Monday, August 15, 2005
THE ISLAMIZATION OF EUROPE
By Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund
Special to ASSIST News Service
PEWSEY,
WILTSHIRE, UK (ANS) - Aug 15/05 -- On
Friday, May 20th 2005, a crowd of some 300 Muslims burned a wooden cross outside
the American embassy in London. This was part of a protest against the
rumored desecration of a Qur’an by American soldiers in Guantanamo Bay ( -
which was found to be UNTRUE - ), during which British and American flags were
also burned. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this event was that it was
not deemed to be newsworthy, receiving little attention in the national press. (Pictured:
Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo).
The whole scenario is reminiscent of what happens in so many Muslim-majority
countries: a rumor of an
insult to Islam, a violent and blasphemous anti-Christian reaction, police
watching idly, and a complete lack of public interest let alone outrage. It
could have been Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia or Northern Nigeria. But it was the
UK.
Europe is undergoing a rapid process of change as Muslims make their presence
felt in politics, economics, law, education and the media. While there is
a wide range of attitudes amongst Muslims in Europe, with many who are broadly
content with the status quo and just want to live their lives peacefully, others
are striving deliberately to drive forward the changes. As a result of the
efforts of the latter, Europe is gradually being transformed into a society in
which Islam takes its place, not just as an equal alongside the many other faith
communities, but often as the dominant
player. This is not purely, or even primarily, a matter of
numbers, but is more a matter of control of the structures of society. It is not
happening by chance but is the result of a careful and deliberate strategy by
certain Muslim leaders.
Though the effects are only now becoming noticeable, the planning was done
decades ago. In 1980 the Islamic Council of Europe published a book called
Muslim Communities in Non-Muslim States which clearly explained the Islamic
agenda in Europe. When Muslims live as a minority they face theological
problems, because classical Islamic teaching always presupposed a context of
Islamic dominance; hence the need for guidance on how to live in non-Muslim
states. The instructions given in the book told Muslims to get together and
organize themselves with the aim of establishing a viable Muslim community based
on Islamic principles. This is the duty of every individual Muslim living within
a non-Muslim political entity. They should set up mosques, community centers and
Islamic schools.
At all costs they must avoid being assimilated by the majority. In order to
resist assimilation, they must group themselves geographically, forming areas of
high Muslim concentration within the population as a whole. Yet they must also
interact with non-Muslims so as to share the message of Islam with them. Every
Muslim individual is required to participate in the plan; it is not allowed for
anyone simply to live as a “good Muslim” without assisting the overall
strategy. The ultimate goal of this strategy is that the Muslims should become a
majority and the entire nation be governed according to Islam. (M. Ali Kettani
“The Problems of Muslim Minorities and their Solutions” in Muslim
Communities in Non-Muslim States (London: Islamic Council of Europe, 1980)
pp.96-105)
Not all Muslims would support this action plan. The more secularized are happy
to become integrated within the majority society. Even amongst those who agree
on the ultimate goal of creating an Islamic state, there are differences about
methodology i.e. whether this should be a slow and peaceful transition, or
whether it should be hastened by means of political dominance or even – say
some – by violence.
Despite the variety of opinion amongst Muslims, it is not hard to recognize the
different stages of the Islamic Council of Europe’s strategy being put into
practice within today’s Europe. Muslims do tend to live in tightly
concentrated areas, and show little sign of integrating into wider society.
Saudi funding is paying for the erection of large and beautiful mosques, staffed
by imams brought over to Europe from the “home countries”.
Sweden’s third largest city, Malmø, is effectively
ruled by violent gangs of Muslims, and some of the Muslim residents of the city
still cannot read or write Swedish though they have lived there for 20 years.
Denmark has recently seen the Nordgårdsskolen in Aarhus become the first school
in the country to have 100% Muslim pupils. Britain’s Muslim population
(variously estimated at between 1.6 and 3 million) is concentrated in three
areas: north-west England, the midlands and London. In some of these areas
Muslims are now targeting the remaining Christian presence, arsoning churches,
physically attacking church leaders and their property; the aim seems to be to
“cleanse” these areas of non-Muslims.
European Muslims are Islamizing many aspects of life that also affect
non-Muslims. Spanish Muslims have expressed their desire to “regain” the
mosque of Cordoba. This building was originally a church, then turned into a
mosque, and then turned back into a place of Christian worship. Halal meat is
now routinely served in many British prisons, schools and hospitals, sometimes
to Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and the hijab [Islamic headscarf] is worn in
British schools. Muslims in the London borough of Tower Hamlets have forced
name-changes for districts and local amenities if the existing name sounds too
Christian for their liking.
