORE DANGEROUS AND THE MORE DEADLIER OF THE TO AND THE BILL SUPERPOWERS.
DEALING WITH THE SOFT, PAMPERED AND EFFEMINATE AMERICANS. THIS BELIEF
WAS CONFIRMED BY THE 90'S, WHEN WE SAW ONE ATTACK AFTER ANOTHER OF
AMERICAN BASES AND INSTALLATIONS WITH VIRTUALLY NO EFFECTIVE RESPONSE OF
ANY KIND. ANGRY WORDS AND EXPENSIVE MISSILES DISPATCH REMOTE AND
UNINHABITED PLACES. THIS WAS A SEQUENCE LEADING UP TO 9/11, CLEARLY
INTENDED TO BE THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST SEQUENCE AND THE BEGINNING OF
THE NEW ONE, TAKING THE WAR INTO THE HEART OF THE ENEMY CAMP. THE THIRD
ATTACK, HAS CLEARLY BEGUN. IT IS UNDER WAY. AND WE SHOULD NOT DELUDE
OURSELVES AS TO WHAT IS AND WHAT IT MEANS. AT THIS TIME IT IS TAKING
DIFFERENT FORMS AND TO IN PARTICULAR, TERROR AND MIGRATION.
(And here, he gives his version, of what I'd posted about
earlier, that a Muslim should not remain living in land
that is ruled by non-Muslims.)
THE SUBJECT OF TERROR HAS BEEN FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED AND IN GREAT DETAIL
AND DON'T NEED TO SAY MUCH ABOUT THE RIGHT NOW. WHAT THEY DO WANT TO
TALK ABOUT IS THE OTHER ASPECT OF MORE PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO EUROPE
AND THAT IS THE QUESTION OF MIGRATION. IN EARLIER TIMES, IT WAS
INCONCEIVABLE THAT A MUSLIM WOULD VOLUNTARILY MOVE TO AND NON MUSLIM
COUNTRY. THE JURIST WHO DISCUSSED IT AT GREAT LINKS IN THE TEXTBOOK,
MANUALS OF SHARIA, IN A DIFFERENT FORM, IS IT PERMISSIBLE FOR A MUSLIM
TO VISIT A NON MUSLIM COUNTRY? AND IF SO, IF HE DOES, WHAT MUST HE DO? GENERALLY SPEAKING, THIS WAS CONSIDERED UNDER HIS CERTAIN SPECIFIC
HEADINGS A CAPTIVE, A PRISONER OF WAR OBVIOUSLY HAS NO CHOICE THAT HE
MUST PRESERVE HIS FAITH AND GET HOME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. A SECOND CASE
IS THAT OF IT AS AN UNBELIEVER IN A LAND OF THE UNBELIEVERS, WHO SEES
THE LIGHT AND EMBRACES THE TRUE FACE. IN OTHER WORDS, BECOMES A MUSLIM.
HE MUST LEAVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND GO TO THE MUSLIM COUNTRY. THEIR
CASE IS THAT OF THIS A TON. THE ONLY HEADING WHICH IS CONSIDERED
LEGITIMATE IS TO RANSOM CAPTIVES. THIS IS LATER EXPANDED INTO DIPLOMATIC
AND COMMERCIAL MISSIONS. WITH THE ADVANCE OF THE EUROPEAN COUNTERATTACK, THERE'S A NEW HEADING IN THIS ONGOING DEBATE.
