Muslims in America: The Nation’s Fastest Growing Religion

by M.M. Ali
The often-heard statement that “Islam is the fastest growing religion in America” elicits reactions varying from hope to fear. In fact, Muslims in America are not totally new kids on the block. They have been here for quite a while now. What is attracting attention are their growing numbers and their increasing visibility in this heterogeneous society, particularly in the urban centers.

According to Dr. Sayyid Syeed, secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), there are between 6 and 8 million Muslims in the United States today. The New York Times, which has its own agenda, placed the number between 2 and 4 million two years ago. Dr. Diana Eck, who is working on the subject at Harvard University, believes the correct figure is somewhere in between.

How much of the growth is due to immigration also is hard to ascertain. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) provides information only on the places of origin of immigrants, and not on their religion. The INS data therefore provides a general picture which can become distorted in detail.

For example, the Arabs who come from various parts of the Middle East are not all Muslims. Similarly, immigrants from the Asian subcontinent can be Muslims, Hindus or Christians. While several organizations and researchers are collecting data on Muslims in America, to date there is no authoritative count. What is acknowledged by all, however, is that their numbers are growing rapidly.

Dr. Ahmed Totonji of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in the Washington, DC area, projects that by the turn of the century, the number of Muslims in America will reach the 10 million mark. Dr. Hisham Al Talib, also of the IIIT, says: “At their present rate of growth, their number will double in 28 years’ time.”

U.S. Bureau of Census records shed no light on the matter. Its statistics, based on race, are of little help in determining religious affinities. America’s Muslims, it needs to be remembered, have come from all of the five major continents.

Historical records indicate the presence of a few Muslims on American soil early in the 16th century. Slaves brought in from Africa in the 17th century also included some Muslims, but their religiosity appears to have been lost while they were in bondage. There also is evidence that descendants of some of the Moors driven out of Spain found their way via the Caribbean islands to South Carolina and Florida in the late 18th century.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, large numbers of Muslims immigrated to North America from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan and most settled in the upper Midwest. One of their earliest mosques was established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.


The Nation of Islam
In the early 1930s, a man named Fard Mohammed founded the Nation of Islam (NOI), an organization that expanded under the leadership of Elijah Mohammed and is today led by Minister Louis Farrakhan. It was the NOI that Malcolm X first joined but later left to enter mainstream Sunni Islam, just as did Warith Mohammed, son of Elijah Mohammed, upon the death of his father.

The Nation of Islam therefore became a major gateway into orthodox Sunni Islam for African Americans, whose descendants generally are referred to as “indigenous Muslims.” At the same time, many African Americans have remained in the Nation of Islam. NOI supporters claim membership of between 50,000 and 100,000. Their detractors say they number around 20,000.

The majority of Muslims in the United States, however, are immigrants and their descendants. The 1965 relaxation in U.S. immigration laws increased the inflow, which continues to this day. In Yvonne Haddad’s book The Muslims of America, Carol Stone used 1980 census data to demonstrate that the numbers of Muslims were highest in California, New York and Illinois. At that time, 400,000 Muslims lived in New York, 180,000 in Illinois and some 30 percent of America’s Muslims lived in California. Today those numbers have more than doubled, and large numbers of Muslims are found in New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Texas, Arizona and Michigan. A sizeable concentration also is found around the U.S. national capital in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia.


Organizational Growth
The end of World War II saw the arrival of large numbers of Muslim students from all parts of the Islamic world, on American university campuses. Initially small Muslim student associations were established on some campuses. A real effort to set up a national organization began in 1963 with the establishment of the Muslim Student Association (MSA).

It was at this time that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was expelled from Iran, Maulana Maudoodi was sentenced to death in Pakistan, Sayed Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood was jailed and later executed in Egypt, the Masjumi Party was banned in Indonesia and the Algerian revolution was coming to a head. All of these developments had a very strong reaction among the Muslim students in Europe and America.

The MSA launched an “action plan,” setting up offices across the country with initial headquarters in Gary, Indiana. In 1975, the MSA acquired property in Plainsfield, Indiana and moved there. This also was the period when the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) was created to hold title to MSA properties such as Islamic centers, the American Trust Publications, the International Graphics Press and the Islamic Book Service.

