Pepperdine: Pipes', Steyn's and Hirsi Ali's compromising Friends in Germany

From "At Home in Europe":

A German Mouthpiece for Hirsi Ali and Daniel Pipes: Udo Ulfkotte

Dr. Udo Ulfkotte is a German security expert. Trained as a lawyer, he serves business and security agencies like the American NSA in the anti-spy sector.
He and his front organizations like "PAX-Europe" were some time busy attacking "greens, leftists, reds, and islamist fundamentalists". Recently, he put his activities into a higher gear, following instructions from Hirsi Ali and her friends (see my Daniel Pipies Rallies his Friends against Islam and Eurabia in this Blog - 11.6.07), declaring outright that "Islam" as such is undermining Europe (creating a phantomatic "Eurabia"). He might have been inspired by Dutch ex-conservative-liberal Geert Wilders, who, with a similar one-issue program, won 10 seats in the 150-strong national Parliament in The Hague.

The Dutch international Public Radio Programme's Blog section carries (13.6.07) a contribution by its Berlin correspondent Laurens Bovens, that we reproduce here:

(RNW - Radio Nederland Wereldomroep Logo)

'German Wilders' attacks Islam

by Laurens Bovens

13-06-2007

Just like Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, a politician has appeared in Germany who is warning against "a tsunami of Islamisation." His name is Udo Ulfkotte, a former journalist who has often made appearances on German Television programmes as an expert on Islam. But Mr Ulfkotte has turned over a new leaf. He is working on the formation of a political party. A party that is to defend Christian values in Germany and Europe against what he regards as the increasing influence of radical Islam.

Udo Ulfkotte (Photo from own website )

Cheers go up when Udo Ulfkotte declares: "I am not with the left, I am not with the right, I am with the Lord God"He casts his eyes upward. Mr Ulfkotte is a confirmed Christian, but one who belongs to a movement that believes living together with Muslims is practically impossible. "European values are those of the Judeo-Christian tradition: peace, freedom, democracy and tolerance."

"Muslims are different, they are from a different tradition. This is clearly demonstrated at many schools in the Netherlands and Germany by the extent to which children are willing to use violence. Muslims are in many ways different from Europeans."

Lecture
Fifty people have come to attend Udo Ulfkotte's lecture in an out-of-the-way hall in a poor Berlin district. This is where the fledgling politician, who travels far and wide and also lectures abroad, tells his tale for the umpteenth time. Just like Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders did before him, he talks of a tsunami of Islamisation. Mr Ulfkotte means to say that European governments are too easily swayed to give in to the demands of radical Muslims. Where will that lead? Mr Ulfkotte goes through a long list of examples:

He claims that Germany allows polygamy among Muslims. And that some swimming pools have introduced separate opening hours for Muslims and non-Muslims. He asks himself why 'we' accept that some parents do not have their children innoculated.

Mr Ulfkotte does not limit himself to Germany. The Netherlands is up next: "Amsterdam has cancelled education on rural life" he says, because pigs were part of the discussion during these classes and that was an affront to Muslim schoolchildren. Mr Ulfkotte claims the affair escalated to the point where the curriculum was changed.

It's an example of how he only tells half the story. Yes, there was one school in Amsterdam where this occurred, but Mr Ulfkotte fails to mention that the Amsterdam authorities were furious about the incident. A spokesperson for the responsible councillor says this must never happen again because you cannot solve problems that way.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders, another critic of the Islamic culture

Political party
Mr Ulfkotte says he has around 500 supporters and has plans to form a political party, the name of which is yet to be revealed. He says he has no intention of sitting in parliament, but hopes to pressure other parties into adopting his programme and turning against Islamisation in Germany. "If that doesn't happen, I hope we will be strong enough to do it ourselves", he says.

His audience likes what he has to say. His words are frequently interrupted by applause, and afterwards several people say they have learned something. But not everybody is pleased. Two Muslim students from the Berlin Free University are also listening to his speech and later accuse Ulfkotte of being racist. "He tries to paint an evil picture of Islam and conducts a witch hunt against Islam."
Radical Islam
She disputes that Mr Ulfkotte is only denouncing radical Islam. According to her, he makes Muslims in general appear in a bad light. "He is peddling conspiracy theories here."She compares Mr Ulfkotte to the far-right NPD. "It would be dangerous if he formed a party." Which could happen in the coming weeks, ahead of the 2009 p[arliamentary] election.

A Dutch listener commenting on this article from Australia, however, is fully convinced of Wilders', Ali's and Pipes' 'Eurabia' myth:

Maarten Hoogesteger, 14-06-2007 - Australia

Hooray that someone with a bit of commonsense is finally raising their voice. About time. I have watch with incredulity as Europe hands over their continent to a bunch of stark raving mad desert dwellers. European politicians who allowed this to happen should be put on trial for treason and for aiding and abetting an enemy. Shame on them.

Short, but everything is in it:

• the 'collapse' of Europe (continent 'handed over')
• racism: 'a bunch of raving mad desert dwellers' (does he know, that the germanic tribes came once from the central Asian steppes?)
• and the "treason" by the 'Left' - our concentration camps are under preparation...

A second commenter, however, sees it otherwise:

This [softening of Christian fundamentalism through Enlightenment, HR] is therefore no justification to claim moral high ground over Islamic Jihadists. This "Judeo-Christian tradition" is only interesting for historians but not for politicians. If Udo Ulfkotte is defending Christian values in Germany and Europe, than he is by default someone I distrust.

And so do I.