Allah in Europe – And on the Moon
You can learn a lot about how Europe is changing by talking to former Europeans, explains Frank Genao, a bartender who winters in the Dominican Republic. He pours drinks for countless expatriates who were disturbed by the transformation of their nations by immigrants who don't respect their countries' "values, laws, or freedoms" and packed their bags.
I’m sitting in the Dominican Republic talking to one of the many European workers who have migrated down here in recent years. “How long you been on the island?” I ask him.
“Oh, about four years now,” he replies.
What brought you to this particular island?” I ask, always curious as to why so many foreigners have come here.
“I came here,” he says, “because I got tired of the Belgium winters, the unemployment, and the influx of immigrants that don’t respect Belgium values, laws, or freedoms.”
Funny. I’ve been hearing this same answer over and over, or variations of it, for the past five years or so, especially since 9/11.
“Look,” he bends over the bar to get closer to me, “I’m from Brussels, Frank. I’ve lived in Belgium my whole life, I love my country, and I love my culture. I went to school with a lot of immigrants; many of whom I worked with, studied with and who became my closest friends. I played football with them, hung out with them.
“But when nearly all my Muslim friends despise the Belgium system, despise our education system, despise our tax system, our culture, our values, and our way of life, and then, on top of that, do everything in their powers to exploit our system to the fullest, well, you just get sick of it, and eventually, you don’t want to be around it any more.”
After making me an espresso, he leans back over the bar and continues, “Listen, Frank, you just can’t escape the lack of logic going on in Europe right now: In Belgium, France, England, Italy, and elsewhere, the Muslim community have sympathy for Al Qaeda, they have sympathy for Osama Bin Laden, they have sympathy for people that blow themselves up in the name of Allah, and they don’t show even the remotest sense of outrage over innocent people being killed in their own back yards.”
“You mean Madrid and Britain?”
“Yeah.. It makes you question their sense of values and justice. They won’t protest the senseless murders committed everyday in the name of Allah, but they come out in the hundreds of thousands to protest a caricature of Muhammad. Where is the logic?”
He shakes his head and goes to wait on other customers. I’ve been thinking about how many similar stories I’ve heard down here in the last few years from Italians, Swiss, German, French, and now, a Belgium bartender.
I have similar experiences myself. I’m a bartender in Oslo, Norway, where I’ve worked on and off for the last ten years. Although I’m an American, I migrated to Norway in the 90’s after meeting a Norwegian woman. I found myself working in the service industry simply because it was the only occupation that allowed me to escape the cold, dark Scandinavian winters and return in the spring when the sun comes back.
Norway is a fabulous place. The people are gentle and kind, and go about their daily lives in a peaceful, unstressed manner, unaffected by most of the world’s problems. I’ve gotten to know and make friends with a lot of Norwegians over the years, and many of these relationships have blossomed into life-sharing experiences. Bartending is one of the few occupations in life where, for good or bad, one is paid basically talk to people, get to know them, and listen to their troubles and complaints (sometimes, unfortunately, for hours). Over the years, I have met more than my share of colorful characters, and many of those encounters have blossomed into lifelong friendships.
Nearly all of the Scandinavians that I’ve gotten to know through bartending in Oslo have been wonderful, gentle people, the kind you want to work alongside in times of stress and chaos They’re honest to a fault. When it’s last call, for example, and people are crowding the bar, trying to get in a last order for drinks, and money is flying in all directions, I’ve witnessed, on more occasions than I can remember, Norwegian bartenders leaving the bar completely and wading through the dense crowds just to give someone back the change he’s forgotten.
It must have been 1997 or 1998 that I noticed a growing anti-Americanism on the part of Norwegians I had known for years. Sometimes it took an innocent angle-anti-Mc Donald’s, anti-Coca-Cola, etc. Which was weird, because while I, an American, have never drunk soft drinks or eaten at McDonald’s, nearly all my European friends love them. But the contradictions don’t stop there. Europeans also like to complain about the commercialization and low quality of American movies, music, etc. And yet the young people are captivated by American culture. They emulate the rap culture’s street slang, the hand gestures and ghetto talk. In fact they copy nearly everything they find even remotely interesting or lacking in their own culture. The contradictions are as fascinating as they are bizarre.
Then there are the immigrants. The ones I’ve become friends with are fantastic people. Most are Muslims whose parents came to Norway in the 70’s to work, or in some cases, were fleeing war or persecution, in particular the Balkans war in the 90’s. Nearly all have been extremely easy-going, polite people, whom I consider my closest friends.