WHAT IS THE POSITION IF OF A MUSLIM IN THIS COUNTRY IS CONQUERED BY
INFIDELS. MAY HE STAY OR MUST LEAVE? WE HAVE SOME INTERESTING DOCUMENTS
FROM THE LATE 15TH CENTURY, WHEN THE RECONQUEST OF SPAIN WAS COMPLETED
AND MOROCCAN JURISTS WERE DISCUSSING THIS QUESTION. THEY ASK THE
QUESTION, MADE A STATE? THE GENERAL ANSWER WAS NO, IT IS NOT
PERMISSIBLE. THE QUESTION WAS ASKED, AMID A STATE OF THE KRISTIAN
GOVERNMENT THAT TAKES OVER AS TOLERANT? THIS PROVED TO BE A PURELY
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION OF COURSE. THE ANSWER WAS NO, EVEN THEN THEY MAY
NOT STAY BECAUSE THE TEMPTATION OF APOSTASY WOULD BE EVEN GREATER AND
THEY MUST LEAVE AND HOPE THAT IN GOD'S GOOD TIME THERE WOULD BE ABLE TO RECONQUER THEIR HOMELANDS AND RESTORE THE TRUE FAITH. THIS WAS THE LINE
TAKEN BY MOST JURISTS.
THERE WERE SOME, AT FIRST THE MINORITY, LATER A MORE IMPORTANT GROUP WHO
SAID IT IS PERMISSIBLE FOR MUSLIMS TO STAY, PROVIDED THAT CERTAIN
CONDITIONS ARE MET MAINLY OF COURSE THEY'RE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE THEIR
FAITH. THIS RAISES ANOTHER QUESTION, WHICH I HAVE COME BACK TO IN A
MOMENT. WHAT IS MEANT BY PRACTICING THEIR FAITH? PIER I WOULD REMIND YOU
THAT WE'RE DEALING NOT ONLY WITH A DIFFERENT RELIGION, BUT WITH A
DIFFERENT CONCEPT OF WHAT RELIGION IS ABOUT, WHAT RELIGION EMBRACES AND REFERRING OF COURSE ESPECIALLY TO WHAT MUSLIMS CALL SHARIA AND THE HOLY
LOT OF EXCESS OF ISLAM WHICH COVERS A WIDE RANGE OF MATTERS REGARDED AS
SECULAR AND THE CHRISTIAN WORLD, EVEN DURING THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD BUT
CERTAINLY ONE IS TEMPTED TO CALL THE POST KRISTIAN ERA OF THE WESTERN WORLD.
THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY NOW MANY ATTRACTIONS, WHICH DRAW MUSLIMS TO EUROPE.
THE OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED PARTICULARLY IN VIEW OF THAT GROWING ECONOMIC IMPOVERISHMENT OF MUCH OF THE MUSLIM WORLD AND THE ATTRACTIONS OF
EUROPE, WELFARE AS WELL AS EMPLOYMENT. THEY ALSO HAVE THE FREEDOM, WHICH
THEY LACK AT HOME, FREEDOM OF EDUCATION AND OF EXPRESSION, FAR MORE THAN
AT HOME. THIS OF COURSE IS A GREAT INCENTIVE TO THE TERRORISTS WHO
MIGRATE. TERRACE HAVE FAR GREATER FREEDOM OF OPERATION IN EUROPE THAN
THEY DO AND THE ISLAMIC LANDS.
I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO SOME OTHER FACTORS OF IMPORTANCE
IN THE SITUATION AT THIS MOMENT. ONE IS THE NEW RADICALISM IN THE
ISLAMIC WORLD, WHICH COMES IN SEVERAL KINDS, SUNI ESPECIALLY, WAHHABI,
AND THE IRANIAN SHIITE TEACHING FROM THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION. BOTH OF
THESE ARE BECOMING ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT FACTORS AND THE HAVE THESE
STRANGE PARADOX THAT THE DANGER OF TERRORIST RADICALISM OR RADICAL
TERRORISM IS FAR GREATER IN EUROPE AND AMERICA THAN IT IS IN THE MIDDLE
EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, WHERE THEY'RE MUCH BETTER AT CONTROLLING THEIR
EXTREMIST THEN WE KNOW HOW.
