Ministry Leader: The Islamization of the West Presents Christians with New Challenges

ICC Note

“Muslims around the globe are regaining their confidence and promoting a resurgence of Islam. Their aim is to establish Muslim control in politics, economics and culture in every country. In this process the Islamic world is growing more assertive and intolerant towards the West. This resurgence of Islam and the increasing power of Islamism (political Islam) strongly impact Muslim communities in the West. In response, the West is gradually changing its structures, laws and customs to suit its Muslim communities.”

By Michael Ireland

07/21/2010 Islam (ANS)-Since the 1960s large numbers of Muslims have been migrating to the West. Muslim migration is unusual because of radicals within the community who are deliberately seeking to create dramatic changes in their host societies; they want Islam to gain social, cultural, economic and political power.

This growth in the presence and power of Islam in the West provides Christians with unique opportunities.

“For Christians, the growing Islamization of the West can be seen as both a challenge and an opportunity to sharpen our thinking and renew our evangelism,” says Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund (www.barnabasfund.org ) in a new article on the Islamization of the West obtained by ASSIST News.

“As we Christians see Muslim zeal, commitment, and willingness to sacrifice, we should be driven to repent, to pray for revival and act boldly for God in this generation. We need to stand firm on our Biblical foundations, beware of compromises and reach out in love to Muslims, offering them the Gospel of salvation in Christ.”

He quotes Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a popular Sunni Muslim cleric, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, who said: “Islam entered Europe twice and left it… Perhaps the next conquest, Allah willing, will be by means of preaching and ideology. The conquest need not necessarily be by the sword… Perhaps we will conquer these lands without armies. We want an army of preachers and teachers who will present Islam in all languages and in all dialects.”

Sookhdeo says that secularism has already undermined the Judeo-Christian basis of Western society, and this makes it easier for radical Muslims in the West to progress towards their goal.

“There are also other factors that seem to make many Westerners ashamed of their Judeo-Christian heritage and values. These factors include guilt and shame about two world wars, colonialism, racism and the Holocaust,” Sookhdeo writes.

What is happening in the West is linked to worldwide developments in Islam, Sookhdeo says.

“Muslims around the globe are regaining their confidence and promoting a resurgence of Islam. Their aim is to establish Muslim control in politics, economics and culture in every country. In this process the Islamic world is growing more assertive and intolerant towards the West. This resurgence of Islam and the increasing power of Islamism (political Islam) strongly impact Muslim communities in the West. In response, the West is gradually changing its structures, laws and customs to suit its Muslim communities.”

Sookhdeo also cites Mullah Krekar, a Kurdish Islamist radical from Iraq , who has been granted asylum in Norway . “We’re the ones who will change you … Just look at the development within Europe , where the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes. Every western woman in the EU is producing an average of 1.4 children. Every Muslim woman in the same countries are [sic’] producing 3.5 children. By 2050, 30 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim… Our way of thinking … will prove more powerful than yours.”

Migration and Demographics

Muslims are still a minority in the West; however, their growth rate has been dramatic, Sookhdeo says.

“Muhammad has become the most common name for newborn boys in Brussels and Amsterdam , and the third most common in England . Muslim populations are growing much faster than non-Muslim ones. This growth is due to continued migration, higher birth rates and conversions. Many Muslim leaders have expressed their vision of an Islamic Europe in the foreseeable future, achieved primarily by demographic changes.”

Bernard Lewis, a British-American historian, scholar in Oriental studies, and political commentator, predicted in July 2004 that Muslims would form a majority in Europe by the end of the 21st century. He repeated his warning in 2007, arguing that Europe is experiencing a dramatic demographic shift coupled with a process of Islamization.

Sookhdeo goes on to say that the ( UK ) Office for National Statistics found that the Muslim population had multiplied ten times faster than the rest of society during the period from 2004 to 2008. In 2008 the British government’s Labor Force Survey calculated that the British Muslim population in 2008 was 2.4 million. However, this may well be a considerable underestimate.

Sookhdeo says: “Barnabas Fund has undertaken some intensive research into this question. Embassies of Muslim states were approached and asked for their current figures on the number of Muslims in Britain whom they represent, and published material from government agencies (such as the Department of Communities and Local Government) as well as Muslim NGOs dealing with specific Muslim ethnic groups was used.”

