The Churches Response to Islamisation in Europe | Panel Discussion

Sep 27, 2024

Islam is seductive to young men, especially because Islam is a muscular religion. It is muscular and masculine. Islam has no concept of “turning the other cheek”; rather, it preaches an “eye for an eye’. It is easy to see its attraction for young men.

Go to a church on a Sunday these days and you are likely to find not many young men, but many elderly ladies. – © Mark Alexander

Enfant terrible's Literary Vision of an Islamic France

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michel Houellebecq, who first stirred controversy with sex novel Atomised, makes waves with book describing country after Islamist becomes president

Put France’s literary enfant terrible together with Europe’s most combustible political talking point, and sparks were always going to fly.

Michel Houellebecq, whose tale of sex, mother-hatred and cloning Atomised was the French literary scandal of the Nineties, is turning his attention to “Islamisation”.

His new novel Soumission (Submission), will not be published until January 7 but has already triggered a flurry of accusations that he is pandering to the growing Islamophobia gripping France.

It is set in 2022 and imagines the country electing a Muslim president, who goes on to convert France to his vision of society.

In a twist, he is not only able to implement his programme - but it works. France becomes more positive about its future, and more prosperous too.

Houellebecq has already been accused of aligning himself with so-called neo-réactionnaire writers and intellectuals such as Eric Zemmour and Renaud Camus who argue that France’s national identity has been irreversibly diluted by mass immigration and the growth of Islam. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Saturday, January 03, 2015

Turkey Protests: Dangerous Waters with No Sign of Compromise
BBC: It began just after dawn on Tuesday: the thud of tear gas fired across Taksim Square in the biggest police operation here for over a week.

Arcs of water cannon were spewed towards protesters, some of whom responded with petrol bombs and bricks.

For 12 days, the central square in Turkey's biggest city had been under the authority of a growing protest movement. This was the moment that the government decided to retake it.

All through the day, the game of cat and mouse continued.

Once the police retreated, the protesters regrouped. They took refuge in the adjoining Gezi Park, where the unrest was first sparked in response to government plans to redevelop it.

I watched as telecoms trucks were set ablaze, black smoke fusing with the white plumes of tear gas into an acrid mix.

Not listening

What began as a demonstration by environmentalists has mushroomed into something far bigger: a fight by disparate groups for greater freedom in Turkey and a preservation of the country's secular order.

They see a government with an authoritarian, neo-Islamist agenda: the highest number of journalists in the world in prison, restrictions on alcohol sales, massive construction projects prioritised over human rights.

"This is not an Arab spring", one protester, Melis Behlil, told me.

"We have free elections here. But the problem is that the person elected doesn't listen to us." » | Mark Lowen | BBC News, Istanbul | Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Turkey's Protesters Proclaimed as True Heirs of Nation's Founding Father

THE OBSERVER: Ataturk, the secular reformer, has become the symbol for young Turks defying what they see as Erdogan's reactionary reversion to the Ottoman past

Among the tents, snoozing youth and pleasant shady trees of Istanbul's Gezi Park there are portraits of one man in a European suit. Wherever you look Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the Turkish Republic – gazes sternly at you. Photos of the first president hang from branches, have been affixed to tea stalls, and even encircle a giant banner showing Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dressed as Hitler.

"We really love Ataturk. He changed our state. He made it into a modern republic," explained Murat Bakirdoven, a 24-year-old biology student who has been camping in the park for a week. Someone had stuck another photo of Ataturk – this time in a lounge suit, sitting on a leather chair, cigarette in hand – on a nearby tree. Bakirdoven added: "Erdogan wants us to forget him. Instead we are trying to create an Ataturk renaissance."

For the protesters who have taken part in Turkey's anti-government demonstrations, Ataturk is a hero. Dead for 75 years, he has become the reborn symbol of this student-driven anti-Erdogan movement. (The other motif is a penguin – a reference to the state media, which failed to report on the uprising for several days; one channel, CNN Turk, instead screened a nature documentary on Antarctica).

The symbolism goes to the heart of what this unprecedented uprising is about: Turkey's modern identity. At issue is whether Turkey should be the progressive, secular European nation-state that Ataturk originally envisaged and shaped from the ruins of the Ottoman empire, or a more explicitly religious country, a sort of Muslim version of Christian democracy. The protesters want the former; Erdogan, and his ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP), it appears, the latter. » | Luke Harding Istanbul | Saturday, June 08, 2013

'Erdogan's Creeping Islamisation Deepens Divide Among Turks'

France: Manifestation contre «l’islamisation» en Moselle
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: LORRAINE | A Forbach, près de Metz, au nord-est de la France la "Nouvelle droite populaire" organise une manifestation "anti-islam" en dépit d’une interdiction réclamée par plusieurs organisations de gauche.

