A grim moment of candor

In a speech at Columbia University on Sept. 18, Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu had this to say:

The Muslim Ummah, means the 'community of the faithful'. It is a unique bond that has no similar example under any other political or religious system in the world. It is a belonging to ideals which bring Muslims together in an eternal brotherhood lock which transcends all other consideration of allegiance or loyalties or barriers of nationhood, ethnicity, geography or language.

Hence, according to one of the senior representatives of the Muslim world, it would seem that there is no such thing as a "Muslim American" or an "American Muslim," the two categories being mutually exclusive. This is implicitly recognized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the compound modifier in whose name is used advisedly. (See also Qur'an 48:29, which mandates that Muslims be "hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves.")

Ihsanoglu also assured his audience that:

Though the OIC is not a religious organization, we feel compelled on many occasions to clarify that Islam is the religion of moderation and compassion, a religion that celebrates diversity, pluralism, and recognition of the other.

Recognition indeed: as a crawling, cringing subordinate, as per Qur'an 9:29 and its exegesis by Ibn Kathir, who pointed out that a Muslim-conquered person is “disgraced, humiliated, and belittled. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced, and humiliated."

Ihsanolu went on to conflate criticism of Islam with "racial hatred," then boast, in the next breath, of considerable progress in our subordination:

A major bone of contention with the proponents of Islamophobia is the question of freedom of expression. Although all agree that any freedom is always linked to responsibility, such as respecting human rights, and avoiding any form of incitement to hatred on the basis of race or religious belief, we find that some circles tend to ignore this basic universal and moral value and accuse Muslim victims of this racial hatred, who are defending their human rights, nevertheless, of trying to stifle freedom of expression.

The collective efforts of the OIC and the member states have made an impact on the international community and have contributed towards raising global awareness of the dangerous implications of the phenomenon. Political leaders and opinion makers including academics and civil society leaders of the western world have now started to speak out against Islamophobia. ... The United States Government also showed its sensitivity to the concerns of the OIC by its decision to avoid anti Islamic terminology in their official memos and correspondences.

In the days after the Muslim-orchestrated atrocity of 9/11, the president of the United States declared that the jihadist attackers "hate our freedoms ... our freedom of speech," that they "kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life," and that in resisting them "we will not falter, and we will not fail." How terribly, how dreadfully, how shamefully hollow these words now sound, in light of Ihsanoglu's braggadoccio.

(Hat tip: Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna.)