Attempts to Islamize the west? Warning of Islamized Europe! (moral, tradition)

[Sahar]

Pope Benedict XVI's private secretary has warned of the "Islamization of Europe" and called for defending Europe's "Christian roots", reported the Daily Telegraph on Friday, July 27.

"Attempts to Islamize the West cannot be denied," Monsignor Georg Gaenswein told the German weekly Sueddeutsche in an interview published Friday.

Gaenswein said Europe should not ignore attempts to introduce Islamic values in the West which could even threaten the European identity.
"The danger for the identity of Europe that is connected with it should not be ignored out of a wrongly understood respectfulness," he said, giving no specific examples of efforts to introduce Islamic values in the West.

Joachim Meisner, the influential archbishop of Cologne, has recently said that the "immigration of Muslims has created a breach in our German, European culture".
Germany's top cardinal has also warned against "uncritical tolerance" which could lead to Islam enjoying equal standing with Christianity in the country.

Early July, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the Europeans to defend their Christian values against "extremists and enemies of democracy".

Gaenswein also defended last year's speech by Pope Benedict associating Islam with violence. The speech had been an attempt by the pontiff to "act against a certain naivety," said Gaenswein.

He said that Islam was a "religion of extremes," with extremists who "turn to rifles (sic) for their goals." "Under the concept (of Islam) there is a collection of many different, sometimes opposing views, even including extremists who invoke the Qur'an in their actions and use arms," he said.

IslamOnline.net


Islam, West Share Common Ground: Muslims
CAIRO — Islamic values are no threat to Europe's identity as they are found in Christian and Jewish scriptures, but Islamophobes are fueling anti-Islam sentiments in the continent, Muslim scholars said on Saturday, July 28.

"Islamic values pose no threat to Europe," Mudr Khugah, the personal envoy of the Islamic Religious Authority in Austria, told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, July 28.
"These values, just as justice, peace and equality, are found in Christianity and Judaism; so there is nothing to fear," he added.

Pope Benedict VXI's private secretary Georg Gaenswein has called for defending Europe's "Christian roots" against the Islamic values which threaten the European identity.

In an interview with the German weekly Sueddeutsche, Gaenswein also defended last year's speech by Pope Benedict XVI, which associated Islam with violence, saying that Islam was a "religion of extremes" and have extremists who "invoke the Qur'an in their actions and use arms."

Sheikh Hussein Halawa, imam of the Islamic and cultural center in Dublin, dismissed Gaenswein's statements. "Islamic values are all about peace, fraternity and equality," he said. He said Islam does tolerate the other. "The Qur'an says 'there is no compulsion in religion,'" he added.

Halawa said Muslims in Europe are an integral part of their societies. "Europeans, accordingly, have to respect their religious values."

Ali Abu Shema, the head of the Milan Islamic center, saw Gaenswein's warnings "shallow" and "unrealistic." "Most Europeans see Islam as a religion that promotes tolerance and peace," he said. He cited a recent poll in the Italian city of Milan, which found that 68% of its residents saw Islam in a favorable light and that 62% of the respondents did not oppose the construction of a grand mosque in the city.

"Unfortunately, extremists' statements always make headlines," said Abu Shema.
The European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) described Gaenswein's statements a step backward.

"These statements are reminiscent of ages that repressed freedom of religion and trampled on human rights," said ECFR member Hussein Hamed. "Such statements symbolize fanaticism," he fumed.

"What is the big deal if Islamic values find ground in the East or the West?" he wondered. "Human beings can choose what suit them best and judge themselves whether they really enhance progress and development."

IslamOnline.net

[fullyveiled muslimah]

This is an important article, and to me it signifies the real latent fear of Islam tht lies beneath the surface. I don't believe the "west" fears terrorists so much as they fear the idea that Islam will find its way into the hearts of not only the immigrants to a country, but its citizens. What do you supposed to do with the citizens who turn to the enemy lines? An immigrant you can deprot on some grounds, but a citizen you will have to employ more drastic measures. Or one could simply tolerate that which poses no harm.

[fullyveiled muslimah]

Not if they say they are morally superior. If they do the same thing as what supposedly is happening in the middle east, they cannot claim that superiority. Also, what exactly is to be done to prevent Islam from spreading, which seems to be what the article is basically about. Islamisizing essentially means that more and more of the population is becoming muslim, and therefore the views of that population are leaning more towards Islamic views than traditional secular or christian views. So in order to stop that islamization, they'd have to stop people from becoming muslim. That can't happen unless through some unfair means. How do you stop people from accepting a religion or POV?

[MaddLlama]

MOD POST

Please note that this thread is in DIR: Islam, and as such
posters are required to follow DIR rules.

[fullyveiled muslimah]

I went on a hunt for the number of muslims in America over the years. As yet I have only found conflicting reports but then I ran up on this:

http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/43315

I didn't read the article that these comments are for, but just read how a few average people feel about Islam. Surprising or no? Not to me.

I'm still looking for some site that has these figures, so when I do I'll post them.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by fullyveiled muslimah

I'm still looking for some site that has these figures, so when I do I'll post them.

The Pew Research Center site might have something. Try searching "Muslims United States" and see what turns up.

Also there might be something on www.adherents.com.

[anders]

I can't substantiate my views by links or other examples, but I'll offer a view that differs from the pope's on many accounts.

I think and hope that secularized Europe might offer a sufficiently neutral ground for Christianity and Islam to show that it is possible for their respective believers to live together in at least relative peace, thus setting a positive example for the rest of the world.

You could also add the results of EU candidate, per definition secular, Turkey's recent elections. The most Islamic party, AKP, had a great win. All comments judge them the most democratic (etc.) party of all the competitors.

[SirKnight1788]

Europe is not a Christian Union. Europe is very secular which will in the end cause its downfall