Soft Terrorism &#0151 Are We Still Determined?

In the days leading up to today — the sixth anniversary of the deadly September 11 attacks by Islamo-fascist terrorists — we have had two reminders of just how determined our enemies are.

First came the news of the arrest in Germany of three suspected Islamic terrorists. They are accused of plotting bomb attacks against the US Air Base at Ramstein and Frankfurt International Airport. According to the Associated Press, the terrorists nursed a "profound hatred of US citizens."

Then there was the latest rant from Osama bin Laden, celebrating the ugly work of the September 11 terrorists and spewing more hatred for the West. He also invited all Americans to convert to Islam. Thanks, but no thanks.

But as a Muslim convert to Christianity notes, we have more to worry about than violent attacks. We should be just as concerned about the quiet inroads Islam is making in Western societies.

Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo, who was born into a Muslim family, is now an Anglican priest living in England. He is the author of several books about Islam, and as a former Muslim, he brings a knowledgeable perspective about Islamic attitudes.

Sookhdeo notes that the process of migrating and establishing Muslim communities in non-Muslim areas is an important part of Islamic theology. In A.D. 614, Muslim refugees migrated to the Christian kingdom of Abyssinia, where they were allowed to worship freely. In A.D. 622, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca, where they were persecuted, to Medina, where they established the first Islamic state.

As Sookhdeo writes, Muslims view the establishment of Muslim communities in Britain as a contemporary migration, called a hijra. But, he adds, "an important question concerns which seventh-century hijra they compare it to: the hijra to Abyssinia in which the Muslims became contented and loyal subjects of a Christian king, or the hijra to Medina where they seized political and military power."

To Sookhdeo, the signs are not good. He notes that a book "published in 1980 by the Islamic Council of Europe gives instructions for how Muslim minorities are to work towards achieving domination of European countries through a policy of concentration in geographical areas."

In England and France, this has already begun. Muslims have created large enclaves in urban centers in which sharia law is in effect, in "areas of finance and mortgages; halal food in schools, hospitals, and prisons, faith schools funded by the state; prayer rooms in every police station in London." Instead of assimilating into the larger culture, Muslims have, he says, created a "parallel society in the UK."

And with this parallel society has come increasing violence against non-Muslims, Sookhdeo warns. There has been a rapid growth of so-called "honor killings," and now, suicide bombings.

We have to ask ourselves: Will what is happening in Europe eventually happen in America?

As we remember the innocent victims of September 11, we need to realize that the kind of soft terrorism Sookhdeo describes is every bit as deadly as planes being flown into buildings. We must educate ourselves about it and be as determined to defend liberty, human dignity, and our way of life as we were six years ago, when we were still clearing away the rubble in New York City and at the Pentagon.