Thread: Islam Pushes, Europe Reacts The European Union’s toleranc

Islam Pushes, Europe Reacts

From the June/July 2008 Trumpet

The European Union’s tolerance of Islam’s incursion is reaching its limits. By Ron Fraser

Europeans have been tolerant of the inroads that Islam has made into their society over a period of decades. But things are changing. That tolerance has produced such strains on the Continent that it is now creating a political backlash.

Perhaps the first public display of European reaction to its creeping Islamization was the publishing by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten of the Muhammad cartoons on Sept. 30, 2005. Just one year later, Pope Benedict xvi threw down the gauntlet to Islam during a provocative speech at the University of Regensburg.

Since then, Europe has gone on the offensive against the Islamic push from the south. Calls from responsible politicians across the board to stem the flood of immigrants into the Continent are getting louder. The contest between European Christianity and Islam is heating up.

A Religious Powder Keg

Two politically overt actions taken within a week of each other in March illustrate the point.

On March 22, Pope Benedict baptized, confirmed and gave the Eucharist to Magdi Allam, a well-known Egyptian-born Muslim resident in Italy. Allam is a senior editor for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in addition to being a high-profile author. His conversion ceremony seemed calculated for maximum exposure: It took place right at St. Peter’s Basilica on the eve of Easter Sunday, and was heavily covered by the Vatican and other news outlets.

Just five days later, Dutchman Geert Wilders released his controversial and long-anticipated film Fitna. The 15-minute film “consists of some of the most bellicose verses of the Koran, followed by actions in accord with those verses carried out by Islamists in recent years. The obvious implication is that Islamists are simply acting in accord with their scriptures,â€

Great post Airborne, Thanks.