ISIS at the Doors: Erasing the Memory of a Christian Europe | Diogo Miguel Machado | CWR
By indulging our fetish for spiritual and cultural forgetfulness, we have permitted the coming-to-be of a hell on earth under the reign of ISIS.
In the wake of last weekend’s terror attacks in Paris, Europe continues to fall deeper into her spiritual and cultural torpor. As I write these words, the continent is still absorbing the shocking news that some 129 people will never see the sun rise again. For the second time this year, terrorism has struck at the heart of France. However, this time President François Hollande has declared a state of emergency and ordered all borders closed.
But more than France, the entire continent of Europe has been embroiled in a bitter border debate. It was sparked by the refugee crisis brought on by the rise of ISIS in the Middle East. And now, at least one of the Paris assailants has been identified as a refugee. The debate has vacillated between two opposing poles. Just after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, people demanded the borders be shut. Then, the dead body of a young child washed ashore at the edges of the continent and people clamored for them to be opened. With Paris in flames, we have returned again to the first position. It would seem that each new incident in this tragic narrative pushes Europe from one pole to the other.
At the heart of the debate about Europe’s borders, the refugee crisis, and immigration policy stands a question about the continent’s identity and its responsibility for the plight of Middle Eastern Christians wanting to seek safe refuge among us. For as long as they have been living side by side with radical Muslims, they have borne a bullseye target on their backs. But, this history goes back to the foundations of Islamism. For our part, we give no heed to this history, forgetting the stated goal of the reconquest of Europe in the fifteenth century: to wrest the continent from militant Muslims and return it to the Christian faith at its origin.
How did we come to this point of forgetfulness? When did we become lethargic about our spiritual heritage and start to submit to those who overtly want to impose their Sharia Law?
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