OPINION:
The voting public really knows how to let government have it. So enraged was it earlier this month about the shutdown (the fault of the Democrats, by the way) and the 84-cent-per-pound rise in the cost of ground beef that it took the courageous step of … voting in large numbers for radical-left politicians, including a record number of Muslims.
Apparently, the best way to fix what ails us as a country is through way more free stuff to people who haven’t earned it — paid for, apparently, by some unwitting, endlessly wealthy and willing taxpaying contingent — and a walloping dose of anti-Americanism, antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Among the thousands of newly elected officials are 42 Muslims who are soon to be installed or reinstalled in positions such as New York City mayor, Virginia lieutenant governor and New Jersey assemblyman.
What do they have in common besides religion? They are overwhelmingly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish, and if Europe’s slide toward Shariah in recent decades is any indication of what we have signed up for by electing them, things are looking grim indeed.
All across Europe — in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Sweden — Muslims have established numerous “no-go zones” in which governments and their police forces are losing or have already effectively lost control. (Last year, Robin Simcox, then counter-extremism czar for the British government, called the entirety of London a “no-go zone for Jews.”)
In these places, Western women, people identifiable as Jews and openly gay people are almost guaranteed harassment, if not physical assault and even murder. Muslim clerics routinely issue death threats to females who do not veil, and streets are frequently plastered with signs reading, “You are entering a Shariah-controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced.”
It should come as little surprise that these areas’ emergence, the accompanying loss of local law enforcement control and the uptick in attacks on specific groups have occurred in tandem with an increase in the number of Muslim immigrants to Europe and Muslim politicians in European governments.
Belgium has an openly Islamist political party. England has “Shariah councils.” Denmark has implemented a sacrilege law.
This all sounds a lot more like the description of an Islamic state than democratic, Judeo-Christian Europe.
But wait, you might say. None of that could happen here. The Muslim politicians we elected Nov. 4 (all Democrats, in the positions where party affiliation applies) are Americans. They’re for freedom, Western values and U.S. allies. They’re against extremism.
Want to bet?
In addition to the Jew-hating Mr. Mamdani — who has refused to denounce the terror-inciting phrase “globalize the intifada” and hobnobs with such inspirational figures as Brooklyn imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted 1993 World Trade Center bombing coconspirator — here’s a brief rundown of some of the concerning electees and their positions:
- As state senator, Virginia Lt. Gov.-elect Ghazala Hashmi abstained from voting on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, urged colleagues not to adopt the definition and participated in protests of Israel.
- Reelected mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, who has repeatedly said Israel engages in “genocide” and “apartheid,” recently bullied a Christian minister, Ted Barham, at a City Council meeting after Mr. Barham complained about the city’s naming two busy intersections after a Hamas and Hezbollah supporter. Mr. Hammoud told Mr. Barham that he was “not welcome” in Dearborn and that “a parade” would be thrown if he moved away.
- Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul, who has called Israel a “terrorist state,” recently said, “Zionism has proven how evil our society can be.” In a 2023 X post, he blamed Israel for a missile that hit the parking lot of a Gaza Strip hospital, citing casualty numbers given by (who else?) Hamas. It was soon discovered that the projectile had been launched from within Gaza, but Mr. Rasoul neither apologized for nor removed the post.
In many cases, it’s too early to tell whether any of these luminaries will openly promote Shariah, float a few innocent apostasy or blasphemy law bills or publicly encourage “freedom fighters” to seek out and destroy Zionists and Jews. Unfortunately, however, it’s more likely a matter of when than if. (In Mr. Hammoud’s Dearborn, just last week, three upstanding residents were arrested on charges of plotting an Islamic State group-inspired Halloween terrorist attack. The city also has a daily predawn Muslim call to prayer that regularly exceeds city noise ordinance levels. Slippery slope? You tell me.)
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. You get what you vote for too. Just don’t be surprised when that free — subpar, no doubt — day care comes with a mandatory headscarf.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.
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