According to Sookhdeo: “Pakistani-origin Muslims form by far the largest single group of British Muslims. It is important to note that the figures from the Pakistani High Commission cover only first-generation Pakistani immigrants. But many Pakistani-background Britons are now second, third and even fourth generation immigrants; a reasonable estimate would be between 600,000 and 800,000. So the total figure for Pakistani Muslims must be far higher than the table indicates, perhaps between 1.5 and 2 million.

“So although the minimum figure in the table matches the government estimate of 2.4 million, it is likely to be too low. It would seem fair to estimate the current (2010) number of Muslims in the UK as being certainly 3 million, most likely at least 3.2 million and possibly as many as 4.8 million.”

How long has it taken for the British Muslim population to grow to this size? Sookhdeo asks.

He states: “In 1915 there were only 10,000 Muslims in the UK , and the level remained low for the next four decades. The main waves of Muslim immigrants arrived in Britain after the Second World War and as British colonies gained independence. By 1954 there were some 24,000 Muslims.

“Most of the new arrivals came from the Indian subcontinent ( India , Pakistan , Bangladesh ) in search of jobs. Later waves of immigrants included Asian Muslims evicted from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972. Arab Muslims from various countries in the Middle East experiencing economic difficulties, civil war and persecution also found refuge in Britain .

“Iranians fleeing the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and later Kurds fleeing persecution in Iraq and Turkey , joined the flow. Muslim immigrants and asylum-seekers arrived from the Balkans during the disintegration of Yugoslavia and from Afghanistan during its decades of war and civil strife.” Recently there has been an influx from Somalia and sub-Saharan African countries, Sookhdeo says.

Impact of Islamism

“Many Muslims who settle in the West are traditionalists wanting to recreate in their new country the Islam of their homeland. A few are secularists who migrated in order to escape the growth of radical Islam in their home country. Still others are Islamists who have moved to the West with the definite plan of working for the rule of Islam and sharia throughout the world. It is this last group who are spearheading the process of Islamization in the West, although many mainstream Muslim organizations are also actively supportive of it,” Sookhdeo writes.

Sookhdeo goes on to describe Islamism.

“Islamism is inherently political and considers that the state powers must be controlled by Islam. It is deeply rooted in orthodox Islam and thus appeals greatly to many conservative and traditional Muslim groups. Islamists have developed programs for Islamizing the West in stages. These include infiltrating both Western Muslim communities and non-Muslim Western societies, especially their power centers.

“The current population explosion in Muslim countries, coupled with the growth in the number of Muslims migrating into Western states, is seen by many Islamists as a sign of God’s providence, tilting the global balance in favor of Islam. They believe that Muslims in the West must seize this unique opportunity to expand Islam’s sphere of influence, changing Western Christian and secular culture in favor of Islam.”

Islamists want Islam to be not just an equal alongside the many other faith communities, but to be privileged and protected, the dominant player. Islamic norms and practices are promoted as Muslims make their presence felt in politics, economics, law, education and the media, Sookhdeo says.

“Islamists are never satisfied with what they have achieved, but use every opportunity to ask for more. The then Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, complained that in dealing with some Muslims ‘there can never be sufficient appeasement and new demands will continue to be made.'”

Sookhdeo says that as part of their strategy, “Islamists have created a vast network of interlocking organizations committed to spreading Islam in the West. These institutions are used to lobby for Muslim causes. They are often led by well-educated Muslims born in the West, who are able to engage effectively with wider society.”

The Alliance Between Islamists and The Extreme Left

Sookhdeo says the fall of communism created an open door for Islamists to look for other allies.

He states: “The fall of Soviet communism weakened the Western hard left and forced it to look for other allies in its struggle against capitalism and Christianity. It has developed links to radical Islamists, many of whom take part in demonstrations against Western governments and their policies and stir up resentment among many Muslims. Although Islamism and the extreme left have very different ideas and goals, they are united in their hatred for America .