If Norwegians are suckers for cheap drinks, jokes about Swedes or Finns, and warm, exotic climates, the male Muslim immigrants I’ve met are suckers for easy blond women, jokes about the U.S.A., conspiracy theories, myths, half-truths, and exaggerated stories about American values and morals. They love anything that makes the U.S. look inept, immoral, incompetent, or insignificant.
I’m still trying to come to terms with some of these contradictions. I had a second-generation Pakistani man, Mustaffa, sit at my bar and explain to me how 9/11 was a U.S. government conspiracy. When I asked Mustaffa about the video surveillance of some of the hijackers going through airport security on 9/11, he simply explained that the video had been doctored by the CIA. The whereabouts of the hijackers since 9/11? They were still in hiding. I said, “In hiding? It’s been 5 years and not one of them has ever been seen by anyone. Not even their family members have heard from them?” To which he calmly replied, “There’s nothing unusual about this. It’s possible to go into hiding for years without ever being seen by anyone. Look at Osama bin Laden.”
Another very nice Pakistani sat at my bar and announced matter-of-factly, in front of six other customers, “There are no homosexuals in Pakistan!” We all started laughing and then we asked him questions that challenged this assumption. He wasn’t the least bit fazed. He was convinced that it was true, but eventually qualified his statement by saying, “Well, I can tell you for sure that there are no Muslim homosexuals in Pakistan!”
On another occasion, far removed from a bar atmosphere, sitting on a bench in front of the Norwegian parliament building, a Pakistani friend told me, “The word Ali or Allah is written in Arabic on the moon and can be seen with the naked eye.” When I asked him how this was possible, he answered, “If you combine the craters in the right way, the word Ali or Allah is spelled out.” I pointed out that if you can form one word out of the millions of craters on the moon, then you can almost certainly form many other words.
But he wasn’t impressed.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
23 Comments
1. RE:And yet the few indigenous Europeans that stand up to it are labeled neo-Nazis, racists, and the like from many very misguided and pompous Americans.
Feb 3, 2008 - 3:59 am 2. Mats:Well, there are europeans who are neo-nazis, who want to “purify” the continent. HOwever, there are other indigenous europeans who sincerely want Europe to retain it’s culture, religion and freedom. In factm, even many non-indigenous want that. The only ones who want to destory the character of europe are eurabian leaders and Muzzies.
Feb 3, 2008 - 5:03 am 3. Eric:Europe is headed for a very dark period and unfortunately too many Liberal/Lefty types will hurl insults and vilify the Europeans as “racists” as they attempt to make sure their lands are not overrun and their cultures subsumed in a Muslim tide. God forbid Europe be allowed to retain its identity! Seems whites have no right to exist even in Europe where they are the indigenous people.
Feb 3, 2008 - 5:49 am 4. ClericalGal:Maybe it’s just me, but if I tended bar and a customer said to me that 9/11 was a government conspiracy, I would call over the bouncers to kick his or her sorry butt out the door.
Feb 3, 2008 - 7:26 am 5. Osloer:Frank,
Thank you for your kind words about us Norwegians.
There´s no doubt the muslims over here hold some highly disturbing views that need to be adressed. When the leaders of Islamsk Råd and the Muslim Student Association refused to condemn death penalty for homosexuals, I was shocked.
But all the people here foreseeing a “dark future” and “sharia Norway” in ten years – they are wrong. I¬¥d say our society is more than strong enough to hold ground. The problem, though, is “ghettofication” – a parallel society. But a muslim takeover is not imminent, so please don¬¥t pull the “you don¬¥t even have guns to defend yourself” – card. Please.
Feb 3, 2008 - 10:05 am 6. Keih:Look, I’m a libertarian by nature. The fact is, we have a lot of people out there with different ways of thinking the world should be. The problems only arise when one side tries to tell the other what to do.
I’m tired of the left trying to convince me that multicultralism is the way to go, or that the politics of race, class, socio-economics– whatever–justify past wrongs (whether actual or perceived). Heck, they’re entitled to their ideas. Who knows? Maybe they’re right. Or maybe its right for them.
But I value my culture. I love it and do not want to lose it or have to apoligize for it. And I know a lot of Europeans and Americans value our beliefs in the enlightenment, scientific methodology, individual responsibility and liberty.
And, as crazy as it may sound, I think its time for a grand experiment. We need our own land. A clear choice for people to make. On the one side, a land where these values are charished and reign supreme. On the other, they can spend every last cent on social programs, redistribution of wealth, mixing cultures, and social engineering. Be my guest. Just allow me to do what I want without a government coercing me to do what it thinks is best for me.
