Nearly 15 years ago, John Rhys-Davies spoke a truth time (and the nefarious actions of Western European leaders) has proven correct.
[Rings star sparks rumpus over race, The Guardian, 1-31-2004]:
The stars of The Lord of the Rings films have been feted on red carpets around the world and are now tipped for Oscars glory.
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| Even at this late hour, hope remains... |
One of their number, however, finds himself a hero to a less desirable audience: the far-right British National Party.
John Rhys-Davies, who plays warrior dwarf Gimli in the blockbuster trilogy, has been spearheading a BNP campaign without his knowledge following an interview in which he claimed Western civilisation was under threat because white Europeans produce fewer babies than Muslims.
The actor said Europe faced a 'demographic catastrophe' in the next 20 to 30 years when indigenous populations are outnumbered by Islamic immigrants. His remarks have been seized on by the BNP, which has distributed a leaflet that hijacks J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, recently voted the nation's favourite book, as a parable for the 'great real-life battle to save the West'.
Only weeks after Robert Kilroy-Silk was dropped by the BBC for attacking Arabs in a newspaper column, Rhys-Davies last night stood by his remarks, demanding: 'Are we willing to be part of a Muslim-controlled Europe?' - but disassociated himself from the BNP.
The Welsh actor, who also appeared in the Indiana Jones films and the Bond movie The Living Daylights, made his original comments in an interview with American journalists at the time of the latest film's premiere. 'There is a demographic catastrophe happening in Europe that nobody wants to talk about, that we daren't bring up because we are so cagey about not offending people racially,' he said.
'By 2020, 50 percent of the children in Holland under the age of 18 will be of Muslim descent. Western Europeans are not having any babies. The population of Germany at the end of the century is going to be 56 per cent of what it is now. The population of France, 52 per cent of what it is now. There is a change happening in the very complexion of Western civilisation in Europe that we should think about at least and argue about.
'If it just means the replacement of one genetic stock with another genetic stock, that does not matter too much. But if it involves the replacement of Western civilisation by a different civilisation with different cultural values, then it is something we really ought to discuss - because, goddammit, I am for dead white male culture.'
In a later interview, Rhys-Davies added: 'I do not want to see a society where, should I ever have any, my granddaughters have their fingernails pulled out because they are wearing nail varnish. Do not brand me a racist because I am certainly not. But I will stand by this: Western Christianised Europe has values and experiences worth defending.'
His views were rapidly appropriated by the BNP for a leaflet downloaded and distributed via its website. It quotes Rhys-Davies beside a picture of him as Gimli and urges: 'Whether you think of yourself as a Rider of Rohan, as an Elf or as a simple, fun-loving Hobbit, the dark days that Tolkien foresaw are almost upon us, and your duty is clear: Join the British National Party and our great real-life battle to save the West!'
Speaking from Los Angeles yesterday, Rhys-Davies shrugged off the row and stuck to his guns: 'There is a radical plunge in indigenous populations unequalled since the Black Death. The baby-boomers are ageing and the families are not producing enough children. The immigrant population, being younger and committed to family life, are having a higher proportion of babies. If you project these lines into the future, we're talking about a Europe that will be predominantly Muslim in the next two to three decades.'
He continued: 'You can only welcome it if you're a fundamentalist Muslim, not even if you're a moderate Muslim. I have a lot of respect for aspects of Islam but I would not choose to live in a theocratically organised Muslim society.'
I, too, am for dead white male culture. More importantly, I'm for living white males defending their culture and their people.
Since Davies spoke these truths in 2004, time has only proven him a prophet.