A Twisted Crown of Thorns ®

In the wake of 11th September 2001 and 7^th July 2005 terror events in the US and Great Britain respectively, there has been a rise in the number of Islamic “rationalists” who are building a case for Muslim societies to change from within, and for Muslim minorities in western countries to change how they think of themselves in relation to wider society. The intellectual arm of Islam has tried to quell the flames started by the fundamentalist Islam by depicting Islam as “the religion of peace”.

Muslim terrorists regard acts of terror as an Islamic duty. Extremists often quote the Quran to support such acts. And because the Koran is rarely (if at all) taught to be understood in its historical context, it is hard for the mass of Muslims to challenge the misuse of these citations.

Islam is alive and well and spreading fast. In Great Britain its influence is spreading to infiltrate the legal systems, mainstream market and banking sectors of society. Recently a special investigation revealed:

[A Mail on Sunday investigation]- has revealed that schools, hospitals, pubs and famous sporting venues such as Ascot and Twickenham are controversially serving up meat slaughtered in accordance with strict Islamic law to unwitting members of the public.

All the beef, chicken and lamb sold to fans at Wembley has secretly been prepared in accordance with sharia law, while Cheltenham College, which boasts of its ‘strong Christian ethos’, is one of several top public schools which also serves halal chicken to pupils without informing them.

Even Britain’s biggest hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, which owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, among many others, has admitted that more than three-quarters of its poultry is halal.

Whitbread, which also owns Table Table restaurants, Costa Coffee shops and Premier Inn hotels, admitted [that] 80 per cent of the chicken it served comes from halal poultry ­suppliers, including some in Muslim-dominated Turkey. –Daily Mail

Mean while Muslims can get loans, banking services and mortgages interest free. Yes, that is probably not advertised on the front page of your daily news paper but Lloyds TSB, one of the most powerful banks in UK also does Islamic accounts (run in accordance with sharia law):

At Lloyds TSB we know that everyone has different needs when it comes to banking. That’s why we have developed a suite of Shariah approved products for our customers who wish to bank ethically.

Islamic Account

Following the guidance of Islam is an important part of everyday life. So we’ve made it an important part of everyday banking. No minimum balance and no monthly fee. Interest free. Shariah approved money management. –Lloyds TSB Bank

And if you thought all cases are judged by your average court magistrate or High court judge with a wig and flowing robe in England, think again:

In a shabby converted sweetshop in Leyton, East London, a group of burka-clad Muslim women sit in a waiting room. They have an appointment with Dr Suhaib Hasan at his twice-weekly surgery.

The women look worried. There is no talking in the airless reception area – the only sound is a fan purring quietly in the corner as temperatures outside exceed 80F.

Inside, the atmosphere is just as stifling. There are no magazines, television or other diversions. The beige walls are bare except for a flow-chart depicting the process of securing a Muslim divorce, and a picture of Mecca.

Later that week, seven imams gather in a sparsely furnished committee room in the shadows of the mosque’s magnificent golden dome. Seated around a rectangular table set with mineral water, a bowl of fruit and a box of Fox’s luxury biscuits, they go through the various cases.

To the casual observer, it may appear like a rather dry committee meeting. But these men are in effect running a legal system that critics fear could fragment the legal framework in Britain. Laws that once ruled supreme in Kabul are now being enforced in cities across Britain. –Daily Mail

With Islamic influence flourishing in leaps and bounds both visibly and ideologically, authentic Biblical Christianity is rapidly dying out. Britain may never have been a Christian nation per se but it was built on Christian principles. Most cathedrals and churches that once heralded the good news of the Gospel now remain as relics of an age long forgotten. It sure won’t be long till open air and expositional preaching of the word gets branded an act of religious intolerance altogether.

If Great Britain is to recover it’s former evangelical lustre, its spiritual heritage of Christianity again then she must return to the old truths. No ammount of Quran burning or mosque picketting will recapture the appeal of the days gone by. Preaching the Gospel is what Christians are called to do. Per chance God may blow a wind of revival again. When  shall we have such moments as when the Reformer John Knox stood before the Queen Mary of Scots and leave her silent for 15 minutes?

Aye, When he boldly proclaimed:

“God forbid that ever I take upon me to command any to obey me, or yet to set subjects at liberty to do what pleaseth them! My travail is that both princes and subjects obey God. Think not, Madam, that wrong is done you, when ye are willed to be subject to God. It is He that subjects peoples under princes, and causes obedience to be given unto them. Yea, God craves of Kings that they be foster-fathers to His Church, and commands Queens to be nurses to His people. This subjection, Madam, unto God, and unto His troubled Church, is the greatest dignity that flesh can get upon the face of the earth; for it shall carry them to everlasting glory.” -John Knox

Oh God, save the Queen!