Islam’s Rise

Islam and the Future of the West [Excerpts]

By Regis Nicoll

"The fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural."   

--Samuel Huntington 

While we certainly hope that Huntington is wrong, some troubling trends across the Atlantic tend to support his predictions. For instance, writers Robert Spencer and Carol Eisenberg make the following observations about Scandinavia:

· The Qur'an has now become required reading for secondary schoolers in Denmark. 

· Some Swedish authorities are positioning to pressure the European Union to remove the terrorist group Hamas from the EU's list of terrorist organizations. 

· In Amsterdam, where it is projected that the majority of residents will be Muslim within 10 to 15 years, the most popular name for a newborn boy is Mohammed. 

Such indicators have caused Princeton historian, Bernard Lewis, to remark that Europe will be Islamic by the end of this century if not sooner. Bat Ye'or, a prominent authority on Islam agrees stating, "Eurabia is the future of Europe." 

Despite the host of ongoing terrorist violence, including the 9/11 attacks, 39% of Americans have a favorable view of Islam versus 37% who have an unfavorable view according to the July 2004 Pew Research Poll. However former Muslim Ibn Warraq knows better. Commenting about the September 11 attacks, Warraq warns, 

"There may be moderate Muslims, but Islam itself is not moderate. There is no difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism. Islamic fundamentalism is a totalitarian construct derived by Muslim jurists from the fundamental and defining texts of Islam. The fundamentalists... have made Islam the basis of a radical utopian ideology that aims to replace capitalism and democracy as the reigning world system...Islamic fundamentalism has global aspirations: the submission of the entire world to the all-embracing Shari'a, Islamic Law, a fascist system of dictates designed to control every single act of all individuals."

While some may regard radical Islam as similar to the KKK's relation to Christianity, that is clearly a flawed comparison. The life and example of Christ teach that God's kingdom is to advance not by might, but by overcoming evil with good. Whereas the Islam fundamentalist can rightly claim to follow the teachings of the Qur'an and the example of Muhammad in using oppressive force, the Christian must disregard the clear teachings of Christ and His life to do so.   

(Huntington, "The Clash Of Civilizations And The Remaking Of World Order," Touchstone Books, 1997)