Une manifestation "anti-islam" de la "Nouvelle droite populaire" (NDP) pourra se dérouler dimanche à 20 heures à Forbach (Moselle) en dépit d’une interdiction réclamée par plusieurs organisations de gauche, a-t-on indiqué mercredi de source préfectorale à Metz.

Prenant prétexte de la victoire d’une coalition européenne - à laquelle participait le duc de Lorraine - contre les Turcs le 11 septembre 1683 à Vienne, la NDP a appelé à manifester contre "l’islamisation de la Lorraine et de l’Europe", le jour du 10è anniversaire des attentats du 11 septembre 2001 aux Etats-Unis. » | ATS | Mercredi 07 Septembre 2011

Pat Condell: Islamic Cultural Terrorism

HT: Always On Watch »

New Dark Age Alert! Muslims to Push for Sharia
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE nation's peak Muslim group is using the Gillard government's re-embracing of multiculturalism to push for the introduction of sharia in Australia, but it says it would be a more moderate variety of Islamic law that fits with Australian values.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the government's new multiculturalism policy, argues that Muslims should enjoy "legal pluralism".

In an interview with The Australian, the organisation's president, Ikebal Adam Patel, who wrote the submission, nominated family law and specifically divorce as an area where moderate interpretations of sharia could co-exist within the Australian legal system.

In the submission, the AFIC acknowledges some Muslims believe Islamic law is immutable, regardless of history, time, culture and location.

"They claim that Muslims may change, but Islam will not," it says.

The AFIC argues this is not the case and sharia can be applied in a way that fits in to Australia and is not extreme.

"This means most of the regulations in Islamic law may be amended, changed, altered, and adapted to social change.

"Therefore, Muslims Australia-AFIC takes the position that Islamic law is changeable according to the requirements of different places and times, and therefore suits the values shared by Australian people," the submission says.

A hardline reading of sharia confers unilateral divorce rights on men, while women who initiate divorce are stripped of their property and financial entitlements.

A more moderate interpretation and common practice in Islamic countries is to recognise divorce by mutual consent.

In the interview, Mr Patel said: "I'm saying that instead of letting the extremists within Islam take over the agenda, we are saying there is a path whereby it will work for all the communities in a moderate way. » | Patricia Karvelas | The Australian | Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Beware Australia! Beware Australians! Introducing any aspects of sharia law will be the tip of the iceberg. Further, do not be lulled into believing that there is a moderate form of sharia law. Sharia law is what it is: harsh and unforgiving and brutal in its treatment of transgressors. If you want Australia to remain free and whole, keep sharia law well and truly OUT of your wonderful country! Do NOT make the mistakes that we in Europe have made. Be WISE! Learn from our mistakes. Make Muslims abide by your liberal, democratic laws. In any case, no sensible lawmaker would consider allowing different, parallel laws for different groups of people. Any country will eventually become ungovernable like that, and it will fragment, too. – © Mark

Protesters Clash at Anti-Muslim Rally in Melbourne
THE AUSTRALIAN: MUSLIM groups are worried by a new nationalist body that claims Australia is in danger of being Islamicised.

Australian Defence League supporters clashed with Left-wing protesters in the city yesterday as the group held its first local rally, sparking a warning from the Baillieu Government that bigotry would not be tolerated.

A small team of police initially kept the groups apart, but ADL supporters were forced to end their protest early when activists encircled them and tore up placards.

The ADL is an offshoot of the English Defence League, which has staged demonstrations in areas of high Muslim concentration in the UK.

About 40 ADL members, including women dressed in mock hijabs, protested in Federation Square yesterday over issues such as the certification of halal meat and concern sharia law would be introduced.

Protest organiser Martin Brennan claimed the group had 1400 members but denied it was anti-Muslim.

"We are not racist whatsoever, we are against radical Islam infiltrating Australia," he said.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Ikebal Patel said the group was provocative and wrong to believe that most Australian Muslims wanted to bring in sharia law. » | John Masanauskas | Herald Sun | Sunday, May 15, 2011

Beginnings Of The Australian Counterjihad: Australian Defence League (ADL) Holds Demonstration In Melbourne on 15 May 2011
INTERNATIONAL CIVIL LIBERTIES ALLIANCE: Earlier today [Sunday] members of the Australian Counterjihad demonstrated against Islamisation in the city of Melbourne in the State of Victoria. Australia lags behind Europe and North America with regard to the intensity of Islamisation but its political elite seem determined to follow their lead and make the same disastrous mistakes that have strengthen[ed] the hand of Islamic fundamentalists.