In 1981 the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) was formed to deal with all aspects of Islamic activity in the country, allowing MSA to concentrate on the campuses. Professional activities are now coordinated through such organizations as the American Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), the American Muslim Engineers and Scientists (AMES), and the Islamic Medical Association (IMA).

ISNA’s annual convention today attracts more than 10,000 members. Similarly, AMSE, AMSS and IMA hold their separate conventions each year. According to Yvonne Haddad, “ISNA is considered to be the national Muslim organization and generally represents the Islamic mainstream.” In the 1970s, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) was formed, which mostly consists of Muslims from the Asian subcontinent.

According to the American Muslim Council, a lobbying group formed in the mid-1980s and located in Washington, DC, there are today close to 2,000 mosques and Islamic community centers in the United States. The Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a new organization also based in Washington, DC, has become active protecting the human rights of the Muslims in America. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was established in 1980. ADC fights against stereotyping of Arabs in America.


Issues and Challenges
Since American Muslims are predominantly immigrants who have come from non-Western cultures, being transported to an alien environment has contributed to a feeling of insecurity. This is especially true regarding raising their children in the permissive American environment. However, most of these Muslim immigrants also are highly educated and have close and intact family structures. From this they derive an increasing sense of confidence.

Both first- and second-generation immigrants find themselves caught between two cultures wherein old verities linger on while new attitudes and outlooks become increasingly powerful.

The question before American Muslims is how to retain their core conservative values while swimming, with increasing ease, in the mainstream. In fact, most of the highly educated and intelligent immigrants and their children are enjoying conspicuous material success. The price they will pay in terms of family values and stability is still undetermined.

Christianity is the predominant religion in North America. Islam being another Abrahamic religion, the two have several commonalities. Both faiths are missionary in nature, but they can co-exist ideologically. The experience being new, it will take time to find out how. For now, the two religious groups must work at accommodation and develop a better understanding of and trust in each other. For sure, the Muslims are here to stay.

With time it will become obvious to the mainstream that the Muslims are a very positive addition to the American sectarian mosaic. Meanwhile it is also imperative for American Muslims to learn to assimilate with the mainstream without losing their identity and special characteristics.

One sure way of gaining entry is via the political route. Their growing numbers make American Muslims a political force that the existing political parties increasingly will seek to attract and accommodate.

What is needed is organization and structure. The AMC and the other new institutions have made a beginning. The process needs to be carried further.

American democracy provides full opportunity for all segments of the population to gain and grow to their fullest potential. America’s history and its social dynamics also have created an understanding and large-hearted people. If they see goodwill and friendship, they will meet it half-way.

Therefore, in spite of glitches stemming from the diversity of its own origins, Islam in America appears destined to become a particularly visible and active component of American society. If the present trends continue, American Muslims may well become a source of strength and support for Muslims all over the world—and sooner than even the most optimistic members of this expanding community dare to imagine.

It's good to be an athiest...

I found this quote to be of gretest interest:

With time it will become obvious to the mainstream that the Muslims are a very positive addition to the American sectarian mosaic. Meanwhile it is also imperative for American Muslims to learn to assimilate with the mainstream without losing their identity and special characteristics.

One sure way of gaining entry is via the political route. Their growing numbers make American Muslims a political force that the existing political parties increasingly will seek to attract and accommodate.

Quoted: I found this quote to be of gretest interest: With time it will become obvious to the mainstream that the Muslims are a very positive addition to the American sectarian mosaic. Meanwhile it is also imperative for American Muslims to learn to assimilate with the mainstream without losing their identity and special characteristics. One sure way of gaining entry is via the political route. Their growing numbers make American Muslims a political force that the existing political parties increasingly will seek to attract and accommodate.

Islam is not a flexible religion, it actually requires it's followers to be active in the politics of their local.  It also requires those people to change the political structure to come into alignment with Islam and it's teachings.

Anyone want to corner the market on Bhurkas for all of our women?

If someone follows islam, they are Muslims first, and has no national identity.  

