"How Nationalism Can Solve the Crisis of Islam" - WSJ

Pierre Manent

I found this article by Sohrab Ahmari about French philosopher terribly interesting and Pierre Manent's thesis convincing.  [Related: The Atlantic on Manent}.
Manent's thesis:

• More Nationalism, less multiculturalism, less internationalism
• A grand bargain with French Muslims:
• We lighten up on you (less Laïcité)
• And you Muslims lighten up on us (less... well... you know... jihadi stuff)
• But understand: France is never to be an Islamic state [PF comment: this the toughest sell given Muslims think Islam must be a universal Islamic magisterium].

The above simplifies it crudely. Manent's argument is much more nuanced.

I'm generally pretty pessimistic about Islam in Europe. I tend to think that's it's almost too late. The number of Muslims in Europe mean they affect voting outcomes and strengthen the push for sharia law. I almost think that that's inevitable. And that would be a dire outcome for Europe -- where do you see a state under sharia law that works well? (Think Saudi, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Aceh).
If there's any hope at all, any cause for optimism, then perhaps it's the ideas of the French intellectual Pierre Manent.
And for that they need careful attention.

(The Article is subscription only. But you can often get to it via a google search of the title, as in the headline)