THE SUNNI KIND IS MAINLY WAHHABI AND HAS BENEFITED FROM THE PRESTIGE AND INFLUENCE AND POWER OF THE HOUSE OF SOME WHO AS CONTROLLERS OF THE HOLY
PLACES OF ISLAM AND OF THE EL AND THE ENORMOUS OIL WEALTH AT THEIR
DISPOSAL. THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THE TERM
REVOLUTION IS MUCH USED IN THE MIDDLE EAST. IT IS VIRTUALLY GENERALLY
ACCEPTED TITLE OF LEGITIMACY. THE RICH IRANIAN REVOLUTION IS A REAL
REVOLUTION IN THAT THIS SENSE WE USE THE TERM FRENCH OR RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION. LIKE THE FRENCH AND RUSSIAN REVOLUTION IN THEIR DAY, IT HAS
HAD AN ENORMOUS IMPACT IN THE WHOLE AREA WITH WHICH THEY SHARE A COMMON UNIVERSE OF DISCOURSE, THAT IS TO SAY THE ISLAMIC WORLD.
NOW, LET ME TURN TO ANOTHER QUESTION, A QUESTION WHICH IS MUCH DISCUSSED NOWADAYS OF ASSIMILATION. HOW FAR IS IT POSSIBLE FOR MUSLIM MIGRANTS
COMING LESS SETTLED IN EUROPE, IN NORTH AMERICA AND ELSEWHERE, AND TO
BECOME PART OF THOSE COUNTRIES, IN A WAY THAT SO MANY OTHER WAYS OF
IMMIGRANTS HAVE DONE? I THINK THERE'S SEVERAL POINTS, WHICH NEED TO BE
MADE. ONE OF THEM IS THE BASIC DIFFERENCE IN WHAT PRECISELY IS MEANT BY DISSIMILATION AND ACCEPTANCE. THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE AN OBVIOUS
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN AND THE AMERICAN SITUATION. FOR AN
IMMIGRANT TO BECOME AN AMERICAN MEANS A CHANGE OF ALLEGIANCE. FOR AN
IMMIGRANT TO BECOME A FRENCHMAN OR A GERMAN MEANS A CHANGE OF ETHNIC
IDENTITY, A CHANGING POLITICAL ALLEGIANCE IS CERTAINLY VERY MUCH EASIER,
MORE PRACTICAL, THE CHANGING ETHNIC IDENTITY, IT EITHER IN ONE'S
FEELINGS OR MEASURE OF ACCEPTANCE. IN ENGLAND CHARACTERISTICALLY WE HAD
IT BOTH WAYS. YOUR NATURALIZE, HE BECAME BRITISH BUT HE DID NOT BECOME
ENGLISH. [LAUGHTER]
I MENTIONED EARLIER THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE IN WHAT ONE MEANS BY
RELIGION, FOR MUSLIMS IT COVERS ALL WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT THINGS,
MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, INHERITANCE, MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLES. A WHOLE RANGE OF
THINGS WHICH, IN THE WESTERN WORLD, THE CHRISTIAN WORLD SINCE ANTIQUITY
HAVING PART OF SECULAR MATTERS. THE WHOLE DISTINCTION OF CHURCH AND
STATE, SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL, LATER BEGAN ECCLESIASTIC, THIS IS A
CHRISTIAN DISTINCTION, WHICH HAS NO PLACE IN ISLAMIC HISTORY AND IS
THEREFORE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN TO MUSLIMS, EVEN AT THE PRESENT DAY.
UNTIL VERY RECENTLY THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE VO VOCABULARY TO EXPRESS IT.
THEY HAVE NOW, OF COURSE. EXCUSE ME. ONE OF THE EUROPEAN RESPONSES TO
THIS SITUATION, IN EUROPE AS IN THE U.S. A VERY FREQUENT RESPONSE IS
WHAT THIS SERIOUSLY KNOWN AS MULTI-CULTURALISM AND POLITICAL
CORRECTNESS. IN THE MUSLIM WORLD THEY SUFFER FROM NO SUCH VIEWS. THEY'RE
VERY CONSCIOUS OF THEIR IDENTITY, THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE, WHAT THEY ARE
AND WHAT THEY WANT. THE QUALITY WHICH WE SEEM TO HAVE LOST TO A VERY
LARGE EXTENT. THIS IS A SOURCE OF DANGER AND WEAKNESS. A TERM SOMETIMES
USED IS CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT.
