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On Victor Davis Hanson's web site, Bruce Thornton discusses Robert Spencer's latest book, The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims:

As for those fantasies of intercultural harmony entertained by many Western multiculturalists, consider this verse from the Qur'an: “O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turn to them (for friendship) is of them.” As Spencer reminds us, “This is the Qur'an that pious Muslims cherish and memorize in its entirety; it is for them their primary guide to understanding how they should make their way in the world and deal with other people. It is nothing short of staggering that the myth of Islamic tolerance could have gained such currency in the teeth of the Qur'an's open contempt and hatred for Jews and Christians and incitements to violence against them.” Spencer's survey of the Hadith, the words and deeds attributed to Muhammed and second in authority to the Qur'an; the interpretations of the Hadith and Qur'an by centuries of Islamic jurisprudence; and the writings of modern Islamic radicals like Sayyid Qutb, the premier theorist of modern jihad, testifies to a consistent tradition of intolerance towards non-Muslims and the divine sanction to subdue them to Islam.

In the final analysis, either Islam will need to reform itself away from its intolerance of other cultures and its unity of religion and state, or we will need to surrender (literally "submit") to Islam. It is not a question of "tolerance," it is a question of survival.

Western liberalism (i.e. freedom and liberty) and Islam as currently interpreted are polar opposites, and there can be no compromise. One will triumph, and the other will either change drastically or perish from the Earth.

That's the elephant in the living room that precious few people are talking about. Victor Hanson and Bruce Thornton are two of those who are beginning to address the issue.