Banning minarets to save the West ~ By Phil Elmore

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Phil Elmore Posted: December 03, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 "The only snakes I know of," muttered the black lotus street peddler in John Milius' "Conan," "are those of Set and his cursed towers. Their evil has spread to every city. Two or three years ago it was just another snake cult. Now ... they're everywhere." Architecture is technology. What we build reflects both our ability to create and what is in our minds as creators. Gothic Christian cathedrals, for example, can be recognized for their imposing spires and arches (which indicate increased technical skill on the part of the builders while showing us their desire to reach toward heaven in their construction). The flying buttress isn't just a means of distributing weight; it's a technical expression of the desire to construct an edifice large enough, grand enough, to befit a house of God. The religion of Islam likewise has its architectural – and therefore technological – signatures. Specifically, the minaret ("beacon," in Arabic) is, according to ReligionFacts, "an element of Islamic religious architecture ... the tower traditionally used … to call the faithful to prayer five times each day. Minarets are always connected with a mosque, sometimes by an elevated passageway." Over the weekend, the people of Switzerland voted overwhelmingly to ban the construction of such minarets in their country. As the handwringing and cries of intolerance – not to mention dire predictions of "vengeance, boycotts, [and] retaliation" – rose both in and out of Switzerland, Amnesty International bleated that such a ban infringed on the European Human Rights Convention, while a spokesman for France's Union for a Popular Majority said he wasn't sure "that minarets are needed in order to practice Islam in France." So what's behind the ban, supported by 57 percent of Swiss voters but condemned as intolerant and hateful by everyone from the Swiss government (officially) to various left-of-center political concerns throughout Europe? The obvious answer is that people in Switzerland, across Europe and notably in France – where stagnating birthrates and a breathtaking influx of Muslim immigrants are swamping these nations with a newly powerful Islamic presence – are terrified. They're terrified because suddenly their countries are awash in adherents to a religion that glorifies death, subjugates women and threatens with violence anyone who dares to oppose it. Like the fictional towers of the snake cult of Set in "Conan," the minarets of Islam are rising over the formerly free people of these Western cultures, and these individuals are aghast and afraid of what awaits them. Citizens of Paris and other French towns saw this firsthand when throngs of violent Muslims burned businesses, schools and vehicles for day after day in 2005. France's 5-million–strong Muslim population is the largest in Western Europe, and when these immigrants aren't "feeling excluded" or otherwise expressing a sense of entitlement, they're lashing out violently at those they believe don't properly fear their faith. Politically correct news media often refuse to call these outbursts what they are – terrorism by adherents of Islam. READ FULL STORY >