Reading UCG's Melvin Rhodes: Part 3

Recently Ambassador Watch mentioned the blog of UCG's Melvin Rhodes. Rhodes originally came from Britain and now resides in the United States. Let's take a look at what Rhodes has said on his blog in November and December of last year.

In my opinion the blog's message can be summed up in the following words, "The Muslims are coming! Restrict immigration of Muslims now." Let us see if he continues that theme.

It is also striking how there seems to be little discussion about why refugees from Syria and elsewhere are trying to move to Europe.

November 4

Here Rhodes discusses ISIL's terrorist attack against a Russian plane in Egypt in which 224 innocent people were killed.

November 13

Here Rhodes discusses the aftermath of ISIL's terrorist attack in Paris which killed 130 innocent people including several Muslims.

For once, we’ve been spared statements from the Presidents of France and the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to the effect that “Islam is a religion of peace.”  It’s now too much to expect anybody to believe such an outrageous claim.   Millions of people on social media witnessed Muslims around the globe celebrating the carnage in Paris.  Noticeably absent after yesterday’s attacks was any condemnation from “moderate” Muslim clerics.

This is nonsense. It is a common trope of Islamophobia to insist that Muslims in general do not condemn terrorist acts thus slurring Muslims as a whole somehow apathetic or sympathetic towards terrorist attacks. Some of the victims were Muslims. Lots of Muslims condemned the terrorist attacks. And not just the mainstream ones either. Iran condemned it. Hezbollah condemned it. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned it.

A friend in another state called me recently.  At some point we got onto the subject of world affairs and Bible prophecy.  He made the comment that “nothing seems to be happening in Europe at this time.”   This comment was made before yesterday’s events.  I expressed the opinion that a great deal was happening in Europe.   The massive influx of refugees and asylum-seekers is radically changing the social fabric of European countries.  Nations are losing their individual unique identity, as hundreds of thousands of Muslims from the Middle East and Africa pour in.

Rhodes cites Daniel Pipes, an individual connected with what some have called the Islamophobia Network.

As Daniel Pipes observed, each terrorist attack results in the common people moving to the Right politically, while the Establishment moves to the political Left.   (“Why the Paris massacre will have limited impact.” Nationalreview online, November 14^th).   Mr. Pipes’ article also pointed out that the number of terrorist attacks by Islamists, since 9/11, is now 27, 269. ... Put another way, that’s five attacks per day.

November 20

Here Rhodes complains that immigration of Muslims has not been restricted.

Nothing has yet been done to change immigration rules.   President Obama was on the defensive when the issue came up – he said it was un-American to discriminate against Muslims, though that’s exactly what was done from the founding of James Town (in 1607) until the 1965 Immigration Act that was sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy.   In the 1952 Immigration bill that became law, members of any organization that called for the overthrow of the US government and constitution, was forbidden to enter the country.   At the time, communism was the threat.   Today, it’s radical Islam. Both the religion and the Koran threaten the US.

Is Rhodes advocating for what he himself calls discrimination to be reimposed?

It was clear from what the President said that his agenda is to get as many into the country as possible, while bending over backwards to stay out of any conflict with radical Islam.   Obama is not the only one.   President Hollande of France declared war on ISIS after last week’s terror attacks, but his government remains committed to taking in 30,000 more Syrian refugees in the weeks to come.   Multiply that by 5 to get a US equivalent of 150,000.   The US is taking 10,000.

Rhodes also simplistically insists that Muslim immigrants despise the West.

When a devout Muslim moves to the West, rather than appreciating his newfound freedom, he will see the West as totally degenerate. Whereas Muslims are in submission to Allah, the West is in submission to the god of materialism and the pursuit of licentiousness.   They are two diametrically opposed ways of life.

How is that not Rhodes' view of Muslims?

Then Rhodes criticizes the survivors of ISIL's terrorist attack in Paris of November 2015 for saying they still believe in the goodness of follow human beings.

Although attitudes are hardening throughout the West and right-wing movements are gaining support, a lot of people are still clueless at the threat from radical Islam.   More than one victim in Paris remarked on how they still believe in the basic goodness of people.   They would do well to heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah who wrote:   “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9).   We are likely to see far more evil acts perpetrated by ISIS in the near future.

