COLUMN: 'It has nothing to do with being a Muslim' and other liberal fallacies

On Thursday night, Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett was sitting in his patrol car when a man dressed in Muslim garb walked up to him and fired 13 shots through the driver’s side window.

Fortunately, the shooter only hit Hartnett three times in the arm, resulting in serious damage, but not threatening his life. Hartnett shot back and managed to wound the assailant, Edward Archer, in the buttocks, and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

According to the Associated Press, Capt. James Clark, head of the homicide unit, said Archer told investigators: “I follow Allah. I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State and that’s why I did what I did.”

In addition, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross reported that the shooter told investigators he tried to kill Archer because, “police bend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran.”

But the story does not end there. In an example of political correctness that helps to explain the popularity of Donald Trump and the anger of the American people, the newly elected mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney, said at a press conference: “In no way shape or form does anyone in this room believe that Islam or the teaching of Islam has anything to do with what you’ve seen.”

Mayor Kenney said of the crime, “It’s just terrible and it does not represent this religion [Islam] in any way shape or form or any of its teachings. This is a criminal with a stolen gun who tried to kill one of our officers. It has nothing to do with being a Muslim or following the Islamic faith.”

Well, that’s a relief.

Then it’s probably just like the San Bernardino terrorists who swore allegiance to the Islamic State, but didn’t have anything to do with Islam except for being devout Muslims.

Of course, it’s no surprise that devout Muslims sometimes get confused about what is acceptable to Islam. That’s probably because “devout” Muslims by definition read the Quran and find such commands as this: “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are ruthless against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves.” (Quran 48:29)

Or this: “When the sacred months are over, slay the idolators wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them.” (Quran 9:5)

There are plenty of such verses lauding believers to slay the infidels, take their women captive, and establish Islam as the only true religion, so it is no wonder that some Muslims get confused and actually try to live the life ordered by Muhammad.

When Edward Archer was “lying in ambush” for Officer Hartnett, he probably thought he was “following the Islamic faith” since he was obeying the commands of the prophet.

But let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that permission to murder your enemies does not appear in the Quran. If Muslims decide to engage in the practice anyway, at what point does it become part of Islam instead of an aberration?

The same question needs to be applied to sexual assault apparently.

Have you been reading about the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in Europe being committed by Muslim men on European women? New Year’s Eve turned out to be more like the “Night of the Living Dead” for hundreds of women who were tormented and abused by mobs of Muslim refugees in Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf in Germany, as well as in cities in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Austria.

In Cologne, hundreds of Arab and North African men were reported to be gathered on the streets and surrounding women who happened to pass by, groping and brutalizing them. If you didn’t read about it, you weren’t alone. For several days the German media didn’t cover the reported sex mobs for fear of offending the delicate sensibilities of liberal Germans. The mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, more or less confirmed that rape has nothing to do with Islamic men and everything to do with European women, when she discreetly advised the women, “It is always possible to keep a certain distance that is longer than an arm’s length.”

Cologne’s commissioner for women’s affairs, Christine Kronenberg, called the mayor’s comments “unfortunate.” She also summed up perfectly the naivete of European socialists when she described the street violence as “a new phenomenon of a dimension that we have never been able to imagine before.”

If they can’t imagine rape, it’s no wonder they can’t envision the end of Western civilization. Perhaps a refresher course in human history before the Enlightenment is in order for the commissioner. If she can invite the mayors of Philadelphia and Cologne, so much the better.

But it may be too little too late. Educating the Europeans is only half the battle. Convincing Muslims that murder, rape and terror are not part of Islam will be far harder, and that won’t happen unless Muslims themselves demand change, punish offenders and destroy ISIS.

 The countdown starts now, but I’m not holding my breath.

Frank Miele is managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake. If you don’t like his opinion, stop by the office and he will gladly refund your two cents. E-mail responses may be sent to edit@dailyinterlake.com