OPINION:
If recent events don’t prove to you that Islam is now the No. 1 enemy of the civilized world, then you are blind, deaf and dumb.
Consider the following.
In Germany, multiple Christmas markets were effectively shut down by thousands of Muslims seeking to intimidate Christians who simply wanted to celebrate “peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”
In Paris, the annual New Year’s Eve festival was canceled because of credible Muslim terrorist threats.
In Genoa, Italy, Muslims burned down a Christmas tree outside a Catholic church.
In Brussels, hundreds of Christian families fled in fear as Muslim activists overran their local Christmas celebrations.
In Milan, hordes of Muslims climbed onto statues in local town squares as they forced Christmas well-wishers to carry Palestinian flags.
In London, public Christmas traditions such as caroling and singing “Joy to the World” were discouraged because they are now considered too “controversial” and potentially offensive to its burgeoning Muslim population.
In Bavaria, five Muslim men were arrested on charges of plotting a terrorist attack on a town in Poland.
In Pakistan, a group of Muslims bombed a church during Christmas services.
In Indonesia, innumerable Muslims formed a human chain around multiple Christmas services while shouting jihadi rhetoric, effectively calling for the death of anyone who dared to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Add all this to the recent massacre of Jews at Bondi Beach and the butchery of yet more Christians in northern Nigeria, as well as the increasingly bold acknowledgments by Muslim clerics here in the United States of their goal to nullify American civil liberties in favor of Shariah law, and it is virtually impossible to miss an obvious common denominator: Islam is freedom’s foe, not its friend.
A little more than 10 years ago, Bill Maher went on the “Charlie Rose” show and said the following: “Islam is not like other religions. It is a unique threat. … There are illiberal beliefs that are held by vast numbers of Muslims.”
When Charlie Rose challenged him and said, “And for vast numbers of Christians too,” Mr. Maher — who, as you know, is not in any way, shape or form a Christian — countered: “No, that’s not true. Vast numbers of Christians do not believe that if you leave the Christian religion, you should be killed for it. Vast numbers of Christians do not treat women as second-class citizens. Vast numbers of Christians do not believe that if you draw a picture of Jesus Christ that you should get killed for it.”
He went on. “Most Muslim people in the world condone violence just for what you think. They say it. There was a Pew poll done in Egypt a few years ago, [where] 82% said stoning was the appropriate punishment for adultery. Over 80% thought death was the appropriate punishment for leaving the Muslim religion. … To claim that this religion is just like other religions is just naive and plain wrong. … In Saudi Arabia, for example, they just beheaded [several] people, most for nonviolent crimes, including homosexuality. … If they were beheading people in Vatican City, don’t you think there would be a bigger outcry about it?”
Mr. Maher is right, and we ignore his honesty to our peril. All religions are not the same. It’s not the Christians who are calling to stone people for their immorality or to behead those who deny the faith. It’s not Christians who are intimidating their neighbors into silence or plotting to blow up local villages. Christians aren’t marching in the streets shouting, “Death to America and death to the Jews.” Christians aren’t calling for the execution of all who disbelieve.
No, it’s not Christians Mr. Maher needs to worry about, and he knows it. We are not the ones demanding that he submit or die. We are not the ones suggesting that he lose his head because his sexual morality differs from ours.
When Christians disagree with the Bill Mahers of the world, we try to change their minds through conversation, not conquest. Why? Because we relish a good debate with our unbelieving friends, not their death.
Bill Maher recognizes what many of today’s supposed thought leaders apparently do not. Islam and Christianity are very different worldviews. One seeks to change the world through “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control,” while the other tells its adherents to pick up the sword. One is the enemy of Western civilization, while the other is its last line of defense.
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery). He can be reached at epiper@dreverettpiper.com.
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