This is Saturday’s misinformed letter of the day published by the National Post:
Thursday’s speech by Muammar Gaddafito the UN was a farce that made a mockery of the institution. But before dismissing him as a fool, it’s important to remember his remarks from 1979, when he presciently said that Islam will take over Europe “within 50 years … without firing a single shot.”
That takeover would be facilitated by four factors: lax European immigration rules, low Christian birth rates, high Muslim birth rates and Europe’s policy of one vote per person in elections. […]
Here is my letter to the editor:
An invigorating letter of the day it was Saturday in the Post when Richard Hoffman of Toronto wrote of a grim prediction by Muammar Gaddafi thirty years ago that “within 50 years … without firing a single shot” Europe will be a Muslim continent. It raised some exciting questions about the future fabric of the oldest Western cultures in the world.
Unfortunately, that quote — the entire basis for the letter — was either severely misinformed or Mr. Hoffman chose to perform cosmetic surgery on the actual quote (cited as early as 2003, but definitely not 1979).
The correct quote, as found in this video (tinyurl.com/ya7war9) and this article the Daily Mail (tinyurl.com/ybdkyku), is: “There are signs that Allah will grant Islam victory in Europe – without swords, without guns, without conquests. The 50 million Muslims of Europe will turn it into a Muslim continent within a few decades.”
The closest citation to Hoffman’s quote I could find was, disgracefully, from a forum on White Nationalist site, Stormfront.org (tinyurl.com/yar4769).
As you see, the message is the same, but the facts aren’t. As well, the potential source for Mr. Hoffman’s information is one known for incited racism, which then loads his opinion with the same incendiary prejudice.
When the facts are not in line with reality, the quality and integrity of Hoffman’s opinion (and the publication that chose to run it uncorrected) are dubious. Please ensure that the quotes and facts printed in future editions of the Post are more carefully scrutinized.