LET'S TALK TO THEM AND GET TOGETHER TO SEE WHAT WE CAN PICK CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT HAS A LONG TRADITION. WIN SALI THEN CONQUERED JERUSALEM AND
OTHER PLACES IN THE HOLY LAND, HE ALLOWED THE CHRISTIANS, MERCHANTS FROM EUROPE, TO STAY IN THE SEAPORTS. HE WAS CRITICIZED FOR THIS AND HE WROTE
A LETTER TO THE CALIPH IN BAGHDAD, JUSTIFYING HIS ACTIONS. I WOULD LIKE
TO QUOTE IT TO YOU. HE WROTE EXPLAINING, I QUOTE, THERE'S NOT ONE AMONG
THEM THAT DOES NOT BRING REFERENCE OF WAR TO THEIR DETRIMENT AND TO OUR ADVANTAGE. DISCONTINUED DURING THE CRUSADES AND CONTINUED AFTER AND
CONTINUED AFTER THE OATS MITIGANT INTO EUROPE, WINNICK IT ALWAYS SIGN
EUROPEAN MERCHANTS WILLING TO SELL THEM WEAPONS THEY NEEDED AND EUROPEAN BANKERS WILLING TO FINANCE THE PURCHASES. CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT HAS A
LONG HISTORY.
ONE ALSO FINDS A RATHER STARTLING MODERN VERSIONS OF IT. THE CRUSADES,
FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE SEEN IN OUR OWN DATE THE EXTRAORDINARY SPECTACLE OF
A POPE APOLOGIZING TO THE MUSLIMS FOR THE CRUSADES. YES, I DID NOT
INVENT THAT. I WOULD NOT WISH TO APOLOGIZE AND DEFEND THE BEHAVIOR OF
THE CRUSADERS, MANY RESPECTS INTRUSIVE ATROCIOUS. WE'RE NOW LED TO
BELIEVE THE CRUSADES WERE UNWARRANTED ACT OF AGGRESSION AGAINST THE
PEACEFUL MUSLIM WORLD, HARDLY. THE CRUSADE WAS A LATE LIMITED AN
UNSUCCESSFUL LIMITATION OF THE JIHAD, AN ATTEMPT TO RECOVER BY HOLY WAR
WHAT HAD BEEN LOST BY HOLY WAR. FAILED AND IT WAS NOT FOLLOWED UP. A
MORE RECENT EXAMPLE OF MULTI-CULTURALISM. ON OCTOBER 8, 2002, I INSIST
ON GIVING YOU THE DATE BECAUSE YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK IT UP. THE THIN
FRENCH PRIME MINISTER I AM TOLD A STAUNCH ROMAN CATHOLIC, WAS MAKING A
SPEECH IN THE FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND TALKING ABOUT THE SITUATION
IN IRAQ AND REFERRED TO SADDAM HUSSEIN AND HE REMARKED, THAT ONE OF
SADDAM HUSSEIN'S HEROES WAS HIS COMPATRIOT SALI THEN, WHO CAME FROM THE
SAME IRAQI TOWN OF TEN CREEK. ANY CASE THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY WERE
NOT AWARE OF SOME OF ITS IDENTITY, HE EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT IT WAS HE
WHO IS ABLE I "TO DEFEAT THE CRUSADERS AND LIBERATE JERUSALEM. . " YES.