The demonstration was compact but included key activists from across Australia and marked the public launch of the Australian Counterjihad. A broad range of Australians were present at the ADL demo from many age groups which illustrates the range of the population that is concerned about the Islamisation of Australia. This is how movements in Europe and North America were established and which now have tens of thousands of activists. Key regional organisers will go back to their local areas and grow their Divisions locally. The demonstration in Melbourne has been a good focus and a key catalyst for the strategic organisation of activists across Australasia. Networks are developing and the key nodes are now in place. This is just the beginning and we expect impressive progress with the Australian Counterjihad in the months and years ahead. » | Aeneas Lavinium | Sunday, May 15, 2011

Toronto: Un politicien veut freiner le «processus d'islamisation»
CANOË: TORONTO – Un politicien néerlandais connu pour ses prises de position radicales contre l'islam soutient que le Canada doit interdire la construction de mosquées et bannir la burka afin de freiner le « processus d'islamisation » du pays.

La France et la Belgique ont banni le port du voile intégral dans les lieux publics. La Hollande est dans le processus d'interdire le port du niqab.

« Si tu veux conserver ta culture islamique, reste dans ton pays », a tranché Geert Wilders, lors d'une entrevue accordée lundi à Ezra Levant à l'émission The Source sur les ondes de Sun News à Toronto.

Geert Wilders, chef du Parti pour la liberté, en Hollande, s’est fait remarquer, au cours des dernières années, pour ses attaques virulentes à l’endroit de l’islam en général, qu’il accuse notamment de brimer la liberté des gens et de répandre la haine contre ceux qui ne croient pas en l'idéologie.

Wilders, qui en est à sa première visite au Canada, a indiqué que l'islam n'est pas une religion, mais plutôt « une idéologie totalitaire ». » | Agence QMI | Lundi 09 Mai 2011

Jordan: Muslims Demand Ban on Nightclubs
YNET NEWS: Group of 109 Jordanian scholars, clerics also want 'laws that fight all anti-Islamic acts'

Dozens of Muslim scholars are demanding the closure of nightclubs and discotheques in Jordan, saying such entertainment erodes the nation's morals.

Jordan's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has made such demands in the past. However, Wednesday's call was joined by dozens of independent clergymen, a sign that the idea is becoming more popular in Muslim circles.

The appeal is not binding for Jordan's pro-Western government which says nightclubs and discos are necessary to maintain a flow of foreign tourists, a key source of revenue.

"We demand the government close all nightclubs, which work under the pretext of promoting tourism," 109 clerics, among them a former cabinet minister, MPs, Islamist leaders, university professors and mosque preachers, said in the joint statement.

"We also demand the authorities combat prostitution and brothels, and introduce laws that fight all anti-Islamic and unethical acts which destroy our society," the statement said. >>> News agencies | Wednesday, February 16, 2011

David Cameron Must Face the Challenge of Islamisation
”Government needs to start dismantling an Islamisation that threatens the freedoms of ordinary Britons” – Telegraph View
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: Halting the erosion of freedom may prove just as important a challenge for the Coalition as easing the pain of cuts

The leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage MEP, must have groaned when he learned that the French National Front is now modelling itself on his party. Marine Le Pen, who is poised to take over leadership of the Front National (FN) from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, describes it as a "patriotic" party that has more in common with Ukip than the BNP. Given the sinister resonances that the words "National Front" have in Britain, Miss Le Pen has presented Ukip's opponents with a seasonal gift. "Ukip – backed by the French National Front" is a rhetorical swipe worthy of David Cameron's description of the party's supporters as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".

We should not, however, be too quick to dismiss reports that a sanitised Front National has succeeded in reaching out to a new constituency. The FN's selling point is its opposition to the "Islamisation" of French public life – but not, it is careful to add, to Islam itself. Miss Le Pen claims that pork is being taken off the menu in French schools and that state funds are being used to build "ostentatious mosque cathedrals". She may never be elected president, but over a quarter of French voters approve of her; at no point in the history of the Fifth Republic has an aggressive Right-wing party enjoyed such support among the middle classes.

