Yes, Mosques Matter, and No, They Are Not Just Like a Church
It is NOT racist or bigoted or hate-filled to offer this little thought experiment: if you were walking through a dark laneway at night in any major Western city, and you are approached by a gang of men, who would you rather they be: A group of men with Korans under their arms shouting ‘Allahu Akbar,’ or a group of men with Bibles under their arms singing “Jesus loves me this I know”?
Sure, most Muslims are more or less nominal in regard to their faith, so they do not take seriously various Koranic injunctions, such as:
“Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” Surah 2:191
“When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever you catch them.” Surah 9:5
“Make war on the infidels living in your neighbourhood.” Surah 9:123
But when it comes to religious violence, it is simply a fact of life that a person is much more likely to be killed by devout Muslims than by devout Christians. That is because Christ and the New Testament NEVER command Christians to kill others in the name of Christ. In fact Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. But Muhammad and the Koran DO command Muslims to kill the infidel. This is simply a brute fact that we have to deal with.
And it is the same with places of worship in the two religions. The Christian church is a place where Christians gather to love their Lord. This includes the preaching of Scripture, partaking in the Lord’s Supper, and singing as part of corporate worship.
This is not quite what we find in a mosque. It has a much different significance in Islam than a church does in Christianity. I will explain this further in a moment, but let me mention why I am now writing on this. It is because the city where I live has seen a number of approvals for mosques to be built, despite the concerns of many.
Three in the eastern suburbs have just been approved in the past week! One news item looks at two of them:
Controversial plans to build two mosques in Melbourne’s south-east have been given the green light, despite almost 800 objections to their construction. The two mosques are set to be built in the Casey area, one in Doveton and the other in Narre Warren North, after councillors voted 7–3 in favour of the mosques. The Islamic Council of Victoria has today said the objections to the projects are fuelled by Islamophobia.
Deputy mayor of Casey, Councillor Rosalie Crestani, says she is personally concerned about religious extremism. “I’m actually opposed to the safety issues that can come from Islamic extremism,” she told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell. “I’m aware that most Muslims are peaceful, but not all of them are. So that’s what I’m concerned about.” https://www.3aw.com.au/controversial-mosques-given-the-go-ahead-despite-almost-800-objections/
Well done Councillor for being one of the few to take a principled stance here. I wish we had many more leaders like you who are aware of what is going on. And in Blackburn we now find that a large three-story mosque will soon be going up. As one news report states:
A three-storey mosque is set to go up opposite Forest Hill Chase shopping centre in place of an old funeral parlour after years of controversy surrounding the site’s development. Whitehorse Council has finally approved a rebuild of the mosque at 245-247 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn, more than five years after the Islamic community first tried to redevelop the site, and almost 10 years after it began worshipping inside the former funeral home. Plans for the upgrade were given the green light last Monday, despite significant opposition from people living in the surrounding area.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/blackburn-mosque-to-be-rebuilt-across-from-forest-hill-chase/news-story/6c4ce0855f1682ee02c9f63dcfc5c5b3
Hmm, while Muslim mosques are opening up all over the West, just how many Christian churches are opening up in Muslim-majority countries? Leaving that important question aside, let me ask another: Just why should folks be concerned about all these new mosques springing up all around us?
As just mentioned, they are NOT similar to Christian churches – not even close. But I have written on these matters before, so let me simply quote from what I said previously about this. The remainder of this piece comes from this 2014 article: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/03/28/the-significance-of-the-mosque/
Many Muslims come [to the West] as a part of Islamic da’wa, or mission. They are out to reach the whole world for Islam. But unlike Christians, who also want to reach the whole world for Christ, Muslims see no separation between church and state, or mosque and state.
All is one in Islam, so spreading Islam means spreading an entire way of life, including the political, cultural and legal aspects. Thus Islamic immigration is also far different from that of other religions. One very important book on all this is Modern Day Trojan Horse: The Islamic Doctrine of Immigration.
