Dutch Report: Don't Judge Islam

A Dutch think tank -- the tank in this case being a sensory deprivation chamber -- insists that Islam is compatible with human rights. The report makes many favorable generalizations about Islam, while warning against making any generalizations critical of Islam, as the resulting "us vs. them" divide is not just wrong, but dangerous. Comparably dangerous as subway bombings, murder in the streets, rapes, riots, and death threats, no doubt.

A new report submitted to the Dutch government has sparked controversy by arguing that Islam does not conflict with either human rights or Dutch values. The report is the fruit of three years' work by the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), a think-tank in The Hague which advises the government.

Jan Schoonenboom, a member of the council who supervised the research, says it highlights the variety and dynamism of Islamic activism. While there are radical, jihadi trends, there are also more mainstream Islamic movements which are moving, albeit slowly, towards democratisation.

The Somali-born Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a well-known critic of Islam, has said it lacks professionalism and undermines free speech.

On the contrary, Mr Schoonenboom told the BBC, by discussing Islam in this way the report is opening up serious debate and challenging widely-accepted stereotypes.

As usual, academics who are forever praising themselves for their courage and innovative analysis fail to recognize that their view is the stereotype that stifles debate and needs challenging. Which the Cartoon Wars did rather powerfully -- in just three weeks, rather than the three years it took to produce this fishwrap.