“Left-wing intellectuals present a sanitized view of Islam, ignoring its terrorist forms, playing down the place of Islamism and emphasising the guilt of the West. They offer Islamists a privileged platform in the media channels and academic centers that they control, calling any criticism of Islam ‘Islamophobic’ and thus silencing all dissent. ”

Islamic Mission (Da‘Wa)

Sookhdeo explains that Islamists now encourage Muslims to make their mission more suitable for the West.

“Terms and concepts that might offend Western people are avoided. Islam is presented not as an alien religion to be imposed on Western society by force, but as a peaceful and tolerant religion, closely related to Christianity and dedicated to social justice and equality. Islamists also often engage in interfaith dialogue with Christians with the aim of promoting Islam.

“Oil-rich Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia , Libya and Iran are using their considerable resources and influence to fund and promote a large network of Islamic mission organizations. Non-Muslim societies and states are pressured to meet their demands.

At the same time, the threat of violence, whether terrorism or rioting, is part of da‘wa. Western governments have to allocate vast resources to fighting Islamist terrorism. Terrorist threats also make governments more eager to respond positively to the requests of their Muslim communities, hoping that this will prevent them from becoming radicalized.”

Mosque-Building as a Strategy

Sookhdeo states that some observers estimate that by 2007 there were over 1,700 mosques in the UK , over 1,600 in France , over 1,200 in the US and over 1,000 in Germany . The largest and most ornate mosques are often funded and supported by Islamic states. The increasing numbers of mosques, and their magnificence, speak of the presence and permanence of Islam in the West and reflect the growing confidence of Muslim communities.

Recently plans to build several “mega-mosques” in the UK have caused much controversy and raised inter-communal tensions. Muslims claim that these structures will be needed to accommodate their growing numbers in the West. However, the need for Muslim places of worship could be met by smaller, less eye-catching buildings. The ambitious designs of many mosques suggest a desire to have a very visible presence, claim superiority for Islam, and dwarf Christian cathedrals and churches.

Islamic Sharia

Another strategy is the acceptance and implementation of Sharia (Islamic) Law, Sookhdeo says.

“Sharia law defines the faith and identity of most Muslims, who submit to it as God’s will. Traditionalists, Islamists and modernists all take this view, while differing on how sharia should be understood and put into practice. In the West there is pressure to have parts of sharia added to the secular legal system and applied in the public sphere.

“As a result of Muslim demands, various public bodies, including the police, hospitals and the prison system, allow Muslims to follow certain sharia regulations. Informal, voluntary sharia courts are operating in many Muslim communities. These put Muslim women in real danger of severe discrimination in matters of marriage, divorce, custody of children and inheritance.”

Sookhdeo states that important non-Muslim public figures have joined in the demand for an increased public role for sharia.

“In Britain the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Rowna Williams) has argued that some role for Islamic law is unavoidable and that in order to hold society together the country should permit Muslims to follow some parts of it. He was followed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, who argued that sharia could operate in Britain in the field of marriage, family disputes, and finance as long as it did not contradict the laws of the land. He also said that sharia should be one (voluntary) basis of arbitration and mediation, which could then be enforced by English law. Similar voices are heard in other Western states.

Threats To Free Speech

Sookhdeo goes on to explain that Islam does not separate religion from the state, and many Muslims believe that the state should protect Islam.

“Muslim institutions in the West frequently complain about Islamophobia and demand laws to ban hate speech and insulting religion. They are supported by Muslim states and Muslim international organizations such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), who seek to give Islam a special place in all societies. They claim that Islam, the Qur’an, sharia and Muhammad must all be protected from criticism, however factual the criticism might be. In 2007 an act was passed in the UK outlawing the use of threatening words or behavior meant to incite hatred against groups of people because of their faith.

“Islamist organizations in the West also use the laws on libel, human rights and equality to silence any criticism of Islam. Large funds are set aside for hiring skilful lawyers. This approach puts off many people who might otherwise criticize Islam and so limits their free speech. This situation is beginning to limit public discussion of Islam and even of the threat posed by Islamist terrorism. It presents a real challenge to both civil rights and national security in Western states.”

This campaign is a first step towards changes in the law of Western and other non-Muslim states to favor Islam, Sookhdeo says.

“As a result the UN is increasingly censoring its own language and inserting terms such as ‘blasphemy’ and ‘defamation of Islam’ into its documents. Non-Muslim states seem to have decided to keep quiet about Islam. Thus freedom of speech and expression is being limited in many international organizations and conferences.