Written by a former Muslim, Sam Solomon, and E Al Maqdisi (ANM Publishers, 2009), it is a very revealing look at how Muslims in the West are going about establishing a political power base to work toward the eventual takeover of the host nation.
The strategy, as detailed by the authors, is quite clear: set up a beachhead in a non-Muslim nation, consolidate your gains, push for a separate and distinct culture, and work for full rights in terms of separate law systems, finance systems, dietary systems, and so on.
The aim is not to fit in and embrace the values and beliefs of the host culture. The aim is to take over the nation, and foist Islamic values and beliefs on the kaffir (infidel) instead. It is about the establishment of a universal caliphate, and the spread of sharia law throughout the globe.
And the role of immigration is quite crucial here, going all the way back to Muhammad himself. Recall that the migration (Hijra) of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 is the most important event in the Muslim calendar. This initiated the spread of Islam by sword and conquest.
The Hijra “changed the status of Islam as a religion and of the Muslims as a community, transforming them from being a weak people to a powerful political entity … and ultimately into a powerful socio-religious political state.” Thus Islamic migration is still viewed as so very important today.
And a major player in all this is the mosque. As the authors write, “Mosques are at the heart of the community. The mosque is the most crucial infrastructure for the development of any Muslim community. Building mosques is a strategy to emulate and imitate Muhammad.”
They detail how this process works: “The Islamic community consolidation system works through a network of volunteers and other paid ‘pious’ individuals who act as community or mosque liaison officers, who keep a close eye on the community by policing the new immigrant arrivals….
“The major aim is first and foremost to consolidate the existing Muslim community, and only in so doing successfully would it be possible to declare and fight for Shariah and the gaining of a special status for the Muslim community. The first foundational principle for the creation of a successfully visible Islamic society is to be separate and distinct.”
While I recommend that all concerned citizens get a copy of this book, a brief article on the same theme can be offered here. Janet Levy has written a vital piece entitled “A Mosque Is Not Like a Church or a Synagogue”. Discussing the American situation, she writes, “A mosque is a symbol of this ultimate authority and serves the function of organizing every aspect of life in a Muslim community.
“Mosques are modeled after the first mosque established by Mohammed in Medina, which was a seat of government, a command center, a court, a school, and a military training center and depot for arms. Mosque leaders today issue religious decrees, enforce Islamic doctrine, monitor conduct, provide training, punish transgressions, and command actions, including the requirement to conduct jihad.”
Therefore a mosque “is totally unlike a church or a synagogue, entities that serve their communities under the law of the land and are both empowered and restrained under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Under the Establishment Clause of that amendment, the government is prohibited from establishing a state religion or conferring preferential treatment on one religion over another.”
But in “Muslim countries, no separation exists between mosque and state. Islamic doctrine or sharia controls all aspects of a person’s existence, from the correct way to use the toilet to permissible forms of lying, or taquiya. For Muslims, Mohammed is the perfect man, whose every example must be emulated, even though by Western Judeo-Christian standards he was a mass murderer, pedophile, rapist, torturer, and looter.
“Furthermore, Islamic doctrine is immutable, and any criticism of the traditions and practices of Mohammed is considered apostasy, which is punishable by death. No free individual will exists or is allowed when it comes to practices and observances. Sharia must be strictly followed.”
She concludes, “The radical nature of U.S. mosques was confirmed in 2005 by a study conducted by Freedom House, ‘Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Invade American Mosques,’ in which it was determined that 80% of American mosques encouraged Muslims to work for the establishment of the Islamic state and espoused hatred and intolerance toward non-Muslims….
“According to former FBI agent and expert on Islam John Guandolo, we have over 2,000 so-called Islamic centers across the U.S. modeled after the first mosque in Medina. These Islamic centers can be likened to military command centers that imbue jihad ideology and serve as processing centers for jihadist training, Guandolo says.
