Egypt Aflame

The turmoil in Egypt must not be seen in isolation from other events in the world. Neither is it an aberration. It is the next scene in a long-running play whose final act is the domination of the world by radical Islamists.

The Obama administration has been delusional in its belief that dictators and religious fanatics can be coddled. It has also been dangerously wrong in thinking exposure to our way of life will make them more like us. In fact, such exposure has confirmed what they have been taught: that America and the West are secularists who mock God, sexualize women and live only for the pleasures of this world.

The history of radical Islamist movements is being repeated in our time. First there is infiltration and when their numbers are large enough, domination. Next comes subjugation, followed by eradication of nonbelievers. To think things will be different this time is folly.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in 1928 by Egyptian schoolteacher, Hassan al-Banna, is egging on the protestors in Egypt. The group's goal is to impose Islam on the world; its motto is: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." No mosque-state separation there.

Western secularists either don't believe this, or stupidly think these beliefs can be overcome. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood and their growing adherents, plan to overcome us and prove it daily.

"Not all Muslims are radicals." True. "Islam is fundamentally a peaceful religion." Also true. But the growing threat of radical Islam is real enough that we should be mindful of the exceptions, not the rule. To do otherwise dulls the senses and lulls us all into a false sense of security, which is exactly what our enemies want.

Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes, "Islamists wish to repeat their success in Iran by exploiting popular unrest to take power." That strategy worked in Russia a century ago when the communists exploited grievances against the czar to grab power. It worked in Germany when the Nazis used German humiliation following World War I to ride to power. Now it is Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon with more to come.

In her book, "Londonistan," Melanie Phillips writes, "we have long contracted our understanding of the extremists to the extremists." She means that instead of pursuing a policy to defeat radical Islamists, we have welcomed them among us. They are at the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, giving "sensitivity training" to people who are supposed to be protecting us from them. They are in prisons, organizing the disaffected into "hate America" cadres. They are military chaplains and in polling organizations, shaping the way questions are asked and manipulating results to further their interests.

This isn't "bigotry." It is provable fact, which the Islamists believe we will ignore.

One of our many errors occurred in the '90s when the clueless State Department thought the Palestinian Authority should have a democratic entity. It got behind Hamas (which the Muslim Brotherhood supports) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as he perpetuated the mirage called the "the peace process." After all, State must have "reasoned," Hamas leaders speak English, attended schools in the West, understand the media and can be trusted to run AID projects. It was all wishful thinking. We now call Hamas a terrorist organization. Too late. For more background visit http://counterterrorismblog.org/.

If Egypt falls -- immediately, or ultimately -- to the Muslim Brotherhood, it will embolden other fanatical revolutions throughout the region and world. Then they'll come after the big prizes: Europe, which is almost gone, and America, which still has time to save itself, if it will climb out of denial which, as the joke goes, is not just a river in Egypt.

Last week, U.S. border guards got a surprise when they discovered the radical Muslim cleric, Said Jaziri, trying to sneak into the United States across the Mexican border. They're coming to America.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) will soon hold hearings on the radicalization of Muslim communities in the U.S. Will he probe deeply enough? Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers will try to prevent him from doing so.

(Direct all MAIL for Cal Thomas to: Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207. Readers may also e-mail Cal Thomas at tmseditors@tribune.com.