WHEN THE FRENCH PRIME MINISTER DESCRIBES CELADONS CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM
FROM A LARGELY FRENCH CRUSADERS AS AN ACT OF LIBERATION, THIS WOULD SEEM
TO INDICATE A RATHER EXTREME CASE OF REALIGNMENT OF LOYALTIES. I WAS
TOLD THIS, I DID NOT BELIEVE IT. I CHECKED IN THE PARLIAMENTARY RECORD
AND WHEN HE USED THE WORD LIBERATE, NAY NOT GIVEN, HE JUST SAILED
STRAIGHT ON. THAT WAS THE ONLY INTERRUPTION AND AS FAR AS I WAS AWARE
THERE WAS NO COMMENT AFTERWARDS. THEY HAVE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO FIND SOME
ALLIES IN EUROPE. IN DESCRIBING THEM I SHALL HAVE TO USE THE TERMS LEFT
AND RIGHT COMEAUX TERMS WHICH ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY MISLEADING.
THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS IN THE FIRST FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AFTER THE REVOLUTION ARE NOT THE LAWS OF NATURE, THAT WE HAVE BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO
USING THEM. THEY'RE DIFFICULT WHEN APPLIED TO THE WEST NOWADAYS. THERE
ATTORN NONSENSE WHEN APPLIED DIFFERENT BRANDS OF ISLAM. AS I SAY, THERE
WHAT PEOPLE USE. SO LET US PUT IT THIS WAY. THEY HAVE A LEFT WING APPEAL
TO THE ANTI-U.S. ELEMENTS IN EUROPE, WHERE THEY SO TO SPEAK, REPLACE THE SOVIETS. THEY HAD A RIGHT-WING APPEAL TO THE ANTI-JEWISH ELEMENTS IN
EUROPE, REPLACING THE ACCESS. AND THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WIN
CONSIDERABLE SUPPORT UNDER BOTH HEADINGS. FOR SOME IN EUROPE, THEIR
HATRED APPARENTLY OUTWEIGHED THEIR LOYALTIES.
IT IS AN INTERESTING EXCEPTION TO THAT IN GERMANY WHERE THE MUSLIMS ARE
MOSTLY TURKISH. THERE, THEY HAVE OFTEN HAD PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS AND
EQUATED THEMSELVES WITH THE JEWS TO SEE THEMSELVES AS HAVING SUCCEEDED
THE JEWS AS THE VICTIMS OF GERMAN RACISM AND PERSECUTION. I REMEMBER A
MEETING IN BERLIN, WHICH I WAS ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN TO DISCUSS NEW
MUSLIM MINORITIES IN EUROPE, AND IN THE EVENING I WAS ASKED BY A MUSLIM
GROUP OF TURKS TO JOIN WITH THEM AND HEAR WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY ABOUT IT,
WHICH WAS VERY INTERESTING AND A PHRASE WHICH STICKS MOST VIVIDLY IN MY
MIND IS ONE OF THEM SAID, ONE DOZEN YEARS THERE WERE UNABLE TO ACCEPT
400,000 JEWS. WHAT HOPE IS THERE THAT THEY WILL ACCEPT 2 MILLION TURKS?
THEY USED THIS VERY SKILLFULLY AND PLAYING ON GERMAN FEELINGS OF GUILT
IN ORDER TO INHABIT ANY EFFECTIVE GERMAN MEASURES TO PROTECT GERMAN
IDENTITY, WHICH I WOULD SAY LIKE OTHERS IN EUROPE, IS SERIOUSLY IN DANGER.
MY TIME IS RUNNING OUT SO I THINK I WILL LEAVE OTHER POINTS THAT I
WANTED TO MAKE. NO? YOU DON'T MIND A BIT MORE? [APPLAUSE]
I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE QUESTION OF TOLERANCE. YOU WILL RECALL
THAT COME AT THE END OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE CHRISTIAN RECONQUEST
AFTER SPAIN AND PORTUGAL AND SICILY, MUSLIMS HAD BY THAT TIME VERY
NUMEROUS IN THE RECONQUERED LANDS, WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE, BAPTISM,
EXILE, OR DEATH. IN A FORMER OTTOMAN LANDS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE, THE
LEADERS OF WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL THE RECONQUEST ARE SOMEWHAT MORE
TOLERANT, BUT NOT A GREAT DEAL MORE AND SOME MUSLIM MINORITIES REMAINED
IN SOME BALKAN COUNTRIES WITH TROUBLE STILL GOING ON AT THE PRESENT DAY.