It may seem inconceivable that British politics could move in the same direction. But we should not be too relaxed about the fact that populist Right-wing parties have never broken into the mainstream of our politics. Two points need to be made. Read on and comment >>> Telegraph View | Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Some of us have been highlighting the threat of the growth of Islam in this country in particular and in the West in general for a very long time, but the MSM were not prepared to listen to us. We were labelled by some misinformed people as right-wing extremists.

I, for one, am not extremist in any way; but I have recognized the growing threat of Islam in the West for many long years now. It has been very disheartening at times, when nobody wanted to listen to what one had to say. But now, thankfully, things are changing. You know they are changing when reputable newspapers like The Daily Telegraph are willing to speak out.

One of the problems we have, though, is that in the name of political correctness, we are disinclined to criticize Islam, the religion, and always ascribe anything negative to Islamism. But the harsh reality remains that Islam and Islamism are really one and the same thing: Islamism is really only the radical, extreme interpretation, and orthodox interpretation, of Islam itself. Islamism cannot be tackled without tackling Islam, if for no other reason than a non-radical Muslim can morph into a radical Muslim very easily and very quickly. Further, as there is no centralized authority in Islam, such as the Pope in the Christian Church, authentic Islam can be anyone's interpretation of the religion. This means that tackling this problem is going to be very difficult for anyone. It will take great courage, great understanding, great fortitude, and great insight.

David Cameron is not the man to tackle this problem. He is far too PR-orientated, and far too aware of his own image. I fear that for David Cameron, his approval ratings mean more to him than tackling a difficult challenge such as this. In any case, given his background, I doubt very much that he has a full grasp of the complexities of the problem. What does he really know about Islam or the Middle East? – © Mark

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Damian Thompson: Is Liberal Britain Threatened by the Spread of Islam?
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: There is a remarkable statistic in today’s main Daily Telegraph leader [above]:

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life estimates that there are 2,869,000 Muslims in Britain, an increase of 74 per cent on its previous figure of 1,647,000, which was based on the 2001 census. No demographic statistics are reliable in an era of open borders, but such an expansion is unprecedented.

The Muslim population has grown from 1.65 million to 2.87 million since 2001, say researchers. What does this mean for liberal Britain? >>> Damian Thompson | Tuesday, December 28, 2010

As people are in the UK today, indeed as people are in the West today – soft – this problem cannot be solved. For this problem can be solved in one way, and in one way only: by means of Draconian measures. Our politicians do not have the stomach for such measures. To start with, our Parliament has become populated by softees who are far more interested in image, sound-bites, and photo-ops than in making hard choices to safeguard our freedoms.

Islam, by contrast, is a macho religion; and its male adherents are inclined to be macho too. They will not easily be frightened off by the pansies that lead us in the West today. This is a situation which calls for the leadership of real men: men who are not intimidated by the prospect of taking tough decisions, and not daunted by the prospect of being unpopular.

Western politicians are given to dividing Islam into two parts: Islam, the religion; and Islamism, the cancer. But the distinction is far from the truth. In reality, it’s a false dichotomy. It is a distinction which serves the purposes of weak politicians; but it is one which any self-respecting Muslim would not recognize. Muslims do not distinguish between Islam and Islamism. To Muslims, Islam is ONE religion. Yes, it has its schisms. Witness the Sunni / Shi’ite schism. But no Muslim would recognize the split that Westerners arbitrarily make of Muslims and Islamists. This is but a dichotomy of convenience for politicians who do not have the stomach to tackle the real issue: the growth of Islam in the West.

Moreover, our problems with Islam cannot be solved by tackling Islamism. Islamism is but the orthodox, fundamentalist version of the faith. It is the version of Islam which devout Muslims believe is the correct way to practise their religion. It is the living out of the fundamental tenets of orthodox Islam. The problems we have with Muslims and Islam in the world today WILL NOT BE SOLVED if we continue with this false dichotomy. In using it, we are just fooling ourselves.

If civil unrest in the UK is to be staved off, and the growth of extreme parties is to be forestalled, this issue will need to be addressed; and it will have to be addressed by courageous and knowledgeable politicians – politicians who understand the nature of Islam and who are willing and able to take the TOUGH decisions which are necessary to SUCCEED. – © Mark

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THE TIMES: Muslim population 'rising 10 times faster than rest of society': The Muslim population in Britain has grown by more than 500,000 to 2.4 million in just four years, according to official research collated for The Times. >>> Richard Kerbaj | Friday, January 30, 2009

National Front's Marine Le Pen to Prove Formidable Rival to Nicolas Sarkozy
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen has promised to defend France from creeping "Islamisation" days before she is expected to take over from her father as head of the National Front party.

Analysts predict Marine Le Pen could woo chunks of France's lower-middle classes hard-hit by the economic crisis. Photo: The Sunday Telegraph

The 42-year-old is seen as a potentially dangerous threat to President Nicolas Sarkozy if chosen to succeed Jean-Marie Le Pen in a mid-January party congress almost 40 years after he founded the party.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Miss Le Pen, said: "The progressive Islamisation of our country and the increase in political-religious demands are calling into question the survival of our civilisation."

"We are fighting against Islamism, not Islam", she said.

"Islamism is the will to impose Shariah for all as civil, political and religious law. We Western societies are fighting against Islamism all around the world. We have sent our kids to Afghanistan to be killed to fight against Islamism, and we don't have the right in France through words and political action to fight it? That seems totally absurd to me," she said.

Miss Le Pen said examples of creeping Islamisation included pork being taken off the menu in certain French schools, the fact that 22 Quick fast food restaurants were offering exclusively Halal burgers. She also claimed that Muslim communities were receiving hidden French government funds to build "increasingly ostentatious mosque-cathedrals" or ones funded by Saudi Arabia.

"In reality, it's asking French people to increasingly submit themselves to the Muslim religion. That goes totally against the secular principles of the French republic," she claimed, adding that the issue would be a "key theme" of the 2012 presidential elections. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Boxing Day, 2010

The Islamisation of the United Kingdom Accelerates
MAIL ONLINE: Mohammed is now the most popular name for newborn boys in England and Wales ahead of Jack and Harry, it emerged today.

The name, when 12 different spellings were included, was given to 7,549 youngsters in 2009, official statistics revealed.

Oliver was the second most popular and it was given to 7,364 boys in England and Wales in 12 months.

Jack was third, Harry fourth and Alfie in fifth place in the league table of names.

However, because official figures did not take into account the variations in the spelling of Mohammed, Oliver was named as the most popular boys' name by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) who released the information.

Jack had been the top name for newborn boys in England and Wales for the previous 14 years.

While Oliver was beaten to first place by Mohammed, in the girls list Olivia came out on top. Mohammed is now the most popular name for baby boys ahead of Jack and Harry >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Bullshit from The Daily Telegraph >>>

Interdiction d’un apéro géant "saucisson-pinard"
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PARIS | La police a interdit mardi un projet d’apéro géant "saucisson et pinard" qui devait se tenir vendredi dans un quartier à forte population musulmane de Paris, largement relayé sur internet par divers groupes mêlant extrême droite et militants laïcs.

La préfecture de police a justifié cette interdiction, qui concerne aussi tout projet de contre-manifestation, car "cet événement (...) est créateur de risques graves de troubles à l’ordre public".

L’invitation à manger du porc et boire du vin à la Goutte d’Or, un quartier populaire du 18e arrondissement dans le nord de Paris, perçue comme une provocation à l’égard des musulmans, avait été lancée par l’intermédiaire du réseau social Facebook. Elle s’inspirait d’un procédé, l’apéro géant, qui fait débat en France car les participants y finissent parfois très imbibés d’alcool.

Mais cette fois, l’apéro avait une vocation politique: elle visait à dénoncer la prière du vendredi qui rassemble des dizaines de musulmans dans la rue, faute de place dans les mosquées du quartier.

Sur leur groupe Facebook, les instigateurs se plaignent que des rues du quartier "sont occupées, particulièrement le vendredi, par des adversaires résolus de nos vins de terroir et de nos produits charcutiers".

L’appel a été lancé apparemment il y a deux semaines. Mais sa notoriété a explosé véritablement lundi par sa révélation dans les médias. Mardi à la mi-journée, le groupe Facebook comptait 6.700 membres, certains se proposant déjà d’organiser d’autre apéros à Lille ou Bruxelles, voire un apéro "bacon and beer" à Londres.

La créatrice du groupe se fait appeler Sylvie François et a assuré au journal Libération être une habitante du quartier "depuis plusieurs générations".
L’invitation a été relayée par des associations d’extrême droite, comme le Bloc identitaire, qui avaient déjà tenté par le passé de lancer des soupes populaires (repas pour les plus démunis) "au cochon", dans le but d’en exclure les musulmans. >>> AFP | Mardi 15 Juin 2010

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Pork sausages and plonk! One big anti-Islamisation party in Paris!
Pork and Wine Anti-Islamisation Party Slammed in Paris
THE TELEGRAPH: Anti-racism activists have condemned plans to hold a "pork sausage and wine" party in a multi-ethnic Paris district to protest against what the organisers call the area's "Islamisation".