“In view of the stated intent and the supporting ideology of mosque-proliferation, we would be well-advised to heed the words of former Muslim and professor of sharia law Sam Solomon, who declares, ‘We must never forget that Islam is an all-encompassing ideological system, and as such wherever there is a Muslim community there will be sharia, and wherever there is sharia, there is Islamization of the territory and ultimately the nation.’
“Rather than allowing the building of more mega-mosques in the United States, we should halt existing projects and seriously consider shutting down existing mosques to prevent the proliferation of an ideology that has publicly pledged to destroy America.”
The situation in America is not unlike that of the one here in Australia. The radically different nature of a mosque means that we must cast a very critical eye over it, and be very wary for calls to establish new mosques. Freedom, democracy and a proper separation of state and religion are all at risk here if we do not keep vigilant in this regard.
www.americanthinker.com/2012/08/a_mosque_is_not_like_a_church_or_a_synagogue.html
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Awesome Article Bill like everything you write and warn us about. So true on every point you made. I have a wonderful sister, Christian, salt of the earth. Would give away her last meal to help someone in need. Around a year ago she said to me that the Muslim religion is a peaceful religion. I didn’t say anything and now I could kick myself for being silent. So many good people are fooled by the fa-sad. I’ll never be silent again.
Thank you and I’ll pass this one on.
Thanks Louise.
Bill, don’t you understand that Islam is a religion of peace?
There is no compulsion in religion under Islam.
It’s in the Koran! Period.
We can’t judge Islam from outside – Islam is a religion of peace by definition – under Islam peace is when Islam wins and everybody submits to their peace. Islam makes this very clear by starting their calendar, not from Muhammad’s birth or first revelations, but from about when Islam got serious and began imposing peace with the sword. So what have we got to fear if Islam wants to impose peace?
We spoke at our local Council meeting warning about these very issues re a local mosque approval, which ended up being carried by one vote.
What else can we do for the sake of our children and our country to protect our Judeo Christian values that our forbears gave their lives for?
Thanks Suzanna. Well done for taking a stand. We will win some battles and lose some battles. But we must keep on keeping on. We keep praying, we keep working, we keep alerting others, we keep speaking out, etc.
Just ask an atheist which country he prefers live in, a Judeo Christian country or an Islamic country?
His answer will go a long way telling us which one is peace.
So many people are so afraid of not to being in tuned with political correctness movement, yet they somehow feel safer bashing Christianity than Islamic ideology.
You don’t see Christians come outside of their churches on (Saturdays or Sundays, depending upon your belief of the Sabbath) and then take people that their Christian laws have found to be guilty of a crime and chop off their hands (for stealing), or chop off their heads for just about everything else.
But this is exactly what does happen in many Islamic countries. This year marks the 40th anniversary of terrorists attacking the mosque in Mecca. More than 1,000 people were rounded up and charged with this crime, and then taken outside of mosques throughout the country of Saudi Arabia and beheaded after prayers in “chop-chop square”.
As a foreigner, we were summoned to be there, at the front of the crowd, to witness this atrocity, as a warning to us, showing us what will happen to us if we broke Sharia Law.
Now 40 years later, I still cannot get that picture out of my head.
From my experience as a missionary for more than 60 years, many spent in Islamic countries, I agree that there are a few Muslims who are “peaceful” until something happens in their community, or in another Islamic country and then all thoughts of peace goes out the window.
Muslims seem to have a thought process which goes like this ; shoot first and ask questions later of any survivors.
If later they find that it was a mistake “then it was the will of Allah for that person to die.”
They never admit they are wrong!
“The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and Muslims our soldiers…” – From an Islamic poem that the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan read.
Thanks Bill for the article, it is excellent. I live in a city that has approved its first mosque, yet to be built. It was a divisive process and unfortunately the far righters did a lot of damage to the cause of those who were opposed to it. in general, the Christian church leaders were silent, leaving their congregations to individual reactions. I don’t even remember my congregation praying against it.
Hello Bill,
I know that this is off-topic but could you do a review please of “The Benedict Option” by Rod Dreher. I would be interested to know your thoughts.
