In the early 700's A.D., the Muslims (known as the Moors) invaded the Iberian Peninsula, an area that included Portugal and Spain (which were then under Christian rule), and conquered the territory, renaming it al-Andalusia. The area was under Islamic control from that time, until 1492, when the Spaniards finally expelled the Moors, an event known to history as La Reconquista.
La Reconquista is still celebrated to this day in cities across Spain. Many of these cities burn Mohammed in effigy, or stuff a likeness of Mohammed with fireworks, which make him "explode" when set off. This year, however, things are different. Why? Well, because the Moors are back, and the Spaniards are afraid:
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish villages are toning down traditional fiestas in which revelers blow up dummies representing the Prophet Mohammed for fear of offending Muslims, the newspaper El Pais reported on Monday. One eastern Spanish village, Bocairent, decided to abandon the custom of packing the head of a dummy representing Mohammed with fireworks after seeing the angry response by Muslims to a Danish newspaper’s publication last year of cartoons of him.
El Pais found that several other villages in the Valencia region had also modified similar fiestas this year. It carried out the investigation after a Berlin opera house decided last week to cancel performances of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” because the production included a scene depicting Mohammed’s severed head.
Bocairent’s mayor, Antonio Valdes, said blowing up the Mohammed dummy was offensive. “It just wasn’t necessary, and, as it could hurt some people’s feelings, we decided not to do it,” he said.
This is one of the saddest examples of the creeping Muslim re-colonialization of Europe. The Spanish may tell themselves they are merely being considerate of the feelings of their Islamic brothers, but their is no reciprocal consideration for the feelings of Spaniards.
In our modern era, the Moors don't have to enter our countries with swords and horses. They can come over on commercial airliners, get citizenship, and outbreed us, threatening us the whole time, and making it clear they intend to turn our countries into Islamic states.
And, we allow it.
4 comments:
Well, this is disgusting of course. But here is viewed as something "multicultural" and "very normal". Yesterday, in EL PAIS, there was an interview with Tariq Ramadam, that I think I am going to translate if I have some time. The interview is about the unjustices that people had done to him, and how moderate and good he is.
So I am not the least surprised. There are a lot of Spanish bloggers sincerely claiming against this. But there is no real claiming against this type of measures from prominent political figures, Aznar and fellow PP MP, ArÃstegui -against whom there is a fatwa calling from his blood-, being a very important exception, such as the one that Merkel said some days ago.
If you critisize Islamists -not to say Islam- you are instantly considered a far-right extremist, with all the connotations that those words have here, after Franco's dictatorship. And normal people in the streets are firstly, outraged, but second, silenced because they do not want to be considered as extremists.
I know that for foreigners this is very difficult to understand, but the worst insult you can call someone here -politically speaking- is "Fascist", not communist -for me, equally wrong...-. Even Mr. Zapatero has called right-wingers this same week-end to "drive themselves away from the far-right extremists". Not only because of this matter of course, mostly because of ETA negotiation. BUT other topics such immigration's disaster, the territorial problem or insecurity are beginning to create a rare feeling here.
And well, the conquest of Spain in the 8th century was very similar to the one nowadays: political unstability, no sense of country as a whole and stupid or directly corrupt politicians. It was afterwards that they learned what it was all about... ;) There was no uprising: it was the feeling, long-time cherished, of a country where they could live by their own rules, not by the ones imposed by foreign people. Reconquest is a very complex phenomenon, but at the same time very simple to explain: people wanted to "resurrect" the old kingdom of the Goths, the only real Spanish-Portuguese independent entity by that time. And that included telling the Moors: Go Home.
Please let some of that blood of the Visigoths and Suebis still burn enough in Spaniards that some will still feel the pride that they took back their lands! That the North held out! Spanish pride has always been so strong, and it is still in this hemisphere, the light can't burn out back home!
Gosh, I really am a mutt, huh?
Blueslord,
The word fascist is used by the lefties here in the U.S. in the same way as you describe. However, it doesn't work very well. We conservatives just laugh it off.
However, I anticipate things are going to get worse before they get better. I believe that people on the counter-Jihadi front will have some bad things happen to them here in the US and in Europe.
On the other hand, you would be happy to know that people like Robert Spencer and Brigitte Gabriel show up on news show and talk radio here in the States. And, certain of our politicians, like Mitt Romney, Tom Tancredo, and Newt Gingrich actually do understand the threat we are under.
PG,
I simply don't believe that what was is lost. I believe the pride still burns. Thing is, when a country is tired of war, and is under no current threat, they will elect leaders who do not speak of war, but who instead believe in "peace." This becomes a habit.
Therefore, the leadership sits atop the nation proudly proclaiming the ideas that got them elected, never knowing that underneath them, the will of the people is changing.
The leaders are the last to know.
Problem is, a big change is needed, and if the leaders don't hear that and respond, then the change is going to be violent.
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