Birth rates across the board indicate that much of Europe will likely become islamic in the not too distant future. Additionally, the same can be said of islam as a political/religious force worldwide i.e. becoming the dominant religion in the world. If you woke up one day and found yourself in a situation where you were being given a choice to convert to islam or die, which would you choose?
The assumption is invalid. In the first place, the people who follow Islam are usually called Muslims. The ones expatriated to Europe tend to be the ones who are NOT fundamentalists. For example, during the takeover of Iran by Muslim fundamentalists millions of Iranians fled, fearing their lives, since they believed in principles like separation of church and state. These people would call themselves Muslims, but most likely not fit your definition. Millions fled to Europe. By the mid-80s there were entire neighborhoods along the
Champs-Elysées where only Farsi could be heard on the street. This class of Shiite Muslims also populated neighborhoods in places like Los Angeles and just about all the main cities of the US. For the most part they dressed like Westerners, spoke English, enrolled in US schools and universities, earned degrees, and assimilated into our culture working mostly as career professionals, from doctors to lawyers to university professors and so on. The children of these expats are similarly situated, speaking American English with no discernible accent. Many of them, if not most, will identify Islam as their religion, but actually are agnostic. For the most part, they just want to live in peace and security, to remain in good standing with the law (you will rarely see them peddling dope, or turning to public assistance) and to live as good, decent people. And along the way there has been a small growth in Muslim schools and mosques, but modest compared to the growth of American fundamentalist megachurches. And odds are, they can teach your children evolution and big bang theory and climatology because they tend to be educated. So really this is a good thing, don't you think?
Another class of Muslim expats are the Bosnians, who fled unspeakable cruelty under the genocide perpetrated there by Christian extremists. They may have held onto their religion, but you will not notice them as easily, since, like the Iranians, they often blend in with the locals. At about the same time that the world was receiving refugees from Iran, there were people fleeing the second civil war in Eritrea. Since then there have decades of nearly continuous streams of asylum seekers from the Sudan. However, they are not a homogeneous culture by religion, so you don't have too much to worry about. But there is one Eritrean shopkeeper in my neighborhood who wears a scarf, so I will remain vigilant.
This thread is a pretty blatant example of xenophobia, cast as Islamophobia. But don't worry -- the Catholics don't sanction birth control and they are by far larger than all the Fundamentalists put together. So they will do well in countries like Spain, France, Italy, Poland - well probably all the countries you aren't really worried about. But really: you don't want all those Lutherans, Methodists and Calvinists from northern Europe to challenge your beliefs anyway, so maybe this is all for the best. Let the Muslims whittle them down, and you guys can send in the Bible thumpers to browbeat the survivors. Here's an idea: crush the economy of Europe, and then send the local populace to Salvation Army soup kitchens, where they have to listen to the sermon before they get to eat!
Yeah, if I had my choice between an educated moderate Muslim believer, who keeps her religion to herself, and a flaming Christian Fundamentalist, who is meddling with the public policy to impose his socially conservative ideas on the world -- then she would win my support hands down.
Sounds like the only thing to fear is fear itself.
But thanks for the opportunity to gratuitously attack people according to their religion. All for the advancement of America, the Constitution, and -- hell, if you are a believer -- the honor and glory of God, right?
Man, I sure hope a Christian fundamentalist never gets ahold of a nuke! /* shakes in boots */
Of course, there is another election around the corner.
