"...act in order to conquer this world."

Steve Waldman, in a perceptive locution, posits that for the Religious Right, "Islamofascism is the new abortion." That is, fighting Islamic extremism has become the most important issue to many conservative Christian voters, and that it's even more important than abortion once was -- hence Rudy Giuliani's popularity with a plurality of Religious Right voters, despite his pro-choice convictions.

Mind you, I am a conservative Christian voter, and I would not vote for Giuliani, period, as much because I fear his temperament in the White House as I oppose his pro-choice views. But I get why his tough on Islamofascism stance resonates with my tribe. What follows is a good example of why Islamic extremism continues to matter a great deal in the political deliberations of conservative Christians. Here's Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, spiritual adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood, and one of the most popular and influential religious leaders in the Islamic world, speaks to his worldwide satellite TV audience:

Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: "Some friends quoted a hadith that says Islam would conquer Rome. Does this mean that we will vanquish the Europeans once again?"

[...]

Al-Qaradhawi: The conquest of Rome the conquest of Italy, and Europe means that Islam will return to Europe once again. Must this conquest necessarily be though war? No. There is such a thing as peaceful conquest.

[...]

Al-Qaradhawi: The peaceful conquest has foundations in this religion, and therefore, I expect that Islam will conquer Europe without resorting to the sword or fighting. It will do so by means of da'wa and ideology. Europe is miserable with materialism, with the philosophy of promiscuity, and with the immoral considerations that rule the world considerations of self-interest and self-indulgence. It is high time Europe woke up and found a way out from this. Europe will find no life saver or life boat other than Islam. Islam will save Europe from the raging materialism from which it suffers. The promiscuity, which permits men to marry men and women to marry women, is horrifying. All religions condemn this. [Islam] is capable of granting Europe and the entire West the world to come, without denying them this world. It can grant them faith without denying them science. It can grant them truth, without denying them power. It can connect them to the heavens, without tearing them away from the earth. It can grant them spirit, without denying them matter. The message of Islam is a message of global balance, and therefore, I believe the next conquest will be conducted through da'wa. But, of course, the Muslims must begin to act in order to conquer this world.

Now, as an orthodox (and Orthodox) Christian, I certainly believe that the sheikh is right about Europe being "miserable with materialism," and about Europe's current situation being culturally and spiritually unsustainable. I also believe that the answer is not Islam, to put it mildly. As Ayaan Hirsi Ali has put it, if Islam offers such a great model for society, why aren't people clamoring to emigrate from the West to the Muslim world? Why, in fact, is just the opposite happening? Frankly, I don't much blame Sheikh Qaradawi for believing these things. If I thought Islam were the answer, I would want Europe to be Islamic too. Nevertheless, it is critically important to recognize that many Muslims don't want peaceful coexistence within liberal democratic structures in Europe, but conquest. Quite a few liberals hate it when conservatives like me point that out, but here is a leading Muslim figure saying it.

I concede that conservative Christians in the US sometimes exaggerate the threat from militant Islam. And I fully concede that the lamentable Bush administration has botched the handling of relations with Muslims (though not for the reasons liberals would claim). Still, I continue to be shocked at the unwillingness of so many in this country, especially among the elite, to face up to the threat that liberal democrats like Hirsi Ali and Bruce Bawer constantly point to. If conservative Christians are more sensitive than many Americans to the threat from radical Islam, perhaps it's because a) they know more about history, and b) as religious believers themselves, they understand how powerful religious belief is re: the shaping of political beliefs and acts to a degree that has been forgotten by many, even most, Americans -- and certainly the secular mainstream media.