What a bizarre thing it is to see one criticizing survivors of that most terrible terrorist attack for not sharing his negative views of Muslim immigrants. 

November 30

Here Rhodes mentions Pope Francis' visit to the Central African Republic, a land that has endured severe turmoil and violence recently, including violent attacks against the Muslims of the land following the fall of the Selaka regime.

Bangui is the capital of the Central African Republic, one of the worst failed states on a continent of failed states!   Most world leaders are not likely to even think about going there. But Pope Francis has just been there for two days.

Rhodes then bizarrely claims that ISIL is not the problem but Islam as a whole.

Besides, ISIS isn’t the problem so much as Islam.   ISIS is relatively new.   It simply exploits a hatred that’s already there, the hatred of Muslims toward all other religions.   The intellectual elite are fond of saying that all religions are religions of peace, but where is the evidence of this, particularly when it comes to Islam?

How does this comment not exonerate, or at least minimize the guilt of, ISIL? The problem is Muslims as a whole and not ISIL he seems to think. It is appalling to minimize the problem of the terrorists and murderers of ISIL in such a way.

Rhodes approvingly quotes the prime minister of Hungary seemingly ignoring the controversy that has long accompanied the current government.

The Hungarian prime minister made a profound comment last week, when he observed, that “not all migrants are terrorists, but all terrorists are migrants.”   That comment was immediately condemned, with people pointing out that many of the terrorists in Europe are home grown.

He insists that the problem cannot be really solved at present.

So long as Europeans and westerners in general see Islam as a peaceful religion comparable to Christianity, it will not be possible to deal with the problem we now face.

So living at peace with people of another religion is apparently a "problem" according to Rhodes.

He mentions that the terrorists of ISIL wants the United States to send troops against them.

The same morning, a one-hour documentary produced by Fareed Zakaria, interviewed the German journalist [Jürgen Todenhöfer] who is the only known westerner to have spent time in ISIS territory.   He said that ISIS wants US troops in Syria, that’s what they have been hoping for. Once they have western troops in Syria, their home turf, they will have a fulfillment of their long held dream, the apocalyptic battle between Islam and the West, the clash of civilizations liberals deny. Amongst other things, western forces will boost the number of ISIS volunteers.   Before the US invasion of Iraq, there was no ISIS or al-Qaeda in either Iraq or Syria.   It’s impossible to predict the outcome in the region of western coalition “boots on the ground.”

Rhodes then hysterically asserts that "Islam is the heart of darkness". Not ISIL.

A century ago, Africa was often referred to as the “Heart of Darkness,” after a novel of that name published in 1899.   Although the story was set in Africa, it wasn’t just Africa that had a heart of darkness; the white hero Kurtz, representing imperialism at its height, was also guilty.   Today, Islam is the heart of darkness, with ISIS, a fundamentalist resurgence of primitive Islam, threatening the peace and prosperity of the world.

Rhodes then asserts that the Islamic world has a "medieval mindset" that is stuck in the time of the Crusades.

Far from being ancient history, the Islamic world sees today’s western nations as “crusader states” and Israel as a revival of the twelfth century Kingdom of Jerusalem.   Their medieval mindset has not moved on from that struggle.

Is Rhodes projecting again?

December 7

Here Rhodes condemns the assertion that ISIL is trying to hijack the Islamic religion.

Emphasizing the point was a “terrorist incident” Saturday evening on the London Underground when a man with a knife attacked passengers, shouting: “this is for Syria!”   A passerby was heard screaming at the perpetrator:   “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv!”   This has become a famous hashtag, supporting the official line that Islam is a religion of peace and that ISIS is trying to hijack it.   President Obama reinforced this idea in his speech to the nation last night.

ISIL, the former Al Qaeda in Iraq, is trying to hijack Islam. It is strange that Rhodes finds that assessment controversial. Considering that ISIL did not even exist until the hate filled one, Abu Musad al Zarqawi, founded it as a clandestine terrorist organization in 1998 it is quite reasonable to view this terrorist organization as it is on its own terms and to criticize it as trying to hijack the Islamic religion to seize power for themselves. Not least because Islam has existed for so long before this most vile criminal network was founded in 1998.

