Do you remember what happened around you after 9/11? Sam Nouri, an Iranian America, captured the way many were feeling when he wrote one week after the events, "As I sit here before my computer screen, it is 7 days to the minute since my home and my country have forever been changed as fear etched its unholy name into our modern-day history and our modern-day lives......I sit here in utter confusion, in sorrow, in anger, in tranquility and chaos.....I am safe in my body, but I have been harmed in my soul.....". Do you remember how those events change the people around you? I remember .
I remember the "patriots" whose flags suddenly appeared . where are those flags now? Many long gone.
I remember the "Christians" who flooded to local churches, only to ebb away . where are those Christians now? Many long gone.
Suddenly, overnight, a sense of certainty in superiority -- of security in splendid geographic isolation - disappeared. Surely now, it seemed, something constructive would have to be done to resolve the conflict between militant Islam and apathetic post-Christianity.
So now, eight years later, what has changed? Not much!
Bigotry is entrenched. Sam Nouri, again, "I pray for the safety of my Muslim and Asian brothers in America who have come under the hateful, intolerant fire from our fellow American brothers searching for a scapegoat, looking for revenge to quench their tremendous anger.....I am constantly reminded of being jokingly called a "terrorist," a "sand nigger," and a" camel jockey".....though I shrugged these comments off, I wondered where the joke ended and the reality began". What seemed at the time to be kneejerk reaction is now clearly deeply embedded: For a good discussion see "Muslims Widely Seen As Facing Discrimination" (http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/542.pdf), an excellent Pew Research Center report published this month.
The West, in general, and America, in particular, are more at risk from Arab terrorism than ever before. In a recent Strategic Studies Institute report Colonel Brian M. Drinkwine writes, "The most recent National Intelligence Estimate judges that the U.S. homeland will continue to face a persistent and evolving terrorist threat, mainly from Islamic terrorist groups and cells, and that al-Qa'ida will remain the most serious threat. More important, the current administration's approach to the war on terror has created more terrorists than it has eliminated, and anti-American sentiment across the world and throughout the Middle East has skyrocketed, serving to fuel dissent and inspire Muslims to join or openly support terror groups." (The Serpent In Our Garden: Al-Qa'ida And The Long War,
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB877.pdf).
Christians are making little difference. I don't want to downplay the work that is being done . but the fact is that Christianity in the US is on the decline and Islam -- although still a tiny minority - is on the rise (source: "American Religious Identification Survey 2008 --http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/ ).
Is the increase in Muslim population a matter of concern to O.N.U.G. USA members? It should be. The Muslim community has, as it must, a clear long-term agenda. It's well stated by the Muslim American Society (MAS) which was launched:
"To complement the work that has been accomplished in the last three decades and to lay the ground for the Islamic work needed to face the challenges of the next century.
Objectives
· To present the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims and promote understanding between them.
· To encourage the participation of Muslims in building a virtuous and moral society.
· To offer a viable Islamic alternative to many of our society's prevailing problems.
· To promote family values in accordance with Islamic teachings.
· To promote the human values that Islam came to emphasize: brotherhood, equality, justice, mercy, compassion, and peace.
· To foster unity among Muslims and Muslim organizations and encourage cooperation and coordination.
Our Methodology (Manhaj): Comprehensive Islam which regulates all aspects of life in accordance with the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the perfect works of Muslim Scholars.
Our Aim: To prepare a new generation of men and women who understand Islamic teachings correctly, then act upon them and call others to do the same.
Our strategy/steps: To go gradually from preparing a Muslim individual, to a Muslim family, to a Muslim community and society with its rightly guided leadership."
(http://www.massandiego.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=69)
The implication is clear. The groundwork is being laid for an assault on the core values of Judeo-Christian America. If successful this would sweep away the constitution of the United States.
What then, is an appropriate response? Not bigotry, certainly. Nor a "battle of the babies", seeking to hold the ground by superior demographics. We must recognize that Islam represents a mission-critical mission field. The battle, in the end, is a spiritual battle. As usual, whatever the question, the answer is God! It is time to reach out to our Muslim neighbors and share with them a God who offers unconditional love, a salvation through grace not works. We need to show that there is a God who has plans for them -- plans for good and not for disaster, to give them a future and a hope.
We need to speak the truth - for the long term - with love. If we fail, the consequences will be the replacement of Christianity with Islam as the cultural foundation of western society and a much harder climate in which to execute the great commission. - Ian Rowlands
[Ian and Myra Rowlands are part of a Campus Crusade for Christ Ministry -- FamilyLife® -- dedicated to helping husbands and wives live marriages and lead families God's way. They are raising their support so they can report to their assignment, and we invite you to take a look at their website http://therowlands.cccministry.org/ to see if their family-centered focus in One Nation Under God U.S.A. is one you feel you can help with. Ian is a regular contributor to One Nation Under God U.S.A.'s website (www.onug.us), covering the interaction between faith, family and freedom.]
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