Never Miss an Opportunity To Miss an Opportunity

The statement was made by an Israeli Prime Minister in response to the behaviour of Palestinians.   He said that they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Right now,  with the United Kingdom going for Brexit, (due to their refusal to accept the European Union’s demand to take a particular number of refugees)  with Donald Trump in the White House, and elections pending in many nations, one would have thought that Islamic nations and organisations would be quiet.

They would be quiet because so many Anti-Islamic persons are running for office.

Nope.

The Netherlands, which has always been a very open society, suddenly has someone running for office on a decidedly Anti-Islamic platform.

Geert Wilders is the anti-Islam leader of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV).   At first people would dismiss him, but considering recent events, he has become extremely popular and seems about to win.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish leader, has picked the exact wrong time to run off his mouth about the Netherlands.

“We know the Netherlands and the Dutch from the Srebrenica massacre, we know how rotten their character is from their massacre of 8,000 Bosnians there.”

Now someone about to vote, who is unsure about whether the vote should go to the current Prime Minister or to Wilders, hears this kind of attack from Turkey, and what will be the impact?   How will the insults and behaviour of the Turkish leader impact a voter?

There has been, for quite some time, a churning discomfort with Muslims in the Netherlands.  They don’t fit in, they seem to dilute Dutch culture, etc.    However, if Turkey had been silent, not demanding that the Netherlands allow itself to be used as a soap box for Turkish immigrants in that country, then, perhaps, Wilders would not be so popular.

Religious prejudice is on the rise in response to the influx of Muslim immigrants and growing fears of terrorism.  Both are  manipulated by politicians, who promote the idea that there are now so many nonwhite, non-Christians in the Netherlands that Dutch traditions will be lost or obliterated.

About ten percent of the population of the Netherlands is immigrant.   The figures are small enough, manageable enough to not impinge on Dutch culture to a great extent.

Many European nations, the Netherlands included, don’t want any more.  Simply put, the acts of terrorism by Muslims, the rhetoric, the feeling that Muslims are impinging on European culture,  have all pushed people into a more anti-Islamic position than they would normally occupy.

Now was not the time for Erdogan to run off his mouth and make insults and attacks.

If the Far Right wins in the Netherlands, it may signal the victory of other Far Right; anti-Islamic parties in the rest of Europe.

Some people seem to miss the big picture.  Some people seem not to look beyond their nose.