Some observers are saying that Europe is becoming a post-Christian society with an ever-diminishing understanding of its historical Christian values. Many are calling this the “hallowing out” of traditional Christianity.
In her new book, The Force of Reason, famed Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci claims that Christianity’s ancient stronghold on the European continent is rapidly giving way to the ambitious and assertive religion of Islam.
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Analysts estimate that in Britain, for example, Islamic mosques host more worshippers each week than the Church of England! Filling the void of traditional Christianity is a robust, energetic and youthful movement afoot in Europe. If this continues at the present rate, cathedrals will appear as vestiges of a civilization of times past. The great national cultures of Italians, French, Germans and others may be replaced by a new transnational Muslim identity.
This is not a new 21st century prediction, but one that was actually brought out in 1968 by the British politician Enoch Powell. That year, he gave his famous speech, “Rivers of Blood,” in which he warned that by allowing excess immigration, the United Kingdom was “heaping up its own funeral pyre,” bringing major religious/cultural changes. His message damaged what, at that time, was a promising career.
Recently, an Israeli foreign ministry report stated that Islam is now the second largest religion in Europe. According to this report, most EU nations perceive the presence of radical Muslims as a threat to state security and the fabric of life. The Muslim population in Europe is growing rapidly and may now be approaching 15 million. The report states, “According to the demographic data, the number of Moslems will continue to steadily rise due to a high birth rate and the continued mass immigrations. This means that such a rise could be the increased influence Moslems have on the shape of Europe in the future.”
Understanding the Past
How does Islam, the fastest growing religion in the western world, conflict with the goals of the new mighty European Superstate? To understand this, we must briefly examine the past.
For centuries, Europe has had a commonality that united all of the peoples speaking different languages. That common element was their Christian heritage. This common religious heritage has an interesting past that cannot be denied.
History has proven that the powers that have sought control of the European continent in the past have had a standoff with the religion of Islam for the greatest influence of the European continent and the Holy land. The major Christian influence of Europe during times past has always proven to come from the smallest country on the continent—the Vatican.
From the time of Justinian in A.D. 554, the Roman Empire became known as the “Holy Roman Empire.” Historians almost universally acknowledge that the Pope’s crowning of Justinian, after he defeated the Ostrogoths, signaled this change. Events in Europe, surrounding the Holy Roman Empire, rose and fell for many centuries. Periodically, new rulers appeared—Charlemagne (A.D. 800), Otto the Great, (A.D. 962), Charles V (1520), which in turn was followed by Napoleon’s reign (1805).
The Crusades
During these years, the Vatican’s influence was the glue that held together the Holy Roman Empire. The Popes held ultimate power and gave their blessing to the secular leaders to carry out their agendas.
This unity was forced on its peoples most of the time, with the secret police and state military extinguishing hundreds of thousands of non-compromising Muslims (as well as Jews and Protestants for that matter) during the Crusades. This powerful influence was responsible for the slaughtering of vast numbers during the Inquisition. And through the centuries, this influence continued to force millions, on the pain of death, to convert to Catholicism.
Islamists took control of the Holy Land in AD 632. For a time, Christian leaders were allowed to retain the positions of power they had in Jerusalem, and some were even given titles by the Islamic rulers. For example, Charlemagne was given the title “protector of the Christians in Jerusalem” by the Muslim leader Harun al-rashid.
However, Christendom did not tolerate Islam’s rule of the Holy Land for long. During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church made repeated attempts to reclaim Jerusalem—known as the Crusades. The pope’s call for all Christians to expel Islam from the Holy Land brought Europe more firmly under the power of the Vatican and deepened the roots of Christianity in the continent. It also sowed the seeds of religious tensions that remain between Christianity and Islam to this day.
This past historical accuracy is an essential element in understanding the future of the continent of Europe.
Because of this past, Europe has been branded as having historic “Christian roots.” The modern leaders of the new Europe are depending on these historical Christian roots to be the last piece of the puzzle in turning Europe into the superstate of global supremacy. Why? Because this great religious influence has been the foundation of the modern western culture and stands alone with its arms stretched across the world’s dominant economic system!
In 2004, the European Union finds herself on the fast track to becoming a super giant in the political and economic arena. European leaders have long sought the dream of a United States of Europe—a return to the past glory of the Holy Roman Empire, and a rival to the giant of the past century, the United States of America.
Europe is already an economic giant ready to dwarf the United States. They are even standing up against the U.S. on the world stage, in the arena of world politics. Witness the way they snubbed their nose at the U.S. in regard to the war in Iraq. Standing up to the great twentieth century superpower has caused the world to recognize that the EU is a new power to be reckoned with.
The European Union has also made it very clear that they are seeking to become independent of the U.S. in military defense and to make decisions regarding their own security issues.
One major concern against cultural change by the powerbrokers at the top of the pyramid of the coming European superstate is two-fold. First, very simply, if Islamic influence were to continue to spread throughout Europe, that would impede the plan for unification. Peoples across the continent would be further divided, not only by language, but now by religion. The European political landscape would change drastically. New goals and concerns for the continent would certainly follow. Not only that, but the “glue” (the historic Catholic element) that would bind together all of the differing languages and nations would be drastically less influential.
But the second aspect of this concern is even more far-reaching, pertaining to Europe’s religious and cultural traditions. Islam hates the religious practices associated with “Christianity,” which it views as a religion of “infidels.” This great European system is poised to attain world dominance. The powers of many Islamic nations know this and feel very threatened by this fact. Islamic extremists see the possible inclusion of countries such as Turkey in the EU as a means of spreading Christianity into predominantly Muslim nations. These extremist factions have responded to this threat by perpetrating acts of terror on European soil. This trend could be the factor that ultimately binds the nations of Europe into a strong, unified force on the world scene.
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