What can we do?

we are in trouble, 6 million muslims in the us, if even 1 percent go wackey on us, we are gonna see some wild days ahead

Islam Grows into a Strong Presence in America

This article first appeared in the News Watch column of Volume 23 / Number 4 / 2001 issue of the Christian Research Journal.  For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org

We welcome Islam in America. It enriches our country with Islam’s teachings of self-discipline, compassion, and commitment to family. It deepens America’s respect for Muslims here at home and around the world.1

Today, Muslim Americans are a cornerstone of our American community. They enrich our political and cultural life; they provide leadership in every field of human endeavor, from business to medicine, to scholarship.2

These public pronouncements of President Clinton to Muslim Americans are indicative of how Islam has become established as a major religion in America. For most of America’s history, Islam had been a marginal presence. Muslims were mostly foreign nationals or resident aliens, with only a few naturalized United States citizens, and even fewer second or third generation Americans. Christian churches relegated evangelism of Muslims to foreign missions. The typical American Christian rarely, if ever, encountered a religiously active Muslim. Now, however, Islam is a noticeable religious force in America. Christians need to be as knowledgeable of Islam’s presence as they are of any other religion in America.

Islam is no passing fad, and it is growing quickly in America. American Muslim leaders are quite open about their hopes and dreams. In an editorial entitled “Time to Make an Imprint,” Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi writes: “North America needs our contribution, and it is up to us to make an imprint in founding a truly Islamic civilization on this continent.”3

Very few Americans lack an opinion about Islam. There are numerous views concerning the religion, many not favorable. “According to a recent Roper Poll, 50% of those polled believed all Muslims to be inherently anti-American. Today, the bywords of the relationship between the Muslim and the Judeo-Christian worlds are alienation and suspicion.”4 Carl Ellis, a noted African-American Christian leader, asserts that Islam “is the most serious threat to the church in America.”5

Muslim Influence. Just how influential is the Islamic community in America? Since September 1999, Muslims have conducted Friday congregational prayers inside the U.S. Capitol building. American Muslim opposition to a Burger King restaurant opened in the West Bank in Israel caused the corporation to close it down. The United States military has tripled the number of Muslim chaplains in its ranks (serving more than 4,000 Muslim members of the military). Amazon.com changed a video review (of the movie Not without My Daughter) in response to Muslim complaints.6 In 1999 Georgetown University began a three-year project “to document the impact of Muslim Americans on the American horizon.”7

Islamic Horizons, one of the most influential Muslim journals in America with a distribution of more than 60,000,8 asserted in the article “Why Muslim Americans Need to Vote” that “Muslim Americans have power and its accompanying responsibility. We represent $75 billion of collective annual income, more than any Muslim country can produce.”9 This same issue relates how Muslim American complaints about a CNN online posting referring to Jerusalem as “the capital of Israel” prompted CNN to make appropriate changes quickly.10

The growing presence of Muslim Americans has not been lost on politicians either. For example, in New Jersey (home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims), former Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed a bill making New Jersey “the first state to enact a law ensuring the authenticity of Halal food.”11 Two Muslim Americans made history by delivering the benedictions on the first day of both the Democratic and Republican national conventions this past year.12 Also in 2000, Congress called on the United States Postal Service to issue a postal stamp commemorating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Muslim Population and Growth. Is Islam the fastest growing religion in the world? Is it the fastest growing religion in America? The demographics tell us that the answer is yes to both questions.

Establishing population demographics for Muslims is not easy. Even without completely accurate statistics, we find numerous independent studies in fairly close agreement. Most major studies estimate a worldwide Muslim population for the year 2000 at roughly 1.25 billion people; that is, about one-fifth or 20 percent of the world’s population.13 In comparison, Christianity is the largest religion in the world with about 33 percent of the world’s population.14

According to most reports, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.15 For example, in Europe, according to United Nations statistics, between 1989 and 1998 the Islamic population grew by more than 100 percent (to about 14 million or 2 percent of the population).16 At the current rate of growth it is estimated that Islam’s population by the year 2025 will be 1.9 billion (about 24 percent of the total European population).17