SOS Racisme called for the event scheduled for Friday in the Goutte d'Or area of north Paris to be banned because it sent out a "message of hate and of violence towards groups of people because of their real or supposed origins".

The opposition Communist Party said in a statement that "this disgusting joke seeks to exacerbate the differences that make for the richness of the 18th arrondissement (district)".

Sylvie Francois, a local resident, told French radio that she set up a Facebook page for the event to fight against what she saw as the increasing "Islamisation" of her area. >>> | Monday, June 14, 2010

Bloc Identitaire >>>

Apéro Goutte d’Or : Sylvie François livre la liste des soutiens officiels >>> | Lundi 14 Juin 2010

Signs of Enlightenment! France: Fines for Wearing the Burqah
MAIL ONLINE: Women who wear Islamic veils in public will be liable to a fine of more than £700 under strict new laws being formulated in France.

The amount could be doubled for Muslim men who force their wives or other female members of their family to cover their faces.

Jean-Francois Cope, president of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP Party in the French parliament, said the new legislation was intended to protect the 'dignity' and 'security' of women.

He is set to file the draft law in the National Assembly after Mr Sarkozy said veils are 'not welcome' as they intimidate and alienate non-Muslims, especially in a secular country like France.

'We want a ban in public areas,' said Mr Cope, making clear that the veil would not be allowed in public buildings, nor on the streets of France, as it encourages extremism.

Mr Cope said: 'The wearing of the burkha will be subject to a fine, probably of the 4th class, which is to say 750 euros.'

He said the fine would apply to 'all people on the public street whose face is entirely covered'. Women who wear burkhas and niqabs on the street in France face fines of more than £700 >>> Peter Allen | Thursday, January 07, 2010

Islamization: Some People Are Too Dumb to Get It, Mr Pitcher!
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOGS: We Christians need to shape up apparently. Enough of this turning the other cheek, lovey-dovey self-sacrifice and expecting the meek to inherit the earth. We need a bit of moral fibre, ideological backbone and standing astride a broken piano sporting ammo belts and singing Rock of Ages would be nice too. We need some lead in the pencil and fire in the belly.

That seems to be the message from a couple of huge figures in the European Church this morning. According to Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Christians have been “too soft” and have let others “walk over them” to avoid upsetting other faiths. And Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, says that “Europeans systematically empty the Christian content of their lives.”

Carey’s comments came after an all-party group of parliamentarians warned that failing to limit immigration could put “social harmony” at risk. Vlk is more explicit: “Unless Christians wake up, life may be Islamised.” He blames secularism rather than Muslims and I agree with that, though I believe that the so-called “threat” of Islamification is way over-stated and a knicker-wetting bogeyman invented by not very bright nationalists. How do we put some lead in the Christian pencil? >>> George Pitcher | Thursday, January 07, 2010

New Dark Age Alert! Cardinal Says Christian Europe Is to Blame for Islamisation
THE TELEGRAPH: A leading Catholic cardinal has said Europeans only have themselves to blame for allowing Islam to "conquer" the continent.

Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague. Photograph: The Telegraph
Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, the Archbishop of Prague, said Muslims were well placed to fill the spiritual void "created as Europeans systematically empty the Christian content of their lives".

"Europe will pay dear for having left its spiritual foundations and that this is the last period that will not continue for decades when it may still have a chance to do something about it," he said.

"The Muslims definitely have many reasons to be heading here. They also have a religious one – to bring the spiritual values of faith in God to the pagan environment of Europe, to its atheistic style of life.

"Unless the Christians wake up, life may be Islamised and Christianity will not have the strength to imprint its character on the life of people, not to say society."

The 77-year-old cardinal made his remarks in an interview to mark his retirement after spending 19 years as the leader of the Czech Church.

He said he did not blame Muslims for the crisis as Europeans had brought it upon themselves by exchanging their Christian culture for an aggressive secularism that embraced atheism.

"Europe has denied its Christian roots from which it has risen and which could give it the strength to fend off the danger that it will be conquered by Muslims, which is actually happening gradually," he said. >>> Simon Caldwell | Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Buy Mark Alexander’s book: The Dawning of a New Dark Age >>>