The spectres of Islam haunt Europe

Karl Marx starts his “Communist Manifesto” with the line, “A specter is haunting Europe – the specter of Communism.” In the first half of the 19th century, there was an atmosphere in which the fear of communism was haunting the whole of Europe – even though this was not real – and everyone was waiting for communism as they would Godot. Fears should not be underestimated. They can have the mysterious power to create their own reality in so much that the measures taken to overcome these fears turn