Violence and the Threat of Violence

Some Muslims have resorted to violence and the threat of violence to frighten governments into meeting their demands, Sookhdeo stated.

“Examples include the riots in Oldham , UK in 2001 and in Paris in 2005. This approach seems to be effective in the West, where governments want to avoid riots in the streets of their cities. The Danish cartoons of Muhammad and the riots and violence that followed prompted many Western politicians to express sympathy with Muslim anger.”

The Way Islam is Presented

Islamists present Islam to the non-Muslim West as tolerant and peaceable, Sookhdeo said.

“They have a project to rewrite texts about Islam for Western audiences. They present Islam and Islamic history in the best possible light, stressing only its peaceful and pleasant features while denying the intolerant and violent ones, not least its many wars of expansion. They have created an atmosphere in which it is becoming difficult for public figures to criticize Islam or talk openly about the challenges posed by Islamism.

“Islamists are also seeking to change the way that Western people see the world (the Islamization of knowledge). Islamic bodies have been founded in the West to promote an Islamic way of thinking, based on the principles of the Qur’an, the words and deeds of Muhammad, and the ideas of Islamic civilization. Some of these bodies are linked to Islamist movements, while presenting a moderate face to their Western audiences. Their academic standing encourages some Western academics to co-operate with them.”

Some Western governments are changing the language they use to describe the Islamist terrorist threat, Sookhdeo says.

“Terms such as ‘War against terror,’ ‘Islamic terrorism’ and ‘Islamist terrorism’ are being abandoned, because they anger Muslims and increase tensions with the wider Muslim world. No link may be openly made between Islam and terrorism or radicalism. For example, in April 2010 the US government decided to ban all mention of Islam in important national security documents.”

Islamists would like to control the whole of Western education, Sookhdeo said.

“Although the number of Muslim schools is growing, most Muslim children attend state schools. Wherever possible, Muslims demand that Muslim girls be allowed to wear Islamic clothing. They also call for special prayer rooms to be set aside in schools for Muslim prayers, for halal food to be provided, and for permission for Muslim pupils to leave school premises for Friday prayers.”

Islamists also fund academic chairs and support Muslim academics taking up lecturing posts in Western universities, Sookhdeo states.

“A growing proportion of senior staff positions in Western departments of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, and much of their funding, now come from Muslim countries. But funding from Muslim sources often has strings attached, and there is clear evidence that at some universities the choice of teaching materials, the subject areas and degrees offered, the recruitment of staff and advisory boards and even the selection of students are now influenced by donors. University staff may censor their own work so as not to offend the donors.

“In recent decades Islamist activists have gained a larger place in many Islamic student societies in colleges and universities. They radicalize Muslim students, encourage separation and isolation from the staff and non-Muslim students, and encourage female Muslim students to wear Islamic dress. A number of Islamist terrorists studied at Western colleges and universities.”

‘No-Go’ Zones For Non-Muslims?

Sookhdeo also states that poverty, racism and the need for mutual support made the first generations of Muslims in the West live close together.

“But more recently this process has been encouraged by Islamists and even by governments. It creates a growing sense of separation from wider society and encourages young Muslims to seek their identity in radical Islam. Extremist literature is being widely distributed in some mosques and Islamic centres, further encouraging this process.

“An Islamic character is being imposed on many inner-city areas where Muslim social networks are very powerful. In such areas non-Muslims feel outnumbered and threatened by the Islamic community. Some commentators suggest that they have become ‘no-go’ areas that it is dangerous for non-Muslims to enter.”

Sookhdeo concludes that governments and the public must be made aware of the danger of allowing Islamist activists to take over Muslim organizations and claim to represent all Muslims.

“The excessive demands of Islamists must be rejected, along with their blaming of host societies for all the difficulties faced by Muslims. It is important that democratic Western societies do not give up their hard-won heritage of equality before the law, freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

“It must also be made clear that tolerance must work both ways and that threats of violence are unacceptable. Muslim communities must try much harder to isolate and expose Islamists who reject integration and the violent radicals among them.”

For more information on Barnabas Fund, go to www.barnabasfund.org