(Pope Francis with the Egyptian Imam of al-Azhar University, Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb)
Ok. I confess to really not understanding why a pro-life site is spewing anti-Muslim prejudice. See https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/muslim-takeover-of-europe-is-biggest-story-of-our-time-and-nobody-knows-it
As a pro-life person, I must object. I hope other pro-life people will follow suit.
Let me be clear-I am not condemning pro life organizations en masse. But one article like this one is one too many. I wonder why they thought this was pro-life. It seemed to be kind of selective life.
When I received this piece from a friend via Facebook Messenger, I had to respond. Here is what I wrote. (Honesty compels me to state that I added one sentence on Lincoln to the original email)
“I got the piece you sent out on the Muslim takeover of Europe.
Where I agree with the article: there is a serious demographic issue of population decline for Europe and the U.S.. Indeed, this decline bodes badly for our future. We must be open to the gift of life for all sorts of reasons. True.
But that is where the agreement ends. To drift from that fact to predicting the inevitability of a repressive Muslim domination is quite a leap. This assertion and the way it is couched is simply shameful. It is an unvarnished appeal to religious fear and bigotry.
It is also based on a very questionable factual assumption. It assumes that the birth rate of Muslims and others will not change over time. All demographic evidence I have seen suggests that a nation’s population growth will inevitably decline as their economies improve. Look at the dramatic decline in birth rates in Mexico since 1960 as their per capita income has increased. It has declined by 2/3. Why would this not be true of Muslims in Europe as their economic status changes? It would be interesting to research Muslims in Europe who do reasonably well or what happens over generations? What is their birth rate and that of their children? My point here is that future projections are always tricky and often way off.
Another point is the use of the photo of the women in burqas at the top of the article (goodness!-black ones at that) Most Muslim women do not dress like this.
The fear tactics that follow in the article are not worthy of Catholics either factually or theologically. This is certainly not the view of his Holiness. And I will follow Pope Francis any day over bloggers like Mark Steyn. He-Pope Francis-has called on Muslims and Christians to build a new “civilization of peace.” I would also note these Bible verses.
www.christiantoday.com
There can be little room for doubt about the position of the Bible when it comes to how we should treat the stranger, or “sojourner”, meaning someone who …
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We only have to worry if we fail to provide opportunities for economic advancement and integration of Muslims, if we fail to welcome the stranger in our midst. I feel confident the U.S. will not ultimately follow such a destructive path despite some errors by the Trump administration.
So count me as one who rejects fear and religious bias. I have worked with Muslim students, faculty and community leaders. Nothing in those encounters has fed any fears, in fact quite the contrary. I challenge you to spend a year meeting, breaking bread with, and really getting to know Muslims. Let me know what you find. This is important. You can not adequately judge a group that you do not really know well.
It is so sad to see our country and others turn on one another. This is not the path of Jesus my brother. Your heart in my experience is one of love, not bitterness or fear. Let us turn, as Lincoln said, to “the better angels of our nature.”
And let us denounce hatred and prejudice. We can and must do better.”
Peace and Blessings,
PMT