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The Islamic religion may not be doing demographic analysis on
the subject of new converts, but it takes no wizardry to see
that outside of a few Arab countries not many are joining up.
Salmon Rushdie may have been the first to flee the wrath of
angry Islamic hardliners but now whole nations are on the alert.
It is an easy thing to hide one man but nations are another
matter. World reaction is followed by world opinion and
depending on how much dust has to settle, following close behind
is worldwide action. That action has been everything from
hunting down major terrorists and dangerous extremists to
digging for the root causes for all this anti anything that
isn?t Muslim.
Immediately after 9-11 President Bush sought to encourage
Americans and warn the perpetrators of the attack in New York.
We rallied around his comments with ears fully opened and hearts
still burning with grief. Almost un-noticed in the melee of
words and emotions he also said, that we knew the Muslim
religion was a peaceful religion. Do we really know that? Up to
that propitious moment in our history we knew pretty close to
nothing about the Islamic faith. Since those remarks were made
there has been a rush to correct our general lack of knowledge
about Islam. So what do we know now?
The first person to cast doubt on the peaceful religion remark
was Franklin Graham the son of evangelist Rev Billy Graham. He
simply pointed us to the Quran where it can be seen in black and
white that the cost of not converting to Islam could be our
lives. The first reaction to Graham?s divulgement was a little
shy of a good old tar and feathering. Since then we have poured
over the newly offered enlightenments put forth by authors,
preachers, news people and others. Graham has been vindicated,
our president has been a good deal less vociferous on the
peaceful religion idea, and we have had a non stop crash course
on the entire subject via the shock network from, Indonesia,
Spain and London.
College freshman still argue that more wars have been fought and
more lives have been lost to religion than for any other reason.
Only a little more learning and they eventually stop sounding
that obviously exaggerated claim. Most of the lives lost in war
had to do with territory, politics, fascism and all the other
reasons on a long list of which religion is but one. But how
many converts are won as a result of religious wars and bigotry?
Why can?t the Muslims take a hint from this? How many people
really wanted to be Catholics during the Papal inquisitions? How
many got converted to Christianity because of the crusades? How
about a modestly conservative, very few if any, for a fair
answer?
About as much time as it takes to get a college degree has
passed since 9-11 and Americans have been immersed in both its
details and its concomitant effects. We have all figuratively
earned our degree in the effects of terrorism. We have had our
education bolstered with remedial courses from the subways of
Spain to the underground of London. If we have learned nothing
else we can at least say with surety that Islam is not a
peaceful religion. It assuages us little to be reminded so often
that there are extremist Muslims and moderate Muslims, when we
know their guide book puts forth a mandate to take the extreme.
Perhaps a better question is what have Muslims learned? Has the
slaughter of unsuspecting, un-armed and un-prepared people added
any converts to Islam? Has it caused anyone to rush to join
their ranks? The world consensus may be hard to accurately
measure but it seems safe to say that not many are taking the
bait.
We still live in a world where people don?t like being blown up
for holding an opposing view or for not being inclined to become
adherents to one religion or another. I think that is why we
call it civilization. Most people like to come slowly to their
conclusions about God. Most folks still prefer spiritual
experiences rather than human coercion. Most people would prefer
a gentle Jesus to a poisoning Jim Jones. Even the cults have
sense enough to feign love to the unsuspecting to lure them into
their folds. What nation or what culture has ever been found to
eagerly accept a religion that thinks blowing people up is
pleasing to God? Why don?t Muslims see they are doing more to
harm their cause than time and forgiveness may ever be able to
repair?
About the author:
Rev Bresciani is from New Orleans La and the author of?Hook line
and Sinker or What Has Your Church Been Teaching You,
PublishAmerica 2005 and?An American Prophet and His Message,
Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ, Xulon
Press 2005. His website is http://americanprophet.org
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