Will Britain become Muslim?

On the 26th of December, an article appeared in the English Daily Telegraph, entitled, Indulgence of Islam is harming society. It was written by Damian Thompson.

It begins:
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Britain: the number of Muslims has grown from 1.6 million to two million since 2000. Moreover, every major public institution has changed its policies to accommodate the demands of Islamic "community leaders". The Government, the Opposition, the police, schools, the Church of England, the BBC and now Channel 4 are all helping Muslims construct a parallel Islamic state.


The article is fair in its approach, but focuses on a number of issues that are causing a major divide within the British community: bookshops attacked for selling books on the child bride of Mohammed, Muslim girls kept from reaching their full educational potential, the 'Sharia law' being introduced into the British legal system, a National Association of Muslim Police which is consulted by the British police force, and most recently, the decision by Channel 4 to let President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deliver an alternative 'Christmas' message.

Perhaps it's too late for Britain to turn things around. On the other hand, can it sustain a Christian heritage alongside an active and dogmatic Muslim one?

What twenty-somethings think?

According to a new poll by the J Walter Thompson advertising agency, twentysomethings show a lot of respect for traditional values.

The agency found 94 percent respect parenthood and 84 percent have great esteem for marriage. Just a quarter said they respect Hollywood.

A spokeswoman for the agency Ann Mack was surprised by the findings and said, “It could be because they are more idealistic as a generation," she said, "but it could be because they are so young and not yet jaded.”

However, Mark Johnson, who works with B2G (better2gether), a ministry of the Navigators for twentysomethings, said he believes this generation is reacting to the fact that “at least half of them that we see have come out of some kind of dysfunctional or broken home. They are wanting something more or better than what they have come from.”

While it may depend on which twenty-somethings were interviewed (were they mostly middle-class?) it does remind us that there's a big mission field amongst them, particularly if their homelife has been dysfunctional. And the same applies to NZ.