The Strange Death of Europe: Douglas Murray Sounds an Alarm

The other night I heard someone reference the writings of Douglas Murray, calling him courageous for being a truth teller. Not being familiar with Mr. Murray I decided to check Amazon to see what kinds of books he's written. Several of these intrigued me, so I next turned to our local library's website to see if they carried his work. Happily I found two volumes which I proceeded to check out. 

The first that I paged through was titled The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam. Murray's book was published in the UK in May 2017, and in June 2017 in the US, and I can understand why it would be controversial. 

The Strange Death of Europe is the internationally bestselling account of a continent and a culture caught in the act of suicide, now updated with new material taking in developments since it was first published to huge acclaim. These include rapid changes in the dynamics of global politics, world leadership and terror attacks across Europe.

...Murray's "tremendous and shattering" book (The Times) addresses the disappointing failures of multiculturalism, Angela Merkel's U-turn on migration, the lack of repatriation and the Western fixation on guilt, uncovering the malaise at the very heart of the European culture. His conclusion is bleak, but the predictions not irrevocable. As Murray argues, this may be our last chance to change the outcome, before it's too late.

Murray contends that European civilization as it has historically existed will not survive. He explores two factors in explaining this: The first is the combination of mass migration of new peoples into Europe together with its low birth rates; the second is what Murray describes as 'the fact that… at the same time Europe lost faith in its beliefs, traditions, and legitimacy.'

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam is a thought-provoking and controversial exploration of Europe's current socio-political landscape. 

Mass immigration, shifting cultural identities, and the challenges posed by the rise of Islam within European societies is a complex stew of issues.. Murray raises compelling arguments and important questions about the future of European civilization and the impact of these profound demographic and cultural shifts. While some may find his perspectives divisive or contentious, his book offers valuable insights, and in looking at Europe today it's quite apparent that his analysis and concerns were on target.

What makes it worse today is the current assault on free speech which, in England, has resulted in people being arrested simply for speaking up about their concerns.

Murray is not one to pull punches. Here's a quote from his 2024 article “Who put the toddlers in charge?” published in The Spectator (UK edition) on 14 March 2024 (in the issue dated 16 March 2024):

Regrettably, we must conclude that our culture is being dictated by two-year-olds. I do not literally mean children of two years of age, some of whom are among my favourite conversationalists. I mean people with the mental age of a two-year-old. That is, people who have never been told ‘no’ and have gone through their adult lives behaving as such.

The rot began with the green lunatics. I’m all for saving the environment. Most people are. But the moment vandalism became an acceptable way to persuade people of your cause was where things went wrong.

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This is a big topic which needs more space to properly unwind, but there are lessons here and issues that need a proper vetting. These are times to be vigilant and aware. As the Proverb states, "The complacency of fools destroys them."

Photo: Gemini-generated version of original painting by the author.