7.11.2005
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Islamic Theocracy in Europe
There's a front-page story in today's Wall Street Journal (sorry, no link; subscription required) headlined thusly:
As Muslims Call Europe Home, Dangerous Isolation Takes Root.
With subheadings highlighting the fact that "politcal Islam" preaches intolerance in France, where the data for the story was obtained.
The thrust of the article is that Muslims in Europe have been ghettoized; they don't wish to or perhaps are unable to because of racism become full citizens of the countries they live in. The biggest single point is that Islam is considered not just a religion, but a full way of life. A way of life that is incompatible, to say the least, with the secular religion that holds sway in most of Europe.
As a Christian reading this, my first reaction was simple: here is the enemy of my faith, attempting to do through demographics and infiltration what they were unable to do one thousand years ago with the sword. After some thought, however, I had a different reaction: these people are merely attempting to live their faith as they believe it must be lived. And by "must", I mean, and they mean, as dictated by God himself. That's a pretty strong must.
This does not mean I think that their faith in any way admirable. It is not; it is false; it denies Biblical truth, all that spew about "the three Abrahamic faiths" notwithstanding. So I have no respect for their faith; just a tolerance that people should be allowed to practice their faith in peace. So long as they leave others in peace to practice theirs -- stories of a "golden age" of Andalusia notwithstanding, the notion Islam will be peaceful and tolerant if (when, it seems) it is in control of Europe is a fairy tale.
It is on this very point where, on final reflection, I realized that the Islamization of Europe will be a true disaster for human rights in that region. The tolerance that we Christians usually afford minority faiths is almost totally absent in Islam as it is practiced today. Islamists, those who don't preach suicide bombings and other mayhem, still preach that Islam is the only true faith. Then they can quote verses in the Koran that call on faithful Muslims to kill the infidel -- if we won't convert to Islam.
The WSJ front-page story is "first in a series." WSJ is generally considered a conservative news outlet, neocon, even, in its support for our war on terror and the connections between Iraq and Islamic terror in general. The concept of Islam as a threat to the Christian (or at least post-Christian) West is not something I expect to see highlighted in the liberal mainstream media anytime soon. It should be.
___________
Side note: The WSJ may be just catching up on Bat Ye'Or's seminal work on the subject: "Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis".
| technorati tag | Christianity|
With subheadings highlighting the fact that "politcal Islam" preaches intolerance in France, where the data for the story was obtained.
The thrust of the article is that Muslims in Europe have been ghettoized; they don't wish to or perhaps are unable to because of racism become full citizens of the countries they live in. The biggest single point is that Islam is considered not just a religion, but a full way of life. A way of life that is incompatible, to say the least, with the secular religion that holds sway in most of Europe.
As a Christian reading this, my first reaction was simple: here is the enemy of my faith, attempting to do through demographics and infiltration what they were unable to do one thousand years ago with the sword. After some thought, however, I had a different reaction: these people are merely attempting to live their faith as they believe it must be lived. And by "must", I mean, and they mean, as dictated by God himself. That's a pretty strong must.
This does not mean I think that their faith in any way admirable. It is not; it is false; it denies Biblical truth, all that spew about "the three Abrahamic faiths" notwithstanding. So I have no respect for their faith; just a tolerance that people should be allowed to practice their faith in peace. So long as they leave others in peace to practice theirs -- stories of a "golden age" of Andalusia notwithstanding, the notion Islam will be peaceful and tolerant if (when, it seems) it is in control of Europe is a fairy tale.
It is on this very point where, on final reflection, I realized that the Islamization of Europe will be a true disaster for human rights in that region. The tolerance that we Christians usually afford minority faiths is almost totally absent in Islam as it is practiced today. Islamists, those who don't preach suicide bombings and other mayhem, still preach that Islam is the only true faith. Then they can quote verses in the Koran that call on faithful Muslims to kill the infidel -- if we won't convert to Islam.
The WSJ front-page story is "first in a series." WSJ is generally considered a conservative news outlet, neocon, even, in its support for our war on terror and the connections between Iraq and Islamic terror in general. The concept of Islam as a threat to the Christian (or at least post-Christian) West is not something I expect to see highlighted in the liberal mainstream media anytime soon. It should be.
___________
Side note: The WSJ may be just catching up on Bat Ye'Or's seminal work on the subject: "Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis".
| technorati tag | Christianity|
posted by John Luke at 2:12 PM
Welcome. My name is John Luke Rich, (very) struggling Christian. The focus here is Christianity in its many varieties,
its fussing and feuding, how it impacts our lives and our society, with detours to consider it with other faiths (or lack thereof).
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