One of the most common misconceptions or stereotypes Westerners have about Muslims is that most of them are Arabic. “The major sections of Muslim populations are concentrated in Asia and Africa. Muslims are, by and large, people of color.”18 Missiologist Roland Miller relates that more than 68 percent of all Muslims live in Asia and more than 27 percent live in Africa. Indonesia has roughly 15 percent of the world’s Muslim population. In South Asia almost one-third of the world’s Muslim population live in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.19

Just how is the Muslim population growing? The growth rate of Islam in Western nations (including the US and Canada) primarily comes through: a high Muslim birth rate and immigration (e.g., Muslims moving to the United States), not from converts (non-Muslims becoming Muslims). As we shall soon note in regard to converts, however, two groups are vulnerable to Muslim evangelism.

In 1995 there were some 4 million Muslims in France, 1.9 million in Germany, and 1.5 million in the UK, accounting for 7 percent, 2.4 percent, and 2.7 percent of the overall populations respectively. In 1998 7 percent of babies born within the European Union were Muslim, in Brussels it was as much as 57 percent....This growth comes primarily through immigration and a high birth rate.20

It is difficult to estimate accurately the total number of Muslims in the United States and the rest of North America. Research scientist Carol Stone states that “it is still unclear how many Muslims currently reside in America...because of a lack of reliable information about Muslims in this country.”21

There are several main reasons why this is so. First, for the past 50 years the United States government (unlike some countries) has not included questions about religious affiliation in its census.22 Dr. James Dretke, executive director of the Zwemer Institute, states that a second factor “is the fact that Muslims do not join mosques as Christians join churches, so it is impossible to count them from membership rolls.”23 Roland Miller gives a third reason: “Religious statistics are notoriously difficult to compile because of affiliation questions and reporting problems. Muslim statisticians routinely give higher figures.”24

Nevertheless, both Christian and Muslim sources assert that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States.25 The Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2000 gives the figure of 3,950,000 Muslims in America today.26 Islamic Horizons states that there are eight to ten million Muslims in North America.27 The most common figure cited (the statistic the United States government regularly uses) is about six million.28 The largest concentrations of Muslims are in California, New York, and Illinois — with an estimated 400,000 in the Chicago area.29

While specific figures may be debated, what cannot be debated is the phenomenal growth of Islam. According to United Nations statistics, the Muslim population in the United States grew by 25 percent between 1989 and 1998.30 In 1990 there were only about 50 Islamic schools in America. Today the number is over 200.31 Since about 1990 the number of “registered Islamic centers and mosques” has tripled to “more than 2,500.”32

Factors for Growth. In the book, The Muslims of America, Prof. Yvonne Haddad addresses the main factors in Islam’s growth in the U.S.: “The dramatic growth of the Muslim community in the United States is a recent phenomenon, taking place primarily over the last three decades in response to changes in American immigration laws and the demands of the labor market.”33 Islamic Horizons echoes this assertion: “The Muslims of North America proudly flaunt the fact that they are a people with a population over eight million and growing.…These figures do not, however, highlight the fact that a vast majority of these eight million are Muslims who either came to this continent after the 1960’s or are reverts [i.e., people who return to their former Muslim beliefs].”34

Again, conversion has not been the major factor in Islam’s growth, with two major exceptions. The first is given by Wendy Zoba in a Christianity Today cover story entitled “Islam, U.S.A": “Islam is gaining most of its U.S. converts in prisons and on university campuses. The majority of American converts to Islam — 85 to 90 percent — are black.”35 In addition, the number of American women who marry Muslim men and convert is estimated to be about 7000 per year.36

African-Americans make up an estimated 42 to 45 percent of the Muslims in America.37 Carl Ellis places the actual number of African-American Muslims at 2.6 million. Of these, only 18,000 to 20,000 are members of Louis Farrakhan’s organization, the Nation of Islam.38

Christians may wish they could say that Islam and Christianity were two complementary faiths; two alternate paths to salvation. In reality, their foundational teachings are diametrically opposed.39 For Muslims “it is an article of faith that Islam is guidance for humanity,”40 and they are commanded to do all they can to spread their faith. Islam denies the Trinity, the deity of Christ, his death on the cross for our sins, and salvation by grace.