Anybody have any ideas for a homeland? Newfoundland? New Hampshire? Dominican Republic? Czech Republic? Or should we get more ambitious and propose a geographical latitudinal boarder line?
And in my mind, I don’t think there will be ANY doubt which civilization will flourish and which will decay into chaos and poverty. But then again, I might be wrong.
Who’s on board?
Feb 3, 2008 - 12:04 pm 7. Little Green:You speak as if Europe has always been a perfect place until Muslims showed up and “especially since 9/11″. When Europeans were at killing each other, there were no Muslims at sight and that was less than 70 years ago. Which great culture are you talking about? Nazism and Fascism? Or Communism that was born in Europe. Or maybe the great culture of colonialization were you were the masters and the brown people were your subjects?
Feb 3, 2008 - 2:10 pm 8. En Svensk Tiger. Inte mer!:“And yet the few indigenous Europeans that stand up to it are labeled neo-Nazis, racists, and the like from many very misguided and pompous Americans.”.
I would say it’s not only Americans who say these things. But you Americans who say these things to us Europeans should see the film Obsession and ask your self: “Who are really, the real nazis?”.
Me, myself have gone to work every morning; In the winter time it’s dark when I go and dark when I come home; For short, in Sweden we have a “shitty” climate, one of the poorest middle classes in the world (you have to win the lottery to become rich in Sweden). Maybe it’s so because we have one of the highest taxes in the world. So what do you get for all the tax money you pay; Well, more “refuges” who wants to enjoy the benefits of the Swedish society of course, I mean they won’t come for the nice climate.
So these “refuges” who comes to Sweden aren’t really refuges according to international laws, only 5% are (and they should be protected of course). These “refuges” throws away their passports and tickets before seeking asylum. This makes it very hard to investigate their cases and finally some of them get to stay of humanitarian reasons. The rest gets a “ticket” home, but they don’t obey, they hide instead. After a few year like this they finally get asylum. Today the Swedish politicians wants hidden “refuges” to get health-care and schooling. If your American politicians would allow something like that, wouldn’t you be pissed off?
Sadly all established politicians in Sweden obviously supports this system and likewise a majority of Swedish citizens are against this system of misuse. So what party should I vote for in the elections then, when all established parties work contrary to what I and a majority of the Swedish people wants? Well there is a small but growing party called the Sweden Democrats (Sverige demokraterna), who seems to address these questions and have a solution to a rising problem. Likewise similar parties starts to grow in other European countries, because people can no longer trust the trusted.
These rising parties are of cause the most greatest treat ever to the established politicians bread and butter (I wish they got bread and water instead, but they don’t). No wonder they do everything within theirs power to crush this popular political resistance. Among things the established parties do are:
1) Supports communist thugs who beat up Sweden Democrats and destroys their political meetings etc.
2) Calls every one who is against this misuse of tax money: racist, nazi, …
3) Destroys the livelihood for active Sweden Democrats when they are able to
4) Keeps the “lid” on public discussion of present problems: freedom of speech, expenses, crime rates, …
5) Have “secret” agreement with journalist (a majority of Swedish “journalists” are left wing): Don’t see any evil, don’t hear any evil and thus don’t tell about any evil; This prevents the citizens to see the problems and solve them in democratic elections.
6) Frequently change the laws of freedom of speech that have been working excellent since hundreds of years!
7) Starts the road of apeasment towards certain groups
Creates double standards and laws
9) Creates discrimination laws aimed against native Swedes
10) Elections frauds against the Sweden Democrats
11) Denial of postal services for information from Sweden Democrats
12) I’m sure that this list are longer, but since I’m not a member of the Sweden Democrats and I don’t have all information about valid and coming laws I cannot make the list longer.
After reading these things I wrote, can you honestly blame people for going “ballistic” verbally when they understand what’s going on? This of course can be mistaken for something else than what it is.
So once for all, you Americans, see things for what it is, go to the source and find out what’s real and what’s not.
Obviously we need help with protecting our freedom of speech (even painting all kind of dogs), objective journalism, fact findings, … so that we can get objective information. If we don’t get this help, I’m afraid that within a decade or two, the coming changes will bring back Sweden to the middle ages (literally and in all aspects). That wouldn’t only be a sad thing for us Swedes, but also a premonition of what’s gone happen to you Americans later on (or maybe erlier, who knows?).
