my random thoughts....

 
I recently bought a copy of Herb Meyer's video "The Siege of Western Civilization" (http://www.siegeofwesternciv.com/). Among other things, he talks about how Judaism and Christianity reconciled themselves with the modern world several hundred years ago and as a result, they have been the source of very little trouble since.

Islam has yet to do so, and as a result it is the source of a great deal of trouble, especially as Muslims emigrate throughout the world.

Along these same lines, the January/February 2004 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine has an article called "The Saudi Paradox" by Michael Scott Doran that describes a schism among the rulers of Saudi Arabia. On one side is Crown Prince Abdullah, and on the other side is his half-brother Prince Nayef, the Interior Minister (who controls the secret police). Neither is yet powerful enough to capture the throne.

Abdullah is a proponent of Taqarub, or rapprochement between Muslims and non-Muslims. Nayef, on the other hand, supports Tawhid, which is closely related to jihad, and is very anti-American.

A Saudi journalist recently wrote that "we need an Islam reconciled with the other, an Islam that does not know hatred for others because of their beliefs or their inclinations. We need a new Reformation, a bold reinterpretation of the religious text so that we can reconcile ourselves with the world."

Of course this journalist was accused of apostasy by the hard-line clerics and sentenced to death.

What does this mean for us? It demonstrates that there are those who understand very well what is going on--Herb Meyer is one of them. It also indicates (to me, at least) that this fight is far from over, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

I highly recommend that you order a copy of Herb Meyer's DVD. Watch it. Loan it to your friends and let them watch it.

posted by Greg at 2:15 PM