As the pundits continue to reflect on last week's bombings in London, a couple of articles have emerged looking at some disturbing trends related to Islam and its impact on Europe.
The Christian Science Monitor has an article today looking at how Islam and teenage rebellion are mixing to form an intolerant and frightening combination in the U.K. The U.K. has about 2 million Muslims living within its borders, the majority of which desire to live in peaceful co-existence with the rest of the nation. In their own version of teenage rebellion, however, young British Muslims are abandoning a peaceful Islam for a more radical and expansionist version. Their goal (usually) is not to bomb, however, but rather to subjugate the culture:
"'We don't need to fight. We are taking over!' ["Abdullah," a Muslim watch-mender and evangelist] said. 'We are here to bring civilization to the West. England does not belong to the English people, it belongs to God.'"
This includes using the political process and business pressure to further a radical Muslim agenda:
"Last month, Muslim groups in Glasgow petitioned the City Council to ban an Italian restaurant from serving alcohol to diners seated at outside tables. Hospitals in Leicester considered banning Bibles from hospital wards to avoid offending Muslim patients. In Birmingham, a group called Muslims Against Advertising began a campaign of painting over billboards that they deemed offensive to Islam - targeting ads for Levi's jeans, perfume, and lingerie."
Today, The Wall Street Journal published a related article [subscription required] that is the first in a series of articles examining the influence of Islam in Europe. Today's article focuses on Islam's growth and influence in France and echoes some of the themes of the CSM article.
My favorite irony from the WSJ article is in relation to one of the leading Islamic organizations in France, the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF), which argues that a French law from last year banning overt signs of religious affiliation at public high schools (e.g., no traditional headscarves) violates Muslim girls' freedom of choice [emphasis added]. This from an organization that strives to segregate men and women and limit women's roles in society (with a preference for early marriage and childbirth). In what can only be seen as a serious setback for Muslim women's rights, Muslim men in France are increasingly asking doctors to issue virginity certificates for their daughters.
I, for one, like a secular culture that is tolerant of religious expression. My faith is extremely important to me, but I don't feel a need for others to share my particular faith (or even to be faithful at all). Cultures today seem to be shifting away from secularity and religious tolerance to religiosity and religious/cultural intolerance (e.g., radical Islam, extreme Christian perspectives in the U.S., etc.). There is an important book waiting to be written about this shift if anyone is interested in pursuing it.
I hope that the ultra-conservative Christians currently pressing their radical agenda in the U.S. read today's articles and, as they recoil at the thought of a "Muslim culture," realize that they are leading the U.S. down a similar road. Both roads are paved with good intentions and both roads lead to the same place . . .
UPDATE (7/12/05): Here's a link to an open access version of the WSJ article. [Thank you, Steven, for forwarding the link]
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