Feb 3, 2008 - 2:54 pm 9. Gringo:Perhaps this is preaching to the choir, but Bruce Bawer’s While Europe Slept gives a good summary of what Europe faces. He also has a website.Bawer is a gay American who lives in Europe, but found out that America is not so bad compared to Europe, for similar reasons as stated in the above article,
Feb 3, 2008 - 2:58 pm 10. O'Connor:Bawer wrote about Norway specifically in a 2004 essay titled ‘Hating America’, in ‘The Hudson Review’. His following lines perfectly characterize the experience I was having in Ireland in the autumn of 2001:
“… Then came September 11. Briefly, Western European hostility toward the U.S. yielded to sincere, if shallow, solidarity (’We are all Americans’). But the enmity soon re-established itself (a fact confirmed for me daily on the websites of the many Western European newspapers I had begun reading online). With the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, it intensified. Yet the endlessly reiterated claim that George W. Bush ’squandered’ Western Europe’s post-9/11 sympathy is nonsense. The sympathy was a blip; the anti-Americanism is chronic. …”
http://www.hudsonreview.com/BawerSp04.html
Feb 3, 2008 - 5:07 pm 11. Little Much:If a person can be convinced there are no muslim homosexuals and that ‘ALLAH” is spelled out on the moon, then you can convince him of anything… including but not exclusive to – all infidels must either be converted or killed.
Very strange people. Very strange, or ignorant, i’m just not sure.
Feb 3, 2008 - 5:38 pm 12. Nelson:I remember when my aunt visited from Cuba and insisted that the Russians had been on the moon.
Feb 3, 2008 - 7:17 pm 13. Noga:In the last two days only I read that:
“This study shows that honour killings, domestic violence, forced marriage and FGM [Female Genital Mutilation] are not isolated practices but are instead part of a self-sustaining social system built on ideas of honour and cultural, ethnic and religious superiority. As a result of these ideas, every day around the UK women are being threatened with physical violence, rape, death, mutilation, abduction, drugging, false imprisonment, withdrawal from education and forced marriage by their own families.”
I read that “THE Holocaust Memorial Day marking the genocides of the 20th century was marred on Sunday when a gang of youths stoned Jewish tourists on a guided tour of London’s East End.”
I read that “Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion. ”
And now I read that a European believes that Allah’s name is written on the moon.
Feb 3, 2008 - 8:37 pm 14. lola:Just like the fashion trends from Europe, show up a couple of years later in North America so could their problems if not addressed on time.
We can at least use the heads up. If we do.
Feb 3, 2008 - 9:53 pm 15. Deborah:When I read things like this I see now how the Nazis came to power. It’s incremental, it’s denial, it’s thinking “it’s not so bad.” At least articles like these force people to face things. Please, let us all look at what scares us!
–”Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — James Baldwin
Feb 4, 2008 - 11:39 am 16. Morton Doodslag:“And yet the few indigenous Europeans that stand up to it are labeled neo-Nazis, racists, and the like from many very misguided and pompous Americans.”
Sorry, but the cue for this trend comes directly from the Europeans themselves — the thriving left over there has had a 60 year orgy of cancerous America bashing while arrogantly flaunting their lousy socialistic communistic tendencies (tendencies underwritten, I might add, but the long suffering American taxpayer who funded Europe’s defense for so long…) So don’t go bashing Americans yet again for labeling Europe’s last remaining defenders. At least we still have free speech, even to say stupid things. They no longer do in Europe due to their Soviet EU nightmare.
Europe is being buried alive by both the socialist Europeans and the vile Muslim insurrectionists simultaneously. This time, they’ll have to fight and defend themselves, or, having lost that impulse, fall to the forces of socialism, communism, and Islam.
The moral relativism exhibited by Frank Genao in his charming conversations with America loathing Muslims (drinking in bars no less) exemplifies the rudderless clueless mindset that has brought Europe so low.
Feb 4, 2008 - 5:36 pm 17. RE:Morton Doodslag:
Discernment and differentiation are skills worth developing.
Like America, Europe is not a monolithic block. I’m not much interested in the Europeans hate me because I’m an American either. Yes, there are a great many reasons why Americans should be enraged with Europe. But there remains a great many good and decent people that I’m not willing to write off just yet – people like the poster ‘En Svensk Tiger. Inte mer!’ up above and the Sweden Democrat Party he speaks of. European socialists attempt to smear them as racist for opposing insane immigration policies and American lefties fall right in with the smear campaign because that is what they want to see, ignorant as ignorant can be about it.
And channel some of that anger you have towards anti-American Europeans back at Hollywood and the American left for their penchant for negative caricatures and stereotypes. They’ve been working very hard to make America look as bad as possible for a long, long time. Many of the Euros spouting their bile are indeed malicious people, but many more just don’t get the full story, the media and governments being what they are there.
Feb 4, 2008 - 7:37 pm 18. Morton Doodslag:RE – in truth, the enemy of us all is Islam, and the insane and ignorant devotion to multiculturalism which has invited millions of them into our homelands. My point above was that there’s plenty of blame to go around, but since the Europeans are at the vanguard of the most vile and bigoted anti-Americanism, along with rampant Muslim immigration and appeasement, I suggest their problems must be confronted head on by the Europeans themselves.
Europeans will no not deserve, nor have they any right to expect to see Americans coming to their salvation like we did so many times in the last century. They will either confront their various and uhly mental distortions and philosphical cancers, or succumb to them. I haven’t written them off quite yet, but I’m unimpressed with their effort so far. Of course they’re not all bad — I certainly never said so, but taken collectively, Europes conduct in the world is an utter disgrace. Their gargantuan failures are not in any way our fault, and certainly Americans have earned the right to say and think whatever we want about their deplorable performance in recent times.
Feb 4, 2008 - 8:38 pm 19. Tom:“Well, there are europeans who are neo-nazis, who want to “purify” the continent. HOwever, there are other indigenous europeans who sincerely want Europe to retain it’s culture, religion and freedom. In factm, even many non-indigenous want that. The only ones who want to destory the character of europe are eurabian leaders and Muzzies.”
Yes but those non-nazi’s are the ones that are being labeled nazi. You see the real nazi’s are, like their 1920’s 30’s brothers, they are sociasocialists lists/communists (e.g. the NSV is).
But labeling lefty nutcases nazi (even if they are in favor of killing all “non-pure” people, usually for the definition du jour of “pure”) is just not done. (and obviously by this definition the most fascist faction is the muslims themselves).
Merely upholding our laws (by for example mandating that one is not confronted with religious symbols – the headscarf – a religious symbol of purity no less), is a crime these days.
Feb 5, 2008 - 4:34 am 20. brad:Should any country which values its culture, traditions, freedoms, ever consider allowing people asylum from countries controlled by an fascist religion? How can a person be expected to function in the new host country? Without the education and skills required to advance in the open society, the immigrant will have to depend on the existing immigrant community for his very survival. That is where the Mosque may enter the person’s life. So to question how these immigrants don’t want to embrace Western lifestyles is ridiculous. You cannot expect a penguin to survive in the desert. The immigrant has no sense of living within the laws of Western courts. He obeys the laws of his religion, period. Why have the leftist, socialists refused to understand this?
Feb 5, 2008 - 5:22 am 21. RE:Morton Doodslag
As far as the European political class and media is concerned I am in agreement with you. There is nothing in the dominant European mindset that I am interested in defending. I have long been an advocate of US withdrawal from NATO and distancing ourselves from the European elitists that really do hate our guts.
(Poland and Czechoslovakia are of course exceptions to the rule)
Feb 5, 2008 - 6:18 am 22. JFP:Deborah:
Yes, though it’s also a matter of looking at the wrong enemy. The Communists in Germany decided that the Nazis could be ignored but that the Social Democrats were fascists who must be stopped, even though they were left of center.
Today, most leftists think Muslims can be ignored, but that evangelical Christians are fascists who must be stopped.
The parallel isn’t exact because eveangelical Christians are right of center, but they are still much closer to the center than Muslims are.
Feb 5, 2008 - 6:28 am 23. Deano:Just another perspective and its a Canadian one. Some of the oldest people on this earth are our First Nations Indians. They prey to the wind, the rain the sun and the earth… they claim they have been oppressed by the white man for years and they blame us for what they have indured. They get free education, they opererate some of the largest Casinos yet only a few of the Indians reap the benefits of the Casino income that is controled soley by them. They recieve monthly cheques that exceed the normal working class in Canada. Yet they are oppressed,. So like the Muslims, the Jews, The Italians the Germans, The Asians, The Americans, The Canadians ect.; every one else is at faults. They believe other nations, religions, colours, beliefs are the reason for there demise. How ever prior to the white man the First Nations were at war with each other trying to wipe out each others clans, whether they be Mohawks, Iroquois, apaches, they faugth over hunting grounds, travel routes or it could have been an issue of them not understanding another clans ways or appearances. What has changed…History repeats it self over and over..Every nation has warred within itself.its always some one else’s doing…Wake up and take responsability for your selves…as individuals, familys, country’s…Respect life…if we did; things would be alot easier…Until then the world will never change, its not about religion or colour or geographical areas… those are excuses, so keep bitchin because that is why we have bartenders like Frank…… they listen to your shit, like they were your own Doctor. Keep up the great work Frank!
Feb 20, 2009 - 2:45 pm