In the UK, where Islam is making its most rapid advance, Islamic
law (shari’a) is already practiced unofficially, with shari’a
councils and shari’a courts giving
judgments on Muslim family matters. In education numerous concessions are
being made to British Muslims, Islam often being given more prominence and
respect than other faiths at state schools. An increasing number of university
posts are being funded from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries on condition
that a certain line of thinking is promoted.
The ultimate goal of taking control of society, as depicted by the Islamic
Council of Europe in 1980, is clearly in the minds of at least some Muslim
leaders. A Dutch Imam has stated that Islamic law is superior to other
forms of legislation so there is no need to obey other laws. Some Finnish imams
preach on the Islamic duty to kill a Muslim who converts to another faith,
adding that it is difficult to carry this out in Finland at present because
Muslims do not yet “own the state”. Furthermore, the freedoms of European
society are being exploited by Islamic militants and their supporters to plan
terrorist activities around the world. London – or “Londonistan” as it is
becoming known – is one of the most important bases for Islamic terrorism
worldwide. This has been illustrated by the July bombings in London itself.
Despite all these advances, Muslims still tend to portray themselves as victims
in European society, while the majority society in turn struggles to affirm them
and to avoid giving any accidental offence.
But this kind of reaction by non-Muslims can be seen as the typical behavior of
dhimmi. In classical Islam, Christian and Jewish minorities within an Islamic
state were called dhimmi. They were free to worship and live out their faith,
but had to submit to a raft of discriminatory and humiliating laws. They learned
to be subservient, and to consider the dominance of Muslims as normal as the
Muslims themselves did.
It is typical of dhimmi not to protest if a Christian cross is burned by an
angry crowd, nor even to feel that anything outrageous has occurred. Likewise
the Muslim scheme to turn the cathedral of Cordoba back into a mosque has the
backing of some Spanish government leaders in the city.
At a political level, European countries are responding in different ways to the
challenge of Islam. France is determinedly protecting its secularism, and has
banned the hijab in school. The Netherlands have recently swung from one extreme
to the other, following the ritualized killing of Dutch film director Theo van
Gogh by a young Muslim in November 2004; they are turning against
multiculturalism and becoming concerned to control immigration. The UK seems to
be seeking to replicate the segregation and communalism of the British Raj in
India, whereby the various religious communities were each given their own laws.
This policy would certainly mesh well with some Muslim leaders’ own plans for
Britain. If Britain is to be sub-divided in this way, perhaps geographically as
well as legally, it raises the question of how the Church would survive in areas
of Islamic rule. What form would Christian ministry be able to take in these
areas?
Muslims are still a minority in numerical terms in Europe, with an estimated 20
million living in the European Union. No country apart from Albania has a Muslim
community amounting to more than about 10% of the population. However,
demographic studies indicate that Muslim populations are growing far faster than
the non-Muslim populations. This is due partly to continued immigration, partly
to conversion, but mainly to the larger number of children which Muslim families
typically have. The growing Muslim community is a mosaic of different ethnic,
linguistic, cultural, sectarian and geographical backgrounds, and characterized
by increasing internal tensions particularly over how to relate to the host
society.
Some Christians have decried as faithless pessimism those who predict the
Islamization of Europe before the end of the century. But
it must be remembered that the region which is now Pakistan and Afghanistan was
once Christian, as was North Africa. The Church was completely eradicated from
these areas by the advance of Islam. It would surely be arrogant to think
that this could never happen to the Church in Europe.
As individual Christians we must love our Muslim neighbors and forgive any
wrongs done to us. But as a community the Church must defend herself, as well as
the Judaeo-Christian heritage with which Europe is blessed. For this her leaders
need great wisdom and courage.
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THERE IS NOT ONE CHRISTIAN NATION ON EARTH WHERE MUSLIMS ARE PERSECUTED.
Yet in most nations where the majority of the population are Muslims, there is systematic government persecution of Christians.
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
--Article 18 of the Universal
Declaration of
Human
Rights--
Christian Conversions - According to the Bible - Can NEVER be forced.
Any Conversion to Christianity which would be "Forced" would NOT be recognized by God. It is in
His True and KIND nature, that those who come to Him and choose to believe in Him, must come to Him OF
THEIR OWN FREE WILL.
Don't Let anyone tell you that Christians support Forced Conversions.
That is False. True Christianity is NEVER forced.
Core Universal Rights
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief