Had a thought today about Islam and our future.

[knitter4democracy]

We're acting a lot like Rome these days, what with televised circuses, huge stadia filled to the brim with crazed citizens calling for blood (metaphorical these days, though), and opportunistic politicians turning parts of the empire against each other.

Here's my thought: it seems to me from my reading of history that, whenever the Empire was in trouble, it would round up Christians, throw them to the lions or burn them, and it would keep the citizens busy with that while other stuff went on.

It didn't get rid of the Christians that way, though. Instead, the Early Church kept going, kept teaching new converts, remembered the martyrs, and eventually stayed around long enough and grew big enough to become the offical religion of the empire. Even though Christians were demonized to the point of mass murder, they didn't disappear, move away, or assimilate into the pagan beliefs.

Aren't we doing the same to Muslims these days? Our government trots out new Muslim men to demonize when the polls are down or when things seem a bit too shaky, blaming these men for all sorts of crazy plots and ills (just like Rome did with the Christians and their supposed plots to commit necrophilia or treason or keep women from marrying). Our circuses constantly demonize Muslims with nasty names and horrible false accusations. Our citizens call for blood.

Do they really think that this will make the Muslim believers in our empire disappear? Will it make them assimilate or move away and stop being an issue? History says otherwise. This kind of treatment just strengthens the resolve of the faithful, gives them more martyrs to revere, and helps them keep growing and going.

Our Muslim brothers and sisters are being horribly and unfairly persecuted. Christians, and I am one of that faith, should know, more than many, what persecution does. Instead of persecuting, we should reach out in love, as our Lord asked us to, and live in peace with our brothers and sisters.

We should also call the persecution what it is: evil usage of good believers for political gain. We should help fight against it, since we know what it is to live through (even if just through our history). We should denounce it whenever we hear it or see it, especially amongst our own.

For, if we don't, will America's future be the same as Rome's? What will the new Holy American Empire be like?

[Freeusfromthechurch]

1. We're a Rome waiting to fall.

[knitter4democracy]

2. Who will be our Goth invaders?

Will we even need them at this point?

[RandiRhodesArchives]

4. China

When they demand our gov't repay the debt to them.

[knitter4democracy]

6. The thought frankly scares me.

It's not all that "out there" of an idea, China attacking us. With the state of our industrial sector, I fear we'd lose.

[knitter4democracy]

3. Kick for the night

:kick:

[Pavulon]

5. history repeats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus

considering most muslim countries are third world oil states their future is not so bright.