James Dretke expresses the Christian attitude very well: “For Christians who take seriously Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20, it is a great thrill to see so many Muslims on our doorsteps. While we cannot easily gain entry into their countries...God has brought them to ours.”41 ­­­

— Joseph P. Gudel

NOTES

1         Pres. Bill Clinton, “Annual Ramadan Message,” The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 22 November 2000.

2         Pres. Bill Clinton in “Clinton Hosts Eid Reception,” Islamic Horizons, January–February 1420/2000, 16. 1420 in the dating of the publication is based on the Muslim calendar, which dates from Muhammad’s “Flight” (HIJRAH) from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina).

3         Muzammil H. Siddiqi, “Time to Make an Imprint,” Islamic Horizons, September–October 1421/2000, 6.

4         “TV Series Offers View of Islam,” Islamic Horizons, May–June 1421/2000, 13.

5         David Neff, “Answering Islam’s Questions,” Christianity Today, 3 April 2000, 7.

6         “National News,” Islamic Horizons, November–December 1420/1999, 12,14; and, in the same issue, Abu Ali Bafaquih, “Muslim American Power Emerges,” 26, 28. Not Without My Daughter is the true story of Betty Mahmoody, an American who married an Iranian Muslim, detailing her experiences as a woman in Iran.

7         Ibid., 14.

8         “Islamic Horizons Grows,” Islamic Horizons, May–June 1421/2000, 8.

9         Salam Al-Marayati, “Why Muslim Americans Need to Vote,” Islamic Horizons, January–February 1420/2000, 35.

10      “Plusses [sic] and Minuses for Muslim Americans,” Islamic Horizons, January-February 1420/2000, 37.

11      “NJ First to Enforce Halal Laws,” Islamic Horizons, September–October 1421/2000, 16. Halal dietary regulations ensure that meats consumed by Muslims are prepared properly, similar to Kosher laws concerning Jewish food.

12      Umbreen Abdullah, “Joining the mainstream,” Islamic Horizons, November–December 1421/2000, 64.

13      Ninian Smart, ed., Atlas of the World’s Religions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 13; “Religion,” 2000 Britannica Book of the Year (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2000), 292; David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, “Annual Statistical Table of Global Mission: 1999,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 23, no. 1:25; Larry A. Poston with Carl F. Ellis, The Changing Face of Islam in America (Camp Hill, PA: Horizon Books, 2000), 67; Muzammil H. Siddiqi, “Did We Live the Ramadan Spirit?” Islamic Horizons, January–February 1420/2000, 6; Roland E. Miller, Muslim Friends (St. Louis: Concordia, 1995), 396.

14      Barrett and Johnson, 25; 2000 Britannica Book of the Year, 292.

15      Patrick Johnstone, Operation World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), 183; Miller, 396–400.

16      Wendy Murray Zoba, “Islam, U.S.A.” Christianity Today, 3 April 2000, 40.

17      J. Dudley Woodberry, “Missiological Issues in the Encounter with Emerging Islam,” from The World of Islam CD (Colorado Springs: Global Mapping International, 2000).

18      Sami A. Shama, “Islam: The Image Question,” Islamic Horizons, March–April 1418/1998, 30.

19      Miller, 24–25.

20      Survey Of Islam, Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, from The World Of Islam CD (Colorado Springs: Global Mapping International, 2000).

21      Carol L. Stone, “Estimate of Muslims Living in America,” in Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ed., The Muslims of America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 25.

22      “Largest Religious Groups in the United States of America” (www.Adherents.com), 1.

23      James P. Dretke, “The Growth of Islam in the United States,’ article awaiting publication, 2000.

24      Miller, 33. Muslim authorities often make the same claims concerning Christian statisticians.

25      Edward Gilbreath, “How Islam Is Winning Black America,” Christianity Today, 3 April 2000, 52–53; Stone, 25; Zoba, 40; Ilyas Ba-yunus, “Unifying Muslim North America,” Islamic Horizons, May–June 1421/2000, 20.

26      Eileen W. Lindner, ed., “Islam,” Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches 2000 (New York: National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., 2000).

