Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total way of living. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military aspirations. The religious element is a mask for all of the other components. Islamisation begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges. When inclusive, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands, some of the other components creep in as well.
As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any Western country, they will for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority. As they become more populous, they will begin to proselytize to other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups. They then will petition the government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia Law, in places such as Sparkbrook in Birmingham, Manningham in Bradford and Tower Hamlets, London.
Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. Their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other affiliated believers or non-believers.
Islam has shown its propensity for violence right from its early days. It reacts with violence, committed in the name of Allah, at the slightest provocation. A cartoon, a book, a chat room comment. Even the death of a terrorist, by security services, before he or she can detonate their bombs prompts a violent response.
In Pakistan, blasphemy is punishable by death and is frequently carried out, not by the state, but by angry mobs objecting to some slight against Islam, the prophet or Allah. Two Government ministers were murdered for suggesting that the blasphemy law should be repealed. A young Christian girl with learning difficulties was 'framed' by someone in her community who accused her of burning pages of the Qur'an. She was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. Eventually she was released but then hounded out of her village and has had to seek refuge abroad.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram, after having enforced Sharia Law on the northern part of the country is seeking to extend this to the south. Africa is now the main fighting ground outside the middle east for al-Qaeda and its affiliated organisations.
When a visitor comes to your house it is beholden of them to respect your views and way of life. Islam does not do this. It demands that we introduce halal food into schools, very often without telling non-Muslims that this is what their children are eating. It demands that we accept that women should be free to walk around veiled and then expect us to communicate with them.
This country is a country of immigrants. In the last 100 years we have seen people arrive here from all corners of the earth: Jews, Africans, Caribeans, Chinese, Indians, Eastern Europeans and many other variants, and nearly 3 million Muslims in less than 20 years. Unfortunately, it is this latter group that has been the focus of so much attention and communal disharmony.