Rhodes decides to insists that the West is in war with "Islam itself" ignoring the possibility that such talk is highly counter productive and will offend many innocent people who happen to be Muslim. This fails to distinguish the guilty and the innocent.

President Hollande of France has said that we are at war with ISIS. A number of US presidential candidates in the US have said the same. But nobody has yet stated the increasingly obvious, that we are in fact at war with Islam itself.
Hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East believe that this is the case.   From the Iranian revolution in 1979 through the Persian Gulf War, the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq,   Muslims have been convinced that they are in a war with the West.   When they see babies being pulled from the rubble after western planes bomb homes in Syria, they want revenge, they want to kill babies in the West.   Schools full of children, concert halls full of young adults, and disabled centers throwing Christmas parties are easy targets.   We will see more of them.
We’ve been denying history for fifty years, encouraging a mixing of races and religions, which denies historical reality.   Now we are paying the price.

Rhodes insists that it is not possible for Christians and Muslims to live together in peace.

In all the televised conversations that have followed San Bernardino, there has been no mention of the fact that no Muslim countries allow non-Muslims into their nations, except on short-term contracts. They believe strongly that “infidels” cannot live alongside believers. Yet, we in the West continue to believe that we can all live peaceably together.I do not believe this to be the case.   And, for that reason alone, we will see more and more attacks like the one on San Bernardino.
It is true that God made all men from one blood, but it is not the case that different religions and ethnic groups can all live together.

Of course Christians and Muslims can live together in peace. But if one chooses to believe that Muslims are as one movement and that if too many Muslims should happen to migrate to the United States or Britain it should somehow cause whites to lose their identity such a person will be not be inclined to learn to live in peace with such people.

December 9

Here Rhodes discusses Trump's proposal to stop all immigration of Muslims.

After Donald Trump’s call for a temporary halt in allowing Muslims to move to America, there has been a great deal of “moral outrage,” as CNN called it.   Prominent members of the liberal intelligentsia have been appearing on the various news channels.   Accusations of Trump being “un-American” are constantly being yelled out, even though America had no Muslims in its infancy and few until a change in the immigration laws fifty years ago.
Donald Trump has called for a ban on immigration to the United States by Muslims.  TV talk programs seem to have discussed nothing else since his controversial call Monday, which he referred to as “common sense.”
The liberal media, plus almost all politicians of both major parties, have condemned Mr. Trump and called him a “racist” and lots of other bad names.
Methinks they protest too much!   Why are they so determined to see so many Muslims in America?

What if they are right? Would ordering many people who just happened to be Muslim not to enter the United States really solve these problems? What about somehow arranging for peace and security to return in Syria? If there is no war in Syria ISIL would be far easier to manage.

Rhodes mentions the various attacks that have occurred.

The US is the leading nation of the western world.   The country has experienced a number of terrorist attacks by Muslims, including San Bernardino, Boston, Chattanooga, Garland, Fort Hood and 9-11.

But the perpetrators were criminals. It is concerning to label them Muslims as though that was a problem because this insinuates that all Muslims are somehow tainted with guilt. We must distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.

Rhodes nonsensically asserts that the media yearn for the extinction of the white race.

The question arises – why is the media so determined to see the end of the European races?   At the same time as ridiculing Trump, most news sources are seen praising Frau Merkel for her decision.

This wild accusation is so ridiculous it does not deserve a response. Rhodes should learn to stop viewing things through this non-factual xenophobia. That will not happen.

In the very next paragraph Rhodes calls for Americans to educate themselves about the Islamic religion and expresses concern that "a violent backlash against Muslims by other Americans" could occur.

Whatever you may think of Mr. Trump’s call to halt Muslim immigration at this time, Americans should be thankful the issue has been raised for one simple reason – any more attacks could easily result in a violent backlash against Muslims by other Americans. The population needs to be thoroughly educated on the religion and its goals toward the United States so that a responsible debate can take place.

It is jarring to see utter nonsense in one paragraph followed by a seemingly sympathetic thought in the next one.

December 18

A letter arguing that ISIL is a religious entity is quoted. Even though ISIL wants to be viewed in such a way this does not seem to be discussed.