Radical Islam glares at the West, but political correctness prevents Western nations from identifying the true breadth and depth of Islamist hatred. In this regard, Western governments have been ambushed by two enemies. On one embankment stands radical Islam and its desire for the total destruction of Western culture and society; on the other stands self-imposed political correctness and moral ambiguity, which prevent Western nations from dealing strongly with radical Islam.

This predicament has left Western governments with only one option in their efforts to thwart Muslim ambition: to appease and concede.

Political correctness demands tolerance and respect for Islam—even in its most radical and violent forms. Political correctness cherishes the rights of radical Islamists above national safety. Western governments may deal forcefully with individual terrorists, but political correctness prevents them from dealing forcefully with the noxious ideology motivating Islamist terrorists and the millions of Muslims who support them.

Political correctness protects radical Islam while handicapping the nations in which terrorist bombs are exploding.

Take Britain for example. Radical Islamist ideology looms as a formidable storm cloud over London’s streets. On May1, Melanie Phillips wrote, “[A]l Qaeda now sees Britain as both its principal target and its principal recruiting ground.” Entire suburbs are wombs protecting and nourishing thousands of homegrown terrorists. British intelligence has admitted it is tracking at least 200 terrorist networks, 1,600 individual terrorists and 30 known terrorist plots. Opinion polls have shown that more than 100,000 British Muslims believe the July 2005 London bombings were justified. Phillips reported that Britain’s leading counterterrorist police officer, Peter Clarke, warned recently that Britain faces “a terrorist threat of a nature and scale it has simply never seen before.” Terrorism besieges the nation.

How is the government responding? The government is largely aware of the terrorist threat but it has tied its hands with ropes of political correctness. The nation’s Human Rights Act is an apt example of how the government is appeasing the enemies in its midst. This law often prevents the government from deporting illegal and potentially dangerous intruders. Phillips wrote (emphasis ours throughout),

Only last week, the government was prevented from deporting two Libyan terrorist suspects, even though they came here illegally and are deemed to pose a serious threat to our lives, because our judges have said no one can be sent anywhere that might not uphold their human rights.

In this case, Britain’s politically correct law left the government with only one option: appease and concede! Phillips continued,

To defeat such extremism, we have to make it abundantly clear that we will not give an inch to those who want to destroy our values. But we appear instead to be doing nothing to stop the spread of radical Islamism. Indeed, in a myriad different ways we are giving out the lethal message that we have neither the will nor the courage to defend our way of life.

British leaders appease and make all sorts of concessions to the Muslims in their midst. Plans to construct the largest mosque outside the Islamic world in a section of prime London real estate are underway, and have the eager support of London mayor Ken Livingstone. British bankers and financiers are formulating Sharia-compliant investment funds in an effort to attract cash-laden Muslims and make London a hub of Islamic finance. Schools are changing their history lessons to avoid offending Muslim students. British law enforcement is turning a blind eye to the development of parallel Sharia jurisdictions enforced by Sharia courts.

Britain is flooded with laws and policies designed to appease Muslims. And what have these efforts done to diminish the threat of Islamic terrorism inside the nation? Nothing! The possibility of terrorist attacks occurring has never been higher. The fruits of Britain’s politically correct approach to radical Islam are painfully obvious: Appeasement and concession have only emboldened radical Islam and thrust it closer to victory.

The same principle applies to Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors. Ever since the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians gained traction in the early 1990s, Israel—with strong encouragement from America—has done little but appease and concede to Arab ambition. Over the past 15 years, Israel’s leaders have appeased their Arab neighbors by willfully watering down their own mental and emotional attachment to their nation and conceding to the Arabs’ claim to Israeli territory. Tangible fruits of Israeli appeasement and concessions include pulling back in 2000 from Israel’s self-declared safety zone in Lebanon (a move that surely empowered Hezbollah’s presence in the region), and giving the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians in summer 2005.

And how have the Palestinians and Arab nations responded? Multiple intifadas have raged. Bloody suicide attacks have taken the lives of hundreds of Israeli men, women and children. The terrorist group Hamas has gained control of the Palestinian government and garnered much support among Palestinians. Gaza has become a nest of terrorism, not to mention a launching pad for rockets fired into Israel. Last summer Hezbollah waged a short but brutal and for Israel, costly, war. The arc of hatred surrounding Israel has grown stronger and more influential. Radical Islamists are taking root in Egypt. Lebanon has been largely overpowered by Hezbollah. Syria is as hostile as ever; recent reports indicate that Damascus is preparing for war with Israel. In addition to all this, consider the rapid empowerment in recent years of Iran, the king of radical Islam and Israel’s most feared enemy.

Israel’s enemies have not only spent the last 15 years conceding nothing, they have exploited the time to build their power and influence, and to feed their hatred toward Israel!

Still Israel’s policy of appeasement and concession remains robust. Last month, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert celebrated Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers with a new appeal for peace. He assured the Palestinians and Israel’s Arab neighbors that his country was prepared to make “far-reaching compromises” and “very painful concessions.” Yes, you read that correctly: very painful concessions!

Israel’s enemies prepare for war; Ehud Olmert prepares for more concessions.

A mountain of evidence disproves the myth that appeasement and concessions will stem the rising tide of radical Islam. When will these nations wake up to the futility of their actions?

Recently, in the context of Israel’s territorial concessions to Lebanon in 2000, Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, correctly wrote, “territorial concessions act as a promoter of terrorism in that location and elsewhere by other Islamist groups.”

Ambassador Gold then summarized Israel’s (and Britain’s, and America’s) foreign policy with its radical Islamic enemies:

The cardinal error being made in the West in this case is in understanding what actually feeds terrorism. Those pushing Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice to secure even more Israeli concessions on the Palestinian track often believe that terrorism primarily emanates from political grievances. In fact, the history of the rise of al Qaeda and its affiliates demonstrates that they have grown due to the momentum of victory.

Rather than slow the advancement of radical Islam, the West’s policy of appeasement and concession propels them toward victory. The more political, ideological, judicial and geographic territory Israel, Britain and America concede to radical Islam, the greater the enthusiasm and excitement among Muslims for the eventual destruction of these nations.

When will the West realize this?

Sadly, as long as Western leaders, intellectuals and the media continue to view Islamic ambition through the politically correct kaleidoscope of tolerance, human rights and moral relativism, they will fail to see the true nature of the evil staring them in the face. Radical Islam is not some minor ideology rooted in the minds of a few terrorists; it is a deadly ideology promulgated by hundreds of Muslim leaders and believed in by millions of people around the world. It is a religion bent on retaking Jerusalem, spilling the blood of Jews and Christians across the globe, and establishing a worldwide Muslim caliphate.

Politically correct policies of appeasement and concession cannot stand up to such a force. Fact is, the West’s political correctness is fueling the rise of one of its deadliest enemies!