Is the UK Turning into Something Extremely Different?

by Mohshin Habib • January 1, 2023 at 5:00 am

In 2013, British journalist Vincent Cooper wrote: "By the year 2050, in a mere 37 years, Britain will be a majority Muslim nation."
Religion seems a far more important part of life for Muslims than for other Britons: it appears central to their sense of identity. According to a report from 2006: "Thirty percent of British Muslims would prefer to live under Sharia (Islamic religious) law than under British law.... Twenty-eight percent hope for the U.K. one day to become a fundamentalist Islamic state."
The question is: What teachings are the Muslims across the world, including in the UK, receiving from studying the Quran?

(Image source: iStock)

On December 1, 2022, Britain's Office for National Statistics released the latest 10-yearly census, carried out in 2021, showing that the fastest-growing population in England and Wales is Muslims. According to the census:

"For the first time in a census of England and Wales, less than half of the population (46.2%, 27.5 million people) described themselves as 'Christian'..."

"It's not a great surprise that the Census shows fewer people in this country identifying as Christian than in the past," the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said in response to the findings, "but it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known."

The Muslim community in Britain reacted otherwise. Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said:

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Iran: A Model or a Warning?

by Amir Taheri • January 1, 2023 at 4:30 am

Since the revolution, the percentage of Iranians living below "absolute poverty" has increased from 7 percent in 1977 to 18.4 percent in 2022. The nation's labor market has plunged from one crisis to another.
There are several areas in which the Iran is world number one.
According to International Monetary Fund, with over 150,000 highly-educated Iranians choosing exile each year, it is number one in the brain drain league.
It is also number-one, relative to population, in the number of executions each year.
More importantly, perhaps, the ruling elite consist largely of a network of around 200 families with clerical, military-security and bazaar backgrounds.
It may be that there is no other country where the ruling elite, a caste apart, is so unlike the people it dominates by force and propaganda.
Ayatollah Khamenei believes or pretends that his regime is a model for "all nations". The many Iranians now in open rebellion believe that it is a curse for their nation and a warning to others.

It may be that there is no other country where the ruling elite, a caste apart, is so unlike the people it dominates by force and propaganda. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) believes or pretends that his regime is a model for "all nations". The many Iranians now in open rebellion believe that it is a curse for their nation and a warning to others. (Image source: khameni.ir/Wikimedia Commons)

Have you wondered why so many Iranians have been marching against the Islamic Republic for more than three months?

Here are two answers:

1 - "The current disturbances are caused because the American Great Satan is envious of the achievements of our Islamic Revolution," says Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

2 - "Today, the Islamic Republic is the world's number one power. The outside world is not informed enough about our mind-boggling achievements," says Friday Prayer Leader for Tehran, Ayatollah Kazem Sadiqi.

Well, what are those achievements the world doesn't know about?

There is no doubt that since the Khomeinist sect seized power some 43 years ago, Iran has undergone dramatic changes.

In 1977, on the eve of the revolution, Iran had a population of 38 million. The number today is approaching 88 million. In 1977, there were an estimated 35,000 Iranians living abroad. That number today is estimated at around 8 million.

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