Thanks Lennard. I already have discussed his book – along with three others – here:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/06/11/strangers-strange-land-christianity-contemporary-culture/
Recently walked past a property in a major Australian city. The bold letters on the sign said “Australian Unity Centre”. The smaller letters below identified the place as the local mosque. I suspect that the “unity” referred to by the sign is quite different to the “diversity” propounded by doctrinaire multiculturalism. Titles of certain mujahidin organisations often include words which have the same semantic field as “union”, “unity”, “association” etc.. It seems “Australian Unity” potentially may have both a bright and a dark, sinister side in contemporary thinking amongst Australian Muslims.
‘All is one in Islam, so spreading Islam means spreading an entire way of life, including the political, cultural and legal aspects. Thus Islamic immigration is also far different from that of other religions.’ The reason we are in so much trouble in the West, I suggest, is because Christianity also should be ‘spreading an entire way of life’ but has failed to do so effectively, having forgotten why this task is vitally important. The key commands of the Great Commission are ‘make disciples of all the nations’, Trinitarian baptism and ‘teaching them to observe all that I commanded you …’ This is much more than just evangelism, but necessarily follows on from it. The task, rather, is to ‘spread and entire way of life’, a Christian way of life that in time develops into a Christian culture, the foundation of which is the Bible. So the Muslims have got the right idea, but based upon the wrong Holy Book, the Koran instead of the Bible. But this does go some way to explaining why mosque-building continues to go from strength to strength in Australia, while Christians stand by, bewildered and wondering what has gone so terribly wrong.
Yes Graeme, Christianity should impact on all of life, and the Lordship of Christ should extend to all areas, be it political, social, cultural, etc. Having said that however there is a place for the separation of church and state, properly understood. God created various institutions, such as family, church and state. Each has its own role to play and their own jurisdictions, although there can often be some overlap. But I speak to this more fully here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2006/10/20/separation-of-church-and-state/
And here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/06/15/christians-and-the-state/
For those interested on the growth of Islam, I did the following computations based on Census data for Victoria from the ABS website:
Islam percentage – Victoria
1996 1.533 Census data
2001 1.9966 Census data
2006 2.2174 Census data
2011 2.8535 Census data
2016 3.3244 Census data
2021 4.0432 Projection
2026 4.9175 Projection
2031 5.9807 Projection
2036 7.2739 Projection
2041 8.8467 Projection
2046 10.7595 Projection
2051 13.0860 Projection
2056 15.9155 Projection
2061 19.3568 Projection
2066 23.5422 Projection
2071 28.6326 Projection
2076 34.8237 Projection
2081 42.3534 Projection
2086 51.5112 Projection
2091 62.6491 Projection
2096 76.1953 Projection
2101 92.6705 Projection
The projections for 2021 onwards are based on taking the averages of the increases between each of the Census from 1996-2016. Obviously, I have no idea if the growth will continue at this rate.
Bear in mind also that I’m one of those who doesn’t believe that “roughly half the population are Christian”; instead, I’m aware of figures as low as around 10% (or less?) who are *genuinely* Christian.
For locations in Victoria in the 2016 Census, the top 10 percentages of Muslims are as follows:
Dallas – 49.207
Meadow Heights – 41.230
Broadmeadows – 35.589
Campbellfield – 35.145
Fawkner – 31.880
Dandenong – 30.059
Coolaroo – 28.768
Roxburgh Park – 28.278
Hadfield – 20.602
Hallam – 19.961
Regards,
John
Many thanks for that John.
In response to John Clevedon’s recent post on the growth of Islam in Victoria, perhaps John may like to post a few details of how he does the calculation for 2021, which he suggests a percentage of 4.0432%. Same idea for 2026 if possible.
Percentages for the top 10 locations are astonishing. From there on, the enthusiast can enjoy the algebra or use Excel to expedite the number crunching.
The figures suggest that Victoria will reach 50% Islamic by 2085 but in practice, Islam would already be running the state of Victoria well before that time as we learn from a number of other countries (if present trends continue).