27      Abu Ali Bafaquih, “Muslim American Power Emerges,” Islamic Horizons, November–December 1420/1999, 26; Muzammil H. Siddiqi, “Time to Make an Imprint,” 6.

28      Clinton, “Annual Ramadan Message.”

29      Poston, 17; Zoba, 48.

30      Zoba, 40.

31      Karen Keyworth, “Removing Barriers to Excellence,” Islamic Horizons, May–June 1421/2000, 28; Muzammil H. Siddiqi, “Taking Charge,” Islamic Horizons, May–June 1421/2000, 6.

32      Ba-Yunus, 20; Dretke, 1.

33      Haddad, “Introduction: The Muslims of America,” 4.

34      Muzammil H. Siddiqi, “Learning from History,” Islamic Horizons, March–April 1418/1998, 6. It is conservatively estimated there are about 35,000 Muslim immigrants yearly. (Poston, 16, 33.)

35      Zoba, 42.

36      Dretke, 4. According to Dretke, this statistic is mitigated by the fact that many of these women revert back to their Christian roots when their children get older (i.e., above 7 or 8 years old). Also, cf., Zoba, 42.

37      Further references include, Joseph P. Gudel, “Hate Begotten of Hate,” Forward, Fall 1986, 9–11, 23–25; Poston with Ellis, 109–66; 247–61; Gilbreath, 52–53. Azim Nizamuddin, “What Muslims Can Offer America,” Islamic Horizons, March–April 1418/1998, 35; Poston, 22.

38      Gilbreath, 53. For years orthodox Muslims have denounced Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam as heretical; however, this may have changed last year when Farrakhan claimed to accept orthodox Muslim beliefs, rejecting his previous heretical doctrines and racism. See “The Family Grows: Farrakhan and Nation of Islam Move toward Islam,” Islamic Horizons, March–April 1421/2000, 10; Toure Muhammad and Askia Muhammad, “We Are a Family,” The Final Call: Online (www.finalcall.com), 15 March 2000; Askia Muhammad and Eric Ture Muhammad, “Savior’s Day 2000 Weekend Brings Many Joyous Surprises,” The Final Call: Online, 15 March 2000.

39      For more information see Joseph P. Gudel, “Islam’s Worldwide Revival,” Forward, Fall 1985, 16–21; Joseph P. Gudel, “To Every Muslim an Answer,” Forward, Winter 1986, 21–25; Joseph P. Gudel, “Religious Radicalism: Right or Wrong?” Christian Research Journal, Winter–Spring 1990, 16–19.

40      Abidullah Ghazi, “Reaching Out with the Guidance for Humanity,” Islamic Horizons, September–October 1420/1999, 33.

41    Dretke, 5.

I think there will be a backlash against muslims in this country. Now would probably be a good time for anti muslim tshirts.

Thank God there are hate laws now. That way there will be something to charge me with.
Just kidding...maybe...or...maybe not...

I have to wonder how many people have "found" the Muslim religon while in jail?  

It's funny. I was feeling so good today, and then I turned on my computer....

Quoted: I found this quote to be of gretest interest: With time it will become obvious to the mainstream that the Muslims are a very positive addition to the American sectarian mosaic. Meanwhile it is also imperative for American Muslims to learn to assimilate with the mainstream without losing their identity and special characteristics. One sure way of gaining entry is via the political route. Their growing numbers make American Muslims a political force that the existing political parties increasingly will seek to attract and accommodate.

I find it to be frightening.

And for those of you who are afraid of Christians having too much power in our country:

www.shirazi.org.uk/isg.htm#_Toc531607531

Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi writes: “North America needs our contribution, and it is up to us to make an imprint in founding a truly Islamic civilization on this continent.”

That's not so good.

James Dretke expresses the Christian attitude very well: “For Christians who take seriously Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20, it is a great thrill to see so many Muslims on our doorsteps. While we cannot easily gain entry into their countries...God has brought them to ours.”

As a believer in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, the reason I force myself to watch Nick Berg's murder is simply because I believe the same will happen in this country, to those close to me or myself, within my lifetime and most likley because of my faith.

Still, my trust is in the Lord.

-LS