THE DOUBLE STANDARD - AT 6:02 P.M. ET:  Once again we see the double standard - one standard for the West, especially the United States, and another standard for Islam.  From The New York Times:

GENEVA — Switzerland’s political leaders on Monday faced a chorus of criticism at home and abroad over an overwhelming popular vote to ban construction of minarets.

The referendum, which took place Sunday, has propelled the country to the forefront of a European debate on how far countries should go to assimilate Muslim immigrants and Islamic culture.

Government ministers trying to contain the fallout from the vote voiced shock and disappointment with a result that the Swiss establishment newspaper Le Temps called a “brutal sign of hostility” to Muslims that was “inspired by fear, fantasy and ignorance.”

The country’s justice minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, said the vote was not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture, but reflected fears among the population.

With support for the ban from 57.5 percent of voters, however, ministers were forced to acknowledge that they had failed to quell popular anxieties about the impact of what right-wing parties have portrayed as “creeping Islamization.”

COMMENT:  Oh, double double, toil and trouble.  All this anguish.

First, maybe there's a reason for popular anxiety, like a bit of bother over honor killings, terrorism, and sheer hatred coming from some elements among Muslim immigrants.

Second, maybe some of the "establishments" of Europe would have a bit more street cred if they condemned the horrible bigotry that is routine in much of the Muslim world.  The anti-Christian and anti-Semitic stuff is churned out like rivets.  And yet we are supposed to "understand" this "cultural difference." 

I personally think the vote has disturbing aspects because of what it can lead to down the road.  Europe, after all, doesn't have a great track record in the treatment of minorities.  But this is a classic case of chickens coming home to roost.  The smug "sophisticates" of Europe, indifferent to the legitimate concerns of ordinary people about the beliefs and practices of some Muslim groups, and trying ever so hard to understand the "root causes" of Muslim hostility, didn't even see this coming. 

My fear is that actions here, like the recent decision to try the mastermind of 9-11 in a civilian court, reflect just the kind of thinking we find among the blind elites of Europe.  We should be warned.

November 30, 2009