About a century ago, Russia’s last Czar Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “The year 1916 was cursed; 1917 will surely be better!” If you have the historical knowledge of a coconut, you might be wondering whether 1917 actually did turn out to be a better year for Nicholas. For everyone else, needless to say, 1917 was not better. It was worse for Nicholas, much, much worse. In March of 1917, he was forced to abdicate the throne, and in November, Russia entered all-out civil war. Nicholas’s troubles weren’t over after 1917 though. In July of 1918, the Bolsheviks executed Nicholas and his family in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
A century later, the end of 2016 was a welcome event for many around the world. In the Western world, 2016 was a disastrous year of political defeats and upheavals for those on the Left, punctuated by a seemingly steady stream of celebrity deaths. Against the backdrop of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, everyone from David Bowie to Prince to Carrie Fisher dropped dead in 2016. Of course, for the nationalist, pro-Putin Right, 2016 was an absolutely orgasmic year politically. Finally, after decades of watching the globalist Left sell their countries out to foreigners and waves of incoming migrants, the Right Wing now are in charge of their own destinies! A bit exaggerated perhaps, but overall, this was a good year for right-wingers across the planet: Brexit, Trump, Marine Le Pen, the Austrian Freedom Party, etc.
Of course, for many throughout the rest of the world, 2016 actually was a truly terrible and bloody year. As the Islamic State lost territory to the incoming Peshmerga and Iraqi army forces, they decided to retaliate, ordering their crusaders across the planet to kill us infidels (assuming you yourself don’t subscribe to the Wahhabism school of Islam perpetuated by Saudi Arabia). Between the start of Ramadan and the night when United States President Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, 1,169 people lost their lives in terrorist attacks, possibly more before the night was over. Terrorists struck in 21 different countries during that time, 16 of them Muslim countries. In Baghdad alone, terrorists claimed more than 300 lives before the end of the summer.
The end of 2016 was hardly less bloody, as a Somali refugee wounded nine at Ohio State University, and a Turkish security officer murdered a Russian diplomat on live television. As the New Year approached, I joked with my father: “How do people in Muslim countries tell the difference between New Year celebrations and terrorist attacks?” Sadly, this question held horrible relevance as Turkey welcomed the New Year with yet another terrorist attack. This time, terror came in a form that Orlando residents are too familiar with: A lone gunman opening fire at a nightclub in Istanbul. What was supposed to be a night of joy turned into a nightmare for many of Turkey’s younger generations. In total, 39 began the New Year with their last breaths before succumbing to lead poisoning.
There are no holidays for jihadists though. They continue to deliver violence and bloodshed around the world. On January 2nd, suicide bombers in Baghdad claimed 56 more lives in three separate attacks. On January 8th, a jihadist drove his truck into a crowd of Israeli soldiers, killing four. Perhaps college students and writers over at the Guardian should take the time now to celebrate before the next terror attack happens near them? That same day, two more suicide bombings claimed 20 more lives in Baghdad. Saddam Hussein sounds like a guardian angel now, doesn’t he?
While Americans have been spared terrorist attacks so far this year, they are not immune to random acts of violence. A lone gunman opened fire at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida, killing five before running out of ammo and surrendering to incoming security officers. This certainly will not be first violent massacre in the United States this year though. Anyone with the slightest hint of a realistic understanding of our world can tell you that much. Exactly how bloody 2017 will be remains to be seen. Hopefully, the rise of the Right (and the ever politically ambiguous Donald Trump) can curb the spread of Islamic terrorism in Western countries. However, for residents of Muslim countries, there is no hope. Violent strains of Islam run rampant across the Muslim world and 2017 will continue to prove this despite what the Guardian and Huffington Post may try to tell you. How much blood must flow before the Muslim world can finally leave seventh century barbarism in the distant past and embrace our modern world built in the wake of WWII?
