No stronger retrograde force

In an interview on Muslims Debate, Dutch politician Geert Wilders explained why he is hostile, not simply to jihadism, but to the Islamic faith as a whole. He quoted Churchill's words, written 111 years ago:

Besides the fanatical frenzy, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist where the followers of the Prophet rule or live. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to a sole man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities – but the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. 

It would certainly come as no surprise to Churchill, were he alive today, to see secular Western leftists making excuses for the most reactionary aspects of Islam. Like the devout Muslims, they are defined by their passionate desire for submission to a cause that will relieve them of the need to think for themselves, and to take responsibility for the abject failure of their faith to deliver a better life for all those on whom it has been murderously imposed.