Losing My Religion

It is an expression that originates in the South, to refer to losing one's temper or composure, to being at wit's end. We might conclude that civility is a religion of sorts, or at least a way of life.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in a multi-cultural society. One does not compromise the One True Faith, to recognize that there are others in our midst who would beg to disagree. We are obliged to evangelize, to make the case for their conversion. We are not obliged to kill them if they refuse. This may have been a tenet of the Old Covenant, but it is not upheld in the New. The Christian faith was sown by the seeds of martyrdom. That is to say that the Faith was spread by those who were willing to die for it, as opposed to forcing the deaths of those who would not.

Recently, Reuters reported on the Vatican's disclosure that "Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world... Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 percent." And while a mosque has been permitted to be built in Rome, a Catholic church cannot be built in Saudi Arabia, the USA's supposed partner in peace for that part of the world. Not to mention a reliable source of oil, upon which we remain hopelessly dependent.

There is no quarrel here with adherents to Islam in America. They are free to worship as they will. But there will be no recognition on this page that "one religion is just as good as another." The most accommodating among them would not embrace that position, and we will not do so here. Still, what cannot be ignored, is that area of belief inherent to Islam, that calls for conversion by force. Unlike Christianity, Islam did not spread through the blood of its own martyrs, but in making martyrs of everyone else.

There are those Muslims who take the most extreme position, one that is upheld without compromise in the pages of the Qur'an. It would be nice if they could sit down with us and we throw them a bone by staying out of their business and that would be the end of it. The problem is, it wouldn't be the end of it. They don't want our friendship; they want our conversion to Islam, or they want us dead. That's what they bring to the table; convert or die. And whatever "moderate Muslims" tell you, they are not the ones calling the shots on this deal. The ones who do have been very clear on what they want, and what they are willing to do to get it.

How can you reason with such people? You cannot. You have to do one of two things. One is to beat them into total submission. Like any schoolyard bully, they won't like it, but they will respect you for it, because it's the only language they understand. The other is to give up your Wilsonian fantasies of empire, and draw a line in the sand that these barbarians would only cross at their peril. (We call such a line "secure borders.") Short of that, hunkering down for long engagements in their home territory is just what they can use to wear us down. They want us to endure discontent at home, with protesters in the streets. This demoralizes the troops, and they all go home making the USA look stupid. Just like Vietnam. Muslims read history books as well, and will remember their defeat over five centuries ago at the Battle of Lepanto, as if it happened yesterday.

So there is a choice to be made. We cannot be bullied by those who will accept no less than complete domination of the world. The nations of Europe paid a terrible price for that lesson in the past century. The generation who witnessed that lesson are living just long enough to see their children fail to remember it. Even now, their leaders are capitulating over production by the Dutch filmmaker Geert Wilders of the movie "Fitna." Death threats have been made against those websites that have shown it. But it is being shown by mwbh, at the top of this piece, and will remain as long as it is accessible for embed. If Islam is a religion of peace, its believers can prove it to the world, by permitting the same latitude for others that they demand for themselves. Should their convictions not permit this, such refusal will come at a price. They will not be accepted.

Let the word go out to those who would threaten us, that they will be called into account. Their actions will be disclosed to the stage of public opinion, for all to see. The full weight of our system of justice will be brought down upon them. There will be no compromise. There will be no standing down.

People genuinely want something in which to believe. Their hunger for it is evident in someone whose message has sufficient appeal to attract them. But as a wise man once said, a man who marries the spirit of the age is soon left a widow. There are things in life worth living for, even worth dying for. Islam is not one of them. Like any tree, it may be judged by its fruits. Mohammed never claimed to be the Son of God, but a prophet. Jesus never claimed to be a prophet, but the Son of God. One of them died and remained dead. The other rose from the dead and still lives.

Who are we to believe?
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