I SEE NAMES LIKE CLOSABLE OR BOSNIAC, YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING
ABOUT. NEVERTHELESS, I IMAGINE THIS POINT BECAUSE OF THE VERY SHARP
CONTRAST WITH THE TREATMENT OF CHRISTIANS AND OTHER NON MUSLIMS IN THE
ISLAMIC LANDS AT THAT TIME, WHEN MUSLIMS CAME TO EUROPE THEY HAD A
CERTAIN EXPECTATION OF TOLERANCE, A FEELING THAT THEY WERE ENTITLED TO
AT LEAST THE DEGREE OF TOLERANCE, WHICH THEY HAD ACCORDED TO NON MUSLIMS
IN THE GREAT MUSLIM IMPASSE OF THE PAST AND BOTH THEIR EXPECTATIONS AND
THEIR EXPERIENCE ARE VERY DIFFERENT. COMING TO EUROPE, TO EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES, THEY HAD BOTH MORE AND LESS THAN EXPECTED. MORE IN A SENSE
THAT THEY GOT IN THEORY AND OFTEN IN PRACTICE EQUAL POLITICAL RIGHTS,
EQUAL ACCESS TO THE PROFESSIONS, AND ALL THE BENEFITS OF THE WELFARE
STATE OF THE MODERN TIMES, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT THEY ALSO GOT SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THEY HAD GIVEN AS TRADITIONAL
ISLAMIC STATE. IN THE OSMENT EMPIRE AND IN OTHER STATES BEFORE THAT, THE
NON MOSLEM COMMITTEES HAD SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS AND RAN THEIR OWN
AFFAIRS. THEY COLLECTED THEIR OWN TAXES AND ENFORCED THEIR OWN LAWS. YOU
HAD SEVERAL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES, EACH LIVING UNDER ITS OWN LEADERSHIP, RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE AND, AS I SAID, RUNNING ITS OWN SCHOOLS, IT'S ON EDUCATION ADMINISTERING ITS OWN LAWS IN SUCH MATTERS AS MARRIAGE,
DIVORCE AND INHERITANCE AND THE LIKE. THE JEWS, THE SAME.
SO YOU ARE IN A POSITION WHICH THREE MEN LIVING IN THE SAME ST. DYE AND
THEIR STATES ARE DISTRIBUTED UNDER THREE DIFFERENT LEGAL SYSTEMS. WHAT
HAPPENS TO BE JEWISH, ONE CHRISTIAN, AND ONE MUSLIM. EDGE YOU COULD BE
PUNISHED BY THEY RABBINICAL COURT AND JAILED FOR VIOLATING THE SABBATH
FOR EATING ON YOM KIPPUR. A CHRISTIAN COULD BE ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED
FOR TAKING A SECOND WIFE, BIGAMY IS A CHRISTIAN OFFENCE. IT WAS NOT AN
ISLAMIC OR AN OTTOMAN DEFENSE. THAT DEGREE OF INDEPENDENCE IN THEIR OWN
SOCIAL LIFE, THEY DO NOT OF COURSE HAVE IN THE MODERN STATE AND IT WOULD
BE QUITE ABSURD FOR THEM TO ACCEPT IT. GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE MODERN
STATE. THAT IS NOT HOW THEY SEE IT. THEY FEEL THAT THEY'RE ENTITLED TO
WHAT -- RECEIVE WHAT THEY GAVE.
