To: Mr. André Vanhaeverbeke, Chairman, Belgian Section, Association Internationale des Anciens des Communautés Européennes

 Dear Sir,

For nearly three decades I have lived abroad. Away from the country of my birth. I was born in Flanders, and now for the past 3,5 years I have returned here. All this time I was unable to use the language of my birth and it is not surprising therefore that I write to you in English as it is best suited to express myself.

By chance I read through your publication (Nr 47) in which you defend the wearing of the headscarf, the Chador, and even the Burka in our Western Society. Furthermore, you echo the writings of our former (luckily) minister of culture earlier this year where you seem to, like him, have no tolerance for your own countrymen and women who seem to abhor this symbol of a foreign culture. Not only that, but you naively suggest we should accept this in the hope that Muslim girls will eventually get rid of this voluntarily.  Sir, either you are really that naïve, or, what’s more likely, you just repeat parrot fashion the leftist nature of the European community who over the years has forced this so called multi cultural society on us. After all, why bite the hand that feeds you?  Since this is more or less the same argument I had with our former minister, I shall incorporate some parts of my previous writings.  Unlike you I do know what I am talking about when I touched on the subject of our culture being overrun by this backward and anachronistic religion and its rules. Of the thirty years I was away I have lived sixteen of those years in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood. This is not to say I am an expert, far from it, however I do think it qualifies me to talk about this.

 “Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.  Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a vehicle for all of the other components.
Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.
When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well. As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world. “ (Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat)

The veiled woman has over the years become a symbol of Islamic self-assertion and a rejection of Western cultural hegemony. The issue of the veil has been hijacked to a degree by cultural essentialists. For Islamists rejection of Western modes of dress is not enough. Resistance and independence can only be demonstrated by wholesale affirmation of their culture. An American magazine (The Weekly Standard) did a survey in France (May 2003) and reported that it found that 77% of girls wearing the hijab did so because of physical threats. Muslim women in India, Iraq and other countries have been attacked and even killed for not adhering to strict Islamic dress code. So I ask you, if they reject our Western norms, why not let them depart to places where this dress code is fashion? Why reject our Western values, but not our medical care system, our unemployment benefits, our welfare system? Why not go a step further and do away with all Western stuff such as cell phones, cars, Ipods, TV, Radio, and go back to their religion in its purest form? Or is that too much to ask maybe?

Basically you are telling us Europeans are selfish and afraid of the unknown religions that swamp our country. In particular Islam. Why shouldn’t we be? It has taken us centuries to get where we want to be and in those centuries we finally have freed ourselves from the yoke of organized religion and have moved on with great strides because of it. Now you want us to accept that another religion comes over here and as guests force us, the host country, to accept a backwards and dangerous theocracy. This religion is the greatest danger the western world has ever faced and if unchecked will force their outdated worldviews on us. Does it not worry you that they call our women whores when they dress in ways Islam does not accept? Is it not OUR country? Does it not worry you that most violent protests are perpetrated by this section of citizens? Do you not see that they have nothing but contempt for our laws, for our lifestyle, for our culture? Or would you rather roll over and surrender to a foreign influence which is trying to make sure that the western world will be dragged back into the middle ages? And this time, it will take a lot longer to climb out from that abyss. The European Union has ensured that people have become second class citizens in their own countries by threatening with fines and jail terms anyone who speaks out against this state of affairs. People are afraid to be branded racists because they disagree with this section of the population.  This multicultural society you praise so highly and try to force on us is an abject failure. Why are Belgians called before a court if they mistreat their spouses but not them? Why is it accepted that they can get away with the unequal treatment of women while it clearly states in our laws that this is forbidden? Why are they allowed to chant Anti Jewish and Anti Christian Slogans without fear of prosecution, while if one of our own is even suspected of harboring such thoughts is hauled before court so fast his feet won’t even touch the ground? All they have to do is yell “Discrimination!” and governments piss their pants.

Unlike you and your colleagues I have been on the front line in the struggle against terrorism. Unlike you I have seen first-hand what fundamentalists do to those they consider “Kafir” (unbelievers). Unlike you I paid my dues in blood, sweat, and tears. And maybe unlike you I do have a Qur’an at home. This book has 114 chapters named Surahs and are not in chronological order but according to length. Many verses are contradicting themselves, so according to Surah 2:106 only the later verses are valid. i.e. Surah 9 is extremely violent and will render all previous peaceful passages null and void.

 Muslims may never question or doubt the Qur’an (Surah 2:1) Muslims may not have as friends anyone from a different faith (Surah 5:51) “O, you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as your friends and protectors… It is the task of Muslims to kill non-Muslims (Surah 9:5) …then fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, and beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)…. It is ok to terrorize non-believers (Surah 8:12) Muslims are required to lie to non-believers to help Islam (Surah 3:28 & 16:106). Non-believers have 3 options: a) they can die, b) they convert to Islam & c) Pay Jizya (religious tax) so they will be left alive (Surah 9:29). Non-Muslims are bad people who deserve no mercy (Surah 98:6). Corporal punishment for women is allowed (Surah 4:34). If a woman has been raped she will need 4 male witnesses as proof. (Surah 24:13). The whole of chapter 8 is called “The spoils of war” and deals with the fact that robbery and theft from non-believers is a good deed. Marrying an underage child is allowed (Surah 65:4) Even Mohammed did so. He was 51 when he married Aisha who was 6 at the time. At 54 (when she was 9) he consummated the marriage. There is evidence that the number of Islamic child brides in Europe and England is increasing. Shariah courts and law are now officially recognized in cities across England, even as domestic abuse of Islamic women increases. There are reports that estimate there are now between 50,000 and 100,000 polygamous Muslim marriages in the U.S.

As Europe and England have learned, radical Islamists have a different definition of “co-existing” than we do. “Co-existing” ultimately means our values; traditions and practices must give way to theirs.

Don't let anyone fool you that political correctness is just about being "nice to people", tolerant and treating them with proper respect. That's called good manners. Political correctness has been deliberately designed to subvert free speech, debate and common sense, replacing these with a ruthlessly enforced set of left wing ideas. Far from being tolerant, politically correct people are the most intolerant of all people and have the worst manners. They refuse to debate subjects (as their views don't stand up to the most elementary scrutiny), preferring just to scream abuse at you. Should you question whether unfettered immigration into this country is necessarily a good thing or perhaps whether immigrants should be health checked, then you must be a nasty bigoted person.

So as you can see, I happen to disagree with your perspective.