AS ONE MUSLIM FRIEND OF MINE IN EUROPE PUT IT, WE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE
MONOGAMY, WHY SHOULDN'T YOU ALLOW US TO PRACTICE POLYGAMY? [LAUGHTER]
SUCH QUESTIONS POLYGAMY IN PARTICULAR RAISE IMPORTANT ISSUES OF THE MORE PRACTICAL NATURE. THIS EMIGRATION PERMITS. NATURALLY IT BECOMES AS AN
APPROVED IMMIGRANT, HE'S ENTITLED TO BRING HIS FAMILY WITH HIM. NOW WHAT EXACTLY DOES HIS FAMILY CONSIST OF? THEY ARE INCREASINGLY DEMANDING AND
GETTING PERMISSION TO BRING PLURAL WIVES, THE SAME IS ALSO APPLYING MORE
AND MORE TO WELFARE PAYMENTS AND SO ON. ON THE OTHER HAND, PENALTIES ARE
A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT AND IT HAS BECOME AN EXTREMELY SENSITIVE ISSUE.
ANOTHER EXTREMELY SENSITIVE ISSUE IS THE POSITION OF WOMEN, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, VERY DIFFERENT COME BACK TO THE EARLIEST TIMES IN ISLAM. AND
THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SOCIETIES.
IS IT THE THIRD TIME LUCKY? NOT IMPOSSIBLE. LET'S SEE WHERE WE STAND.
THEY HAVE CERTAIN CLEAR ADVANTAGES. THEY HAVE FERVOR AND CONVICTION,
WHICH IN MOST WESTERN CUT COUNTRIES ARE EITHER WEAK OR LACKING. THEY ARE
SELF ASSURED OF THE RIGHTNESS OF THEIR CAUSE, WHERE IS WE SPEND MOST OF
OUR TIME IN SELF DENIGRATION AND SELF ABASEMENT. THEY HAVE LOYALTY AND DISCIPLINE AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, THEY HAVE DEMOGRAPHY, A COMBINATION OF NATURAL INCREASE AND MIGRATION, LEADING TO MAJOR
POPULATION CHANGES, WHICH COULD LEAD WITHIN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE TO SIGNIFICANT MAJORITIES IN AT LEAST SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE SOME ADVANTAGES THE MOST IMPORTANT OF WHICH ARE FREEDOM
AND KNOWLEDGE. THE APPEAL OF GENUINE MODERN KNOWLEDGE IN A SOCIETY
WHICH, IN THE PAST, IN THE MORE DISTANT PAST HAD A LONG RECORD OF
SCIENTIFIC AND SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENT IS OBVIOUS PICK THEY ARE AWARE
KILLY AND PAINFULLY AWARE, OF THEIR BACKWARDNESS AND WELCOMING
OPPORTUNITY TO RECTIFY IT.
LESS OBVIOUS BUT ALSO POWERFUL IS THE APPEAL OF FREEDOM. IN THE PAST, IN
THE ISLAMIC WORLD, THE WORD FREEDOM WAS NOT USED IN A POLITICAL SENSE.
FREEDOM WAS A LEGAL CONCEPT, NOT THE POLITICAL CONCEPT. HE WERE FREE IF
YOU WERE NOT A SLAVE. THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY EXISTED. FREE MEANT NOT
SLAVE. UNLIKE THE WEST, THEY DID NOT USED FREEDOM AND SLAVERY AS A
METAPHOR FOR GOOD AND BAD GOVERNMENT, AS WE HAVE DONE FOR A LONG TIME IN
THE WESTERN WORLD. THE TERMS THEY USED TO THEIR GOOD AND BAD GOVERNMENT
ARE JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE OF IT JUST GOVERNMENT IS A GOOD GOVERNMENT,
LIVING UNDER JUSTICE IS THE NEAREST APPROACH TO WHAT WE WOULD CALL
FREEDOM. BUT, THE IDEA OF FREEDOM AND ITS WESTERN INTERPRETATION IS
MAKING HEADWAY. IT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE UNDERSTOOD, MORE AND MORE APPRECIATED AND DESIRED AND IT IS, PERHAPS, IN THE LONG RUN, OUR BEST
HOPE PERHAPS EVEN OUR ONLY HOPE OF SURVIVING THE DEVELOPING STRUGGLE.
THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] Show Less Text
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